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Astronaut Birthdays for December


GordonD

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December 1

 

Robert Herres (1932) USA

Selected 1967 (MOL Group 3)

Trained for Manned Orbiting Laboratory but programme cancelled

Retired June 1969

Died 24 July 2008

 

 


Alexander Alexandrov (1951) Bulgaria

Selected 1978

Soyuz TM-5/Mir Taxi Flight 1, 7 - 17 June 1988 (9d 20h 9m) - Landed aboard Soyuz TM-4

Retired June 1988

 

 


Konstantin Kozeyev (1967) Russia

Selected 1996

Soyuz TM-33/ISS Taxi Flight 2, 21 - 31 October 2001 (9d 19h 59m) - Landed aboard Soyuz TM-32

Retired November 2007

 

 


Terry Virts (1967) USA

Selected 2000 (NASA Group 18)

STS-130, 8 - 22 February 2010 (13d 18h 6m) - Delivered Tranquility/Cupola Module to the ISS

Soyuz TMA-15M/ISS Expeditions 42/43, 23 November 2014 - 11 June 2015 (199d 16h 42m)

Total flight time 213d 19h 48m

Retired August 2016

 

 


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December 3

 

Viktor Gorbatko (1934) USSR

Selected 1960

Soyuz 7, 12 - 17 October 1969 (4d 22h 40m) - 'Troika' flight with Soyuz 6 and Soyuz 8. Docking with Soyuz 8 cancelled

Soyuz 24/Salyut 5 Expedition 2, 7 - 25 February 1977 (17d 17h 25m)

Soyuz 37/Salyut 6 Taxi Flight 4 , 23 - 31 July 1980 (7d 20h 42m) - Landed aboard Soyuz 36

Total flight time 30d 12h 47m

Retired August 1982

Died 17 May 2017

 

 


Terry Higbee (1949) USA

Selected 1979 (MSE Group 1)

Trained as Manned Spaceflight Engineer for a Shuttle mission but programme cancelled

Retired March 1985; no flights

 

 


Steven Swanson (1960) USA

Selected 1998 (NASA Group 17)

STS-117, 8 - 22 June 2007 (13d 20h 11m) - Delivered S3/S4 Truss to the ISS; partial crew exchange (Anderson up, Williams down)

STS-119, 15 - 28 March 2009 (12d 19h 29m) - Delivered S6 Truss and Solar Array 4 to the ISS; partial crew exchange (Wakata up; Magnus down)

Soyuz TMA-12M/ISS Expeditions 39/40, 25 March - 11 September 2014 (169d 5h 5m)

Total flight time 195d 20h 45m

Retired August 2015

 

 

 

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December 4

 

Roberta Bondar (1945) Canada

Selected 1983 (Canada Group 1)

STS-42, 22 - 30 January 1992 (8d 1h 14m) - Carried International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-1)

Retired January 1992

 

 


Ronald Sega (1952) USA

Selected 1990 (NASA Group 13)

STS-60, 3 - 11 February 1994 (8d 7h 9m) - Deployed and retrieved the Wake Shield Facility. First Shuttle flight with a Russian cosmonaut (Krikalev)

STS-76, 22 - 31 March 1996 (9d 5h 16m) - Third Shuttle-Mir docking; Lucid remained aboard with current expedition

Total flight time 17d 12h 25m

Retired July 1996

 

 

 

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December 5

 

Zhugderdemidyin Gurragcha (1947) Mongolia

Selected 1978 (Interkosmos Group 2)

Soyuz 39/Salyut 6 Visiting Flight 6. 22 - 30 March 1981 (7d 20h 42m)

Retired March 1981

 

(This man gets my vote for the best name of any space traveller!)

 

 


Bruce Melnick (1949) USA

Selected 1987 (NASA Group 12)

STS-41, 6 - 10 October 1990 (4d 2h 10m) - Deployed the Ulysses Solar Polar probe

STS-49, 7 - 16 May 1992 (8d 21h 17m) - Maiden flight of Endeavour. Retrieved, repaired and redeployed Intelsat-VI F3 (only three-man EVA in history)

Total flight time 12d 23h 27m

Retired July 1992

 

 


Norishige Kanai (1976) Japan

Selected 2009

Soyuz MS-07/ISS Expeditions 54/55, 17 December 2017 - 3 June 2018 (168d 5h 18m)

Still on active flight status

 

 

 

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I did post this yesterday but the site appeared to go down when I sent it. Fortunately it was still in the editor panel so I didn't have to type it again!

