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- ORBITAL FLIGHT EXPERIENCE:
Selected by NASA in January 1990. A veteran of four flights, Halsell has spent over 1,021 hours in space. He served as a pilot on STS 65 and STS 74, and as mission commander on STS 83 and STS 94. Halsell also served as the director of operations at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Star City, Russia from February to August, 1998:
STS 65 (July 8-23, 1994). This 14-day mission and Space Shuttle Columbia's seven-person crew conducted the second flight of the International Microgravity Laboratory 2 (IML 2). The payload entailed an international research initiative, which would provide information about how other life forms and materials behave in a weightless environment. During this mission, the longest to date, 235 orbits were completed and 6,143,000 miles (9,885,930 kilometers) were traveled. Some 200 scientists, from six space agencies, contributed to this mission.
STS 74 (November 12-20, 1995). This mission was the second of seven rendezvous and docking and crew transfers between the space shuttle and Mir, between 1995 and 1997. The major objectives were to dock with Mir, using a Russian docking module. This was a significant step in toward the assembly of the International Space Station, which would begin later in 1997. It was the first time that astronauts from the European Space Agency, Canadian Space Program, Russian Space Agency and the U.S were on the same complex at one time.
STS 83 (Apr 4-8, 1997). Though the mission duration was to last 15 days, 16 hours, 29 minutes, the mission was cut short after three days, due to complications with Columbia's full cell number 2. The seven-person crew of shuttle Columbia was to spend more than two weeks in orbit testing and experimenting with various materials and how liquids change and behave in the weightless environment of space.
STS 94 (July 1-17, 1997). This mission was a re-flight of the STS 83 Microgravity Science Laboratory mission. The mission objectives were to examine how a variety of materials behaved in space. The mission lasted the scheduled 15 days, 16 hours, 46 minutes, and science investigations were completed without complications.
PERSONAL DATA:
Born: September 29, 1956. Grew up in West Monroe, Louisiana. Spouse: the former Kathy D. Spooner of Merritt Island, Florida. Children: None. Parents: Don and Jean Halsell.
- EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:
Graduated from West Monroe High School, West Monroe, Louisiana, in 1974; received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the United States Air Force (USAF) Academy in 1978, a Master of Science degree in management from Troy University in 1983, and a Master of Science degree in space operations from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1985.
Graduated from USAF Academy in 1978 and from Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, in 1979. He served at Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada from 1980-1981 and Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, Georgia from 1982-1984. From 1984-1985 he was a graduate student at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. While attending the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, he performed test flights in the F 4, the F 16 and the SR 71 aircraft for a period of four years.
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