STS-31

Crew

Bruce McCandless II

Status: Deceased
6/8/1937 - 12/21/2017
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 2/3/1984
Last Flight: 4/24/1990

Bruce McCandless II was a U.S. naval officer and aviator, electrical engineer, and NASA astronaut. In 1984, during the first of his two Space Shuttle missions, he made the first untethered free flight by using the Manned Maneuvering Unit.

Steven Hawley

Status: Retired
12/12/1951 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 8/30/1984
Last Flight: 7/23/1999

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!"

Kathryn D. Sullivan

Status: Retired
10/3/1951 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 10/5/1984
Last Flight: 3/24/1992

Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan is an American geologist and a former NASA astronaut. A crew member on three Space Shuttle missions, she was the first American woman to walk in space on October 11, 1984. She was Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 6, 2014. Sullivan's tenure ended on January 20, 2017 with the swearing in of President Donald Trump. Following completion of her service at NOAA, she was designated as the 2017 Charles A. Lindbergh Chair of Aerospace History at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, and has also served as a Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

Charles Bolden

Status: Retired
8/19/1946 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 1/12/1986
Last Flight: 2/3/1994

Charles Frank Bolden Jr. is a former Administrator of NASA, a retired United States Marine Corps Major General, and a former NASA astronaut.

A 1968 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he became a Marine Aviator and test pilot. After his service as an astronaut, he became Deputy Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy.

On May 23, 2009, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of Bolden as NASA Administrator and Lori Garver as Deputy NASA Administrator. Bolden was confirmed by the Senate on July 15, 2009. He was the first African American to head the agency on a permanent basis.

On January 12, 2017, Bolden announced his resignation from NASA during a town hall meeting at NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C. His last day would be January 19, and Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. was announced as acting NASA Administrator.

Loren Shriver

Status: Retired
9/23/1944 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 1/24/1985
Last Flight: 7/31/1992

Loren James Shriver is a former NASA astronaut, aviator, and a retired US Air Force Colonel.

Rocket

Space Shuttle Discovery OV-103 – United Space Alliance

• Family: Space Shuttle
• Length: 38.1 m
• Diameter: 8.4 m
• Launch Mass: 2040 T
• Low Earth Orbit Capacity: 24400 kg

The Space Shuttle Discovery OV-103 was manufactured by United Space Alliance with the first launch on 1984-08-30. Space Shuttle Discovery OV-103 has 38 successful launches and 0 failed launches with a total of 38 launches. Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the orbiters from NASA’s Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date.

Agency

Lockheed Space Operations Company – LSOC

• Type: Commercial
• Abbreviation: LSOC
• Country: USA