NASA Astronaut Group 10 (nicknamed "The Maggots") was a group of 17

astronauts An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

that were announced on May 23, 1984 and consisted of seven pilots and ten mission specialists. Although selected in 1984, no member of the group would fly until 1988 (William Shepherd on

STS-27 STS-27 was the 27th NASA Space Shuttle program, Space Shuttle mission, and the third flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis, Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. Launching on December 2, 1988, on a four-day mission, it was the second shuttle flight after the ...

) due to the ''Challenger'' disaster and the resulting grounding of the Space Shuttle fleet.

Achievements

Of this group, several spaceflight firsts were achieved: *First American-born Hispanic astronaut and first Hispanic shuttle pilot and commander: Sidney Gutierrez (June 5, 1991, STS-40) *First

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

commander: William Shepherd (October 31, 2000,

Expedition 1 Expedition 1 was the first long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). The three-person crew stayed aboard the station for 136 days, from 2 November 2000 to 19 March 2001. It was the beginning of an uninterrupte ...

) *First person to command five space missions and tallest person in space: James Wetherbee (November 23, 2002,

STS-113 STS-113 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle ''Space Shuttle Endeavour, Endeavour''. During the 14-day mission in late 2002, ''Endeavour'' and its crew extended the ISS backbone with the Int ...

) *First

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

r in space: Michael McCulley (October 18, 1989,

STS-34 STS-34 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using ''Atlantis''. It was the 31st shuttle mission overall, and the fifth flight for ''Atlantis''. STS-34 launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on October 18, 1989, and landed at Edwards Air For ...

)

Group members

Pilots

* Kenneth D. Cameron (born 1949), U.S. Marine Corps (3 flights) :

STS-37 STS-37, the thirty-ninth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the eighth flight of the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'', was a six-day mission with the primary objective of launching the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), the second of the Great Observ ...

— April 1991 — Pilot —

Compton Gamma Ray Observatory The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) was a space observatory detecting photons with photon energy, energies from 20 kElectronvolt#Properties, eV to 30 GeV, in Earth orbit from 1991 to 2000. The observatory featured four main tel ...

deployment : STS-56 — April 1993 — Commander — ATLAS-2, solar observation experiments, first radio contact between the Space Shuttle and ''

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

'' :

STS-74 STS-74 was the fourth mission of the US/Russian Shuttle–''Mir'' program, and the second docking of the Space Shuttle with '' Mir''. Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' lifted off from Kennedy Space Center launch pad 39A on 12 November 1995. The miss ...

— November 1995 — Commander — Second ''Mir'' docking, fourth Shuttle-Mir mission * John H. Casper (born 1943), U.S. Air Force (4 flights) : STS-36 — February 1990 — Pilot — Classified

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

mission, deployed USA-53 (

Misty In cryptography, MISTY1 (or MISTY-1) is a block cipher designed in 1995 by Mitsuru Matsui and others for Mitsubishi Electric. MISTY1 is one of the selected algorithms in the European NESSIE project, and has been among the cryptographic tech ...

) :

STS-54 STS-54 was a NASA ''Space Transportation System'' (Space Shuttle) mission using Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. This was the third flight for ''Endeavour'', and was launched on January 13, 1993 with Endeavour returning to the Kennedy Space Center ...

— January 1993 — Commander — TDRS-6 deployment :

STS-62 STS-62 was a Space Shuttle program mission flown aboard . The primary payloads were the USMP-02 microgravity experiments package and the OAST-2 engineering and technology payload, both in the orbiter's cargo bay. The two-week mission also featu ...

— March 1994 — Commander — USMP-02 microgravity experiment package and OAST-2 payload : STS-77 — May 1996 — Commander —

SPACEHAB Astrotech Corporation, formerly Spacehab Inc., is a technology incubator headquartered in Austin, Texas. Astrotech uses technology sourced internally and from research institutions, government laboratories, and universities to fund, manage and se ...

mission * Frank L. Culbertson, Jr. (born 1949), U.S. Navy (5 flights) :

STS-38 STS-38 was a Space Shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. It was the 37th shuttle mission and carried a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). It was the seventh flight for ''Atlantis'' and the seve ...

