# NASA Astronaut Group 16

NASA Astronaut Group 16 ("The Sardines") was a group of 44 astronauts announced by NASA on May 1, 1996. The class was nicknamed "The Sardines" for being such a large class, humorously implying that their training sessions would be as tightly packed as sardines in a can. These 44 candidates compose the largest astronaut class to date. NASA selected so many candidates in preparation for the anticipated need for ISS crew members, along with regular shuttle needs. Nine of the 44 astronauts selected were from other countries, including 1 each from 5 Europe nations and 2 each from Canada and Japan.
Three members of this group, William C. McCool, David M. Brown, and Laurel B. Clark, died in the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, during STS-107. These three received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
The group includes identical twins Mark and Scott J. Kelly. The group also includes Lisa Nowak, who was expelled from the astronaut corps in 2007.

## Pilots

* Duane G. Carey (1 flight)
    STS-109 Columbia (Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission; Columbia's last successful flight)
* Stephen Frick (2 flights)
    STS-110 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the S0 Truss Segment)
    STS-122 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the Columbus Laboratory)
* Charles O. Hobaugh (3 flights)
    STS-104 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the Quest Joint Airlock)
    STS-118 Endeavour (ISS assembly mission – launched the S5 Truss Segment)
    STS-129 Atlantis
* James M. Kelly (2 flights)
    Pilot, STS-102 Discovery (ISS resupply mission)
    Pilot, STS-114 Discovery (the first "Return to Flight" mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
* Mark E. Kelly (4 flights; fellow astronaut Scott J. Kelly is his twin brother)
    Pilot, STS-108 Endeavour (ISS supply mission)
    Pilot, STS-121 Discovery (ISS resupply mission; second "Return to Flight" mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
    Commander, STS-124 Discovery (ISS assembly mission – launched the Japanese Experiment Module)
    Commander, STS-134 Endeavour (ISS assembly mission – launched the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 (AMS-02) and ExPRESS Logistics Carrier-3(ELC-3))
* Scott J. Kelly (4 flights; fellow astronaut Mark E. Kelly is his twin brother)
    Pilot, STS-103 Discovery (Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission)
    Commander, STS-118 Endeavour (ISS assembly mission – launched the S5 Truss Segment)
    Expedition 25/26
    Soyuz TMA-01M (launch and landing vehicle for Expedition 25/26)
    Expedition 43/Expedition 44/Expedition 45/Expedition 46
    Soyuz TMA-16M/Soyuz TMA-18M (Launch and landing vehicles for Expedition 43-46) ISS year long mission
* Paul Lockhart (2 flights)
    STS-111 Endeavour (ISS resupply mission)
    STS-113 Endeavour (launched the P1 Truss Segment, last flight before the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
* Christopher Loria
* William C. McCool (1 flight; died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
    STS-107 Columbia (orbital science mission; last flight of Space Shuttle Columbia – RCC panel damage resulted in disintegration of Columbia)
* Mark L. Polansky (3 flights)
    STS-98 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched Destiny)
    STS-116 Discovery (ISS assembly mission – launched the P5 Truss Segment)
    STS-127 Endeavour

