Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-3749
Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
RELEASE: 07-16
NASA ASSIGNS CREW FOR JAPANESE LAB AND CANADIAN ROBOTICS MISSION
WASHINGTON - NASA has assigned the crew for space shuttle mission
STS-123. The flight will deliver both the first component of the
Japanese Experiment Module Kibo and the new Canadian Dextre robotics
system to the International Space Station.
Navy Capt. Dominic L. Gorie will command the Space Shuttle Endeavour
on the STS-123 mission, targeted for launch in December 2007. Air
Force Col. Gregory H. Johnson will serve as the pilot. Mission
specialists will include NASA astronauts Richard M. Linnehan; Air
Force Maj. Robert L. Behnken; and Navy Capt. Michael J. Foreman.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takao Doi also will
serve as a mission specialist. The mission will deliver a new station
crew member to the complex and return another to Earth. Those
individuals will be announced at a later date.
Foreman had been assigned to the STS-120 shuttle mission but has been
reassigned to STS-123. Astronaut Stephanie Wilson, who flew on last
year's STS-121 mission, will replace Foreman as a mission specialist
on STS-120, targeted for launch in September 2007.
STS-123 is the first in a series of flights that will launch
components to complete the Kibo laboratory. The mission also will
deliver the Canadian Space Agency's Dextre robotic system, a smaller
manipulator equipped with two arms and designed to work with
Canadarm2 to perform finer maintenance tasks that normally would be
accomplished with spacewalks by astronauts on the International Space
Station. The mission will include four spacewalks to install the new
hardware.
STS-123 will be the fourth spaceflight for Gorie and Linnehan, the
second spaceflight for Doi and the first spaceflight for Johnson,
Behnken and Foreman.
Gorie flew as the pilot of STS-91 in 1998 and STS-99 in 2000. One year
later, he commanded STS-108. He was born in Lake Charles, La., and
graduated from Miami Palmetto High School, Miami, Fla. Gorie has a
bachelor's from the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., and a master's
from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He was selected as an
astronaut in 1994.
Johnson was selected as an astronaut in 1998. He was born in South
Ruislip, Middlesex, United Kingdom, but graduated from Park Hills
High School in Fairborn, Ohio. Johnson has a bachelor's from the Air
Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo., and master's degrees from
Columbia University, New York, and from the University of Texas,
Austin.
Linnehan flew on STS-78 in 1996 and STS-90 in 1998. During STS-109 in
2002, he performed three spacewalks to service the Hubble Space
Telescope. Linnehan was born in Lowell, Mass. He has a bachelor's
from the University of New Hampshire, Durham, N.H., and doctorate in
veterinary medicine from Ohio State University, Columbus.
Selected as an astronaut in 2000, Behnken considers St. Ann, Mo., his
hometown. He has a bachelor's from Washington University, St. Louis,
and a master's and a doctorate from the California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
Foreman considers Wadsworth, Ohio, his hometown and was selected as an
astronaut in 1998. Foreman has a bachelor's from the Naval Academy
and a master's from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.
Doi was born in Minamitama, Tokyo. He first flew on STS-87 in 1997, a
mission during which he became the first Japanese astronaut to
conduct a spacewalk. Doi has a bachelor's, a master's and a doctorate
in aerospace engineering from the University of Tokyo. He also has a
doctorate in astronomy from Rice University, Houston.
Assigned to STS-120, Wilson is a Massachusetts native. She operated
both the station and shuttle robotic arms during the STS-121 mission
and oversaw the transfer of more than 28,000 pounds of gear between
the shuttle and station. Wilson has a bachelor's from Harvard
University, Cambridge, Mass., and a master's from the University of
Texas, Austin.
Video of the STS-123 and STS-120 crew members will air on NASA TV's
Video File. For downlink and scheduling information and links to
streaming video, visit:
For complete astronaut biographical information, visit:
For more information about NASA's Space Shuttle Program, visit:
-end-
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