Mark Hess/Ed Campion

Headquarters, Washington, DC November 8, 1994

(Phone: 202/358-1778)

Debra Rahn
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1639)

Kyle Herring
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 713/483-5111)

RELEASE: 94-185

ASTRONAUTS CHILTON, READDY TO COMMAND SHUTTLE/MIR

MISSIONS

NASA astronauts Kevin P. Chilton (Colonel, USAF) and William F.

Readdy (Captain, Naval Reserve) will command the third and fourth
Space Shuttle/Mir docking missions, respectively. The flights are
currently designated STS-76 and STS-79.

These flights are two of the seven scheduled Shuttle/Mir

missions between 1995 and 1997 that include rendezvous, docking and
crew transfers with the Russian space station. The Space Shuttle will
assist with crew exchange, resupply and payload activities for Mir.

Under Chilton's command, the third Shuttle/Mir Mission scheduled

for March 1996, will transfer one of the six astronaut crewmembers for
a four-month stay on the Russian space station. The 10-day STS-76
mission also will include life and materials sciences experimentation
in a pressurized module mounted in Atlantis' payload bay.

Under Readdy's command, the fourth docking mission in July 1996

will drop off another astronaut and bring home the astronaut launched
on STS-76. In addition to conducting experiments within a pressurized
module, the mission will feature a spacewalk to transfer several
experiments from the Shuttle's payload bay to the docking module on
the Mir station. The mission is currently scheduled for 10 days.

Chilton, 39, has flown twice aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour
-- the maiden voyage on STS-49 in May 1992 and most recently on the
STS-59 mission in April 1994.
 -more-

-2-

STS-49 included a triple rendezvous with a stranded Intelsat

communications satellite before the successful capture during a record
eight and a half hour spacewalk. The mission also included a variety
of medical, scientific and operational tests.

The STS-59 mission was dedicated to mapping the Earth's

environmental changes using a variety of radar and air pollution
measuring instruments mounted in the payload bay as part of the first
Space Radar Laboratory mission. Nearly 500 Orbiter maneuvers were
conducted throughout the mission to assist with fine pointing of the
radar instruments in the payload bay.

Chilton received a bachelor's degree in engineering sciences from

the Air Force Academy in 1976 and a master's degree in mechanical
engineering from Columbia University in 1977. As a test pilot, he has
flown many different types of aircraft leading up to his selection for
the astronaut corps in 1987. He was born in Los Angeles, CA.

Readdy, 42, also has flown on two Shuttle missions, STS-42 in

January 1992 and STS-51 in September 1993 -- both aboard Discovery.
He most recently was NASA manager of operational activities at Star
City, Russia, supporting training and preparations of NASA astronauts
at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Star City.

On STS-42, he participated in various scientific experiments

carried out as part of the first International Microgravity Laboratory
mission, which included the conduct of 55 experiments provided by
investigators from 11 countries.

On STS-51, Readdy participated in the deployment of the Advanced

Communications Technology Satellite, and the deploy, rendezvous and
retrieval of a science satellite designed to study ultraviolet
radiation emitted from distant stellar objects. The mission also
included a seven-hour spacewalk designed to evaluate tools and
techniques used during the Hubble Space Telescope first servicing
mission and on future space missions.

A Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Readdy earned a bachelor of

science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Academy in
1974. Including his background as a test pilot, Readdy has
accumulated more than 6,500 flying hours in over 60 types of fixed
wing and helicopters. He considers McLean, VA, his hometown.

-end-

NASA press releases and other information are available automatically

by sending an Internet electronic mail message to domo@hq.nasa.gov.
In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type
the words "subscribe press-release" (no quotes). The system will
reply with a confirmation via E-mail of each subscription. A second
automatic message will include additional information on the service.
Questions should be directed to (202) 358-4043.