NASA Astronaut Group 9 was announced on May 29, 1980, and completed their training by 1981. This group, composed of 19 candidates, was selected to supplement the 35 astronauts that had been selected in 1978, and marked the first time that non-Americans were trained as mission specialists with the selections of ESA astronauts Claude Nicollier and Wubbo Ockels. In keeping with the previous group, astronaut candidates were divided into pilots and mission specialists, with eight pilots, eleven mission specialists, and two international mission specialists within the group.
As with the previous group, several spaceflight firsts were achieved, including:
First Costa-Rican astronaut: Franklin Chang-Diaz (January 12, 1986, STS-61-C)
First Dutch citizen in space: Wubbo Ockels (October 30, 1985, STS-61-A)
First Swiss astronaut: Claude Nicollier (July 31, 1992, STS-46)
First African-American Marine in space: Charles Bolden (January 12, 1986, STS-61-C)
First person to be launched into space more than six times: Jerry Ross (April 8, 2002, STS-110)
First astronaut spouse selected as an astronaut: William Fisher (August 27, 1985, STS-51-I; married to Anna Fisher, Group 8 astronaut)
In addition, Chang-Diaz and Ross share the world record for the most spaceflights, with seven each. Bolden also became the second astronaut to serve as NASA Administrator, appointed in 2009.
John E. Blaha (born 1942), U.S. Air Force (5 flights)
STS-29
Discovery - Pilot: Deployed TDRS-D
STS-33
Discovery - Pilot: Was a classified United States Department of Defense mission
STS-43
Atlantis - Commander: Deployed TDRS-E
STS-58
Columbia - Commander: Spacelab: SLS-2
STS-79
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 4: Launched for long duration flight aboard Mir
Mir EO-22: Board Engineer 2
STS-81
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 4: Landed from long duration flight aboard Mir
Charles F. Bolden, Jr. (born 1946), U.S. Marine Corps (4 flights) - Current NASA Administrator
STS-61-C
Columbia - Pilot: Deployed Ku-1 communications satellite
STS-31
Discovery - Pilot: Deployed the Hubble Space Telescope
STS-45
Atlantis - Commander: ATLAS-1
STS-60
Discovery - Commander: Spacehab 2
Roy D. Bridges, Jr. (born 1943), U.S. Air Force (1 flight)
STS-51-F
Challenger - Pilot: Spacelab 2
Guy S. Gardner (born 1948), U.S. Air Force (2 flights)
STS-27
Atlantis - Pilot: Was a classified United States Department of Defense mission
STS-35
Columbia - Pilot: ASTRO-1
Ronald J. Grabe (born 1945), U.S. Air Force (4 flights)
STS-51-J
Atlantis - Pilot: Was a classified United States Department of Defense mission
STS-30
Atlantis - Pilot: Deployed the Magellan probe
STS-42
Discovery - Commander: Spacelab: IML-1
STS-57
Endeavour - Commander: Spacehab
Bryan D. O'Connor (born 1946), U.S. Marine Corps (2 flights) - Current NASA Chief of Safety and Mission Assurance
STS-61-B
Atlantis - Pilot: Deployed 3 communication satellites
STS-40
Columbia - Commander: Spacelab: SLS-1
Richard N. Richards (born 1946), U.S. Navy (4 flights)
STS-28
Columbia - Pilot: Was a classified United States Department of Defense mission
STS-41
Discovery - Commander: Deployed the Ulysses (spacecraft)
STS-50
Columbia - Commander: Spacelab: U.S. Microgravity Laboratory 1
STS-64
Discovery - Commander: Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE)
Michael J. Smith (1945-1986), U.S. Navy (1 flight) - Died During the Challenger Disaster
STS-51-L
Challenger - Pilot: Planned to Deploy TDRS-B
James P. Bagian (born 1952), U.S. Air Force (2 flights)
STS-29
Discovery - Mission Specialist 1: Deployed TDRS-D
STS-40
Columbia - Mission Specialist 1: Spacelab: SLS-1
Franklin Chang-Diaz (born 1950), Physicist (7 flights)
STS-61-C
Columbia - Mission Specialist 1: Deployed Ku-1 communications satellite
STS-34
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 1: Deployed the Galileo probe
STS-46
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: Deployed ESA’s European Retrievable Carrier and flew the Tethered Satellite System’s TSS-1 mission
STS-60
Discovery - Mission Specialist 3: Spacehab 2
STS-75
Columbia - Mission Specialist 4/Payload Commander: The Tethered Satellite System’s TSS-1R mission