— November 1990 — Pilot — Classified

mission, spy satellite deployment :

STS-51 STS-51 was a NASA Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Discovery, ''Discovery'' mission that launched the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) in September 1993. Discovery's 17th flight also featured the deployment and retrieval of the S ...

— September 1993 — Commander — Advanced Communications Technology Satellite deployment :

STS-105 STS-105 was the 30th mission of Space Shuttle ''Discovery'', in which Discovery went to the International Space Station. It launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 10 August 2001. This mission was ''Discoverys final mission until STS ...

— August 2001 — Mission Specialist —

mission, crew rotation and delivery of MPLM ''Leonardo'' :ISS Expedition 3 — August–December 2001 — Commander : STS-108 — December 2001 — Mission Specialist —

mission, crew rotation and delivery of MPLM ''Raffaello'' * Sidney M. Gutierrez (born 1951), U.S. Air Force (2 flights) : STS-40 — June 1991 — Pilot —

Spacelab Spacelab was a reusable laboratory developed by European Space Agency (ESA) and used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory comprised multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier, ...

mission : STS-59 — April 1994 — Commander — SRL-1 radar observations * L. Blaine Hammond, Jr. (born 1952), U.S. Air Force (2 flights) : STS-39 — April 1991 — Pilot — First unclassified

mission :

STS-64 STS-64 was a Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Discovery, ''Discovery'' mission that was set to perform multiple experiment packages. It was Discovery's 19th flight. STS-64 was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 9 September 1994, and land ...

— September 1994 — Pilot — Earth and solar observations, first untethered spacewalk since

STS-51-A STS-51-A (formerly STS-19) was the 14th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the second flight of Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on November 8, 1984, and landed just under eight days later on ...

* Michael J. McCulley (born 1943), U.S. Navy (1 flight) :

— October 1989 — Pilot — Deployment of ''

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

'' orbiter and probe to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

* James D. "Wxb" Wetherbee (born 1952), U.S. Navy (6 flights) :

STS-32 STS-32 was the 33rd mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the ninth launch of . Launched on January 9, 1990, it marked the first use of Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A since 1986; it also marked the first use of Mobile launcher p ...

— January 1990 — Pilot —

Long Duration Exposure Facility NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility, or LDEF (pronounced "eldef"), was a cylindrical facility designed to provide long-term experimental data on the outer space environment and its effects on space systems, materials, operations and selected ...

retrieval, deployment of

SYNCOM Syncom (for "synchronous communication satellite") started as a 1961 NASA program for active geosynchronous communication satellites, all of which were developed and manufactured by the Space and Communications division of Hughes Aircraft Compa ...

IV-F5 :

STS-52 STS-52 was a Space Shuttle program, NASA Space Shuttle mission using Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'', launched on October 22, 1992. Crew Crew seat assignments Mission highlights Primary mission objectives were d ...

— October 1992 — Commander —

LAGEOS LAGEOS (), Laser Geodynamics Satellite or Laser Geometric Environmental Observation Survey, are a series of two scientific research satellites designed to provide an orbiting laser ranging benchmark for geodynamical studies of the Earth. Each ...

-II deployment, USMP-01 microgravity experiment package :

STS-63 STS-63 was the second mission of the U.S.-Russian Shuttle–Mir program and the 20th flight of . Dubbed the "Near-Mir" mission, it achieved the first rendezvous between an American Space Shuttle and Russia's space station, ''Mir''. Discovery li ...

— February 1995 — Commander — First rendezvous of the Space Shuttle and ''Mir'', second Shuttle-Mir mission, first Shuttle mission with female Pilot : STS-86 — September 1997 — Commander — Seventh ''Mir'' docking :

STS-102 STS-102 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle '' Discovery'' and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. STS-102 flew in March 2001; its primary objectives were resupplying the ISS and ...

