Astronaut Corner



Indian Astronauts


1. Rakesh Sharma

Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, is a former Indian Air Force pilot who flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984 as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme. Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian citizen to enter space when he flew aboard the Soviet rocket Soyuz T-11 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic on 3 April 1984. The Soyuz T-11 spacecraft carrying cosmonauts including Sharma docked and transferred the three member Soviet-Indian international crew, consisting of Yury Malyshev, and Gennadi Strekalov, to the Salyut 7 Orbital Station. Sharma spent 7 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes aboard the Salyut 7 during which his team conducted scientific and technical studies which included forty-three experimental sessions. His work was mainly in the fields of bio-medicine and remote sensing. The crew held a joint television news conference with officials in Moscow and then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. When Indira Gandhi asked Sharma how India looked from outer space, he replied, "Sare Jahan Se Accha" (the best in the world). This is the title of a patriotic poem by Iqbal , that continues to be popular today. With Sharma's voyage aboard Soyuz T-11, India became the 14th nation to send a man to outer space

Rakesh Sharma




Astronauts of Indian origin


Kalpana Chawla

1. Kalpana Chawla

The first ever woman of Indian origin to visit space was Kalpana Chawla. Born in Karnal, Punjab, Chawla went to America to study engineering in Texas. She ultimately received a PhD in aerospace engineering and thus began her journey toward space.

She was one of the six-member crew on STS-87 in 1997 and travelled over 10.4 million miles. Her second mission was STS-107 in 2003. The fatal mission ended in disaster when the shuttle disintegrated while re-entering Earth after a successful mission in space.

Chawla was awarded Congressional Space Medal of Honour, posthumously.





2. Sunitha Williams

Sunita Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998 and is a veteran of two space missions, Expeditions 14/15 and 32/33. NASA Expedition 14/15 (December 9, 2006 to June 22, 2007). Ms. Williams was launched with the crew of STS-116 on December 9, 2006, docking with the International Space Station on December 11, 2006 and Expedition 32/33 (July 14 to November 18, 2012). Again she was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.  While on-board, she established a world record for females with four spacewalks totalling 29 hours and 17 minutes.

Sunitha Williams




Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari

3. Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari

Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari, an Indian-American astronaut test pilot, was born on June 24, 1977. He holds more than 2,000 flying hours and is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States Naval Test Pilot School, and United States Air Force Academy graduate. In the American Air Force, he has the rank of colonel.

In June 2017, Chari was selected for NASA Astronaut Group 22, and reported for duty in August to begin two years of training as an astronaut.

In December 2020, Chari was selected to be a part of the Artemis Team, a group of astronauts "to help pave the way for the next lunar missions including sending the first woman and next man to walk on the lunar surface in 2024." The same month, he became the first astronaut from Group 22 to be selected for a space mission, SpaceX Crew-3, which he commanded. Chari is the first NASA rookie to command a spaceflight since Joe Engle, who commanded the STS-2 mission in 1981.

On March 23, 2022, Chari and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer exited the Quest Joint Airlock on the ISS and  performed an EVA. 





4. Sirisha Bandla

American aeronautical engineer Sirisha Bandla, born in India in 1988,and is another Indian American astronaut. She works for Virgin Galactic as the Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations. After Rakesh Sharma, Kalpana Chawla, and Sunita Williams, she was the third Indian-origin woman to travel to space  in the Virgin Galactic Unity 22 project.

 

Sirisha Bandla




The Moon Travelers


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Neil Armstrong

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Buzz Aldrin (Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr)

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Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr.

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Alan LaVern Bean

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Alan Shepard

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Dr. Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell

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David Randolph  "Dave" Scott

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James B. Irwin

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Captain John Watts Young

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Charles M. Duke

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Eugene Andrew Cernan

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Harrison Hagan Schmitt

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Other Astronauts / Cosmonauts


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Yuri Gagarin

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Valentina Tereshkova

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LOREN W ACTON

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JAMES C ADAMSON

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TOM AKERS

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BUZZ ALDRIN

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ANDREW M ALLEN

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JOSEPH P ALLEN

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Karol Joseph "Bo" Bobko

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Viktor Mikhaylovich Afanasyev

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Aleksandr Pavlovich Aleksandrov

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SCOTT D ALTMAN

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Anatoly Pavlovich Artsebarsky

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WILLIAM A. ANDERS

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Yuri Petrovich Artyukhin

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CLAYTON C ANDERSON

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Oleg Yur'yevich At'kov

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MICHAEL PHILIP ANDERSON

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Toktar Ongarbayuly Aubakirov

