Autographs in the Mail
by Jürgen P Esders, International Director, Space Unit

New NASA-assignments:
· Residence crews for the International Space Station were nominated by
NASA: Six belong to the flight crew, eight further flyers are backups. Russian
crew members - selected by the Russian side - will be added at a later
date.

Expedition	Flight Crew	Reserves
Expedition 5	Peggy Whitson	Scott J. Kelly
Expedition 6	Kenneth Bowersox, Donald Thomas Noriega	Pettit,
Expedition 7	Edward T. Lu	Paul W. Richards
Expedition 8	Michael Foale, William McArthur	Leroy Chiao, John Phillips

· Commander, pilot and bord engineer for STS-109. The fourth repair mission
to the Hubble space telescope will take place in November 2001 and use
orbiter Columbia.The complete crew thus looks as follows: Scott Altman
(Cmdr.), Duane Carey (Plt), Nancy Currie (Flight Eng), John M. Grunsfeld,
James H. Newman, Richard M. Linnehan, Michael J. Massimino (MS).
· STS-110-crew: Seven astronauts will be onboard Atlantis for this ISS
mission in early 2002: Michael Bloomfield (Cmdr.), Stephen Frick (Plt.),
Jerry L. Ross, Steven Smith, Ellen Ochoa, Lee M. E. Morin, Rex Walheim
(MS).
· Soichi Noguchi, Japanese astronaut candidate, has been promised a flight
on STS-113 on Endeavour in July 2002. No other crew members were assigned
yet.
· No new astronaut class in 2002: NASA will not recruit any astronaut
candidaes in 2002. Due to the budget cuts by incoming President George W.
Bush, no new in-take was required. Applicants received a postcard with the
bad news.

They entered the final orbit:
· David M. Walker, a shuttle veteran with four missions on his log
(STS-51A, STS-30, STS-53 and STS-69, died on April 23rd, 2001. Walker was
suffering from cancer. Walker was 56 years old and was selected as an
astronaut in 1978 with the first shuttle selection.
· Boris Raushenbakh, Soviet rocket rocket pioneer and close collaborator to
Sergei Korolyov since the end of WW II, has died on March 27, 2001.
Raushenbakh was 86 years old.

Seven Russian cosmonauts received a flight assignment to the International
Space Station, German aerospace monthly Fliegerrevue reports: Dimitri
Kondratyev, Maxim Surayev, Sergei Moshchenko, Oleg Kotov, Alexander Kaleri
and Sergei Salyotin. Salyotin will be commanding the 3rd taxi mission to
ISS; the assignments for the others, however, are yet to be specified.

Ruslan Rukhmanovich Mukhamedrakhimov is the name of the third Kazak
cosmonaut candidates after pioneers Tokhtar Aubakirov (Soyuz TM12) and
Talgat Musabayev. The State Medical Commission gave the green light for the
air force pilot who will fly to the International Space Station.
Mukhamedrakhimov will not be the only Kazak to begin cosmonaut training: a
group of eight rookies from the Central Asian republic will soon be
expected in Star City, Germany's aerospace monthly Fliegerrevue reports.
The tickets to ISS are part of a bartering agreement between Russia and
Kazakstan in return for the lease of the Baikonur Cosmodrome compound.
Baikonur is ruled by Russian authorities, but belongs to Kazakstan.

Unflown astronaut candidates on the move:
· Carolyn S. Griner, a Payload Specialist Candidate for Spacelab 3) is now
a Vice President/General Manager, Spacehab Inc., 600 Boulevard South,
Huntsville, AL 35815, USA;
· Capitaine de frégate Benoît Silve, an unflown French pilot/astronaut
candidate 1990), is now: Chef du groupement opérations, Frégate Aconit,
F-83800 Toulon Naval, France. Silve autographs items sent to him; a
self-addressed return envelope using French stamps is required.
· Jan Dietrich, finalist with the female astronaut selection of 1960, is no
longer able to respond to fan mail. Dietrich suffers from memory loss and
lost her eyesight, a custodian told a collector.
· Alan E. Johnston, a non-flight Alternate Payload Specialist on STS-83 and
94), autographs items sent to him: Payload Training, George C. Marshall
Space Flight Center, Bldg. 4610, Rm. 3018, FD35, Huntsville, AL 35815, USA.
· Mrs. Pratiwi Sudarmono, M. D., Ph. D., a Payload Candidate for Indonesian
Pala-pa prior to the challenger accident: Executive Manager, Dept. Of
Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Departemen
Pendidikan Dan Kebudayaan, Universitas Indonesia Kedokteran, Bagian
Biologi, Salemba 6, -Jakarta, Indonesia.
· Taufik Akbar, her backup: Director, Human Resources (Direktur, Sumber
Daya Manusia (SDM)), Perusahaan Perseroan PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk.,
Jalan Japati 1, Bandung 40133, Indonesia