— March 2001 — Commander —

mission, crew rotation and delivery of MPLM ''Leonardo'' :

— November 2002 — Commander —

mission, crew rotation and installment of P1 truss, last successful Shuttle mission before the ''Columbia'' disaster

Mission Specialists

* James C. Adamson (born 1946), U.S. Army (2 flights) :

STS-28 STS-28 was the 30th NASA Space Shuttle program, Space Shuttle mission, the fourth shuttle mission dedicated to United States Department of Defense (DoD) purposes, and the eighth flight of Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. The ...

— August 1989 — Mission Specialist — Classified

mission, USA-40 and USA-41 deployments :

STS-43 STS-43, the ninth mission for Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Atlantis, ''Atlantis'', was a nine-day mission whose primary goal was launching the TDRS-5, TDRS-E satellite (TDRS-5). The flight also tested an advanced heatpipe radiator for potential ...

— August 1991 — Mission Specialist —

TDRS-5 TDRS-5, known before launch as TDRS-E, is an American communications satellite, of first generation, which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was constructed by TRW is based on a custom satellite b ...

deployment * Ellen S. Baker (born 1953), Physician (3 flights) :

— October 1989 — Mission Specialist — Deployment of ''

'' orbiter and probe to

STS-50 STS-50 (U.S. Microgravity Laboratory-1) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, the 12th mission of the ''Space Shuttle Columbia, Columbia'' orbiter. ''Columbia'' landed at Kennedy Space Center for the first time ever due to bad weather at Edwards ...

— June 1992 — Mission Specialist — USML-1 microgravity laboratory mission, first use of Extended Duration Orbiter package and first landing of ''Columbia'' at

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

STS-71 As the third mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, STS-71 became the first Space Shuttle to dock with the Russian space station ''Mir''. STS-71 began on June 27, 1995, with the launch of Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' from launchpad 39A ...

— June 1995 — Mission Specialist — First docking with ''Mir'', third Shuttle-Mir mission, ''Mir'' crew rotation * Mark N. Brown (born 1951), U.S. Air Force (2 flights) :

— August 1989 — Mission Specialist — Classified

mission, USA-40 and USA-41 deployments : STS-48 — September 1991 — Mission Specialist —

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was a NASA-operated orbital observatory whose mission was to study the Earth's atmosphere, particularly the protective ozone layer. The satellite was deployed from Space Shuttle Discovery, Space Shu ...

deployment * Manley L. "Sonny" Carter, Jr. (1947–1991), U.S. Navy (1 flight) : STS-33 — November 1989 — Mission Specialist — Classified

mission, USA-48 deployment, first night launch since ''Challenger'' disaster * Marsha S. Ivins (born 1951), Engineer (5 flights) :

— January 1990 — Mission Specialist —

retrieval, deployment of

IV-F5 :

STS-46 STS-46 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using and was launched on July 31, 1992, and landed on August 8, 1992. Crew Crew seat assignments Mission highlights Gallery File:Sts046-99-039 - cropped.jpg, EURECA after deployment File ...

— July 1992 — Mission Specialist —

European Retrievable Carrier The European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) was an uncrewed 4.5-tonne satellite with 15 experiments. It was a European Space Agency (ESA) mission and the acronym was derived from Archimedes' bathtub revelation " Eureka!". It was built by the Germa ...

deployment, tethered satellite experiments :

— March 1994 — Mission Specialist — USMP-02 microgravity experiment package and OAST-2 payload : STS-81 — January 1997 — Mission Specialist — Third ''Mir'' docking, fifth Shuttle-Mir mission, ''Mir'' crew rotation :

STS-98 STS-98 was a 2001 Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis, Space Shuttle '' Atlantis''. It was the first human spaceflight launch of the 21st century. STS-98 delivered to the station the Dest ...

— February 2001 — Mission Specialist —

mission, installment of

Destiny Laboratory Module The ''Destiny'' module, also known as the U.S. Lab, is the primary operating facility for U.S. research payloads aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It was berthed to the forward port of the '' Unity'' module and activated over a peri ...

