STS-38

Richard O. Covey

• Birthday: 08/01/1946
• Role: Commander
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 08/27/1985
• Last Flight: 12/02/1993

Richard Oswalt Covey is a retired United States Air Force officer and former NASA astronaut.

Frank L. Culbertson Jr.

• Birthday: 05/15/1949
• Role: Pilot
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 11/15/1990
• Last Flight: 08/10/2001

Frank Lee Culbertson Jr. is an American former naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and NASA astronaut. He served as the Commander of the International Space Station for almost four months in 2001 and was the only American not on Earth when the September 11 attacks occurred. He is currently President of the Space Systems Group at Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. Mr. Culbertson is responsible for the execution, business development and financial performance of the company’s human spaceflight, science, commercial communications, and national security satellite activities, as well as technical services to various government customers. These include some of Northrop Grumman’s largest and most important programs such as NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) initiatives to the International Space Station (ISS) as well as various national security-related programs.

Robert C. Springer

• Birthday: 05/21/1942
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 03/13/1989
• Last Flight: 11/15/1990

Robert Clyde “Bob” Springer is a retired American astronaut and test pilot who flew as a Mission Specialist on two NASA Space Shuttle missions in 1989 and 1990. A decorated aviator in the United States Marine Corps, Springer also flew more than 500 combat sorties during the Vietnam War. He has logged over 237 hours in space and 4,500 hours flying time, including 3,500 hours in jet aircraft.

Carl J. Meade

• Birthday: 11/16/1950
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 11/15/1990
• Last Flight: 09/09/1994

Carl Joseph Meade is a former NASA astronaut.

Charles D. Gemar

• Birthday: 08/04/1955
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 11/15/1990
• Last Flight: 03/04/1994

Charles Donald “Sam” Gemar is an American former astronaut with NASA and a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army. Gemar has flown on three Space Shuttle missions (STS-38, STS-48 and STS-62). Gemar has completed 385 orbits of the Earth and over 581 hours in space. He has also served in different positions in NASA, including as a CAPCOM for Shuttle missions. Gemar was the first astronaut to be born in the state of South Dakota.

STS-38

• Type: Government/Top Secret
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
• Launch Cost: $450,000,000

STS-38 was the seventh flight for the Space Shuttle Atlantis and was also the seventh flight dedicated to the department of defence.

Launch Complex 39A

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launch Complex 39A has witnessed the launch of 174 rockets, including 173 orbital launch attempts, while Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 232 rocket launches.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.