Brian Duffy
Ask mission commander Brian Duffy what he's least looking forward to about Discovery's mission and the answer is simple: Saying "Wheels Stop" when the ship comes to a halt on the runway at the end of the planned 11-day flight.
Brian Duffy
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The fact of the matter is this: Duffy and his six crew mates - along with their spouses and in many cases, offspring -- have formed near-inseparable bonds during three years of intense, demanding, often time-consuming training.
They've worked long hours together, and time off the job largely has been spent playing together. All film aficionados, they enjoy crew movie festivals, barbeque parties and genuinely enjoy each other's company.
And when Discovery touches down at the end of its International Space Station construction mission, the ties that this extended family has formed likely will be severed as the seven astronauts move on to new assignments.
"I'm not looking forward to the day it is all over, because it will probably mean that our little family here will be broken up," Duffy said.
"When you're training together for this long and you're this close together, you become like a family. You become very close. And I'm actually not looking forward to the day when I don't get to see them all every day."
Duffy, 50, is a U.S. Air Force colonel making his fourth shuttle flight. His responsibilities include docking Discovery to the International Space Station and then landing the craft back at Kennedy Space Center.
A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Duffy is married and has two children. The former military test has logged more than 5,000 hours of flight time in more than 25 different aircraft. Total time in space to date: 667 hours.
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