CHARLES J.
PRECOURT (Colonel, USAF)EDUCATION - Graduated from Hudson High School, Hudson, Massachusetts, in 1973; received a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 1977, a master of science degree in engineering management from Golden Gate University in 1988, and a master of arts degree in national security affairs and strategic studies from the United States Naval War College in 1990. While at the United States Air Force Academy, Precourt also attended the French Air Force Academy in 1976 as part of an exchange program.
ORGANIZATIONS - Member of the Association of Space Explorers, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), the Soaring Society of America, and the Experimental Aircraft Association.
SPECIAL HONORS - Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal (2), and the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal (2). Precourt is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and the United States Naval War College. In 1978 he was the Air Training Command Trophy Winner as the outstanding graduate of his pilot training class. In 1989 he was recipient of the David B. Barnes Award as the Outstanding Instructor Pilot at the United States Air ForceTest Pilot School.
EXPERIENCE - Precourt graduated from Undergraduate Pilot Training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, in 1978. Initially he flew as an instructor pilot in the T-37, and later as a maintenance test pilot in the T-37 and T-38 aircraft. From 1982 through 1984, he flew an operational tour in the F-15 Eagle at Bitburg Air Base in Germany. In 1985 he attended the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Upon graduation, Precourt was assigned as a test pilot at Edwards, where he flew the F-15E, F-4, A-7, and A-37 aircraft until mid 1989, when he began studies at the United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Upon graduation from the War College, Precourt joined the astronaut program. His flight experience includes over 5,500 hours in over 50 types of civil and military aircraft. He holds commercial pilot, multi-engine instrument, glider and certified flight instructor ratings.
NASA EXPERIENCE - Selected by NASA in January 1990, Precourt became an astronaut in July 1991. His technical assignments to date have included: Manager of ascent, entry, and launch abort issues for the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch; spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM), providing the voice link from the Mission Control Center during launch and entry for several Space Shuttle missions; Director of Operations for NASA at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, from October 1995 to April 1996, with responsibility for the coordination and implementation of mission operations activities in the Moscow region for the joint U.S./Russian Shuttle/Mir program. A veteran of two space flights, STS-55 in 1993 and STS-71 in 1995, Precourt has logged over 475 hours in space.
Precourt flew his first space mission as a mission specialist aboard Columbia on STS-55, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on April 26, 1993. Nearly 90 experiments were conducted during this German-sponsored Spacelab D-2 mission to investigate life sciences, materials sciences, physics, robotics, astronomy and the Earth and its atmosphere. STS-55 also flew the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) making contact with students in 14 schools around the world. After 160 orbits of the earth in 240 flight hours, the 10-day mission concluded with a landing on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on May 6, 1993.
Most recently, (June 27 to July 7, 1995), Precourt was the pilot on the seven-member crew (up) and eight-member crew (down) of Space Shuttle mission STS-71. This was the first Space Shuttle mission to dock with the Russian Space Station Mir, and involved an exchange of crews. The Atlantis Space Shuttle was modified to carry a docking system compatible with the Russian Mir Space Station. It also carried a Spacelab module in the payload bay in which the crew performed various life sciences experiments and data collections. Mission duration was 235 hours, 23 minutes.
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT - Precourt will command STS-84, NASA's sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Launch is scheduled for May 1997.
EILEEN MARIE COLLINS
(Lieutenant Colonel, USAF)
STS-84 Pilot
PERSONAL DATA - Born November 19, 1956, in Elmira, New York. Married to Pat Youngs,
originally from San Antonio, Texas. They have one child. She enjoys running, golf, hiking,
camping, reading, photography, astronomy. Her parents, James and Rose Marie Collins,
reside in Elmira, New York. His parents, Pat and Jackie Youngs, reside in San Antonio.
EDUCATION - Graduated from Elmira Free Academy, Elmira, New York, in 1974; received an associate in science degree in mathematics/science from Corning Community College in 1976; a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and economics from Syracuse University in 1978; a master of science degree in operations research from Stanford University in 1986; and a master of arts degree in space systems management from Webster University in 1989.
