NASA Astronaut Group 10

The Maggots
The Astronauts of Group 10
Year selected	1984
Number selected	17

NASA Astronaut Group 10 (nicknamed "The Maggots"^[1]) was a group of 17 astronauts that were announced on May 23, 1984 and consisted of seven pilots and ten mission specialists.^[2] Although selected in 1984, no member of the group would fly until 1988 (William Shepherd on STS-27) due to the Challenger disaster and the resulting grounding of the Space Shuttle fleet.

Achievements

Of this group, several spaceflight firsts were achieved:

• First American-born Hispanic astronaut and first Hispanic shuttle pilot and commander: Sidney Gutierrez (June 5, 1991, STS-40)
• First International Space Station commander: William Shepherd^[3] (October 31, 2000, Expedition 1)
• First person to command five space missions^[4] and tallest person in space: James Wetherbee (November 23, 2002, STS-113)
• First submariner in space: Michael McCulley (October 18, 1989, STS-34)

Group members

Pilots

• Kenneth D. Cameron (born 1949), U.S. Marine Corps (3 flights)^[5]

STS-37 Atlantis — April 1991 — Pilot — Compton Gamma Ray Observatory deployment

STS-56 Discovery — April 1993 — Commander — ATLAS-2, solar observation experiments, first radio contact between the Space Shuttle and Mir

STS-74 Atlantis — November 1995 — Commander — Second Mir docking, fourth Shuttle-Mir mission

• John H. Casper (born 1943), U.S. Air Force (4 flights)^[6]

STS-36 Atlantis — February 1990 — Pilot — Classified United States Department of Defense mission, deployed USA-53 (Misty)

STS-54 Endeavour — January 1993 — Commander — TDRS-6 deployment

STS-62 Columbia — March 1994 — Commander — USMP-02 microgravity experiment package and OAST-2 payload

STS-77 Endeavour — May 1996 — Commander — SPACEHAB mission

• Frank L. Culbertson, Jr. (born 1949), U.S. Navy (5 flights)^[7]

STS-38 Atlantis — November 1990 — Pilot — Classified United States Department of Defense mission, spy satellite deployment

STS-51 Discovery — September 1993 — Commander — Advanced Communications Technology Satellite deployment

STS-105 Discovery — August 2001 — Mission Specialist — International Space Station mission, crew rotation and delivery of MPLM Leonardo

ISS Expedition 3 — August–December 2001 — Commander

STS-108 Endeavour — December 2001 — Mission Specialist — International Space Station mission, crew rotation and delivery of MPLM Raffaello

• Sidney M. Gutierrez (born 1951), U.S. Air Force (2 flights)^[8]

STS-40 Columbia — June 1991 — Pilot — Spacelab mission

STS-59 Endeavour — April 1994 — Commander — SRL-1 radar observations

• L. Blaine Hammond, Jr. (born 1952), U.S. Air Force (2 flights)^[9]

STS-39 Discovery — April 1991 — Pilot — First unclassified United States Department of Defense mission

STS-64 Discovery — September 1994 — Pilot — Earth and solar observations, first untethered spacewalk since STS-51-A

• Michael J. McCulley (born 1943), U.S. Navy (1 flight)^[10]

STS-34 Atlantis — October 1989 — Pilot — Deployment of Galileo orbiter and probe to Jupiter

• James D. "Wxb" Wetherbee (born 1952), U.S. Navy (6 flights)^[4]

STS-32 Columbia — January 1990 — Pilot — Long Duration Exposure Facility retrieval, deployment of SYNCOM IV-F5

STS-52 Columbia — October 1992 — Commander — LAGEOS-II deployment, USMP-01 microgravity experiment package

STS-63 Discovery — February 1995 — Commander — First rendezvous of the Space Shuttle and Mir, second Shuttle-Mir mission, first Shuttle mission with female Pilot

STS-86 Atlantis — September 1997 — Commander — Seventh Mir docking

STS-102 Discovery — March 2001 — Commander — International Space Station mission, crew rotation and delivery of MPLM Leonardo

STS-113 Endeavour — November 2002 — Commander — International Space Station mission, crew rotation and installment of P1 truss, last successful Shuttle mission before the Columbia disaster

Mission Specialists

• James C. Adamson (born 1946), U.S. Army (2 flights)^[11]

STS-28 Columbia — August 1989 — Mission Specialist — Classified United States Department of Defense mission, USA-40 and USA-41 deployments

STS-43 Atlantis — August 1991 — Mission Specialist — TDRS-5 deployment

• Ellen S. Baker (born 1953), Physician (3 flights)^[12]

STS-34 Atlantis — October 1989 — Mission Specialist — Deployment of Galileo orbiter and probe to Jupiter

STS-50 Columbia — June 1992 — Mission Specialist — USML-1 microgravity laboratory mission, first use of Extended Duration Orbiter package and first landing of Columbia at Kennedy Space Center

STS-71 Atlantis — June 1995 — Mission Specialist — First docking with Mir, third Shuttle-Mir mission, Mir crew rotation

• Mark N. Brown (born 1951), U.S. Air Force (2 flights)^[13]

