Jennifer McCarter

Headquarters, Washington, DC August 4, 1998

(Phone: 202/358-1639)

Eileen Hawley/Doug Peterson

Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

RELEASE: 98-143

CREWS NAMED TO SUPPORT 1999 SHUTTLE FLIGHTS

Thirteen astronauts have been named to support upcoming

Shuttle missions, STS-96, -97 and -98, slated for launch next year
and dedicated to continuing the on-orbit construction of the
International Space Station.

Three-time Shuttle astronaut Kent V. Rominger (Cmdr., USN)

will lead the crew of STS-96, a logistics and resupply mission for
the International Space Station targeting a mid-May 1999 launch.
Rick D. Husband (Lt. Col., USAF) will join Rominger on the flight
deck of Discovery as pilot. Mission Specialists for the planned
10-day flight are Ellen Ochoa, Ph.D.; Tamara E. Jernigan, Ph.D.;
Daniel T. Barry, M.D., Ph.D.; Canadian Space Agency astronaut
Julie Payette; and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko (Col.,
Russian Air Force).

STS-96 will follow the launch of the Zarya control module on

a Russian vehicle in November 1998; the STS-88 mission in December
1998, delivering the American-built Unity module and two docking
adapters; and the arrival of the Russian Service Module in April
1999. The STS-96 crew will be the first crew to visit the station
following the arrival of the Service Module. During STS-96,
Discovery will carry a variety of logistical and resupply items to
ready the International Space Station for the arrival of the first
resident crew in July 1999. The Shuttle will spend seven days
docked to the uninhabited station, and Jernigan and Barry will
conduct at least one spacewalk for assembly work.

Brent W. Jett Jr. (Cmdr., USN) will command the crew of

Endeavour for STS-97 in August 1999, continuing construction of
the International Space Station. He will be joined on board by
pilot Michael J. Bloomfield (Major, USAF) and mission specialist
Marc Garneau of the Canadian Space Agency. Astronauts Joseph R.
Tanner and Carlos I. Noriega (Major, USMC) were named to the
mission in June 1997, and will conduct two planned space walks.

The fourth American mission to build and enhance the

capabilities of the International Space Station, STS-97 will
deliver the first set of U.S.-provided solar arrays and batteries
as well as radiators to provide cooling. The Shuttle will spend
five days docked to the station, which at that time will be
staffed by the first station crew. Two spacewalks will be
conducted to complete assembly operations while the arrays are
attached and unfurled. A communications system for voice and
telemetry also will be installed.

In October 1999, Discovery will continue expansion of the

International Space Station when astronaut Kenneth D. Cockrell
commands STS-98. Cockrell will be joined by pilot Mark L.
Polansky, a member of the 1996 astronaut class and mission
specialist Marsha Ivins. Astronauts Mark C. Lee (Col., USAF) and
Thomas D. Jones, Ph.D., previously named to the mission, are in
training to support three planned space walks.

STS-98 will mark the arrival of the U.S. laboratory module,

which will become the centerpiece of scientific research on the
station. The Shuttle will spend six days docked to the station
while the laboratory is attached and three spacewalks are
conducted to complete its assembly. The laboratory will be
launched with five equipment racks aboard, which will provide
essential functions for station systems, including high data-rate
communications and maintaining the station's orientation using
control gyroscopes launched earlier. Additional equipment and
research racks will be installed in the laboratory on subsequent
Shuttle flights. This mission also will occur while the first
station crew is aboard the new spacecraft.

Of the astronauts assigned to these flights, all but three

have previous space flight experience. Cockrell has commanded a
Shuttle mission previously. While they will be making their first
flights as commanders, both Rominger and Jett have experience as
Shuttle pilots in their earlier assignments. Mission specialists
Jernigan, Ivins and Lee all have four previous missions to their
credit; Jones has three; Ochoa, Garneau and Tanner have flown
twice previously; and Barry, Bloomfield and Noriega have flown
onboard the Shuttle once. Making their first flights will be
Husband, Payette and Polansky.

For additional information on these astronauts, or any

astronaut, see the NASA Internet biography home page at URL:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/

For additional information on the International Space

Station, visit the space station home page at URL:
http://station.nasa.gov

-end-