Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Final Countdowns

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
NASA's First Space Shuttle Astronaut Selection

Part of the book series: Springer Praxis Books ((SPACEE))

  • 361 Accesses

Abstract

A total of 11,057 days (or 30 years, 3 months and 9 days) elapsed between Dan Brandenstein’s calls to Columbia during the STS-1 launch on April 12, 1981, and the final conversations between the crew of Atlantis and Shannon Lucid a few hours before STS-135 landed on July 21, 2011. It was a generation that encompassed the whole operational phase of the American Space Shuttle Program, one which members of the Class of 1978 had both witnessed first-hand and actively participated in. Their contributions began well before that first departure from the launch pad at LC-39A and continued with the International Space Station (ISS) for some years after the final wheelstop of Atlantis on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 37.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The first Japanese citizen to fly in space was Toyohiro Akiyama, a journalist who had been selected to fly a one-week mission on Soyuz TM-11 to Mir in December 1990.

  2. 2.

    The term ‘Dogface’ normally refers to U.S. Army foot soldiers, primarily in WWII. The origin of this is vague, but in the American Civil War, wounded soldiers had tags tied to them to indicate their wounds, similar to those used on a pet dog. During WWII, American infantrymen living in “pup tents” and “foxholes”, were often cold, wet and filthy as a hunting hound, with long faces deemed to resemble a sad dog, and always being ordered around and enduring shouted commands like a half-trained dog.

  3. 3.

    1987 was an exception, as the whole fleet was grounded during the recovery from the Challenger accident. In the six decades since human space flight began in 1961, there have only been eight years in which no American has flown into space (1964, 1967, 1976−80 and 1987).

  4. 4.

    Solovyov and Budarin would fly to Mir on STS-71 and take over as the Mir-19 resident crew, returning on Soyuz TM-21 after a flight of 76 days having handed over in turn to the Mir-20 crew. Dunbar flew to and from Mir on STS-71, but unfortunately did not complete a residency, though she was qualified to do so.

  5. 5.

    Prior to 1995, the only U.S. human space flights to exceed three weeks (21 days) had been Skylab 2 (28 days in May−June 1973), Skylab 3 (59 days in July−September 1983) and Skylab 4 (84 days from November 1973−February 1974).

  6. 6.

    During training, Manakov was grounded due to a slight heart irregularity, so the crew was replaced by Valery Grigoryevich Korzun and Aleksandr Yuryevich Kaleri. The change had minimal impact on Lucid, but Blaha later flew a ‘difficult’ mission with cosmonauts he hardly knew and had not trained with.

  7. 7.

    Shannon Lucid was only the fourth woman in history to be part of a resident station crew, after cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982 and again in 1984, the UK’s Helen Sharman in 1991, and cosmonaut Yelena Kondakova in 1994 and 1995.

  8. 8.

    Jokingly, Lucid’s husband said that NASA had told him they were going to hose his wife down after landing before they gave her back to him.

References

  1. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, March 15, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Undated FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo.

    Google Scholar 

  3. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo May 28, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  4. U.S. and USSR Expand Space Cooperation, NASA HQ News release 91-122.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Astronaut Coats to Leave NASA, JSC News Release 91-058, July 3, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  6. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, June 28, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  7. NASA Announces Crew Members for Future Shuttle Flights, NASA JSC News, 91-069, August 23, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  8. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo August 14, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Seddon Named Payload Commander for SLS-2, NASA News JSC 91-077, October 23, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Undated FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Payload Crew Named for Spacelab Life Sciences-2 Mission, NASA JSC News 91-088, December 6, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Flight Control of STS-42, NASA News 92-003, January 9, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  13. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, December 19, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Crew Assignments Announced for Future Shuttle Missions, NASA JSC News 92-009, February 21, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Flight Control of STS-45, NASA News 92-10, March 4, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  16. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, February 25, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  17. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, April 29, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Astronaut Buchli to Retire and Leave NASA, NASA JSC News 92-29, May 29, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  19. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, June 3, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Flight Control of STS-50, NASA News 92-034, June 22, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  21. The White House Office of the Press Secretary press release, June 25; Astronaut Sullivan to Become Chief Scientist at NOAA, NASA JSC News 92-046, August 14, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Astronaut Creighton to Retire and Leave NASA, NASA JSC News 92-035, June 25, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Chief Astronaut to Retire from Navy and Leave NASA, JSC News Release 92-038, July 1, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  24. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, July 6, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Hawley to return to Johnson Space Center, NASA News 92-037, June 30, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  26. AIS interview with Steve Hawley, October 23, 2019.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Crew Assignments Announced for STS-58 and STS-61, NASA News Release 92-047, August 27, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  28. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, August 24, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  29. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, September 24, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  30. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, November 9, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Guion Bluford, NASA Oral History, August 2, 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  32. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, December 16, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  33. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, March 18, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  34. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, February 3, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Astronaut Seddon Injured During Training, NASA JSC News 93-032, May 4, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Peterson Announces Shuttle Program Adjustments, NASA HQ News, March 19, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Astronaut Bluford Leaves NASA, NASA JSC News 93-045, June 15, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  38. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, June 24, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Undated FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Undated FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Undated FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Astronauts Thagard and Dunbar to Train for Flight on Mir, NASA JSC News, 94-016, February 3, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Norman Thagard, NASA ISS Phase 1 Oral History Project, September 16, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Russia’s Cosmonauts, Inside the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Rex D. Hall, David J. Shayler and Bert Vis, Springer-Praxis, 2005, pp. 274−292.

