Dr. Edward G. Gibson, Vice President, Management Services, Aviation
Management Systems, Inc. (AMS), 3737 East Bonanza Way, Phoenix, AZ 85034,
USA. Dr. Gibson autographs photos and covers sent to him and sends out
signed & inscribed photos.
David C. Hilmers: the "Baylor College of Medicine" address mentioned in my
list is no longer valid. The other address still is.
Dr. John Harrison Konrad, (backup for Jarvis on STS-51 L), Hughes Space and
Communications Company, Bldg. SC/S41/A310, P.O. Box 92919, Airport Station,
Los Angeles, Calif. 90009, U.S.A. (New internal address). Konrad signs
items sent to him and sends out a signed photo.
Viktor Vasilyevich Zabolotsky, test pilot of the Russian "Buran" shuttle,
does keep covers and photos sent to him. He responds with a general letter
about his career and an inkjet photo print instead.
Mae C. Jemison: the Houston address mentioned in my list is no longer
valid.
General de Brigadas. Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez, Pilota Cosmonauta Investigador,
Jefe, Departamento Relaciones Internacionales, Ministerio de las Fuerzas
Armadas Revolucionarias (MINFAR), Calle 49 # 2818, e/41 y 43, Reparto
Kohly, La Habana, Cuba.
Marine Corps LtCol. Andrew M. Allen, Associate Program Manager, Shuttle
Upgrades, United Space Alliance, 1150 Gemini Avenue, Houston, TX
77058-2708, USA.
Dr. Charles D. Walker, Senior Manager, Space Programs Business Development,
The Boeing Company, Dept. Information/Communication, 1200 Wilson Blvd.,
M/C RS-00, Arlington, VA 22209 USA; Dr. Walker autographs items sent to
him.
Bill Nelson, political payload on STS-61 C and currently Insurance
Commissioner in Florida, is a candidate for Senate in his constituency in
Melbourne, Florida. He will remain in office until election day in January
2001, Nelson told journalists. Nelson was a Member of the House for six
legislative periods.
Martin Schilling, a German-born retired Raytheon Co. executive who helped
develop the world's first large ballistic missile, died April 30 from heart
failure. He was 88. Schilling worked with Wernher von Braun in Peenemünde,
Germany, during World War II to develop the once dreaded 47-foot-long V-2
missile. About 1,000 V-2s were fired in London during the war, and some
4,000 were launched against Allied soldiers. Schilling was recruited in
1940 by the Peenemünde team because he had a Ph. D. in applied physics, and
could be valuable in the development of missiles. He eventually became
technical director of the German Army test organization at Peenemünde. At
the end of the war, von Braun and 126 Peenemünde scientists, including
Schilling, were brought to Fort Bliss in Texas, where they continued to
develop rocketry. The team was then moved to Huntsville, Ala, where they
launched America's first satellite into space in 1958. Later that year,
Schilling joined Raytheon, headquartered in Lexington, one of the world's
largest electronics and missile system contractors.
Veteran astronaut James D. Wetherbee (Capt., USN) will command the eighth
Space Shuttle mission to visit the International Space Station on a flight
in 2001 to rotate space station crews and continue space station assembly.
Joining Wetherbee on the flight deck for STS-102 aboard Discovery will be
Pilot James M. Kelly (Lt. Col., USAF). Rounding out the crew are Mission
Specialists Andy Thomas, Ph.D., Paul Richards, and previously assigned
space station Expedition 2 crew members, Yuri V. Usachev, James S. Voss
(Col., USA, Ret.) and Susan J. Helms (Col., USAF). The major objectives of
the mission are to replace the space station Expedition 1 crew members Bill
Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev with the Expedition 2 crew;
perform two space station assembly spacewalks; and deliver equipment for
the U.S. Destiny Laboratory Module on the first flight of the Italian-built
Leonardo logistics module. STS-102 will be Wetherbee's fifth mission, and
his fourth as commander. Selected as an astronaut in 1984, he flew as pilot
on STS-32 in 1990, and as commander on STS-52 in 1992, STS-63 in 1995, and
STS-86 in 1997. Thomas first flew in space on STS-77 in 1996, and then was
carried to the Mir space station aboard STS-89 in 1998 and returned aboard
STS-91 after 141 days in space.Kelly and Richards, selected as astronauts
in 1996, will be on their first space mission.
Veteran Shuttle astronaut and senior Space Shuttle manager Loren J. Shriver
has departed from NASA/Kennedy Space Center effective March 31, 2000.
Shriver has since been named the deputy program manager of operations for
NASA's prime contractor for the Shuttle program, United Space Alliance in
Houston, TX. Shriver served as the deputy director for launch and payload
processing at KSC, since Aug. 17, 1997. In this capacity, he provided
executive leadership, strategic planning, and direction for Kennedy's
agency-assigned responsibilities as the center of excellence for launch and
payload processing systems which encompasses Space Shuttle processing and
launch; payload processing, including the preparation of International
Space Station elements; payload carriers; and expendable launch vehicles.