ORGANIZATIONS - Member of the Air Force Association, Order of Daedalians, Women Military Aviators, U.S. Space Foundation, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Ninety-Nines.
SPECIAL HONORS - Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service in Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury, October 1983), and the NASA Space Flight Medal.
EXPERIENCE - Collins graduated in 1979 from Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, where she was a T-38 instructor pilot until 1982. From 1983 to 1985, she was a C-141 aircraft commander and instructor pilot at Travis AFB, California. She spent the following year as a student with the Air Force Institute of Technology. From 1986 to 1989, she was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, where she was an assistant professor in mathematics and a T-41 instructor pilot. She was selected for the astronaut program while attending the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California, from which she graduated in 1990.
She has logged over 4,700 hours in 30 different types of aircraft.
Selected by NASA in January 1990, Collins became an astronaut in July 1991. Initially assigned to Orbiter engineering support, she also served on the astronaut support team responsible for Orbiter prelaunch checkout, final launch configuration, crew ingress/egress, and landing/recovery. From April 1995 to October 1996, she worked in Mission Control as a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM). Currently, she is training for STS-84, the sixth Space Shuttle docking mission with the Russian Space Station Mir. Launch is scheduled for May 1997.
In February 1995, Collins served as pilot on STS-63, the first flight of the new joint Russian-American Space Program. Mission highlights included the rendezvous with the Russian Space Station, Mir, operation of Spacehab, the deployment and retrieval of an astronomy satellite, and a spacewalk. Collins' first mission was accomplished in 129 orbits, traveling over 2.9 million miles in 198 hours, 29 minutes. She was the first woman pilot of a Space Shuttle
JEAN-FRANÇOIS CLERVOY
STS-84 Mission Specialist
PERSONAL DATA - Born November 19, 1958, in Longeville-les-Metz, France, but
considers Toulouse, France, to be his hometown. Married to the former Laurence Boulanger.
They have two children. He enjoys racquet sports, skill games, canyoning, skiing, and
flying activities such as boomerang, frisbee, kites. His father, Jean Clervoy (French Air
Force, Ret.), and his mother, Mireille Clervoy, reside in Franconville, France. Her
parents, Robert and Juliette Boulanger, reside in Le Perreux-sur-Marne, France.
EDUCATION - Received his baccalauréat from Collège Militaire de Saint Cyr l' Ecole in 1976; passed Math. Sup. and Math. Spe. M' at Prytanée Militaire, La Flèche in 1978. Graduated from Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, in 1981; graduated from Ecole Nationale Superiéure de l' Aéronautique et de l' Espace, Toulouse, in 1983; graduated as a Flight Test Engineer from Ecole du Personnel Navigant d' Essais et de Réception, Istres, in 1987.
ORGANIZATIONS - Member, Association of Space Explorers. Honorary member of the French Aeronautics and Astronautics Association.
SPECIAL HONORS - NASA Space Flight Medal. Chevalier de l' Ordre National du Mérite. Chevalier de l' Ordre National de la Légion d' Honneur. Komarov Diploma.
EXPERIENCE - Clervoy was seconded from the Délégation Générale pour L' Armement (DGA) to CNES (French Space Agency) in 1983, where he worked on automatics and attitude control systems for several satellite projects. He was selected in the second group of French astronauts in 1985. Subsequently he participated in an intensive Russian language course.
After graduating as a flight test engineer in 1987, he spent the next five years part-time at the Flight Test Center, Brétigny-sur-Orge, as Chief Test Director of the Parabolic Flight Program, responsible for testing and qualifying the Caravelle aircraft for microgravity, and part-time at the Hermes Crew Office, Toulouse, where he supported the European Manned Space Programs in the fields of extravehicular activity, rendezvous and docking, robotic arm, and man machine interface. In 1991, he trained in Star City, Moscow, on the Soyuz and Mir systems. In 1992, he was selected to join the astronaut corps of the European Space Agency (ESA). He holds military and civilian parachuting licenses, military and civilian diving licenses, and private pilot license. From 1983 to 1987, Clervoy was also a lecturer in signal processing and general mechanics at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l' Espace, Toulouse. Jean-François holds a commission as Ingénieur en Chef de l' Armement in the DGA.
