U.S. space shuttle Endeavour lifted off Friday night from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, heading for the International Space Station on a "home improvement" mission.
There are altogether seven astronauts aboard Endeavour:
Christopher Ferguson: Commander, U.S. Navy Captain. He is a veteran of one spaceflight -- pilot of shuttle Atlantis' STS-115 mission in September 2006.
Eric Boe: Pilot, U.S. Air Force Colonel. This is his first spaceflight. Before flying the space shuttle, he has logged more than 4,000 hours in 45 different aircraft.
Donald Pettit: Mission Specialist-1. This is his second spaceflight. He was the science officer of Expedition 6 aboard the space station. He has stayed over 161 days in space, including 13 spacewalk hours.
Steve Bowen: Mission Specialist-2, U.S. Navy Captain. He is thefirst submarine officer selected as an astronaut by U.S. space agency NASA. This is his first spaceflight, during which he will conduct three spacewalks.
Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper: Mission Specialist-3, U.S. Navy Captain. She is a veteran of one spaceflight, STS-115, and will bethe lead spacewalker in Endeavour's STS-126 mission for three of the four planned spacewalks.
Shane Kimbrough: Mission Specialist-4, U.S. Army Lt. Colonel. This is his first spaceflight, during which he will conduct two spacewalks. During his military service, he was deployed in Operation Desert Storm.
Sandra Magnus: Mission Specialist-5. She is a veteran of one spaceflight -- shuttle Atlantis' STS-112 mission in October 2002. She has a doctor's degree of material science and engineering and will stay on the station as the flight engineer and science officer of Expedition 18. She will return on STS-119, scheduled for February 2009.
Source:Xinhua
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