 

December 7

 

Matthew Dominick (1981) USA

Selected 2017 (NASA Group 22)

Still in astronaut training; no flights yet

 

 


Robb Kulin (1983) USA

Selected 2017 (NASA Group 22)

Resigned for personal reasons August 2018; no flights

 

I remember noticing the first time an astronaut flew who was born after the Apollo 11 lunar landing.

Now we have people training to be astronauts who were born after the first Space Shuttle mission...  :gobsmacked:

 

 

 

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December 8

 

John McKay (1922) USA

Selected 1960 (X-15 Group 1)

Flew the X-15 on 29 occasions; crashed on his final one in November 1962 after which he retired

Died 27 April 1975 as a result of complications arising from the accident

 

 

 

Vladimir Shatalov (1927) USSR

Selected 1963

Soyuz 4, 14 - 17 January 1969 (2d 23h 20m) - First docking of two manned spacecraft: two cosmonauts launched on Soyuz 5 transferred and landed with him

Soyuz 8, 13 - 18 October 1969 (4d 22h 50m) - 'Troika' flight; was supposed to film the docking of Soyuz 6 and 7 but this was cancelled

Soyuz 10, 22 - 24 April 1971 (1d 23h 45m) - First docking with a space station (Salyut 1) but unable to get an airtight seal and crew unable to go aboard

Total flight time 9d 21h 55m

Retired 25 June 1971

 

There is no record of Shatalov's death: if this is the case then he is the oldest living person to have flown in space

 

 

 

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December 9

 

Alvin White (1918) USA

Selected 1958 (MISS)

Part of the short-lived Man In Space Soonest project which was cancelled when NASA was created and chose its own astronauts

Pilot of the XB-70 Valkyrie when it collided with F-104 chase plane; only survivor of the accident

Died 29 April 2006

 

 

 

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December 11

 

Robert Smith (1928) USA

Selected 1962 (Military astronaut)

Retiral date unknown; no flights

Died 19 August 2010

 

 


Francisco Rubio (1976) USA

Selected 2017 (NASA Group 22)

Still in astronaut training; no flights yet

 

 

 

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December 12

 

Abdulmohsen Al-Bassam (1948) Saudi Arabia

Selected 1985

Backup for STS-51G

Retired June 1985; no flights

 

 


Steven Hawley (1951) USA

Selected 1978 (NASA Group 8 )

STS-41D, 30 August - 5 September 1984 (6d 0h 56m) - Maiden flight of Discovery. Deployed three comsats and tested a solar array

STS-61C, 12 - 18 January 1986 (6d 2h 3m) - Deployed Satcom K-1, also carried Materials Science Laboratory (MSL-2). Last flight before Challenger accident

STS-31, 24 - 29 April 1990 (5d 1h 16m) - Deployed the Hubble Space Telescope

STS-82, 11 - 21 February 1997 (9d 23h 37m) - Second Hubble Servicing Mission; replaced various instruments and boosted the telescope into a slightly higher orbit

STS-93, 23 - 28 July 1999 (4d 22h 49m) - Deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory

Total flight time 32d 2h 41m

Retired February 2008

 

 


Scott Vangen (1959) USA

Selected 1993

Backup for STS-67 ASTRO-2

Retired March 1995; no flights

 

 


Kenneth Ham (1964) USA

Selected 1998 (NASA Group 17)

STS-124, 31 May - 14 June 2008 (13d 18h 13m) - Delivered Japanese Kibo Module to the ISS; partial crew exchange (Chamitoff up; Reisman down)

STS-132, 14 - 26 May 2010 (11d 18h 28m) - Delivered Russian Rassvet Module to the ISS

Total flight time 25d 12h 41m

Retired May 2012

 