NASA EXPERIENCE - Clervoy reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1992. Following one year of training he qualified as a mission specialist for Space Shuttle flights. Clervoy was initially assigned to work robotics issues for the Astronaut Office Mission Development Branch.
After his first space mission he was assigned as flight software verification lead in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) for the Astronaut Office Mission Support Branch, and was responsible for designing the robotics displays for the Space Station Branch.
Clervoy served as a mission specialist aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-66 Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-3 mission (November 3-14, 1994). ATLAS-3 was part of an ongoing program to determine the Earth's energy balance and atmospheric change over an 11-year solar cycle. Clervoy used the robotic arm to deploy the CRISTA-SPAS atmospheric research satellite 20 hours after lift-off. Clervoy logged 262 hours and 34 minutes in space and 175 orbits of the Earth.
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT - Clervoy will serve as a Payload Commander on STS-84, NASA's sixth scheduled Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Launch is scheduled for May 1997.
CARLOS I. NORIEGA (Major,
USMC)
STS-84 Mission Specialist
PERSONAL DATA - Born October 8, 1959, in Lima, Peru. Considers Santa Clara,
California, to be his hometown. Married to the former Wendy L. Thatcher. They have five
children. He enjoys flying, running, snow skiing, racquetball, and chasing after his small
children. His parents, Rodolfo and Nora Noriega, reside in Gilbert, Arizona. Her parents,
John and Elizabeth Thatcher, reside in Honolulu, Hawaii.
EDUCATION - Graduated from Wilcox High School, Santa Clara, California, in 1977. Bachelor of science degree in computer science from University of Southern California, 1981. Master of science degree in computer science from the Naval Postgraduate School, 1990. Master of science degree in space systems operations from the Naval Postgraduate School, 1990.
ORGANIZATIONS - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
SPECIAL HONORS - Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device, Air Medal (Strike Flight Award), Navy Achievement Medal.
EXPERIENCE - Noriega was a member of the Navy ROTC unit and received his commission in the United States Marine Corps at the University of Southern California in 1981. Following graduation from flight school, he flew CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters with HMM-165 from 1983 to 1985 at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Noriega made two 6-month shipboard deployments in the West Pacific/Indian Ocean including operations in support of the Multi-National Peacekeeping Force in Beirut, Lebanon. He completed his tour in Hawaii as the Base Operations Officer for Marine Air Base Squadron 24. In 1986 he was transferred to MCAS Tustin, California, where he served as the aviation safety officer and instructor pilot with HMT-301. In 1988, Noriega was selected to attend the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he earned two master of science degrees. Upon graduation in September 1990, he was assigned to United States Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In addition to serving as a Space Surveillance Center Commander, he was responsible for the acquisition of several software development projects and was ultimately the command representative for the development and integration of the major space and missile warning computer system upgrades for Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base. At the time of his selection, he was serving on the staff of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Okinawa, Japan.
He has logged approximately 2,000 flight hours in various fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft.
NASA EXPERIENCE - Selected by NASA in December 1994, Noriega reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995, has completed a year of training and evaluation, and is currently qualified for assignment as a mission specialist. He was initially assigned to work technical issues for the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotics Branch while awaiting his first flight assignment.
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT - Noriega will serve as a mission specialist on STS-84, NASA's sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Launch is scheduled for May 1997.
EDWARD TSANG LU (Ph.D.)
STS-84 Mission Specialist
PERSONAL DATA - Born July 1, 1963, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Considers
Honolulu, Hawaii, and Webster, New York, to be his hometowns. Unmarried. He enjoys
aerobatic flying, coaching wrestling, piano, tennis, surfing, skiing, travel. His parents,
Charlie and Snowlily Lu, reside in Fremont, California.
