File image of shuttle launch. Photo: NASA

A cadre of 20 astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut has been assigned to four Space Shuttle missions targeted for launches in 2001.

Two of the missions, STS-100 and STS-104, will continue the on-orbit construction of the International Space Station (ISS). The third, STS-107, will be dedicated to scientific research for the U.S. and its international partners, while the fourth flight, STS-109, will conduct the fourth scheduled servicing visit to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Kent V. Rominger will lead the STS-100 mission to install the Canadian-built Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and attach the Rafaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module 2 (MPLM 2) to the space station during three scheduled spacewalks. Also named to the crew are Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, Mission Specialist John L. Phillips, and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov. Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Canadian astronaut Chris A. Hadfield, and Italian astronaut Umberto Guidoni of the European Space Agency (ESA) were previously named to the crew.

Rominger, on his fifth trip to space, will serve as commander for a second time. He flew on STS-73 in 1995, STS-80 in 1996, STS-85 in 1997, and STS-96 in 1999. Ashby will be serving as pilot for the second time following his first flight on STS-93 in 1999. Parazynski will be making his fourth flight, having flown on STS-66 in 1994, STS-86 in 1997, and STS-95 in 1998. Hadfield flew previously on STS-74 in 1995, and Guidoni will be returning to space, having flown as a payload specialist on STS-75 in 1996. Phillips, a member of the 1996 astronaut class, will be making his first space flight on STS-100. Cosmonaut Lonchakov also will be making his first flight into space.

The STS-104 mission will feature three spacewalks to continue ISS assembly and will deliver and install the space station's airlock. First-time Commander Steven W. Lindsey and Pilot Charles O. Hobaugh will be joined by mission specialists Janet L. Kavandi, Michael L. Gernhardt, and James F. Reilly.

Lindsey previously flew as pilot on STS-87 in 1997 and STS-95 in 1998. Hobaugh, selected as an astronaut candidate in 1996, will be making his first flight into space. STS-104 will mark Kavandi's third journey into space, after STS-91 in 1998 and STS-99 earlier this year. Gernhardt is a veteran of three previous Space Shuttle missions, having flown on STS-69 in 1995, and STS-83 and STS-94 in 1997, while Reilly has one previous space flight, STS-89 in 1998, to his credit.

Hubble Space Telescope servicing. Photo: NASA

Four mission specialists and one payload specialist have been assigned to the STS-107 mission, undertaking a series of U.S., international and commercial experiments. Michael P. Anderson and Kalpana Chawla will be joined by Mission Specialists David M. Brown and Laurel B. Clark, both members of the astronaut class of 1996 and first-time fliers. Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon will round out the crew. Anderson and Chawla both have one previous space flight to their credit, STS-89 in 1998 and STS-87 in 1997, respectively. A commander and pilot will be named at a later date.

Four astronauts will begin training for five scheduled spacewalks to upgrade and service the Hubble Space Telescope during the STS-109 mission in late 2001. Three veteran astronauts, John M. Grunsfeld, James H. Newman, and Richard M. Linnehan, will be joined by Michael J. Massimino, who will be making his first space flight.

Grunsfeld has flown three times, STS-67 in 1995, STS-81 in 1997, and STS-103 in 1999 when he performed two spacewalks to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Newman, veteran of three space flights, STS-51 in 1993, STS-69 in 1995, and STS-88 in 1998, has conducted four previous spacewalks. Linnehan flew on STS-78 in 1996 and STS-90 in 1998. Massimino is a member of the 1996 astronaut class. A commander, pilot and flight engineer will be named at a later date.