NASA Astronaut Group 17 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Penguins |
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The astronauts of Group 17
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| Year selected | 1998 |
| Number selected | 32 |
NASA Astronaut Group 17, nicknamed "The Penguins," was a team of 32 astronauts chosen by NASA in 1998. They were announced on June 4, 1998, and began their training in August of that year. This group included eight pilots, 17 mission specialists, and seven international mission specialists. These brave men and women trained to fly into space and work on important missions, often involving the International Space Station.
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Meet the Astronauts: NASA's Group 17
This group of astronauts included different types of space explorers. Some were pilots, who flew the Space Shuttles. Others were mission specialists, who managed experiments, performed spacewalks, and helped with the spacecraft's systems. There were also international mission specialists, who came from other countries to join NASA's team.
Pilots
These astronauts were skilled at flying the Space Shuttle. They were in charge of launching, landing, and maneuvering the spacecraft.
- Lee Archambault (2 flights)
- Christopher Ferguson (3 flights)
- Kenneth Ham (2 flights)
- Gregory C. Johnson (1 flight)
- He flew as a pilot on STS-125.
- Gregory H. Johnson (2 flights)
- He was a pilot for STS-123 and STS-134, both on Endeavour.
- William Oefelein (1 flight)
- Alan Poindexter (2 flights)
- George Zamka (2 flights)
Mission Specialists
Mission specialists are experts in various fields, from science to engineering. They perform experiments, conduct spacewalks, and manage the spacecraft's systems during missions.
- Clayton Anderson (2 flights)
- Tracy Caldwell (2 flights)
- She flew on STS-118 (Endeavour).
- She was a flight engineer for Expedition 23 and Expedition 24 after launching on Soyuz TMA-18.
- Gregory Chamitoff (2 flights)
- Timothy Creamer (1 flight)
- He was a flight engineer for Expedition 22 and Expedition 23 after launching on Soyuz TMA-17.
- Michael Foreman (2 flights)
- Michael Fossum (3 flights)
- Stanley G. Love (1 flight)
- Leland Melvin (2 flights)
- Barbara Morgan (1 flight)
- John Olivas (2 flights)
- Nicholas Patrick (2 flights)
- Garrett Reisman (2 flights)
- He launched to the ISS on STS-123 (Endeavour).
- He was a flight engineer for Expedition 16 and Expedition 17.
- He landed from the ISS on STS-124 (Discovery) and flew on STS-132 (Atlantis).
- Patricia Robertson
- Steven Swanson (3 flights)
- Douglas H. Wheelock (2 flights)
- He flew as a mission specialist on STS-120 (Discovery).
- He was a flight engineer for Expedition 24 and commander for Expedition 25 after launching on Soyuz TMA-19.
- Sunita Williams (2 flights)
- She launched to the ISS on STS-116 (Discovery).
- She was a flight engineer for Expedition 14 and Expedition 15.
- She landed from the ISS on STS-117 (Atlantis).
- She was a flight engineer for Expedition 32 and commander for Expedition 33 after launching on Soyuz TMA-05M.
- She is also assigned to a future flight, Starliner-1.
- Neil Woodward
International Mission Specialists
These astronauts came from space agencies in other countries but trained with NASA and flew on missions with them.
- Léopold Eyharts, France (2 flights)
- Paolo Nespoli, Italy (3 flights)
- He flew on STS-120 (Discovery) for an ISS mission.
- He was part of Expedition 26 and Expedition 27 on the ISS after launching on Soyuz TMA-20.
- Marcos Pontes, Brazil (1 flight)
- He was the first Brazilian in space.
- He launched on Soyuz TMA-8 and landed on Soyuz TMA-7, spending 9 days on the Expedition 13 crew of the International Space Station.
- Hans Schlegel, Germany (2 flights)
- Robert Thirsk, Canada (2 flights)
- Bjarni Tryggvason, Canada (1 flight)
- Roberto Vittori (Italy) (3 flights)
- He flew to space on Soyuz TM-34 and returned on Soyuz TM-33.
- He launched on Soyuz TMA-6 and returned on Soyuz TMA-5, spending 10 days as part of Expedition 11.
- He also flew as a mission specialist on STS-134 (Endeavour).