EDUCATION - Graduated from R.L. Thomas High School, Webster, New York, in 1980. Bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University, 1984. Doctorate in applied physics from Stanford University, 1989.
ORGANIZATIONS - American Astronomical Society, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
SPECIAL HONORS - Cornell University Presidential Scholar, Hughes Aircraft Company Masters Fellow.
EXPERIENCE - Since obtaining his Ph.D., Dr. Lu has been a research physicist working in the fields of solar physics and astrophysics. He was a visiting scientist at the High Altitude Observatory in Boulder, Colorado, from 1989 until 1992, the final year holding a joint appointment with the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics at the University of Colorado. From 1992 until 1995, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Astronomy in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dr. Lu has developed a number of new theoretical advances which have provided for the first time a basic understanding of the underlying physics of solar flares. He has published articles on a wide range of topics including solar flares, cosmology, solar oscillations, statistical mechanics, and plasma physics. He has given over 20 invited lectures at various universities and international conferences. He holds a commercial pilot certificate with instrument and multi-engine ratings.
NASA EXPERIENCE - Selected by NASA in December 1994, Dr. Lu reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995, has completed a year of training and evaluation, and is qualified for assignment as a mission specialist. He was initially assigned to work technical issues in the Computer Support Branch of the Astronaut Office.
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT - Dr. Lu will serve as a mission specialist on STS-84, NASA's sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Launch is scheduled for May 1997.
ELENA V. KONDAKOVA
RSA Cosmonaut
STS-84 Mission Specialist
PERSONAL DATA - Born March 30, 1957, in Mitischi, Moscow Region. Married to Ryumin
Valerii V., born 1939 in Komsomolskna-Amure, Kharbarovsk Region, Russia. They have one
child. Kondakova enjoys the theater, river fishing, reading, traveling. Her parents,
Kondakov Vladimir A. and Kondakova (Morozova) Klavdiya S. reside in Kaliningrad, Moscow
Region. His parents, Ryumin Viktor N. and Ryumina (Podporina) Alexandra F., are deceased.
EDUCATION - Graduated from Moscow Bauman High Technical College in 1980.
SPECIAL HONORS - Hero of Russia.
EXPERIENCE - Upon graduation, in 1980, Kondakova started to work in RSC-Energia completing science projects, experiments and research work. Then in 1989 she was selected as a cosmonaut candidate by RSC-Energia Main Design Bureau and sent to Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center to start the course of general space training. After finishing the course in March, 1990, Kondakova was qualified as "test cosmonaut". From January through June of 1994, she was under training for the 17th main mission and "Euromir-94" flight as a flight engineer of the prime crew. October 4, 1994 through March 9, 1995, she fulfilled her first flight onboard the spacecraft "Soyuz TM-17" and the orbital complex "Mir" as a flight engineer of the 17th main mission. She has spent 169 days in space, including 5 days with NASA Astronaut Norman Thagard. The program included a month long joint flight with German Astronaut Ulf Merbold. Kondakova was the scientist assigned to the OsteoMars experiment. She completed the protocols in record time with excellence.
NASA EXPERIENCE - Elena Kondakova will serve as a mission specialist on STS-84, NASA's sixth scheduled Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Launch is scheduled for May 1997.
C. MICHAEL FOALE (Ph.D.)
STS-84 Mission Specialist
PERSONAL DATA - Born January 6, 1957, in Louth, England, but considers Cambridge,
England, to be his hometown. Married to the former Rhonda R. Butler of Louisville,
Kentucky. They have two children. He enjoys many outdoor activities, particularly wind
surfing. Private flying, soaring, and project scuba diving have been his other major
sporting interests. He also enjoys exploring theoretical physics and writing children's
software on a personal computer. His parents, Colin and Mary Foale, reside in Cambridge,
England. Her parents, Reed & Dorothy Butler, reside in Louisville, Kentucky.
EDUCATION - Graduated from Kings School, Canterbury, in 1975. He attended the University of Cambridge, Queens' College, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in Physics, National Sciences Tripos, with 1st class honors, in 1978.