NASA Astronaut Group 9

NASA Astronaut Group 9

NASA Astronaut Group 9 was announced on May 29, 1980, and completed their training by 1981. This group was selected to supplement the 35 astronauts that had been selected in 1978, and marked the first time that non-Americans were trained as mission specialists with the selections of ESA astronauts Claude Nicollier and Wubbo Ockels. In keeping with the previous group, astronaut candidates were divided into pilots and mission specialists, with eight pilots, eleven mission specialists, and two international mission specialists within the group.

As with the previous group, several spaceflight firsts were achieved, including:

  • First Costa-Rican astronaut: Franklin Chang-Diaz (January 12, 1986, STS-61-C)
  • First Dutch citizen in space: Wubbo Ockels (October 30, 1985, STS-61-A)
  • First Swiss astronaut: Claude Nicollier (July 31, 1992, STS-46)
  • First African-American Marine in space: Charles Bolden (January 12, 1986, STS-61-C)
  • First person to be launched into space more than six times: Jerry Ross (April 8, 2002, STS-110)
  • First astronaut spouse selected as an astronaut: William Fisher (August 27, 1985, STS-51-I; married to Anna Fisher, Group 8 astronaut)

In addition, Chang-Diaz and Ross share the world record for the most spaceflights, with seven each. Bolden also became the second astronaut to serve as NASA Administrator, appointed in 2009.

Read more about NASA Astronaut Group 9:  Pilots, Mission Specialists, International Mission Specialists, See Also

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