Source: NASA News Release Issued on December 2, 2003

NASA has named McAllen High School graduate and first-time space traveler Michael Fossum to the crew of STS-121, a Space Shuttle Discovery mission recently added to the flight manifest. In addition to Fossum, NASA tabbed veteran Astronaut Steven Lindsey to command the mission and also selected veteran Astronauts Mark Kelly and Carlos Noriega to round out the crew.

Fossum, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, is a member of the 1998 astronaut class. Before joining the astronaut corps, Fossum worked for NASA as an engineer. He will serve as a mission specialist for STS-121. Fossum graduated from McHi in 1976 and from Texas A&M University in 1980.

STS-121 will probably lift off sometime in 2005. The STS-121 crewmembers began their training in December 2003 at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

For the latest mission status report on STS-121 and the other scheduled shuttle missions, click here to go to NASA's shuttle schedule Web site.

STS-121 is International Space Station Flight Utilization and Logistics Flight 1.1 (ULF1.1). Discovery will deliver supplies and equipment to the orbital outpost. It will be the first mission to fly following STS-114, which will return the Space Shuttle to flight following the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia and the STS-107 crew.

Some of STS-121's objectives were originally scheduled for STS-114, but were reassigned when STS-114 received Return to Flight activities. The STS-121 crew will also continue the testing and development of new hardware and procedures designed to make Space Shuttle flight safer.

Other STS-121 crewmembers will be added at a later date. This mission could serve as an ISS crew rotation flight, which means new Station residents will travel to the Station aboard the Shuttle, and the Expedition crew aboard will return to Earth with STS-121.

Lindsey, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, will serve as commander for the second time during his NASA career. He commanded STS-104, a mission that delivered the Quest Airlock to the Station in 2001. He served as a pilot during his other two flights -- STS-87 in 1997 and STS-95 in 1998.

Kelly will make his second trip into space during STS-121. He will serve as the mission's pilot. He was the pilot for STS-108 in December 2001. STS-108 delivered the Expedition 4 crew to the International Space Station and returned the Expedition 3 crew to Earth. Kelly is a commander in the U.S. Navy.

Like Lindsey and Kelly, STS-121 Mission Specialist Carlos Noriega will make his second trip to the International Space Station. Noriega, who is a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, served as a mission specialist during STS-97 in 2000. He conducted three STS-97 spacewalks to install and activate the Station's P6 Integrated Truss Segment. In 1997, he flew to the Russian Mir Space Station as a mission specialist during STS-84.

PERSONAL DATA: Born December 19, 1957 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and grew up in McAllen, Texas. Married to the former Melanie J. London. They have 4 children. He enjoys family activities, jogging, fishing, and backpacking. His mother, Patricia A. Fossum, resides in McAllen, Texas. His father, Merlyn E. Fossum, is deceased.

EDUCATION: McAllen High School, McAllen, Texas, 1976.
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1980.
M.S., Systems Engineering , Air Force Institute of Technology, 1981.
M.S., Physical Science (Space Science), University of Houston-Clear Lake, 1997.

SPECIAL HONORS: Distinguished Military Graduate from Texas A&M University. Awarded the USAF Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster and various other service awards. Distinguished Graduate from the USAF Test Pilot School, Class 85A.

EXPERIENCE: Fossum received his commission in the US Air Force from Texas A&M University in May 1980. After completing his graduate work at the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1981, he was detailed to NASA-Johnson Space Center where he supported the development of Space Shuttle flight procedures. He was selected for Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, where he graduated in 1985. After graduation, Fossum served at Edwards AFB as a Flight Test Engineer in the F-16 Test Squadron, working on a variety of airframe, avionics, and armament development programs. From 1989 to 1992, he served as a Flight Test Manager at Detachment 3, Air Force Flight Test Center. Fossum resigned from active duty in 1992 in order to work for NASA. He has logged over 800 hours in 34 different aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE: In January 1993, Fossum was employed by NASA as a systems engineer. His primary responsibilities were to evaluate the Russian Soyuz spacecraft for use as an emergency escape vehicle for the new space station. Later in 1993, Fossum was selected to represent the Flight Crew Operations Directorate in an extensive redesign of the International Space Station. After this, he continued work for the crew office and Mission Operations Directorate in the area of assembly operations. In 1996, Fossum supported the Astronaut Office as a Technical Assistant for Space Shuttle, supporting design and management reviews. In 1997, he served as a Flight Test Engineer on the X-38, a prototype crew escape vehicle for the new Space Station, which is under development in-house by the Engineering Directorate at NASA-JSC and being flight tested at NASA-Dryden.

Selected by NASA in June 1998, he reported for training in August 1998. Astronaut Candidate Training includes orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training and ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. In December 2003, Fossum was named as a Mission Specialist for STS-121, a Discovery flight.