* Mark C. Lee (born 1952), U.S. Air Force (4 flights) :

STS-30 STS-30 was the 29th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fourth mission for Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. It was the fourth shuttle launch since the Challenger disaster and the first shuttle mission since the disaster to have a female astronaut on ...

— May 1989 — Mission Specialist — Deployment of '' Magellan'' probe to

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

STS-47 STS-47 was NASA's 50th Space Shuttle mission of the Space Shuttle program, program, as well as the second mission of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. The mission mainly involved conducting experiments in life and mater ...

— September 1992 — Payload Commander —

mission, first Japanese astronaut to fly on the Shuttle, first African-American woman in space, first married couple in space :

— September 1994 — Mission Specialist — Earth and solar observations, first untethered spacewalk since

STS-82 STS-82 was the 22nd flight of the Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Discovery, ''Discovery'' and the 82nd mission of the Space Shuttle program. It was NASA's second mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, during which ''Discovery's'' crew repai ...

— February 1997 — Mission Specialist — Second

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the Orbiting Solar Observatory, first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most ...

servicing mission * G. David Low (1956–2008), Engineer (3 flights) :

— January 1990 — Mission Specialist —

retrieval, deployment of

IV-F5 :

— August 1991 — Mission Specialist —

deployment :

STS-57 STS-57 was a NASA Space Shuttle- Spacehab mission of that launched June 21, 1993, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Crew Spacewalk * Personnel: Low and Wisoff * Date: June 25, 1993 (13:07–18:57 UTC) * Duration: 5 hours and 50&n ...

— June 1993 — Mission Specialist —

retrieval,

mission * William M. Shepherd (born 1949), U.S. Navy (6 flights) :

— December 1988 — Mission Specialist — Classified

mission, USA-34 ( Lacrosse-1) deployment : STS-41 — October 1990 — Mission Specialist — Deployment of Ulysses probe into polar orbit of the Sun :

— October 1992 — Mission Specialist —

-II deployment, USMP-01 microgravity experiment package :

Soyuz TM-31 Soyuz TM-31 was the first Soyuz spaceflight to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft carried the members of Expedition 1, the first long-duration ISS crew. It was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0 ...

— October 2000 — Flight Engineer — First Soyuz spacecraft to dock with the

:ISS

— November 2000–March 2001 — Commander — First long-duration

crew :

— March 2001 — Mission Specialist —

mission, crew rotation and delivery of MPLM ''Leonardo'' * Kathryn C. Thornton (born 1952), Physicist (4 flights) : STS-33 — November 1989 — Mission Specialist — Classified

mission, USA-48 deployment, first night launch since ''Challenger'' disaster :

STS-49 STS-49 was NASA's maiden flight of the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'', which launched on May 7, 1992. The primary goal of its nine-day mission was to retrieve an Intelsat VI satellite, Intelsat 603, which failed to leave Low Earth orbit two yea ...

— May 1992 — Mission Specialist — Maiden flight of '' Endeavour'', Intelsat 603 retrieval and relaunch :

STS-61 STS-61 was NASA's first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. The mission launched on December 2, 1993, from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The missi ...

— December 1993 — Mission Specialist — First

servicing mission :

STS-73 STS-73 was a Space Shuttle program mission, during October–November 1995, on board the Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. The mission was the second mission for the United States Microgravity Laboratory. The crew, who spent 16 days in space, were bro ...

— October 1995 — Mission Specialist — USML-2 microgravity laboratory mission * Charles Veach (1944–1995), U.S. Air Force (2 flights) : STS-39 — April 1991 — Mission Specialist — First unclassified

mission :

— October 1992 — Mission Specialist —

-II deployment, USMP-01 microgravity experiment package

References

External links

{{NASA Astronaut Group 10 NASA Astronaut Corps Lists of astronauts 1984 in spaceflight 1984 establishments in the United States