STS-28 Columbia — August 1989 — Mission Specialist — Classified United States Department of Defense mission, USA-40 and USA-41 deployments

STS-48 Discovery — September 1991 — Mission Specialist — Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite deployment

• Manley L. "Sonny" Carter, Jr. (1947–1991), U.S. Navy (1 flight)^[14]

STS-33 Discovery — November 1989 — Mission Specialist — Classified United States Department of Defense mission, USA-48 deployment, first night launch since Challenger disaster

• Marsha S. Ivins (born 1951), Engineer (5 flights)^[15]

STS-32 Columbia — January 1990 — Mission Specialist — Long Duration Exposure Facility retrieval, deployment of SYNCOM IV-F5

STS-46 Atlantis — July 1992 — Mission Specialist — European Retrievable Carrier deployment, tethered satellite experiments

STS-62 Columbia — March 1994 — Mission Specialist — USMP-02 microgravity experiment package and OAST-2 payload

STS-81 Atlantis — January 1997 — Mission Specialist — Third Mir docking, fifth Shuttle-Mir mission, Mir crew rotation

STS-98 Atlantis — February 2001 — Mission Specialist — International Space Station mission, installment of Destiny Laboratory Module

• Mark C. Lee (born 1952), U.S. Air Force (4 flights)^[16]

STS-30 Atlantis — May 1989 — Mission Specialist — Deployment of Magellan probe to Venus

STS-47 Endeavour — September 1992 — Payload Commander — Spacelab mission, first Japanese astronaut to fly on the Shuttle, first African-American woman in space, first married couple in space

STS-64 Discovery — September 1994 — Mission Specialist — Earth and solar observations, first untethered spacewalk since STS-51-A

STS-82 Discovery — February 1997 — Mission Specialist — Second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission

• G. David Low (1956–2008), Engineer (3 flights)^[17]

STS-32 Columbia — January 1990 — Mission Specialist — Long Duration Exposure Facility retrieval, deployment of SYNCOM IV-F5

STS-43 Atlantis — August 1991 — Mission Specialist — TDRS-5 deployment

STS-57 Endeavour — June 1993 — Mission Specialist — European Retrievable Carrier retrieval, SPACEHAB mission

• William M. Shepherd (born 1949), U.S. Navy (6 flights)^[3]

STS-27 Atlantis — December 1988 — Mission Specialist — Classified United States Department of Defense mission, USA-34 (Lacrosse-1) deployment

STS-41 Discovery — October 1990 — Mission Specialist — Deployment of Ulysses probe into polar orbit of the Sun

STS-52 Columbia — October 1992 — Mission Specialist — LAGEOS-II deployment, USMP-01 microgravity experiment package

Soyuz TM-31 — October 2000 — Flight Engineer — First Soyuz spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station

ISS Expedition 1 — November 2000–March 2001 — Commander — First long-duration International Space Station crew

STS-102 Discovery — March 2001 — Mission Specialist — International Space Station mission, crew rotation and delivery of MPLM Leonardo

• Kathryn C. Thornton (born 1952), Physicist (4 flights)^[18]

STS-33 Discovery — November 1989 — Mission Specialist — Classified United States Department of Defense mission, USA-48 deployment, first night launch since Challenger disaster

STS-49 Endeavour — May 1992 — Mission Specialist — Maiden flight of Endeavour, Intelsat 603 retrieval and relaunch

STS-61 Endeavour — December 1993 — Mission Specialist — First Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission

STS-73 Columbia — October 1995 — Mission Specialist — USML-2 microgravity laboratory mission

• Charles Veach (1944–1995), U.S. Air Force (2 flights)^[19]

STS-39 Discovery — April 1991 — Mission Specialist — First unclassified United States Department of Defense mission

STS-52 Columbia — October 1992 — Mission Specialist — LAGEOS-II deployment, USMP-01 microgravity experiment package

References

1. "Yes, Virginia, there is more trivia" (PDF). Space News Roundup. NASA. 20 December 1993. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021. 30. The Astronaut Class of 1984 is called "the maggots."...
2. Lawrence, John (23 May 1984). "84-028: NASA Selects 17 Astronaut Candidates" (PDF). Houston, Texas: NASA. pp. 66–73. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-22. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
3. "William M. Shepherd" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. January 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
4. "James D. Wetherbee" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. January 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
5. "Kenneth D. Cameron" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. June 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
6. "John H. Casper" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. July 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
7. "Frank L. Culbertson" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. April 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
8. "Sidney M. Gutierrez" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. July 1996. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
9. "L. Blaine Hammond, Jr" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. December 1998. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
10. "Michael J. McCulley" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. October 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
11. "James C. Adamson" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. October 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
12. "Ellen S. Baker" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. January 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
13. "Mark N. Brown" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
14. "Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter, Jr" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. April 1991. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
15. "Marsha S. Ivins" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. January 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
16. "Mark C. Lee" (PDF). Biographical Part. Houston, Texas: NASA. October 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
17. "G. David Low" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. March 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
18. "Kathryn C. Thornton" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. June 1996. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
19. "Charles Lacy Veach" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. October 1995. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.

External links