U.S. President George W. Bush recognized the accomplishments of NASA astronauts Joan Higginbotham and Robert Curbeam this week during a White House ceremony to commemorate African-American History Month.  

Higginbotham (right) and Curbeam served along side five crewmembers of NASA’s STS-116 astronaut crew that overhauled the International Space Station’s power grid during a December 2006 spaceflight.

The STS-116 mission was “one of the most challenging missions in NASA’s history,” Bush said. “I really appreciate the fact that they are furthering humanity’s path of discovery, and I appreciate the fact that you say loud and clear, our country is unlimited in its opportunities for people from all walks of life.”

During the STS-116 mission, which marked the first shuttle flight with two African-American crewmembers, Discovery shuttle astronauts installed a new piece of the ISS main truss, helped retract a balky solar array, overhauled the station’s power and cooling systems and delivered about 5,800 pounds of cargo from the orbiter’s SPACEHAB cargo module [video].

Higginbotham oversaw the cargo transfers between Discovery and the ISS, while Curbeam performed four spacewalks - a record for a shuttle astronaut during docked operations.

• Images: The Spacewalks of NASA’s STS-116
• Images: Discovery’s STS-116 Launch Day Gallery
• Mission Discovery: The ISS Rewiring Job of NASA’s STS-116
• Complete Space Shuttle Mission Coverage
• The Great Space Quiz: Space Shuttle Countdown
• All About the Space Shuttle

-- Tariq Malik

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

U.S. President George W. Bush recognized the accomplishments of NASA astronauts Joan Higginbotham and Robert Curbeam this week during a White House ceremony to commemorate African-American History Month.  

Higginbotham (right) and Curbeam served along side five crewmembers of NASA’s STS-116 astronaut crew that overhauled the International Space Station’s power grid during a December 2006 spaceflight.

The STS-116 mission was “one of the most challenging missions in NASA’s history,” Bush said. “I really appreciate the fact that they are furthering humanity’s path of discovery, and I appreciate the fact that you say loud and clear, our country is unlimited in its opportunities for people from all walks of life.”

During the STS-116 mission, which marked the first shuttle flight with two African-American crewmembers, Discovery shuttle astronauts installed a new piece of the ISS main truss, helped retract a balky solar array, overhauled the station’s power and cooling systems and delivered about 5,800 pounds of cargo from the orbiter’s SPACEHAB cargo module [video].

Higginbotham oversaw the cargo transfers between Discovery and the ISS, while Curbeam performed four spacewalks - a record for a shuttle astronaut during docked operations.

• Images: The Spacewalks of NASA’s STS-116
• Images: Discovery’s STS-116 Launch Day Gallery
• Mission Discovery: The ISS Rewiring Job of NASA’s STS-116
• Complete Space Shuttle Mission Coverage
• The Great Space Quiz: Space Shuttle Countdown
• All About the Space Shuttle

-- Tariq Malik

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls