STS-42

Crew

Norman E. Thagard

Status: Retired
7/3/1943 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 6/18/1983
Last Flight: 3/14/1995

Norman Earl Thagard (born July 3, 1943), (Capt, USMC, Ret.), is an American scientist and former U.S. Marine Corps officer and naval aviator and NASA astronaut. He is the first American to ride to space on board a Russian vehicle, and can be considered the first American cosmonaut. He did on this on March 14, 1995, in the Soyuz TM-21 spacecraft for the Russian Mir-18 mission.

Ulf Merbold

Status: Retired
6/20/1941 -
Nationality: German
Type: Government
First Flight: 11/28/1983
Last Flight: 10/3/1994

Dr. Ulf Dietrich Merbold (born June 20, 1941) is the first West German citizen and second German native (after Sigmund Jähn) to have flown in space. He is also the first member of the European Space Agency Astronaut Corps to participate in a spaceflight mission and the first non-US citizen to reach orbit in a US spacecraft. In 1983, he and Byron Lichtenberg became the first Payload Specialists to fly on the shuttle.

David Hilmers

Status: Retired
1/28/1950 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 10/3/1985
Last Flight: 1/22/1992

David Carl Hilmers is a former NASA astronaut. Hilmers was selected a NASA astronaut in July 1980, and completed the initial training period in August 1981. A veteran of four space flights, he has logged over 493 hours in space.

Ronald J. Grabe

Status: Retired
6/13/1945 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 10/3/1985
Last Flight: 6/21/1993

Ronald John Grabe is a former NASA astronaut.

He has earned the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 7 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, the Liethen-Tittle Award (for Outstanding Student at the USAF Test Pilot School), the Royal Air Force Cross, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and NASA Space Flight Medals.

Stephen S. Oswald

Status: Retired
6/30/1951 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 1/22/1992
Last Flight: 3/2/1995

Stephen Scot Oswald is a former NASA astronaut.

William F. Readdy

Status: Retired
1/24/1952 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 1/22/1992
Last Flight: 9/16/1996

William Francis Readdy is a former Associate Administrator of the Office of Space Flight, at NASA Headquarters.

He graduated from McLean High School, McLean, Virginia, in 1970 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering (with honors) from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1974. He's a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School 1980. Readdy is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Explorers Club, and the Royal Astronautical Society and is an Associate Fellow of the AIAA. He also belongs to the Association of Space Explorers.

Roberta Bondar

Status: Retired
12/4/1945 -
Nationality: Canadian
Type: Government
First Flight: 1/22/1992
Last Flight: 1/22/1992

Roberta Bondar (born December 4, 1945) is Canada's first female astronaut and the first neurologist in space. Following more than a decade as NASA's head of space medicine, Bondar became a consultant and speaker in the business, scientific, and medical communities.

Bondar has received many honours including the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario, the NASA Space Medal, over 22 honorary degrees and induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

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