    Google Scholar 

  45. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, February 25, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Undated FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Crew Named for First Space Shuttle-Mir Docking Mission, NASA JSC News, 94-039, June 3, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Crew Named for Second Wake Shield Facility Shuttle Flight, NASA News Release JSC, 94-045, July 7, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  49. Shuttle Astronaut Richard Covey to Leave NASA, Air Force, NASA News 94-044, July 6, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  50. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, August 31, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Undated FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo.

    Google Scholar 

  52. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, October 28, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  53. Astronauts Blaha and Lucid to Train for Flight on Mir, NASA JSC News 94-073, November 3, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Shannon Lucid, NASA ISS Phase 1 Oral History Project, June 17, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Space Shuttle Crew Selected for Tethered Satellite Mission, NASA News JSC 95-006, January 27, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  56. Undated Astronaut Office Mission Support Assignments memo.

    Google Scholar 

  57. Nagel Moves from Astronaut Office to SR&QA, NASA News, 95-01, March 3, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  58. Undated Astronaut Office Mission Support Assignments memo.

    Google Scholar 

  59. Lucid Prime for Second Mir Stay, Linenger Selected for Third, NASA JSC News, 95-024, March 30, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  60. Crews Selected for Third, Fourth Shuttle-Mir Docking Missions,NASA HQ News 95-50, April 14, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  61. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, June 13, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  62. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, dated August 23, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  63. Acknowledgement to Ken Havekotte of Space Coast Cover Service, Merrit Island, Florida, for the background to the “Dogs of War” and Dog II” stories.

    Google Scholar 

  64. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, September 11, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  65. Astronaut Thagard Leaves NASA; Returns to Alma Mater, NASA HQ News 96-4, January 16, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  66. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, December 4, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  67. NASA and RSA Agree to Extend Shuttle-Mir Activities, NASA HQ News, 96-18, January 30, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  68. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, February 6, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  69. NASA Assigns Hawley to Second Hubble Servicing Mission, NASA HQ News 96-41, February 29, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  70. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, February 26, 1996; FCOD Mission Support Assignments March 7, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  71. Astronauts Walker, Harris [Bernard Harris, Class of 1990] to Leave NASA Astronaut Corps, NASA HQ News, 96-070, April 12, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  72. NASA Selects Astronaut Class of 1996, NASA HQ News 96-84, May 1, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  73. International Candidates Join 1996 Astronaut Class, NASA HQ News 96-162, August 12, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  74. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, April 18, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  75. Seddon to Support Life Science Investigations at Vanderbilt, NASA HQ News 96-185, September 10, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  76. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, June 27, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  77. Shannon Lucid Space Ambassador, Carmen Bredeson, Gateway Biographies, The Millbrook Press, Brookfield, Connecticut, 1998, p. 28.

    Google Scholar 

  78. Reference 77, p. 37.

    Google Scholar 

  79. Veteran Shuttle Commander Retires, NASA News 96-229, November 6, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  80. STS-80 Astronaut Office Mission Support Assignments, October 2, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  81. FCOD STS-80 Mission Support Assignments, October 25, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  82. Email from Hoot Gibson to David J. Shayler, January 2020

    Google Scholar 

  83. Anna Fisher, NASA Oral History May 3, 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  84. Jeff Hoffman Retires from Astronaut Corps, NASA News 97-151, July 9, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  85. FCOD Mission Support Assignments memo, September 15, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  86. Collins Named First Female Shuttle Commander, NASA News HQ H98-37, March 5, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  87. NASA Astronaut Dr. Shannon Lucid Selected as Chief Scientist, NASA News HQ H02-27, February 12, 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  88. Legendary Astronaut Shannon Lucid Retires from NASA, NASA News 12-038, January 31, 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  89. Legendary Astronaut Retires from NASA, NASA JSC Release J17-005, April 28, 2017.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astronautical Historian, Astro Info Service Ltd, Halesowen, West Midlands, UK

    David J. Shayler

  2. Spaceflight Historian, Bangor, New South Wales, Australia

    Colin Burgess

Authors
  1. David J. Shayler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Colin Burgess
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Shayler, D.J., Burgess, C. (2020). The Final Countdowns. In: NASA's First Space Shuttle Astronaut Selection. Springer Praxis Books(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45742-6_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation