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The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis (L-R) Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Commander Scott Altman, Michael Good, and Andrew Feustel depart with other crew members for launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida - Source: Reuters -
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The US space shuttle Atlantis lifted off on Monday for an 11-day
mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, where the seven-member crew
planned to install and repair instruments, replace gyroscopes and
refurbish other systems.
Here are brief profiles of the astronauts:
- Shuttle Commander Scott Altman - A 49-year-old retired US Navy
captain from Pekin, Illinois, who is married with three children.
Flew F-14A Tomcat jets in deployments to the western Pacific and
Indian Ocean and served as strike leader in southern Iraq. Veteran
of three spaceflights including 2002 servicing mission to Hubble
Space Telescope. Nickname Scooter.
- Pilot Gregory C Johnson - A 54-year-old retired US Navy captain
from Seattle, Washington, who is married with five children. Has
logged over 9,000 hours in 50 aircraft with over 500 carrier
landings. Served as aerospace engineer and research pilot with
NASA, now making his first spaceflight. Nickname Ray Jay.
- Mission specialist, spacewalker Michael Good - A 46-year-old US
Air Force colonel from Broadview Heights, Ohio, who is married with
three children. Holds masters degree in aerospace engineering.
Served as test flight engineer for Cruise missile program, test
pilot for B-2 Stealth bomber. Making his first spaceflight.
Nickname Bueno.
- Mission specialist, robot-arm operator Megan McArthur - A
37-year-old oceanographer born in Honolulu, Hawaii, who recently
married astronaut Robert Behnken. Holds degrees in aerospace
engineering, Ph.D in oceanography. Led diving research missions at
Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Making her first
spaceflight.
- Mission specialist, spacewalker John Grunsfeld - A 50-year-old
astronomer and physicist from Chicago who is married with two
children. Joined NASA in 1992 and has made four previous
spaceflights, including the last two missions to service Hubble
observatory. Plans to use the telescope for a study to analyse a
crater on the moon in ultraviolet light.
-Mission specialist, spacewalker Michael Massimino - A 46-year-old
engineer from Franklin Square, New York, who is married with two
children. Holds Ph D in mechanical engineering from MIT, where he
researched space robotics systems and was awarded two patents. Flew
with Altman and Grunsfeld on the last servicing call to Hubble in
2002. Making his second spaceflight.
- Mission specialist, spacewalker Andrew Feustel - A 43-year-old
geologist from Lake Orion, Michigan, who is married with two
children. Holds Ph.D in geological sciences from Purdue University.
Joined NASA in 2000 after working as a seismologist for ExxonMobil.
Making his first spaceflight.
