History[]
- Main article: Astronaut ranks and positions
Payload Sps, but had to be approved by NASA and undergo rigorous training. In contrast, a Space Shuttle Mission Specialist was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate first and then assigned to a mission.
Payload Specialists on earlyific satellite. On Spacelab and other missions with science components, payload specialists were scientists with expertise in specific experiments. The term also applied to representatives from partner nations who were given the opportunity of a first flight on board of the Space Shuttle (such as Saudi Arabia and Mexico), and to Congressmen and the Teacher in Space program.
Other positions on board Space Shuttle were Mission Commander, Pilot, and Mission Specialist. Unlike other Shuttle crew, international or scientific Payload Specialists were generally assigned a back-up who trained alongside the primary Payload Specialist and would replace him/her in the event of illness or other disability.
Payload Specialists were flown from 1983 (STS-9) to 2003 (STS-107). The last flown payload specialist was the first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon on board STS-107, who was killed in the Columbia disaster with the rest of the crew.
List of all Payload Specialists[]
Pre-Challenger[]
| Payload Specialist | Mission | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ulf Merbold | STS-9 | first payload specialists, Ulf Merbold was the first international (German) payload specialist |
| Byron K. Lichtenberg | ||
| Charles D. Walker | STS-41-D | first non government-affiliated payload specialist |
| Marc Garneau | STS-41-G | Garneau was the first Canadian in space, Scully-Power the first Australian |
| Paul Scully-Power | ||
| Gary Payton | STS-51-C | first military payload specialist |
| Charles D. Walker | STS-51-D | |
| Jake Garn | then-U.S. Senator, first legislative branch payload specialist | |
| Lodewijk van den Berg | STS-51-B | |
| Taylor Wang | ||
| Patrick Baudry | STS-51-G | two international payload specialists |
| Sultan bin Salman Al Saud | ||
| Loren Acton | STS-51-F | |
| John-David F. Bartoe | ||
| William A. Pailes | STS-51-J | |
| Reinhard Furrer | STS-61-A | three international payload specialists, most payload specialists on a single flight |
| Ernst Messerschmid | ||
| Wubbo Ockels | ||
| Rodolfo Neri Vela | STS-61-B | first Mexican in space |
| Charles D. Walker | Walker's third and final spaceflight | |
| Robert J. Cenker | STS-61-C | |
| Bill Nelson | then-U.S. Representative | |
| Gregory Jarvis | STS-51-L | killed in the Challenger disaster |
| Christa McAuliffe |
From Challenger to Columbia[]
| Payload Specialist | Mission | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Samuel T. Durrance | STS-35 | first post-Challenger payload specialists |
| Ronald A. Parise | ||
| F. Drew Gaffney | STS-40 | |
| Millie Hughes-Fulford | ||
| Thomas J. Hennen | STS-44 | |
| Roberta Bondar | STS-42 | |
| Ulf Merbold | ||
| Byron K. Lichtenberg | STS-45 | |
| Dirk Frimout | first Belgian in space | |
| Lawrence J. DeLucas | STS-50 | |
| Eugene H. Trinh | ||
| Franco Malerba | STS-46 | first Italian in space |
| Mamoru Mohri | STS-47 | first Japanese astronaut on board Space Shuttle |
| Steve MacLean | STS-52 | |
| Ulrich Walter | STS-55 | |
| Hans Schlegel | ||
| Martin J. Fettman | STS-58 | |
| Chiaki Mukai | STS-65 | |
| Samuel T. Durrance | STS-67 | |
| Ronald A. Parise | ||
| Frederick W. Leslie | STS-73 | |
| Albert Sacco | ||
| Umberto Guidoni | STS-75 | |
| Jean-Jacques Favier | STS-78 | |
| Robert Thirsk | ||
| Roger K. Crouch | STS-83 | |
| Gregory T. Linteris | ||
| Roger K. Crouch | STS-94 | mission reflight |
| Gregory T. Linteris | ||
| Bjarni Tryggvason | STS-85 | |
| Leonid Kadeniuk | STS-87 | Ukrainian payload specialist |
| Jay C. Buckey | STS-90 | final Spacelab mission |
| James A. Pawelczyk | ||
| Chiaki Mukai | STS-95 | |
| John Glenn | final American payload specialist | |
| Ilan Ramon | STS-107 | first Israeli in space, final payload specialist, killed in Columbia disaster |
Alternate and back-up (not flown) Payload Specialists[]
This section needs to be completed
Wubbo Ockels, Michael Lampton
Robert W. Phillips
Robert Thirsk
George W. Simon, Diane K. Prinz
Ulf Merbold
Joseph M. Prahl, Albert Sacco
Jean-Jacques Favier
David H. Matthiesen, R. Glynn Holt
Pedro Duque, Luca Urbani
Paul Ronney
Paul Ronney
Alexander W. Dunlap, Chiaki Mukai
Other statistics[]
Multiple flights[]
| Flights | Payload specialist |
| 3 | Charles Walker |
| 2 | Ulf Merbold, Byron K. Lichtenberg, Samuel T. Durrance, Ronald A. Parise, Chiaki Mukai, Roger Crouch, Greg Linteris |
| # of payload specialists flights | Country |
| 36 |  United States
|
| 6 | File:Flag of Germany.png Germany |
| 5 |  Canada
|
| 3 |  Japan
|
| 2 |  France
|
| 2 |  Italy
|
| 1 |  Saudi Arabia
|
| 1 |  The Netherlands
|
| 1 |  Mexico
|
| 1 |  Belgium
|
| 1 |  Ukraine
|
| 1 |  Israel
|
| Total | 60 Payload Specialist flight opportunities |
Payload Specialists who trained later as Mission Specialists[]
All were international astronauts.
- Marc Garneau - flew on STS-77, STS-97
- Mamoru Mohri - flew on STS-99
- Steven MacLean - flew on STS-115
- Hans Schlegel - flew on STS-122
- Umberto Guidoni - flew on STS-100
- Robert Thirsk - flew on Soyuz TMA-15
- Bjarni Tryggvason - retired in June 2008 without flying again
External links[]
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