 


Chen Dong (1978) China

Selected 2010 (China Group 2)

Shenzhou XI/Tiangong-2 Expedition 1, 16 October - 18 November 2016 (32d 6h 29m)

Still on active flight status

 

 

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December 14

 

Robert Parker (1936) USA

Selected 1967 (NASA Group 6)

STS-9, 28 November - 8 December 1983 (10d 7h 47m) - Carried Spacelab 1

STS-35, 2 - 10 December 1990 (8d 23h 5m) - Carried ASTRO-1 observatory

Total flight time 19d 6h 52m

Retired 1993

 

 


Steven MacLean (1954) Canada

Selected 1983 (Canada Group 1)

STS-52, 22 October - 1 November 1992 (9d 20h 56m) - Deployed LAGEOS II laser ranging satellite; also carried US Microgravity Payload (USMP-1) pallet

STS-115, 9 - 21 September 2006 (11d 19h 6m) - Delivered P3/P4 Truss and a set of solar arrays to the ISS

Total flight time 21d 16h 2m

Retired September 2008

 

 


Hans Schlegel (1954) Germany

Selected 1987

STS-55, 26 April - 6 May 1993 (9d 23h 40m) - Carried German-financed Spacelab D-2

STS-122, 7 - 20 February 2008 (12d 18h 21m) - Delivered the European Columbus Module to the ISS; partial crew exchange (Eyharts up; Tani down)

Still on active status; flight time to date 22d 18h 1m

 

 


Catherine Coleman (1960) USA

Selected 1992 (NASA Group 14)

STS-73, 20 October - 5 November 1995 (15d 21h 52m) - Carried US Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2)

STS-93, 23 - 28 July 1999 (4d 22h 49m) - Deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory

Soyuz TMA-20/ISS Expeditions 26/27, 15 December 2010 - 24 May 2011 (159d 7h 17m)

Total flight time 180d 3h 58m

Retired July 2015

 

 

 

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December 18

 

Boris Volynov (1934) USSR

Selected 1960

Soyuz 5, 15 - 18 January 1969 (3d 0h 54m) - Docked with Soyuz 4: first docking of two manned spacecraft.  

Soyuz 21/Salyut 5 Expedition 1, 6 July - 24 August 1976 (49d 6h 23m)

Total flight time 52d 7h 17m

Retired May 1990

 

Soyuz 5 was launched with a crew of three; after docking two cosmonauts performed an EVA transfer (there was no internal 'tunnel') to Soyuz 4 and landed in that spacecraft. Volynov remained aboard Soyuz 5 and landed alone.

 

 


Andrew Thomas (1951) USA

Selected 1992 (NASA Group 14)

STS-77, 19 - 29 May 1996 (10d 0h 39m) - Deployed and retrieved SPARTAN 207 experiment pallet carrying an inflatable 14-metre antenna

STS-89/Mir Expeditions 24/25, 23 January - 12 June 1998 (140d 15h 12m) - Landed aboard STS-91

STS-102, 8 - 21 March 2001 (12d 19h 49m) - First flight of the reusable Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module with supplies and equipment for the ISS

STS-114, 26 July - 9 August 2005 (13d 21h 32m) - First post-Columbia flight. Delivered supplies and equipment to the ISS

Total flight time 177d 9h 12m

Retired December 2010

 

 


Reinhold Ewald (1956) Germany

Selected 1990

Soyuz TM-25/EuroMir 97, 10 February - 2 March 1997 (19d 16h 34m) - Landed aboard Soyuz TM-24 with Mir Expedition 22 crew

Date of retirement from flight status not known; retired from ESA September 2018

 

 

 

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December 19

 

Lawrence Young (1935) USA

Selected 1991

Backup for STS-58 (Spacelab Life Sciences mission) but not selected

Retired November 1993; no flights

 

 


Fred Leslie (1951) USA

Selected 1994

STS-73, 20 October - 5 November 1995 (15d 21h 52m) - United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2)

Retired November 1995

 

 


Michael Fossum (1957) USA

Selected 1998 (NASA Group 17)

