Franklin Chang Díaz
American - (NASA)
Retired
Date of Birth: April 5, 1950
Age: 74
Franklin Ramón Chang Díaz is a Costa Rican Chinese American mechanical engineer, physicist, former NASA astronaut. He is the founder and current CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company as well as a member of Cummins' board of directors. He became an American citizen in 1977. He is of Chinese (paternal side) and Costa Rican Spanish (maternal side) descent. He is a veteran of seven Space Shuttle missions, tieing the record, as of 2018 for the most spaceflights (a record set by Jerry L. Ross). He was the third Latin American, but the first Latin American immigrant NASA Astronaut selected to go into space. Chang Díaz is a member of the NASA Astronaut Hall of Fame.
Space Shuttle Columbia / OV-102 | STS-61-C
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Jan. 12, 1986, 11:55 a.m.
Status: Success
Mission:
STS-61-C was the twenty-fourth mission of the shuttle program and the seventh of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission included the second African-American shuttle pilot, future NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, the first Costa Rican born astronaut and the second sitting politican to fly in space: Bill Nelson.
Low Earth OrbitSpace Shuttle Atlantis / OV-104 | STS-34
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Oct. 18, 1989, 4:53 p.m.
Space Shuttle Atlantis / OV-104 | STS-46
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
July 31, 1992, 1:56 p.m.
Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-60
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Feb. 3, 1994, 12:10 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:
STS-60 was the first mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried Sergei K. Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Discovery, which lifted off from Launch Pad 39A on 3 February 1994 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The mission carried the Wake Shield Facility experiment and a SPACEHAB module into orbit, and carried out a live bi-directional audio and downlink link-up with the cosmonauts aboard the Russian space station Mir.
Low Earth OrbitSpace Shuttle Columbia / OV-102 | STS-75
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Feb. 22, 1996, 8:18 p.m.
Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-91
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
June 2, 1998, 10:06 p.m.
Space Shuttle Endeavour / OV-105 | STS-111
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
June 5, 2002, 9:22 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:
STS-111 was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. STS-111 resupplied the station and replaced the Expedition 4 crew with the Expedition 5 crew. It was launched on 5 June 2002, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Low Earth OrbitThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 6-66
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAA batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Soyuz 2.1a
Progress MS-29 (90P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of KazakhstanProgress resupply mission to the International Space Station.
Starship
Integrated Flight Test 6
Orbital Launch Mount A - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USASixth test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle.
Falcon 9
GSAT-20 (GSAT-N2)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAGSAT-20 is an Indian geostationary Ka-band high-throughput communications satellite. GSAT 20 is reportedly built on the I-6K unified modular bus a…
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 9-12
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAA batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
