SPACE.com -- Women an Integral Part of Shuttle Missions


	Women an Integral Part of Shuttle Missions By Daniel Sorid Staff Writer posted: 07:34 pm ET 14 July 1999

While Eileen Collins may be the first woman to command a shuttle flight, women have become an integral part of shuttle missions and are regularly assigned to shuttle crews

While Eileen Collins may be the first woman to command a shuttle flight, women have become an integral part of shuttle missions and are regularly assigned to shuttle crews. Five women are scheduled to be launched on the shuttle in the next year.

Dr. Janet Lynn Kavandi has been assigned to STS-99, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, scheduled to launch in September 1999. Dr. Kavandi was selected as an astronaut candidate in December 1994, and served as a mission specialist on STS-91, the final docking mission of a shuttle with the Space Station Mir. She has spent about 10 days in space. Dr. Kavandi was born on July 17, 1959 in Springfield, Missouri.

Three months later, Dr. Mary Ellen Weber is scheduled to serve on the crew of space flight STS-101, an assembly mission for the International Space Station. Dr. Weber, an award-winning skydiver, was launched on Space Shuttle Discover in 1995, as part of the STS-70 mission, which delivered a NASA communications satellite. Weber was born on August 24, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Lieutenant Colonel Pamela Ann Melroy, a veteran of Desert Storm, will serve as the pilot for STS-92, a space station assembly mission scheduled for February 2000. Lt. Col. Melroy was selected as an astronaut candidate in December 1994, and completed pilot training a year later. Born September 17, 1961 in Palo Alto, California, Lt. Col. Melroy has received several honors for her military service, including the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal.

Two months later, in April 2000, astronaut Marsha S. Ivins will be launched on her fifth mission, STS-98, which will deliver the U.S. laboratory module for the International Space station. During her first flight, in 1990, Ivins orbited the Earth 173 times during an eleven-day mission to deploy a Syncom satellite. Born April 15, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland, Ivins was selected in the NASA astronaut Class of 1984. Ivins has spent over 42 days in space.

Another Air Force Pilot, Lt. Col. Susan J. Helms, is scheduled to serve on the crew of the STS-100 mission, which includes delivery and assembly of hardware for the International Space Station. The mission is scheduled for July 2000. Helms is a veteran of three space flights, including STS-78, the longest ever space shuttle mission. Helms, who holds a graduate degree from Stanford University, has spent more than 33 days in space. She was born on February 26, 1958 in Charlotte, North Carolina, but considers Portland, Oregon to be her hometown.

And if the future is not impressive enough, consider the fact that the past two mission, including the current one, have had five women aboard -- three in May and two on this one.

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