Navy Pilots Headed to Space

Three Navy astronauts are on the crew of the 12-day NASA Discovery shuttle mission set to launch Thursday night from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

If the launch goes off, Capt. Robert L. Curbeam Jr., Cmdr. William A. Oefelein, Cmdr. Sunita L. Williams and their four fellow astronauts will travel to and work on the International Space Station. During the 12-day mission, the astronauts will continue construction on the station, rewiring the orbiting laboratory and adding a segment to its integrated truss structure, according to the Defense Department.

In addition, Williams will be remaining on board the space station, taking the place of astronaut Thomas Reiter, who will fly back to Earth with the shuttle crew as part of a normal rotation of space station crew members, NASA said.

As of 6 p.m. Thursday, NASA officials reported that low cloud ceilings, showers and winds at the launch site. NASA’s Web site reported a 60 percent chance of weather prohibiting the launch scheduled for 9:35 p.m. EST.

Curbeam is a 1984 Naval Academy graduate with a degree in aerospace engineering. He got hooked on the space program while in Navy test pilot school. Curbeam was selected by NASA in 1994, is a veteran of three space flights and has taken part in three spacewalks.

Oefelein will be making his first space flight. Commissioned in 1988 and designated a naval aviator in 1990, he was selected by NASA in 1998. He is assigned as a pilot on this mission.

Williams will also be making her first space flight. A 1987 Naval Academy graduate, she earned her wings in 1989 and made several deployments as a helicopter pilot before being selected by NASA in 1998. She will serve as a flight engineer on Discovery.