SPACEWALKERS NAMED FOR SPACE STATION ASSEMBLY FLIGHTS



June 9, 1997



Debra Rahn
Headquarters, Washington DC
(Phone: 202/358-1639)



Eileen Hawley/James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

<h4>Release: 97-126</h4> <h3>Spacewalkers Named For Space Station 
Assembly Flights</h3> 

A cadre of 14 Space Shuttle astronauts has begun intensive training in 
preparation for the spacewalks required for on-orbit construction of 
the International Space Station.



"It is important for us to begin work now to train the crews who will 
support Space Station assembly flights," said David C. Leestma, 
director of Flight Crew Operations. "These crew members will be 
exceptionally busy preparing for some challenging and demanding 
tasks, from initial assembly through installation of the robotic arm 
and an airlock for station-based spacewalks. We expect that these 
assignments may be refined in the future, with additional tasks as 
mission requirements dictate."



The first astronauts assigned to train for space station assembly 
tasks were Jerry L. Ross (Col., USAF) and James H. Newman, Ph.D., who 
were named to the STS-88 crew in August 1996. Training will now 
expand to include Leroy Chiao, Ph.D.; Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., (Lt. 
Cmdr., USN); Michael L. Gernhardt, Ph.D.; Canadian Astronaut Chris A. 
Hadfield (Lt. Col., CAF); Thomas D. Jones, Ph.D; Mark C. Lee (Col., 
USAF); Michael Lopez-Alegria (Cmdr., USN); William S. "Bill" 
McArthur, Jr., (Col., USA); Carlos I. Noriega (Major, USMC); James F. 
Reilly, II, Ph.D.; Joseph R. Tanner; and Peter J.K. "Jeff" Wisoff, 
Ph.D.



The specific assignments for these U.S. assembly flights, through 
August 1999, are:



Flight/Crew Members Date Payload



STS-88/Jerry Ross and Jim Newman July 9, 1998 Node 1; ISSA-2A Connect 
power cables



STS-92/Leroy Chiao; Jeff Wisoff January 1999 Integrated Truss ISSA-3A 
Michael Lopez-Alegria Portable Mating Adapter and Bill McArthur



STS-97/Joe Tanner and Carlos Noriega March 1999 Photovoltaic ISSA-4A 
module



STS-98/Mark Lee and Tom Jones May 1999 U.S. Lab Module ISSA-5A



STS-99/Chris Hadfield and June 1999 Lab outfitting; ISSA-6A Robert 
Curbeam Remote Manipulating System



STS-100/Mike Gernhardt and August 1999 Joint Airlock, ISSA-7A James 
Reilly High Pressure Gas Assembly



"The assignment of these crew members is a critical element in our 
ability to bring together the elements of the space station on the 
ground and then successfully assemble them in orbit," said Randy 
Brinkley, Space Station program manager. "I am highly pleased with 
the level of expertise and dedication these crew members bring to the 
program."



Each of the astronauts named for these assembly flights has previous 
spaceflight experience, with the exception of Curbeam, who will make 
his first flight in July 1997, and Reilly, who will make his first 
flight in January 1998. Ross, Newman, Chiao, Wisoff, Tanner, Lee and 
Gernhardt all have performed spacewalks during their previous 
flights. The remaining astronauts, Lopez-Alegria, McArthur, Noriega, 
Jones, Curbeam, Reilly and Hadfield are training for their first 
spacewalks. When Hadfield conducts his scheduled spacewalk in June 
1999, he will become the first Canadian to walk in space.



For complete biographical information on these crew members and other 
astronauts, see the NASA Internet astronaut biography home page at 
address:



http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/



For information on the International Space Station, visit the Space 
Station home page at address:



http://station.nasa.gov

	
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