STS-51

Frank L. Culbertson Jr.

• Birthday: 05/15/1949
• Role: Commander
• 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.

William F. Readdy

• Birthday: 01/24/1952
• Role: Pilot
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 01/22/1992
• Last Flight: 09/16/1996

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.

Carl E. Walz

• Birthday: 09/06/1955
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 09/12/1993
• Last Flight: 12/05/2001

Carl Erwin Walz is a former NASA astronaut currently working for Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Advanced Programs Group as Vice President for Human Space Flight Operations. Walz was formerly assigned to the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. He was the Acting Director for the Advanced Capabilities Division in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, and was responsible for a broad range of activities to include Human Research, Technology Development, Nuclear Power and Propulsion and the Lunar Robotic Exploration Programs to support the Vision for Space Exploration.

Daniel W. Bursch

• Birthday: 07/25/1957
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 09/12/1993
• Last Flight: 12/05/2001

Daniel Wheeler Bursch is a former NASA astronaut, and Captain of the United States Navy. He had four spaceflights, the first three of which were Space Shuttle missions lasting 10 to 11 days each. His fourth and final spaceflight was a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station as a crew member of Expedition 4, which lasted from December 2001 to June 2002. This 196-day mission set a new record for the longest duration spaceflight for an American astronaut, a record simultaneously set with his crew mate Carl Walz. Their record has since been broken, and as of 2016 it is held by Scott Kelly, who flew a 340 day mission during Expeditions 43, 44 and 45.

James H. Newman

• Birthday: 10/16/1956
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 09/12/1993
• Last Flight: 03/01/2002

James Hansen Newman, Ph.D. is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions.

STS-51

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

STS-51 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission that launched the Advanced 10 Technology Satellite (ACTS) in September 1993. The flight also featured the deployment and retrieval of the SPAS-ORFEUS satellite and its IMAX camera, which captured spectacular footage of Discovery in space. A spacewalk was also performed during the mission to evaluate tools and techniques for the STS-61 Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission later that year.

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.