NASA - STS-116 Crew

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Mission Information

STS-116 Crew
STS116-S-002 : STS-116 crew

Image above: These seven astronauts take a break from training to pose for the STS-116 crew portrait. Launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery are, front row (from the left), astronauts William A. Oefelein, pilot; Joan E. Higginbotham, mission specialist; and Mark L. Polansky, commander. On the back row (from the left) are astronauts Robert L. Curbeam, Nicholas J.M. Patrick, Sunita L. Williams and the European Space Agency's Christer Fuglesang, all mission specialists. Williams will join Expedition 14 in progress to serve as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station. The crewmembers are attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits. Photo credit: NASA

Crew Profiles

Commander Mark Polansky

A former Air Force test pilot, Mark Polansky led the crew of STS-116 on the 20th shuttle mission to the space station.
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Pilot William Oefelein

Oefelein, who has logged over 3,000 hours flying more than 50 aircraft, made his first journey into space as the pilot for the STS-116 mission.
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Mission Specialist Robert Curbeam

A veteran of two previous space shuttle flights, Curbeam conducted four spacewalks as a mission specialist for STS-116.
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Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham

To assist with the construction of the space station, Higginbotham's primary task on STS-116 was operating the station's robotic arm.
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Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick

A member of the 1998 astronaut class and former flight instructor, Patrick flew on STS-116 as a mission specialist.
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Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang

On his first spaceflight, European Space Agency astronaut Fuglesang joined the crew of STS-116 as a mission specialist.
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Flight Engineer Sunita Williams

Williams joined Expedition 14 in progress as a flight engineer after traveling to the station on space shuttle mission STS-116.
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Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter (ESA)

Reiter, a European Space Agency astronaut and flight engineer for Expedition 14 aboard the International Space Station, returned to Earth with the STS-116 crew.
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