STS-93

Eileen Collins

• Birthday: 11/19/1956
• Role: Commander
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 02/03/1995
• Last Flight: 07/26/2005

Eileen Marie Collins is a retired NASA astronaut and a retired United States Air Force colonel. A former military instructor and test pilot, Collins was the first female pilot and first female commander of a Space Shuttle. She was awarded several medals for her work. Colonel Collins has logged 38 days 8 hours and 20 minutes in outer space. Collins retired on May 1, 2006, to pursue private interests, including service as a board member of USAA.

Jeffrey Ashby

• Birthday: 06/16/1954
• Role: Pilot
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 07/23/1999
• Last Flight: 10/07/2002

Jeffrey Shears “Bones” Ashby is an American mechanical engineer, and former naval officer and aviator, test pilot and NASA astronaut, a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions. He is a retired Captain in the U.S. Navy. He currently works for Blue Origin as chief of mission assurance.

Michel Tognini

• Birthday: 09/30/1949
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: French
• First Flight: 07/27/1992
• Last Flight: 07/23/1999

Michel Ange-Charles Tognini (born September 30, 1949 in Vincennes, France) is a French test pilot, Brigadier General in the French Air Force, and a former CNES and ESA astronaut. A veteran of two space flights, Tognini has logged a total of 19 days in space.

Catherine Coleman

• Birthday: 12/14/1960
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 10/20/1995
• Last Flight: 12/15/2010

Catherine Grace “Cady” Coleman is an American chemist, a former United States Air Force officer, and a former NASA astronaut. She is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, and departed the International Space Station on May 23, 2011, as a crew member of Expedition 27 after logging 159 days in space.

Steven Hawley

• Birthday: 12/12/1951
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 08/30/1984
• Last Flight: 07/23/1999

Steven Alan Hawley is a former NASA astronaut who flew on five U.S. Space Shuttle flights. He is professor of physics and astronomy and director of engineering physics at the University of Kansas.

Following an aborted attempt to launch STS-41-D where two main engines were stopped shortly after they started because the third failed to start, Hawley is reported to have broken the tense atmosphere in the shuttle cabin, saying, “I thought we’d be a lot higher at MECO!”

STS-93

• Type: Astrophysics
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
• Launch Cost: $450,000,000

STS-93 marked the 95th launch of the Space Shuttle, the 26th launch of Columbia, and the 21st night launch of a Space Shuttle. Eileen Collins became the first female shuttle Commander on this flight. Its primary payload was the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Launch Complex 39B

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launch Complex 39B has witnessed the launch of 58 rockets, including 57 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.

United Space Alliance

United Space Alliance (USA) is a spaceflight operations company. USA is a joint venture which was established in August 1995 as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), equally owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.