STS-59 CREW BIOGRAPHIES

STS-59 CREW BIOGRAPHIES

Gutierrez, Commander (CDR)              
Chilton, Pilot (PLT)                    
Godwin, Mission Specialist-3           
Apt, Mission Specialist-1               
Clifford, Mission Specialist-2          
Jones, Mission Specialist-4             
  
     Sidney M. Gutierrez, 42, Col., USAF, will be commander (CDR) of STS-59. He
was selected to be an astronaut in 1984 and will be making his second flight
aboard the Space Shuttle.

     Gutierrez was born in Albuquerque, N.M.  He graduated from Valley High
School, Albuquerque, in 1969; received a bachelor's degree in aeronautical
engineering from the Air Force Academy in 1973; and received a master's degree
in management from Webster College in 1977.

     Following graduation from the Air Force Academy, where he was a member of
the National Championship USAFA Parachute Team and completed more that 550
jumps, Gutierrez completed pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base, Del Rio,
Tex.  He then served as an instructor pilot in T-38 aircraft at Laughlin from
1975-77, and in 1978, was assigned to the 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron,
Holloman Air Force Base, Alamagordo, N.M., flying the F-15 Eagle aircraft.
Gutierrez attended the Air Force Test Pilot School in 1981, and after
graduating, served as the primary test pilot for airframe and propulsion
testing on the F-16 sircraft.

     Gutierrez' first Shuttle flight was as pilot of STS-40, the first Spacelab
Life Sciences flight, aboard Columbia in June 1991.  Gutierrez has logged more
than 4,000 hours flying time in 30 different types of aircraft, sailplanes,
rockets and balloons.

     Kevin P. Chilton, 39, Col., USAF, will serve as pilot (PLT).  He was
selected to be an astronaut in 1988 and will be making his second space flight.

     Chilton was born in Los Angeles, Calif. He graduated from St. Bernard High
School, Playa del Rey, Calif., in 1972; received a bachelor's degree in
engineering sciences from the Air Force Academy in 1976; and received a
master's degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University in 1977.

     Chilton received his wings at Williams Air Force Base, Ariz., in 1978, and
was assigned to the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Kadena Air Base,
Japan, flying the RF4 Phantom II aircraft.  In 1981, he was assigned to the
67th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Kadena Air Base flying the F-15 Eagle
aircraft.  Chilton attended the Air Force Squadron Officer School in 1982 and
served as an F-15 weapons officer, instructor pilot and flight commander until
1984 at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. He completed the Air Force Test Pilot
School in 1984 and later served as weapons and systems test pilot in the F-15
and F-4.

     Chilton's first space flight was as pilot of Endeavour's maiden flight on
STS-49, a mission that repaired a stranded INTELSAT communications satellite,
in May 1992.  He has logged more than 213 hours in space.

     Linda M. Godwin, 41, is payload commander and mission specialist 3 (MS-3).
She is a member of the astronaut class of 1985 and will be making her second
Shuttle flight.

     Godwin was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and considers Jackson, Mo.,
her hometown.  She graduated from Jackson High School in 1970 and received a
bachelor of science degree in mathematics and physics from Southeast Missouri
State in 1974.  In 1976 and 1980 she earned master of science and doctorate
degrees in physics from the University of Missouri.

     She joined NASA in 1980 working in the payload integration office of the
Mission Operations Directorate. Before being selected an astronaut, Godwin
served in Mission Control as a flight controller and payloads officer on
several Shuttle missions.

     Her first Shuttle mission was aboard Atlantis on the STS-37 mission in
April 1991.  The primary task of the crew during the flight was to deploy the
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and to evaluate translation techniques during two
spacewalks.  Godwin has logged more than 143 hours in space.  She also has
logged approximately 500 hours in light aircraft.

     Jay Apt, 44, will be mission specialist 1 (MS-1) and the commander of the
blue shift on STS-59. He was chosen to be an astronaut in 1985 and will be
making his third Space Shuttle flight.

     Apt was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, but considers Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, his hometown.  He graduated from Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh
in 1967; received a bachelor of arts degree in physics from Harvard College in
1971; and received a doctorate in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in 1976.

     He joined NASA in 1980 and worked in the Earth and Space Sciences Division
at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, doing planetary research as part of the
Pioneer Venus Orbiter Infrared team.  In 1981, he became the manager of JPL's
Table Mountain Observatory. He served as a flight controller and payloads
officer in Mission Control from 1982 through 1985.

     Apt flew on the Shuttle first as a mission specialist on Atlantis' eighth
mission, STS-37 in April 1991, to deploy the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
During that mission, he conducted two spacewalks to release a stuck antenna on
the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and to evaluate translation techniques for
possible use during future spacewalks and spacecraft assembly in orbit.

     His second flight, also as a mission specialist, was aboard Endeavour in
September 1992.  This mission was a cooperative effort between the U.S. and
Japan to perform life sciences and materials processing experiments in the
Spacelab pressurized module housed in the payload bay.  He was the flight
engineer and commanded the blue shift during the mission.

     In addition to his two Shuttle missions totaling 334 hours, Apt has logged
more than 3,000 hours in 25 different types of aircraft.

     Michael R. "Rich" Clifford, 41, Lt. Col., USAF, is mission specialist 2
(MS-2).  Selected as an astronaut in 1990, he will be making his second flight
aboard the Space Shuttle.

     Clifford was born in San Bernardino, Calif., but considers Ogden, Utah,
his hometown.  He graduated from Ben Lomond High School in Ogden in 1970.  In
1974, Clifford received his bachelor of science degree from the U.S. Military
Academy, West Point, N. Y. He earned a master of science degree in aerospace
engineering in 1982 from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

     After graduation from the Naval Test Pilot School in 1986, he was
designated an experimental test pilot.  He was assigned to the Johnson Space
Center in 1987 as a military officer and served as a Space Shuttle vehicle
integration engineer.  He was involved in design certification and integration
of the Shuttle crew escape system.

     Clifford's first Shuttle mission aboard Discovery, STS- 53, was a
Department of Defense flight in December 1992 giving him more than 175 hours in
space.  He has logged more than 2,900 flying hours in a wide variety of fixed
and rotary winged aircraft.

     Thomas D. Jones, 39, will serve as mission specialist 4 (MS-4).  He was
selected to be a member of the astronaut corps in 1990 and will be making his
first flight aboard the Space Shuttle.

     Jones was born in Baltimore, Md. He graduated from Kenwood Senior High
School, Essex, Md., in 1973.  He received a bachelor of science degree in basic
sciences from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs in 1977, and a
doctorate in planetary science from the University of Arizona, Tucson, in 1988.

     He served on active duty as an Air Force officer for six years flying
strategic bombers at Carswell AFB, Texas. While serving as a pilot and
commander of a B-52D Stratofortress, he led a combat crew of six, accumulating
more than 2,000 hours of jet experience.  He resigned his commission in 1983
with the rank of captain.

     Prior to his selection as an astronaut, Jones was a program management
engineer in the Office of Development and Engineering, CIA, and a senior
scientist with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), Washington,
D.C. At SAIC, his tasks included advanced program planning for the Solar System
Exploration Division at NASA Headquarters, concentrating on future robotic
missions to Mars, asteroids, and the outer solar system.

     In addition to the STS-59 mission, Jones is training as the payload
commander for the second Space Radar Laboratory mission (SRL-2) scheduled for
launch in August 1994 (STS-68).
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