The crew of the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour
The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour lifted off on Wednesday on a journey to the International Space Station, where astronauts will install a Japanese-built porch to expose science experiments to the vacuum of space.
Here are brief profiles of Endeavour's seven-member crew:
* Mark Polansky - Endeavour's 53-year-old commander, Polansky is a married father of two from Paterson, New Jersey. Holds degrees in aeronautical engineering and astronautics. Former U.S. Air Force test pilot has logged over 5,000 flight hours in 30 different aircraft. Made two previous flights to the International Space Station.
* Douglas Hurley - A 42-year-old lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps who serves as Endeavour's pilot, Hurley is a native of Endicott, New York. Holds a degree in civil engineering. Test pilot was the first Marine to fly the FA-18 Super Hornet and has logged more than 3,200 hours in 22 aircraft. Served as NASA's director of operations at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. Making his first spaceflight.
* David Wolf - A 52-year-old medical doctor born in Indianapolis, Wolf will serve as a mission specialist and lead spacewalker on Endeavour. Has received 15 patents primarily for tissue-engineering technologies. Logged 158 days in space during three previous missions; a research flight on shuttle Columbia in 1993, a station construction mission aboard Atlantis in 2002 and a four-month stint on the Russian Mir space station in 1997 and 1998.
* Christopher Cassidy - A 39-year-old U.S. Navy commander born in Salem, Massachusetts, Cassidy will serve as a mission specialist and spacewalker on Endeavour. Married with three children. Holds a masters in ocean engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Served 10 years as a member of a Navy SEAL team and was deployed to Afghanistan two weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks. Joined NASA in 2004 and is making his first spaceflight.
* Julie Payette - A 45-year-old Canadian astronaut born in Montreal, Payette will serve as Endeavour's flight engineer and prime robotics operator. Married with two children. Can converse in French, English, Spanish, Italian, Russian and German. Has degrees in electrical engineering and computer engineering. Became the first Canadian to board the space station when she flew on shuttle Discovery in 1999. Making her second spaceflight.
* Thomas Marshburn - A 48-year-old married father of one who was born in Statesville, North Carolina, Marshburn will serve as a mission specialist and spacewalker on Endeavour. A medical doctor, he holds degrees in physics, engineering physics and medical science. Served as flight surgeon for NASA personnel at the Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. Making his first spaceflight.
* Timothy Kopra - A 46-year-old colonel in the U.S. Army and married father of two who was born in Austin, Texas, Kopra will stay at the International Space Station for over a month as a flight engineer. He holds a degree in aerospace engineering and served in the first Gulf War. He is making his first spaceflight.
Source: NASA (Reporting by Irene Klotz and Jim Loney in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Editing by Philip Barbara)