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DOMINIC A. ANTONELLI

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Sergei Avdeyev

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Aleksandr Nikolayevich Balandin

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JAY APT

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LEE J ARCHAMBAULT

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Yuri Mikhailovich Baturin

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Clayton Conrad Anderson

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Pavel Ivanovich Belyayev

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Jeffrey Shears Ashby

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Georgy Timofeyevich Beregovoy

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JAMES P BAGIAN

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Anatoly Nikolayevich Berezovoy

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Ellen Louise Shulman Baker

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Andrey Ivanovich Borisenko

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MICHAEL A BAKER

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Nikolai Mikhailovich Budarin

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DANIEL T BARRY

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Valery Fyodorovich Bykovsky

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Alan Bean

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Vladimir Nikolayevich Dezhurov

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JOHN E BLAHA

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Georgy Timofeyevich Dobrovolsky

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MICHAEL J BLOOMFIELD

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Pyotr Valerievich Dubrov

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GUION S BLUFORD

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Lev Stepanovich Dyomin

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Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov

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Charles Frank Bolden Jr

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Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov

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Frank Frederick Borman II

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Major General Anatoly Vasilyevich Filipchenko

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CHARLES E BRADY JR

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Yuri Pavlovich Gidzenko

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VANCE DEVOE BRAND

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Yury Nikolayevich Glazkov

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DANIEL C. BRANDENSTEIN

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Viktor Vasilyevich Gorbatko

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Roy Dubard Bridges Jr.

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Georgy Mikhaylovich Grechko

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Aleksei Aleksandrovich Gubarev

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CURTIS L BROWN JR

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DAVID M BROWN

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Aleksandr Sergeyevich Ivanchenkov

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MARK N. BROWN

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Anatoli Alekseyevich Ivanishin

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James Frederick Buchli

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Leonid Denisovich Kizim

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Jay Clark Buckey Jr.

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Pyotr Ilyich Klimuk

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Daniel C. Burbank

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Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov

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DANIEL W BURSCH

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Yelena Vladimirovna Kondakova

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FERNANDO (FRANK) CALDEIRO

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Dmitri Yuryevich Kondratyev

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Charles Joseph "Charlie" Camarda

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Oleg Dmitriyevich Kononenko

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KENNETH D CAMERON

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Mikhail Borisovich Kornienko

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DUANE G CAREY

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Valery Grigoryevich Korzun

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Scott Carpenter

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Oleg Valeriyevich Kotov

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GERALD P CARR

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Vladimir Vasiliyevich Kovalyonok

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MANLEY LANIER CARTER JR

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Konstantin Mirovich Kozeyev

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JOHN H CASPER

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Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev

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Christopher J. Cassidy

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Valery Nikolaevich Kubasov

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Robert Joseph "Bob" Cenker

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Aleksandr Ivanovich Laveykin

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Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr.

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Vasily Grigoryevich Lazarev

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Richard Oswalt Covey

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Aleksandr Ivanovich Lazutkin

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Gregory Errol Chamitoff

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Valentin Vitalyevich Lebedev

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Franklin Ramon Chang-Diaz

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Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov

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Philip Kenyon Chapman

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Anatoly Semyonovich Levchenko

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Kevin Patrick Chilton

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Yury Valentinovich Lonchakov

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Laurel Blair Clark

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Vladimir Afanasyevich Lyakhov

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Mary Louise Cleave

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Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov

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Michael R Clifford

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Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko

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Michael Lloyd Coats

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Yuri Vasilyevich Malyshev

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Kenneth D Cockrell

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Gennady Mikhailovich Manakov

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Catherine Grace Coleman

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Musa Khiramanovich Manarov

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EILEEN MARIE COLLINS

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Boris Vladimirovich Morukov

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MICHAEL COLLINS

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Talgat Amangeldyuly Musabayev

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CHARLES CONRAD, JR

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Andriyan Grigoryevich Nikolayev

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LEROY GORDON COOPER, JR.

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Oleg Viktorovich Novitsky

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Daniel C. Burbank

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Col. Yuri Ivanovich Onufrienko

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John Oliver Creighton

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Aleksey Nikolayevich Ovchinin

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ROBERT L CRIPPEN

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Gennady Ivanovich Padalka

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Jay Clark Buckey

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Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev

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Roger Keith Crouch

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Aleksandr Fyodorovich Poleshchuk

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FRANK L. CULBERTSON, JR

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Valeri Vladimirovich Polyakov

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WALTER CUNNINGHAM

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Leonid Ivanovich Popov

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Robert Lee Curbeam Jr.