Shriver has held key Shuttle management positions at Kennedy for the past
seven years and was previously the Space Shuttle program manager for launch
integration, since May 14, 1993. In this capacity, he was responsible for
final Shuttle preparation, mission execution, and return of the orbiter to
Kennedy following landings at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. From October
1992, he served as deputy chief of the astronaut office at the Johnson
Space Center in Houston. Selected as an astronaut by NASA in January 1978,
he was assigned as pilot for the first Department of Defense Space Shuttle
mission, STS-10, in 1982. That mission was canceled, but he subsequently
flew on three space flights: a Department of Defense mission, STS-51C, in
1985; the Hubble Space Telescope deployment mission, STS-31, in 1990; and
the mission to release the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) satellite,
STS-46, in 1992. Altogether, he logged over 386 hours in space. Col. Loren
J. Shriver, Deputy Program Manager, Operations, United Space Alliance, 1150
Gemini Avenue, Houston, TX 77058-2708, USA;
Dr. Col. (ret.) Guion S. Bluford, jr; Vice President & Gen. Mgr.,
Aerospace Sector, Federal Data Corp. (FDC), 3005 Aerospace Parkway,
Cleveland, OH 44142, USA. (A + B)
Capt. Daniel C. Brandenstein, Vice President, Customer Support,
Consolidated Space Operations Contract (CSOC), Lockheed Martin Space
Operations, 595 Gemini Avenue, Houston, TX 77058, USA; (A + B, SASE
required);
Air Force BGen. Kevin P. Chilton, (STS-76, 49, 59), Commander, 9th
Reconnaissance Wing (9RW/CC), 5950 C Street, Beale Air Force Base, CA
95903-1718, USA.
Col. Richard O. Covey, a) business: VP, Houston Ops., The Boeing Co.,
2100 Space Park Dr., Houston, TX 77058, USA; b) home: 14307 Spring Maple
Lane, Houston, TX 77062-2303, USA, (A + B)
LtCol. (Ret.) Terence T. Henricks, Timken Aerospace, P.O. Box 547, Keene,
NH 03431-0547, USA.
Richard J. Hieb, Orbital Sciences, 21700 Atlantic Blvd., Dulles, VA 20166,
USA.
Dr. Donald L. Holmquest, 109 Marrakech Court, Bellaire, TX 77401, USA.
Prof. Dr. Don L. Lind, 5234 Westfield Court, Lake Oswego, OR 97035-6709,
USA.
Lt. Col. John M. "Mike" Lounge has been promoted to Executive Vice
President for and General Manager of the Houston office of Spacehab Inc. In
his current assignment, Lounge is responsible for concept development and
detailed design for Space Flight Systems, program management of hardware
development and production, and for general management of the Houston
office of Spacehab Inc. Address: Flight Systems Development, Spacehab
Inc., 555 Forge River Rd., Suite 150, Webster, TX 77589, USA.
Col. (Ret.) Bryan D. O'Connor, Head, Engineering Dept., Futron Corp., 400
Virginia Avenue, SW, Suite 304, Washington, D.C. 20024, USA.
Col. (ret.) Richard A. Searfoss, United Space Alliance, 8550 Astronaut
Blvd., Mail Code USK-455, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920-4304, USA.
Col. (Ret.) Robert C. Springer, Boeing North American, Mail Stop ZA01, 555
Discovery Dr., Huntsville, AL 35806, USA.
Yevgeni Vasilyevich Khrunov, Soviet veteran cosmonaut, has died on May 19.
He was 67. No details were available. Khrunov was one of the 20 pilots in
the "Gagarin Group" in 1960 and served as a capcom for the first Man in
space. He later specialized in space walks, and was (with Alexei Yeliseyev)
the first crew to transfer from one spacecraft (Soyuz-5) to another
(Soyuz-4) in space. The two cosmonauts returned to Earth with Soyuz 4 and
its commander Vladimir Shatalov. His single space flight took place Jan.
15-17, 1969. Khrunov never flew again. In the spring of 1969, he was
briefly assigned as a backup commander for the Soyuz 6/7/8 mission, but was
removed for disciplinary reasons, which kept him from future crew
assignments for the next 11 years. He later served as a backup crew
commander for Soyuz-38 (September 1980), the Soviet-Cuban "guest mission".
He left the cosmonaut program that same year.
Buzz Aldrin, 2nd man on the Moon, has raised his prices again. Aldrin
autographs items sent to him for a fee of $125. If you send an item already
signed by at least another cosmonaut, an additional $125 (= a total of
$250) is charged. Prof. Dr. Buzz Aldrin (Col. ret.), 10380 Wilshire Blvd. #
703, Los Angeles, CA 90024-4745,
Karol ``Bo'' Bobko, former veteran astronaut with the MOL and shuttle
programs, has joined the Spacehab's Johnson Engineering organization as
Vice President for Product Development. Bobko will be responsible for all
hardware development at SPACEHAB, serving commercial and government
customers as well as SPACEHAB-funded development projects. Bobko joins
SPACEHAB after more than 11 years as a principal with Booz Allen and
Hamilton, where he managed space system operations in the company's
Houston/Clear Lake office. Bobko started his Air Force career as a fighter
pilot, became a test pilot and was selected an astronaut in the Air Force
Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program. He was detailed to the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as an astronaut in 1970. His
crew assignments included serving as a member of the astronaut support crew
for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, piloting the maiden flight of the Space
Shuttle Challenger in 1983 (STS-6) and serving as commander of Shuttle
missions 51-D and 51-J (1985). SPACEHAB, with its Johnson Engineering and
Astrotech units, is the world's leading provider of commercial payload
processing services for manned and unmanned payloads. SPACEHAB is the first
company to commercially develop, own and operate habitable modules that
provide laboratory facilities and logistics resupply aboard NASA's Space
Shuttles.