STS-121, 4 - 17 July 2006 (12d 18h 36m) - Delivered supplies to the ISS; Reiter remained aboard to restore crew manifest to three (reduced while Shuttle grounded)

STS-124, 31 May - 14 June 2008 (13d 18h 13m) - Delivered Japanese Kibo Module to the ISS; partial crew exchange (Chamitoff up; Reisman down)

Soyuz TMA-02M/ISS Expeditions 28/29, 7 June - 22 November 2011 (167d 6h 12m)

Total flight time 193d 19h 1m

Retired January 2017

 

 

 

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December 22

 

John Finley (1935) USA

Selected 1965 (MOL Group 1)

Trained for the Manned Orbiting Laboratory but programme cancelled

Retired April 1968; no flights

Died 19 September 2006

 

 


Yuri Malenchenko (1961) USSR

Selected 1987

Soyuz TM-19/Mir Expedition 16, 1 July - 4 November 1994 (125d 22h 53m)

STS-106, 8 - 20 September 2000 (11d 19h 10m) - Delivered supplies and equipment to the vacant ISS

Soyuz TMA-2/ISS Expedition 7, 26 April - 28 October 2004 (184d 22h 46m)

Soyuz TMA-11/ISS Expedition 16, 10 October 2007 - 19 April 2008 (191d 19h 7m)

Took leave of absence from cosmonaut group July 2009 - February 2010

Soyuz TMA-05M/ISS Expeditions 32/33, 15 July - 19 November 2012 (126d 23h 13m)

Soyuz TMA-19M/ISS Expeditions 46/47, 15 December 2015 - 18 June 2016 (185d 22h 11m)

Total flight time 827d 9h 20m

Retired September 2016

 

In second place (behind Padalka) for cumulative time in space

 

 


Takuya Onishi (1975) Japan

Selected 2009

Soyuz MS-01/ISS Expeditions 48/49, 7 July - 30 October 2016 (115d 2h 21m)

Still on active flight status

 

 

 

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December 23

 

Henry Gordon (1925) USA

Selected 1962 (X-20 Group)

Trained to fly the X-20 Dyna-Soar but programme cancelled

Retired December 1963

Died 24 September 1996

 

 


Karol Bobko (1937) USA

Selected 1966 (MOL Group 2) - Transferred to NASA 1969 (Group 7)

STS-6, 4 - 9 April 1083 (5d 0h 23m) - Deployed TDRS-A comsat. Maiden flight of Challenger

STS-51D, 12 - 19 April 1985 (6d 23h 56m) - Deployed two comsats but one failed to power up and had to be repaired on a later flight

STS-51J, 3 - 7 October 1985 (4d 1h 44m) - Classified DoD mission; deployed two military comsats

Total flight time 16d 2h 3m

Retired January 1989

 

 


Nail Sattarov (1941) USSR

Selected 1979

Took basic cosmonaut training but discharged November 1980 for disciplinary reasons; no flights

Died 15 April 2014

 

 

 

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December 24

 

Michael Hamel (1950) USA

Selected 1979 (MSE Group 1)

Trained for Manned Spaceflight Engineer but programme cancelled

Retired May 1985; no flights

 

 


Oleg Skripochka (1969) Russia

Selected 1997

Soyuz TMA-01M/ISS Expeditions 25/26, 7 October 2010 - 16 March 2011 (159d 8h 43m)

Soyuz TMA-20M/ISS Expeditions 47/48, 18 March - 7 September 2016 (172d 3h 47m)

Still on active status; total flight time to date 331d 12h 30m

 

 

 

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A Merry Christmas to all my readers!

 

December 25

 

Ravish Malhotra (1943) India

Selected 1982

Backup for Soyuz T-11

Retired April 1984; no flights

 

 

 

Michael Anderson (1959) USA

Selected 1994 (NASA Group 15)

STS-89, 23 - 21 January 1998 (8d 19h 47m)

STS-107, 16 January - 1 February 2003 (15d 22h 20m to loss of signal) - Carried US Microgravity Laboratory

Killed when Orbiter Columbia broke up over Texas during re-entry

Total flight time 24d 18h 7m

 

 

 

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