Payload specialist

In NASA vernacular, a Payload Specialist (PS) was an individual selected and trained by commercial or research organizations for flights of a specific payload on a Space Shuttle mission. Payload specialists included non-NASA astronauts designated by the international partners, individuals selected by the research community, or a company or consortia flying a commercial payload aboard the spacecraft.

History

Main article: Astronaut ranks and positions

Payload Specialists were generally selected for a single specific mission and were chosen outside the astronaut training process. They were not required to be United States citizens, but had to be approved by NASA and undergo rigorous training. In contrast, a Mission Specialist is selected as an astronaut first and then assigned to a mission.

Payload Specialists on early missions were technical experts to accompany specific payloads such as a commercial or scientific satellite. On Spacelab and other missions with science components, payload specialists were scientists with expertise in specific experiments. The term also applied to representatives from partner nations who were given the opportunity of a first flight on board of the Space Shuttle (such as Saudi Arabia and Mexico), and to Congressmen and the Teacher in Space program.

Other roles on board Space Shuttle were Mission Commander, Pilot, and Mission Specialist. Contrary to other Shuttle crew, international or scientific Payload Specialists were generally assigned as back-up crew (back-up Payload Specialist or alternate payload specialist).

Payload Specialists were flown from 1983 (STS-9) to 2003 (STS-107). NASA does not foresee any more need to fly payload specialists before the end of the Shuttle program in 2010. The last flown payload specialist was the first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon on board STS-107, who was killed in the Columbia disaster with the rest of the crew.

List of all Payload Specialists

Pre-Challenger

• STS-9

Ulf Merbold, Byron K. Lichtenberg (first payload specialists, Ulf Merbold was the first international (German) payload specialist)

• STS-41-D

Charles Walker

• STS-41-G

Marc Garneau, Paul D. Scully-Power (Garneau was the first Canadian in space, Scully-Power the first Australian)

• STS-51-C

Gary Payton (first military payload specialist)

• STS-51-D

Charles Walker, Jake Garn (first legislative branch payload specialist)

• STS-51-B

Lodewijk van den Berg, Taylor G. Wang

• STS-51-G

Patrick Baudry, Sultan Salman Al Saud (two international payload specialists)

• STS-51-F

Loren W. Acton, John-David F. Bartoe

• STS-51-J

William A. Pailes

• STS-61-A

Reinhard Furrer, Ernst Messerschmid, Wubbo Ockels (three international payload specialists, most payload specialists on a single flight)

• STS-61-B

Rodolfo Neri Vela, Charles Walker (third and final flight of Charles Walker, Neri Vela was the first Mexican in space)

• STS-61-C

Robert J. Cenker, Bill Nelson

• STS-51-L

Gregory Jarvis, Christa McAuliffe (killed in the Challenger disaster)

From Challenger to Columbia

• STS-35

Samuel T. Durrance, Ronald A. Parise (first post-Challenger payload specialists)

• STS-40

F. Drew Gaffney, Millie Hughes-Fulford

• STS-44

Thomas J. Hennen

• STS-42

Roberta L. Bondar, Ulf Merbold

• STS-45

Byron K. Lichtenberg, Dirk D. Frimout (first Belgian in space)

• STS-50

Lawrence J. DeLucas, Eugene H. Trinh

• STS-46

Franco Malerba (first Italian in space)

• STS-47

Mamoru Mohri (first Japanese astronaut on board the Shuttle)

• STS-52

Steven MacLean

• STS-55

Ulrich Walter, Hans Schlegel

• STS-58

Martin Fettman

• STS-65

Chiaki Mukai

• STS-67

Samuel T. Durrance, Ronald A. Parise

• STS-73

Fred W. Leslie, Albert Sacco Jr.

• STS-75

Umberto Guidoni

• STS-78

Jean-Jacques Favier, Robert Brent Thirsk

• STS-83

Roger Crouch, Greg Linteris

• STS-94

Roger Crouch, Greg Linteris (Mission reflight)

• STS-85

Bjarni Tryggvason

• STS-87

Leonid Kadeniuk (Ukrainian payload specialist)

• STS-90

Jay C. Buckey, James A. Pawelczyk (Final Spacelab mission)

• STS-95

Chiaki Mukai, John H. Glenn (Last American payload specialist)

• STS-107

Ilan Ramon (first Israeli in space, last payload specialist, killed in the Columbia disaster)

Alternate and back-up (not flown) Payload Specialists

This section needs to be completed

• STS-9

Wubbo Ockels, Michael Lampton

• STS-41-G

Robert Thirsk

• STS-51-F

George W. Simon, Diane K. Prinz

• STS-61-A

Ulf Merbold

• STS-50

Joseph M. Prahl, Albert Sacco

• STS-65

Jean-Jacques Favier

• STS-73

David H. Matthiesen, R. Glynn Holt

• STS-78

Pedro Duque, Luca Urbani

• STS-90

Alexander W. Dunlap, Chiaki Mukai

Other statistics

Multiple flights

Flights	Payload specialist
3	Charles Walker
2	Ulf Merbold, Byron K. Lichtenberg, Samuel T. Durrance, Ronald A. Parise, Chiaki Mukai, Roger Crouch, Greg Linteris

# of payload specialists flights	Country
36	United States
6	Germany
5	Canada
3	Japan
2	France
2	Italy
1	Saudi Arabia
1	The Netherlands
1	Mexico
1	Belgium
1	Ukraine
1	Israel
Total	60 Payload Specialist flight opportunities

Payload Specialists who trained later as Mission Specialists

All were international Payload Specialists.

• Marc Garneau - flew on STS-97
• Mamoru Mohri - flew on STS-99
• Steven MacLean - flew on STS-115
• Hans Schlegel - flew on STS-122
• Umberto Guidoni - flew on STS-100
• Robert Thirsk - flew on Soyuz TMA-15
• Bjarni Tryggvason - retired in June 2008 without flying again

External links

• Biographies of Payload Specialists on NASA web site.