NASA NAMES 23 ASTRONAUTS AND COSMONAUTS TO SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2002



August 17, 2001



Kirsten Larson
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-0243)



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

<h4>Release: H01-167</h4> <h3>NASA Names 23 Astronauts and Cosmonauts 
to Shuttle Flights in 2002</h3> 

NASA has named crew members to three missions scheduled to visit the 
International Space Station in the second half of 2002.



STS-112 (scheduled for July), STS-113 (August) and STS-114 (November) 
will involve assembly work, and the last two also will exchange space 
station expedition crews. In all, these missions will carry 23 
astronauts and cosmonauts, including nine first-time flyers.



STS-112, commanded by Jeffrey S. Ashby (Capt., USN), will deliver a 
segment of the space station's truss and equipment to help 
spacewalkers move around the station's exterior. Pamela A. Melroy 
(Col. select, USAF) will serve as pilot. Mission specialists include 
David A. Wolf (M.D.), Piers J. Sellers (Ph.D.), Sandra H. Magnus 
(Ph.D.) and Fyodor N. Yurchikhin, RSC Energia.



Ashby has flown twice, on STS-93 in 1999 and STS-100 this year. Melroy 
flew on STS-92 in 2000. Wolf first flew in 1993 on STS-58; in 1997 he 
traveled to the Russian space station Mir, where he spent 123 days. 
Sellers, Magnus, and Yurchikhin will be making their first trips into 
space.



STS-113, commanded by James D. Wetherbee (Capt., USN), also will carry 
a truss segment, along with additional equipment to assist 
spacewalkers. Pilot Christopher J. Loria (Lt. Col., USMC) will join 
Wetherbee on the flight deck. Michael E. Lopez-Alegria (Capt. select, 
USN) and John B. Herrington (Cmdr., USN) will serve as mission 
specialists.



Wetherbee, a veteran astronaut, has been in space five times: STS-32 
in 1990, STS-52 in 1992, STS-63 in 1995, STS-86 in 1997 and STS-102 
in 2001. Loria and Herrington are first-time flyers, and 
Lopez-Alegria will take his third trip to space, having flown on 
STS-73 in 1995 and STS-92 in 2000.



The Expedition Six space station crew -- Commander Kenneth D. Bowersox 
(Capt., USN), Donald A. Thomas (Ph.D.) and Nikolai M. Budarin, RSC 
Energia -- will travel to the station aboard STS-113. The Expedition 
Five crew, made up of Valeri G. Korzun (Col., Russian Air Force), 
Peggy A. Whitson (Ph.D.) and Sergei Y. Treschev, RSC Energia, will 
return to Earth on STS-113.



Bowersox was a member of STS-50 in 1992, STS-61 in 1993, STS-73 in 
1995 and STS-82 in 1997. Thomas previously orbited Earth during 
STS-65 in 1994, STS-70 in 1995, STS-83 in 1997 and STS-94 in 1997. 
Budarin returns to space for his third long-duration flight after 
stays on Mir in 1995 and 1998. Expedition Five's Korzun takes his 
second long-duration trip to space after a stay at Mir that ended in 
1997, while Whitson and Treschev will make their first trips into 
space.



STS-114, which had been labeled STS-113 in earlier planning schedules 
and news releases, will be commanded by Eileen M. Collins (Col., 
USAF) and piloted by James M. Kelly (Lt. Col., USAF). The mission is 
a space station utilization and logistics flight. The mission 
includes Soichi Noguchi (NASDA) and Stephen K. Robinson (Ph.D.) as 
mission specialists. The mission will return Expedition Six to Earth 
and take Expedition Seven to the station. Expedition Seven is 
comprised of Yuri I. Malenchenko (Col., Russian Air Force), Sergei 
Moschenko, Khrunichev Space Center, and Edward T. Lu (Ph.D.).



Collins served as pilot on STS-63 in 1995 and STS-84 in 1997, and 
commanded the STS-93 mission in 1999. Kelly flew his first mission 
aboard STS-102 earlier this year. Robinson, having flown on STS-85 in 
1997 and STS-95 in 1998, also serves as a backup crewmember for 
Expedition Four. Malenchenko served as commander of Mir 16 and flew 
on STS-106 in 2000. Moschenko is making his first space flight, while 
Lu flew aboard STS-84 in 1997 and STS-106 in 2000. Noguchi will be 
taking his first flight into space.



Further information is available on the Internet:



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



International Space Station http://spaceflight.nasa.gov



Space Shuttle Launch Schedule 
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/future/index.html

	
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