NASA Astronaut Group 15

The Flying Escargot
Official group portrait
The astronauts of Group 15
Year selected1994
Number selected23

NASA Astronaut Group 15 ("The Flying Escargot") was a group of 23 NASA astronauts announced on December 8, 1994.[1][2] Group members adopted The Flying Escargot as their moniker, in reference to two members of the group being from France.[3] The group featured ten pilots, nine mission specialists, and four international mission specialist trainees from France,[4][5][6] Canada[7] and Japan.[7]

Three members of this group, Rick Husband, Michael P. Anderson, and Kalpana Chawla, died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[8] These three received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.[9][10][11]

Another member of the group Pamela Melroy, currently serves as Deputy Administrator of NASA, taking office on June 21, 2021, having been appointed by US President Joe Biden.[12]

  1. ^ Hess, Mark; Campion, Ed; Herring, Kyle (8 December 1994). "1995 Astronaut Candidates Selected" (TXT). NASA News. NASA. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  2. ^ "NASA Names 19 New Astronaut Candidates". The Tyler Courier-Times. Houston, Texas. Associated Press. 9 December 1994. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "T-shirt, Class of '95, Shuttle (Melroy)". National Air and Space Museum. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  4. ^ Herring, Kyle (1 March 1995). "95-016: Veteran French Astronauts Lend Expertise to Training". Johnson News. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  5. ^ Rahn, Debbie; Buckingham, Bruce; Herring, Kyle (12 September 1997). "97-199: Atlantis' Sveneth Mission to Mir Set for Sept. 25" (TXT). NASA News. NASA. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  6. ^ McCarter, Jennifer; Hawley, Eileen M. (13 November 1997). "H97-263: Tognini Named to STS-93 Crew" (TXT). NASA News. NASA. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b Rahn, Debbie; Herring, Kyle (13 January 1995). "95-003: Two International Candidates to Join 1995 Astronaut Class" (TXT). NASA News. NASA. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  8. ^ Howell, Jefferson D. Jr. (2 February 2003). "J03-07: Statement From JSC Director, Lt. Gen. Jefferson D. Howell, Jr". Johnson News. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  9. ^ Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (May 2004). "Rick Douglas Husband" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  10. ^ Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (May 2004). "Michael P. Anderson" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  11. ^ Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (May 2004). "Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D." (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  12. ^ "President Biden nominates former astronaut Pamela Melroy for NASA deputy administrator". Space.com. 16 April 2021.