NASA Astronaut Group 15
| The Flying Escargot | |
|---|---|
 The astronauts of Group 15 | |
| Year selected | 1994 |
| Number selected | 23 |
NASA Astronaut Group 15 ("The Flying Escargot") was a group of 23 NASA astronauts selected in 1994. The group name for these astronaut trainees was originally Slugs because no group was convened the previous year and thus the group was slow in arriving. Group members adopted The Flying Escargot as their moniker, possibly in reference to two members of the group being from France, or in reference to the famous "flying escargot" scene in the movie Pretty Woman.[citation needed] The group featured ten pilots, nine mission specialists, and four international mission specialist trainees.
Three members of this group, Rick Husband, Michael P. Anderson, and Kalpana Chawla, died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. These three received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Pilots[edit]
- Scott Altman [1]
- Jeffrey Ashby [2]
- Michael Bloomfield [3]
- Joe F. Edwards, Jr.[4]
- Pilot, STS-89 (Endeavour)
- Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie [5]
- Rick Husband [6]
- Steven Lindsey [7]
- Pamela Melroy [8]
- Susan L. Still-Kilrain [9]
- Frederick Sturckow [10]
Mission Specialists[edit]
- Michael P. Anderson [11]
- Mission Specialist, STS-89 (Endeavour)
- Mission Specialist, STS-107 (Columbia)*
- Kalpana Chawla [12]
- Robert Curbeam [13]
- Kathryn Hire [14]
- Janet Kavandi [15]
- Edward Tsang Lu [16]
- Mission Specialist, STS-84 (Atlantis)
- Mission Specialist, STS-104 (Atlantis)
- Flight Engineer, Soyuz TMA-2
- Flight Engineer, Expedition 7
- Carlos I. Noriega [17]
- James F. Reilly [18]
- Stephen Robinson [19]
International mission specialists[edit]
- Jean-Loup Chrétien (France)[20]
- Research Cosmonaut, Soyuz T-6
- Research Cosmonaut, Soyuz TM-6/TM-7 (Mir Aragatz)
- Mission Specialist, STS-86 (Atlantis)
- Takao Doi (Japan)[21]
- Michel Tognini (France)[22]
- Research Cosmonaut, Soyuz TM-14/TM-15
- Mission Specialist, STS-93 (Columbia)
- Dafydd Williams (Canada)[23]
NASA biographies[edit]
- ^ Scott Altman
- ^ Jeffrey Ashby
- ^ Michael Bloomfield
- ^ Joe F. Edwards, Jr.
- ^ Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie
- ^ Rick Husband
- ^ Steven Lindsey
- ^ Pamela Melroy
- ^ Susan L. Still-Kilrain
- ^ Frederick Sturckow
- ^ Michael Phillip Anderson
- ^ Kalpana Chawla
- ^ Robert Curbeam
- ^ Kathryn Hire
- ^ Janet Kavandi
- ^ Edward Tsang Lu
- ^ Carlos Noriega
- ^ James F. Reilly
- ^ Stephen Robinson
- ^ Jean-Loup Chrétien
- ^ Takao Doi
- ^ Michel Tognini
- ^ Dafydd (Dave) Rhys Williams