Next US space shuttle crew to include Japanese woman

Next US space shuttle crew to include Japanese woman - NASA chief

WASHINGTON (AFP) Apr 26, 2003
The crew of the next US space shuttle to take off when the program resumes following the February 1 disaster that killed seven astronauts will include a Japanese woman and be commanded by an American woman, NASA chief Sean O'Keefe said Friday.

The date of the next mission has not yet been set, pending the results of an inquiry into the reasons the shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entering the atmosphere minutes before its scheduled landing in Florida, and implementation of corrective measures.

The crew of the next shuttle mission, called STS-114, will include pilot Eileen Collins, co-pilot James Kelly and mission specialists Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguchi of the Japanese Space Agency NASDA, NASA said.

The crew will be accompanied by three passengers headed for the orbiting International Space Station (ISS), replacing American Edward Lu and Russian Yuri Malenchenko, due to be placed aboard the ISS by a Russian Soyuz rocket to be launched on Saturday.

NASA has said it is shooting for launch of the next shuttle early next year.

Commander Collins has already flown three shuttle missions, one as commander.

The next shuttle flight will be the first for Noguchi, who will be the second Japanese astronaut to visit the ISS.

SPACE.WIRE