STS-91
Discovery - Mission Specialist 2: Final Shuttle/Mir mission
STS-111
Endeavour - Mission Specialist 1: Installed the Mobile Base System for Canadarm2 on the ISS
Mary L. Cleave (born 1947), Engineer (2 flights)
STS-61-B
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 1: Deployed 3 communication satellites
STS-30
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: Deployed the Magellan probe
Bonnie J. Dunbar (born 1949), Scientist (5 flights)
STS-61-A
Challenger - Mission Specialist 1: Spacelab D1
STS-32
Columbia - Mission Specialist 1: Deployed the SYNCOM IV-F5 satellite; retrieved the Long Duration Exposure Facility
STS-50
Columbia - Mission Specialist 1: Spacelab: U.S. Microgravity Laboratory 1
STS-71
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 3: First Shuttle/Mir docking
STS-89
Endeavour - Mission Specialist 3: Eighth Shuttle/Mir docking
William Frederick Fisher (born 1946), Physician (1 flight)
STS-51-I
Discovery - Mission Specialist 3: Deployed three communications satellites
David C. Hilmers (born 1950), Engineer (4 flights)
STS-51-J
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 1: Was a classified United States Department of Defense mission
STS-26
Discovery - Mission Specialist 3: Was the "Return-to-Flight" shuttle mission following the
Challenger disaster; deployed TDRS-C
STS-36
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: Was a classified United States Department of Defense mission
STS-42
Discovery - Mission Specialist 2: Spacelab: IML-1
David Leestma (born 1949), U.S. Navy (3 flights) - Currently NASA Manager of JSC's Advanced Planning Office
STS-41-G
Challenger - Mission Specialist 3: Deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite
STS-28
Columbia - Mission Specialist 2: Was a classified United States Department of Defense mission
STS-45
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: ATLAS-1
John M. Lounge (1946-2011), U.S. Navy (3 flights)
STS-51-I
Discovery - Mission Specialist 2: Deployed three communications satellites
STS-26
Discovery - Mission Specialist 1: Was the "Return-to-Flight" shuttle mission following the
Challenger disaster; deployed TDRS-C
STS-35
Columbia - Mission Specialist 2: ASTRO-1
Jerry L. Ross (born 1948), U.S. Air Force (7 flights) - Currently NASA Chief of JSC's Vehicle Integration Test Office
STS-61-B
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: Deployed 3 communication satellites
STS-27
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: Was a classified United States Department of Defense mission
STS-37
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 1: Launched the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
STS-55
Columbia - Mission Specialist 1: Spacelab: D2
STS-74
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: Second Shuttle/Mir docking
STS-88
Endeavour - Mission Specialist 1: First shuttle mission to the International Space Station; delivered Unity (Node 1) and the first two Pressurized Mating Adapters
STS-110
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 1: Delivered the S0 Truss and the Mobile Transporter for Canadarm2
Sherwood C. Spring (born 1944), U.S. Army (1 flight)
STS-61-B
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 3: Deployed 3 communication satellites
Robert C. Springer (born 1942), U.S. Marine Corps (2 flights)
STS-29
Discovery - Mission Specialist 3: Deployed TDRS-D
STS-38
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 1: Was a classified United States Department of Defense mission
Claude Nicollier (born 1944), Swiss Air Force (4 flights)
STS-46
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 3: Deployed ESA’s European Retrievable Carrier and flew the Tethered Satellite System’s TSS-1 mission
STS-61
Endeavour - Mission Specialist 3: Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 1
STS-75
Columbia - Mission Specialist 3: The Tethered Satellite System’s TSS-1R mission
STS-103
Discovery - Mission Specialist 5: Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 3A
Wubbo Ockels (1946-2014), Physicist (1 flight)
STS-61-A
Challenger - Payload Specialist 3: Spacelab: D1
