NASA Astronaut Group 16 ("The Sardines") was a group of 44 astronauts announced by NASA on May 1, 1996. The class was nicknamed "The Sardines" for being such a large class, humorously implying that their training sessions would be as tightly packed as sardines in a can. These 44 candidates compose the largest astronaut class to date. NASA selected so many candidates in preparation for the anticipated need for ISS crew members, along with regular shuttle needs. Nine of the 44 astronauts selected were from other countries, including 1 each from 5 European nations and 2 each from Canada and Japan.
Three members of this group, William C. McCool, David M. Brown, and Laurel B. Clark, died in the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, during STS-107. These three received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
The group includes identical twins Mark and Scott J. Kelly. The group also includes Lisa Nowak, who was expelled from the astronaut corps in 2007.
Pilots Duane G. Carey (1 flight)
Pilot, STS-109 (Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission; Columbia's last successful flight)
Stephen Frick (2 flights)
Pilot, STS-110 (ISS assembly mission – launched the S0 Truss Segment) Commander, STS-122 (ISS assembly mission – launched the Columbus Laboratory)
Charles O. Hobaugh (3 flights)
Pilot, STS-104 (ISS assembly mission – launched the Quest Joint Airlock) Pilot, STS-118 (ISS assembly mission – launched the S5 Truss Segment) Commander, STS-129
James M. Kelly (2 flights)
Pilot, STS-102 (ISS resupply mission) Pilot, STS-114 (the first "Return to Flight" mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
Mark Kelly (4 flights; fellow astronaut Scott Kelly is his twin brother) Pilot, STS-108 (ISS supply mission) Pilot, STS-121 (ISS resupply mission; second "Return to Flight" mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) Commander, STS-124 (ISS assembly mission – launched the Japanese Experiment Module) Commander, STS-134 (ISS assembly mission – launched AMS-02 and ELC-3)
Scott Kelly (4 flights; fellow astronaut Mark Kelly is his twin brother)
Pilot, STS-103 (Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission) Commander, STS-118 (ISS assembly mission – launched the S5 Truss Segment) Soyuz TMA-01M (Expedition 25/26) Soyuz TMA-16M/TMA-18M (Expedition 43/44/45/46) – ISS year long mission
Paul Lockhart (2 flights)
Pilot, STS-111 (ISS resupply mission) Pilot, STS-113 (launched the P1 Truss Segment, last flight before the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
Christopher Loria (0 flights) Assigned as the pilot for STS-113 but suffered herniated lumbar discs during mission training. Ultimately the injury resulted in his medical disqualification from further spaceflight assignments.
William C. McCool (1 flight; died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
Pilot, STS-107 (orbital science mission; last flight of Space Shuttle Columbia – RCC panel damage resulted in disintegration of Columbia)
Mark L. Polansky (3 flights)
Pilot, STS-98 (ISS assembly mission – launched Destiny) Commander, STS-116 (ISS assembly mission – launched the P5 Truss Segment) Commander, STS-127
Mission specialists
David M. Brown (1 flight; died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
STS-107 (orbital science mission; last flight of Space Shuttle Columbia – RCC panel damage resulted in disintegration of Columbia)
Daniel C. Burbank (3 flights)
STS-106 (ISS supply mission) STS-115 (ISS assembly mission – launched the P3/P4 Truss Assemblies) Soyuz TMA-22 (Expedition 29/30)
Yvonne Cagle (0 flights) , is a management astronaut (astronauts who remain NASA employees but are no longer eligible for flight assignment), assigned to NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California and serving as a visiting professor at Fordham University.