Former US-military astronauts:
The current assignments of a number of unflown military shuttle astronaut candidates of the MSE program were
discovered on USAF websites.
· Larry D. James, Col., (unflown military MSE Astronaut), Commander, 50th
Space Wing, Schriever AFB, CO 80912-3024.
· Col. (Ret.) Frank J. Casserino, Commander, 310th Space Group, Schriever
Air Force Base, CO 80912-3024, USA.
· Col. Michael W. Booen, (backup for Pailes on STS 51J) Program Director,
Space Based Infrared Systems, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles
AFB, CA 90245-4659, USA.
· Col. Randy T. Odle, (Backup Payload Specialist, STS-62 A/cancelled),
System Program Director, DMSP Program Office, HQ Missile and Space Center,
Los Angeles AFB, CA 90245-4659, USA.
Their current signing policy is unknown.

Franz Woidich, a pilot on the Nazi's Me-163 rocket plane, responds from:
Auf der Plantage 69, 55120 Mainz-Hombach, Germany.

Dr. Byron K. Lichtenberg can no longer be reached at the Gun Barrel City
address noted in my list.

Prof. Dr. James C. D. A. Van Hoften is currently assigned to a mission in
Scotland:: Head, Bechtel Project Team, New Scottish Air Traffic Control
Centre (NSC), Prestwick, Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. Mail to
Bechtel headquarters in San Francisco (Senior Vice President, Bechtel
Corporation, 333/14/C72, P.O. Box 193 965, San Francisco, CA 94119-3965,
USA) is forwarded.

New policies from old political payloads:
· John H. Glenn, pioneering astronaut on Mercury 3 and geriatric sample on
STS-95, has returned to his "one autograph per request and lifetime"
policy. His office keeps records about autographs granted, an assistant to
Glenn told a requestor in a xeroxed message. The former Senator, who
lectures at Ohio State University, had relaxed his policy prior and after
his 2nd spaceflight.
· The Hon. Clarence William "Bill" Nelson, a Payload specialist on STS-61
C, has the following address as a Senator: a) United States Senate,
Washington, D.C. 20510, USA. Tel. (202) 224-5274; b) U.S. Courthouse
Annex, 111 N. Adams Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301, USA. Tel. (850)
942-8415.
· Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge, Jr., political payload on the first military
shuttle launch from Vandenberg AFB, has been assigned Under Secretary of
Defence for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics in the US Defense
Department by incoming President George W. Bush. STS-62B and all other
flights from Vandenberg were cancelled after the Challenger accident.

Eugene Cernan, last man on the Moon, has a new mailing address: P.O. Box
19809, Houston, TX 77224-4809, USA. His autographing policy - (autographs
photos, but no covers, wants $ 50 for "With a purpose", $100 for items
already signed by others and inscriptions/personalisations) remains
unchanged.

Lt. Col. John M. "Mike" Lounge, is now a Senior Vice President for Space
Engineering Services at Spacehab Inc. 555 Forge River Rd., Suite 130,
Webster, TX 77589, USA. Lounge autographs covers and photo sent to him and
sends out signed photos.

Dr. Capt. Marc Garneau, first Canadian astronaut with three flights on his
log, has retired from active astronaut status. Since February, he serves as
Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Space Agency: Canadian Space
Agency, 6767, route de l'Aéroport, Saint-Hubert, Québec, J3Y 8Y9, Canada.
Garneau flew on STS-41G, 78 and 97 and generally autographs covers and
photos.