Technology news and Jobs arrow Science arrow Shuttle astronaut quits
Shuttle astronaut quits E-mail
by Stephen Withers   
Thursday, 22 November 2007
Crew assignments for space shuttle mission STS-126 have been revised following the resignation of an experienced astronaut.

Joan Higginbotham, who flew on Discovery's STS-116 mission in late 2006, has resigned to take up a private sector position.

"Joan has done a tremendous job as an astronaut during the past 11 years," said Steve Lindsey, chief of the astronaut office at NASA's Johnson Space Center. "She contributed her expertise to nearly every space shuttle and International Space Station mission. She will be missed, but we wish her the very best in her future endeavours."

Her replacement is Donald Pettit, who spend five and a half months aboard the space station as the Expedition 6 science officer. He performed two spacewalks during that mission.

STS-126 is planned for September 2008. Another member of its crew, Stephen Bowen, was originally assigned to STS-124 but has been bumped to allow the shuttle to rotate a space station resident. The target date for the STS-124 launch is April 24, 2008.

The primary goal of STS-126 is the delivery of a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module that will allow larger crews to live aboard the space station.

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