August 19, 1998

Doug Peterson
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(281/483-5111)

Release: J98-35

Astronaut Class of 1998 Reports For Duty

The Astronaut class of 1998 arrives at the Johnson Space Center August 24 to begin its training and evaluation for future assignments on Shuttle and International Space Station missions.

Class members will be welcomed to the Johnson Space Center and will participate in a ceremony scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. CDT. They will be available for a photo opportunity with members of the news media, who will also be able to conduct brief interviews with the astronaut candidates following the ceremony. The event will be broadcast live on NASA Television.

The Astronaut Candidates were selected through a highly competitive process which evaluated their education, training, experience and unique qualifications. Of the thousands of applicants with basic qualifications, about 100 were selected for personal interviews leading to the final selection of 25.

The 1998 class includes 8 pilots and 17 mission specialists and includes members from each branch of the armed services, private industry, and academia. They will be joined by several members of the international partners’ astronaut corps.

During their training, the astronaut candidates will receive orientation briefings and tours, as well as numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, and physiological training to prepare them for flights in T-38 jet trainers. The astronaut candidates will also receive technical assignments with the Astronaut Office before being assigned to a space flight.

Media interested in attending the welcoming ceremony or interviewing any members of the class, should contact Doug Peterson no later than 5 p.m. CDT August 20 at (281) 483-5111. NASA Television is available on GE Spacenet 2, Transponder 9C, located at 85 degrees West Longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 Mhz, audio of 6.8 Mhz.

For more information about the individual astronaut candidates, or any astronaut, see the NASA Internet biography home page at URL: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/

text-only version of this release