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-DSTS-33
Discovery - Pilot: Was a classified
United States Department of Defense missionSTS-43
Atlantis - Commander: Deployed TDRS-ESTS-58
Columbia - Commander:
Spacelab: SLS-2STS-79
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 4: Launched for long duration flight aboard MirMir EO-22: Board Engineer 2STS-81
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 4: Landed from long duration flight aboard
MirCharles F. Bolden, Jr. (born 1946), U.S. Marine Corps (4 flights) - Current NASA AdministratorSTS-61-C
Columbia - Pilot: Deployed Ku-1 communications satelliteSTS-31
Discovery - Pilot: Deployed the Hubble Space TelescopeSTS-45
Atlantis - Commander: ATLAS-1STS-60
Discovery - Commander: Spacehab 2
Roy D. Bridges, Jr. (born 1943), U.S. Air Force (1 flight)STS-51-F Challenger - Pilot:
Spacelab 2Guy S. Gardner (born 1948), U.S. Air Force (2 flights)STS-27 Atlantis - Pilot: Was a classified
United States Department of Defense missionSTS-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 missionSTS-30
Atlantis - Pilot: Deployed the Magellan probeSTS-42
Discovery - Commander: Spacelab: IML-1STS-57
Endeavour - Commander: Spacehab
Bryan D. O'Connor (born 1946), U.S. Marine Corps (2 flights) - Current NASA Chief of Safety and Mission AssuranceSTS-61-B Atlantis - Pilot: Deployed 3 communication satellitesSTS-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 missionSTS-41
Discovery - Commander: Deployed the Ulysses (spacecraft)
STS-50 Columbia - Commander: Spacelab: U.S. Microgravity Laboratory 1STS-64
Discovery - Commander: Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE)
Michael J. Smith (1945-1986), U.S. Navy (1 flight) - Died During the Challenger DisasterSTS-51-L Challenger - Pilot: Planned to Deploy
TDRS-BJames P. Bagian (born 1952), U.S. Air Force (2 flights)STS-29 Discovery - Mission Specialist 1: Deployed TDRS-DSTS-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 satelliteSTS-34
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 1: Deployed the Galileo probeSTS-46
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: Deployed ESA’s
European Retrievable Carrier and flew the Tethered Satellite System’s TSS-1 missionSTS-60
Discovery - Mission Specialist 3: Spacehab 2STS-75
Columbia - Mission Specialist 4/Payload Commander: The Tethered Satellite System’s TSS-1R missionSTS-91
Discovery - Mission Specialist 2: Final Shuttle/
Mir missionSTS-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 satellitesSTS-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 D1STS-32
Columbia - Mission Specialist 1: Deployed the SYNCOM IV-F5 satellite; retrieved the Long Duration Exposure FacilitySTS-50
Columbia - Mission Specialist 1: Spacelab: U.S. Microgravity Laboratory 1STS-71
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 3: First Shuttle/Mir dockingSTS-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 missionSTS-26
Discovery - Mission Specialist 3: Was the "Return-to-Flight" shuttle mission following the
Challenger disaster; deployed TDRS-CSTS-36
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: Was a classified United States Department of Defense missionSTS-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 OfficeSTS-41-G
Challenger - Mission Specialist 3: Deployed the Earth Radiation Budget SatelliteSTS-28
Columbia - Mission Specialist 2: Was a classified United States Department of Defense missionSTS-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 satellitesSTS-26
Discovery - Mission Specialist 1: Was the "Return-to-Flight" shuttle mission following the
Challenger disaster; deployed TDRS-CSTS-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 OfficeSTS-61-B
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: Deployed 3 communication satellitesSTS-27
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: Was a classified United States Department of Defense missionSTS-37
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 1: Launched the Compton Gamma Ray ObservatorySTS-55
Columbia - Mission Specialist 1: Spacelab: D2STS-74
Atlantis - Mission Specialist 2: Second Shuttle/Mir dockingSTS-88
Endeavour - Mission Specialist 1: First shuttle mission to the
International Space Station; delivered Unity (Node 1) and the first two Pressurized Mating AdaptersSTS-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-DSTS-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 missionSTS-61
Endeavour - Mission Specialist 3:
Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 1STS-75
Columbia - Mission Specialist 3: The Tethered Satellite System’s TSS-1R missionSTS-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