Fernando Caldeiro (0 flights) Died of a brain tumor before flight assignment
Charles Camarda (1 flight) STS-114 (the first "Return to Flight" mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
Laurel Clark (1 flight; died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
STS-107 (orbital science mission; last flight of Space Shuttle Columbia – RCC panel damage resulted in disintegration of Columbia)
Michael Fincke (4 flights) Soyuz TMA-4 (Expedition 9) Soyuz TMA-13 (Expedition 18) STS-134 SpaceX Crew-11 (Expedition 73/74)
Patrick G. Forrester (3 flights), Chief of the Astronaut Office 2017–2020 STS-105 (ISS resupply flight) STS-117 (ISS assembly mission – launched the S3/S4 Truss Assemblies) STS-128
John Herrington (1 flight) STS-113 (ISS assembly mission – launched the P1 Truss Segment)
Joan Higginbotham (1 flight) STS-116 (ISS assembly mission – launched the P5 Truss Segment)
Sandra Magnus (3 flights) STS-112 (ISS assembly mission – launched the S1 Truss Segment) STS-126/STS-119 Discovery (Expedition 18) STS-135 (Mission Specialist - Final Space Shuttle mission)
Mike Massimino (2 flights) STS-109 (Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission; Columbia's last successful flight) STS-125 (Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission)
Richard Mastracchio (4 flights) STS-106 (ISS supply mission) STS-118 (ISS assembly mission – launched the S5 Truss Segment) STS-131 Soyuz TMA-11M (Expedition 38/39)
Lee Morin (1 flight) STS-110 (ISS assembly mission – launched the S0 Truss Segment)
Lisa Nowak (1 flight; dismissed from the Astronaut Corps and reassigned to the U.S. Navy) STS-121 (ISS resupply mission) Lisa Nowak was arrested on February 5, 2007, after confronting a woman entangled in a love triangle with a fellow astronaut. She was fired by NASA on March 7, and she became the first astronaut to be both grounded and dismissed (prior astronauts who were grounded due to non-medical issues usually resigned or retired).
Donald Pettit (4 flights) STS-113 / Soyuz TMA-1 (Expedition 6) STS-126 (ISS resupply mission ULF2) Soyuz TMA-03M (Expedition 30/31) Soyuz MS-26 (Expedition 71/72)
John L. Phillips (3 flights)
STS-100 (ISS assembly mission – launched Canadarm2) Soyuz TMA-6 (Expedition 11) STS-119
Paul W. Richards (1 flight) STS-102 (ISS resupply mission)
Piers Sellers (3 flights)
STS-112 (ISS assembly mission – launched the S1 Truss Segment) STS-121 (ISS resupply mission) STS-132
Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (2 flights)
STS-115 (ISS assembly mission – launched the P3/P4 Truss Assemblies) STS-126 (ISS resupply mission ULF2)
Daniel M. Tani (2 flights)
STS-108 (ISS supply mission) STS-120 / STS-122 (Expedition 16)
Rex J. Walheim (3 flights)
STS-110 (ISS assembly mission – launched the S0 Truss Segment) STS-122 (ISS assembly mission – launched the Columbus Laboratory) STS-135
Peggy Whitson (5 flights, 3 with NASA) STS-111 / STS-113 (Expedition 5) Soyuz TMA-11 (Expedition 16) Soyuz MS-03 / MS-04 (Expedition 50/51/52) After her retirement from NASA, she was hired by Axiom Space, where she has commanded these missions: Axiom Mission 2 Axiom Mission 4 Jeffrey Williams (4 flights)
STS-101 (ISS supply mission) Soyuz TMA-8 (the launch and landing vehicle of Expedition 13) ISS Expedition 13 (6 month mission to the ISS) Soyuz TMA-16, ISS Expedition 21/22 Soyuz TMA-20M, ISS Expedition 47/48
Stephanie Wilson (3 flights)
STS-121 (ISS resupply mission; second Return to Flight mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) STS-120 (ISS assembly mission – launched Harmony (Node 2)) STS-131
International mission specialists
Pedro Duque (Spain; 2 flights)
STS-95 (orbital science mission) Soyuz TMA-3 / TMA-2
Christer Fuglesang (Sweden; 2 flights)
STS-116 (ISS assembly mission – launched the P5 Truss Segment) STS-128
Umberto Guidoni (Italy; 2 flights)
STS-75 (orbital science mission) – flight performed before being selected as Mission Specialist STS-100 (ISS assembly mission – launched Canadarm2)
Steven MacLean (Canada; 2 flights)
STS-52 (deployed the LAGEOS-II Satellite) – flight performed before being selected as Mission Specialist STS-115 (ISS assembly mission – launched the P3/P4 Truss Assemblies)
Mamoru Mohri (Japan; 2 flights) STS-47 (orbital science mission) – flight performed before being selected as Mission Specialist STS-99 (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission)
Soichi Noguchi (Japan; 3 flights) STS-114 (the first "Return to Flight" mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) Soyuz TMA-17 (Expedition 22/23) SpaceX Crew-1 (Expedition 64/65)
Julie Payette (Canada; 2 flights) on 2 October 2017, became the 29th Governor General of Canada. STS-96 (ISS supply mission) STS-127 (ISS supply mission)
Philippe Perrin (France; 1 flight) STS-111 (ISS resupply mission)
Gerhard Thiele (Germany; 1 flight) STS-99 (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission)
See also
List of astronauts by year of selection
References
External links