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Pavel Romanovich Popovich

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Nancy Jane Currie-Gregg

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Sergey Valeryevich Prokopyev

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Nancy Jan Davis

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Sergei Nikolayevich Revin

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Lawrence James DeLucas

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Roman Yurievich Romanenko

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BRIAN DUFFY

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Yuri Viktorovich Romanenko

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CHARLES MOSS DUKE, JR.

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Valery Ilyich Rozhdestvensky

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Bonnie Jeanne Dunbar

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Nikolai Nikolayevich Rukavishnikov

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Samuel Thornton Durrance

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Sergey Nikolayevich Ryazansky

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James Patrick "Mash" Dutton, Jr.

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Valery Victorovich Ryumin

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E FRANK EDWARDS, JR

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Sergey Nikolayevich Ryzhikov

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Donn Fulton Eisele

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Aleksandr Mikhailovich Samokutyaev

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Anthony Wayne England

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Gennady Vasiliyevich Sarafanov

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Joe H Engle ( Maj Gen)

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Viktor Petrovich Savinykh

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Ronald Ellwin Evans Jr.

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Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya

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John McCreary Fabian

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Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Serebrov

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Jean-Jacques Favier

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Yelena Olegovna Serova

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Christopher J. Ferguson

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Vitaly Ivanovich Sevastyanov

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Martin Joseph Fettman

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Yuri Georgiyevich Shargin

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Jack David Fischer

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Salizhan Shakirovich Sharipov

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Anna L Fischer

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Vladimir Aleksandrovich Shatalov

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William Frederick Fisher

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Anton Nikolaevich Shkaplerov

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Kevin Anthony Ford

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Georgy Stepanovich Shonin

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MICHAEL J. FOREMAN

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Oleg Ivanovich Skripochka

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Michael E. Fossum

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Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Skvortsov

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Colin Michael Foale

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Anatoly Yakovlevich Solovyev

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Leroy Chiao

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Vladimir Alekseyevich Solovyov

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Stephen Nathaniel Frick

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Gennady Mikhailovich Strekalov

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Charles Gordon Fullerton

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Maksim Viktorovich Surayev

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Francis Andrew Gaffney

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Evgeny Igorevich Tarelkin

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Ronald John Garan Jr.

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Gherman Stepanovich Titov

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Dale Allan Gardner

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Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov

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Guy S Gardner

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Valeri Ivanovich Tokarev

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Edwin Jacob "Jake" Garn

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Sergey Yevgenyevich Treshchov

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Owen Kay Garriott

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Vasily Vasiliyevich Tsibliyev

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Charles Donald Gemar

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Mikhail Vladislavovich Tyurin

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Edward George Gibson

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Yury Vladimirovich Usachov

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Robert Lee Gibson

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Vladimir Vladimirovich Vasyutin

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Wendy Barrien Lawrence

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Aleksandr Stepanovich Viktorenko

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John Herschel Glenn Jr.

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Pavel Vladimirovich Vinogradov

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Linda Maxine Godwin

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Igor Petrovich Volk

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Michael Timothy Good

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Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov

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Richard Francis Gordon Jr.

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Sergey Aleksandrovich Volkov

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Dominic Lee Pudwill Gorie

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Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov

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Ronald John Grabe

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Boris Valentinovich Volynov

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Kevin Richard Kregel

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Boris Yegorov

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Frederick Drew Gregory

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Aleksei Stanislavovich Yeliseyev

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William George Gregory

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Fyodor Nikolayevich Yurchikhin

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Stanley David Griggs

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Sergei Viktorovich Zalyotin

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Virgil Ivan Grissom

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Vitaly Mikhaylovich Zholobov

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John Mace Grunsfeld

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Vyacheslav Dmitriyevich Zudov

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Sidney McNeill Gutierrez

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Fred Wallace Haise Jr

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James Donald Halsell Jr.

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Kenneth Todd Ham

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Lloyd Blaine Hammond Jr.

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Gregory Jordan Harbaugh

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Bernard Anthony Harris Jr.

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Henry Warren Hartsfield Jr.

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Frederick Hamilton Hauck

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Steven Alan Hawley

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Susan Jane Helms

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Karl Gordon Henize

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Thomas John Hennen

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Terence Thomas Henricks

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Terry Jonathan Hart

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Bernard Anthony Harris Jr.

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Richard James Hieb

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Joan Elizabeth Higginbotham

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David Carl Hilmers

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Kathryn Patricia Hire

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