Space Shuttle Projects

Six astronauts composed the crew for the STS-72 mission that launched aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on January 11, 1996. Astronauts Brian Duffy (right front) and Brent W. Jett (left front) are mission commander and pilot, respectively. Mission specialists (back row, left to right) are Winston E. Scott, Leroy Chiao, Koichi Wakata, and Daniel T. Barry. Wakata is an international mission specialist representing Japan’s National Space Development Agency (NASDA) based at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Mission objectives included the retrieval of the Japanese Space Flyer Unit (SFU), and the deployment of the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology-Flyer (OAST-Flyer).