## Mission specialists

* David M. Brown (1 flight; died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
    STS-107 Columbia (orbital science mission; last flight of Space Shuttle Columbia – RCC panel damage resulted in disintegration of Columbia)
* Daniel C. Burbank (3 flights)
    STS-106 Atlantis (ISS supply mission)
    STS-115 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the P3/P4 Truss Assemblies)
    Soyuz TMA-22 (the launch and landing vehicle of Expedition 29/Expedition 30)
    ISS Expedition 29/Expedition 30 (6 month mission to the ISS)
* Yvonne D. Cagle (0 flights)
** As of April 2021, on the active list of NASA Management Astronauts (active astronauts no longer eligible for spaceflight assignments), assigned to NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California
* Fernando "Frank" Caldeiro (0 flights)
* Charles J. Camarda (1 flight)
    STS-114 Discovery (the first "Return to Flight" mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
* Laurel B. Clark (1 flight; died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
    STS-107 Columbia (orbital science mission; last flight of Space Shuttle Columbia – RCC panel damage resulted in disintegration of Columbia)
* E. Michael Fincke (3 flights)
    Soyuz TMA-4 (the launch and landing vehicle of Expedition 9)
    ISS Expedition 9 (6 month mission to the ISS)
    Soyuz TMA-13 (launch vehicle for Expedition 18)
    Expedition 18
    STS-134 Endeavour
* Patrick G. Forrester (3 flights), Chief of the Astronaut Office 2017–2020
    STS-105 Discovery (ISS resupply flight)
    STS-117 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the S3/S4 Truss Assemblies)
    STS-128 Discovery
* John B. Herrington (1 flight)
    STS-113 Endeavour (ISS assembly mission – launched the P1 Truss Segment)
* Joan E. Higginbotham (1 flight)
    STS-116 Discovery (ISS assembly mission – launched the P5 Truss Segment)
* Sandra H. Magnus (3 flights)
    STS-112 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the S1 Truss Segment)
    STS-126 Endeavour
    ISS Expedition 18 – Flight Engineer (3 month expedition)
    STS-135 Atlantis
* Michael J. Massimino (2 flights)
    STS-109 Columbia (Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission; Columbia's last successful flight)
    STS-125 Atlantis (Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission)
* Richard A. Mastracchio (4 flights)
    STS-106 Atlantis (ISS supply mission)
    STS-118 Endeavour (ISS assembly mission – launched the S5 Truss Segment)
    STS-131 Discovery
    ISS Expedition 38/Expedition 39 (6 month mission to the ISS)
    Soyuz TMA-11M (the launch and landing vehicle of Expedition 38/Expedition 39)
* Lee M. E. Morin (1 flight)
    STS-110 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the S0 Truss Segment)
* Lisa M. Nowak (1 flight; dismissed from the Astronaut Corps and reassigned to the U.S. Navy)
    STS-121 Discovery (ISS resupply mission; second Return to Flight mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
       Lisa Nowak was arrested on February 5, 2007, after confronting a woman entangled in a love triangle with a fellow astronaut. She was fired by NASA on March 7, and she became the first astronaut to be both grounded and dismissed (prior astronauts who were grounded due to non-medical issues usually resigned or retired).
* Donald R. Pettit (3 flights)
    STS-113 Endeavour (the launch vehicle of Expedition 6)
    ISS Expedition 6 (5½ month mission to the ISS)
    Soyuz TMA-1 (the landing vehicle of Expedition 6)
    STS-126 Endeavour (ISS resupply mission ULF2)
    Soyuz TMA-03M (ISS Expedition 30/31)
    Soyuz MS-26 (ISS Expedition 71/72)
* John L. Phillips (3 flights)
    STS-100 Endeavour (ISS assembly mission – launched Canadarm2)
    ISS Expedition 11 (6 month mission to the ISS)
    Soyuz TMA-6 (the launch and landing vehicle of Expedition 11)
    STS-119 Discovery
* Paul W. Richards (1 flight)
    STS-102 Discovery (ISS resupply mission)
* Piers J. Sellers (3 flights)
    STS-112 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the S1 Truss Segment)
    STS-121 Discovery (ISS resupply mission; Second "Return to Flight" Mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
    STS-132 Atlantis
* Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (2 flights)
    STS-115 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the P3/P4 Truss Assemblies)
    STS-126 Endeavour (ISS resupply mission ULF2)
* Daniel M. Tani (2 flights)
    STS-108 Endeavour (ISS supply mission)
    STS-120 Discovery (the mission launched him to the ISS)
    ISS Expedition 16 (served as a Flight Engineer)
    STS-122 Atlantis (the mission returned him to earth)
* Rex J. Walheim (3 flights)
    STS-110 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the S0 Truss Segment)
    STS-122 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the Columbus Laboratory)
    STS-135 Atlantis
* Peggy A. Whitson (3 flights)
    STS-111 Endeavour (the launch vehicle of Expedition 5)
    ISS Expedition 5 (6 month mission to the ISS)
    STS-113 Endeavour (the landing vehicle of Expedition 5)
    Soyuz TMA-11 (the launch and landing vehicle of Expedition 16)
    ISS Expedition 16 (6 month mission to the ISS)
    Soyuz MS-03/MS-04, ISS Expedition 50/51/52
* Jeffrey N. Williams (4 flights)
    STS-101 Atlantis (ISS supply mission)
    Soyuz TMA-8 (the launch and landing vehicle of Expedition 13)
    ISS Expedition 13 (6 month mission to the ISS)
    Soyuz TMA-16, ISS Expedition 21]/22
    Soyuz TMA-20M, ISS Expedition 47/48
* Stephanie D. Wilson (3 flights)
    STS-121 Discovery (ISS resupply mission; second Return to Flight mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
    STS-120 Discovery (ISS assembly mission – launched Harmony (Node 2))
    STS-131 Discovery

## International mission specialists

* Pedro Duque (Spain; 2 flights)
    STS-95 Discovery (orbital science mission)
    Soyuz TMA-3 (flew as a Flight Engineer for the Soyuz TMA)
    Soyuz TMA-2 (flew as a Flight Engineer for the Soyuz TMA)
* Christer Fuglesang (Sweden; 2 flights)
    STS-116 Discovery (ISS assembly mission – launched the P5 Truss Segment)
    STS-128 Discovery
* Umberto Guidoni (Italy; 2 flights)
    STS-75 Columbia (orbital science mission) – flight performed before being selected as Mission Specialist
    STS-100 Endeavour (ISS assembly mission – launched Canadarm2)
* Steven G. MacLean (Canada; 2 flights)
    STS-52 Columbia (deployed the LAGEOS-II Satellite) – flight performed before being selected as Mission Specialist
    STS-115 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the P3/P4 Truss Assemblies)
* Mamoru Mohri (Japan; 2 flights)
    STS-47 Endeavour (orbital science mission) – flight performed before being selected as Mission Specialist
    STS-99 Endeavour (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission)
* Soichi Noguchi (Japan; 3 flights)
    STS-114 Discovery (the first "Return to Flight" mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
    Soyuz TMA-17 (ISS Expedition 22)
    SpaceX Crew-1 (First official SpaceX crew mission to ISS)
* Julie Payette (Canada; 2 flights) on 2 October 2017, became the 29th Governor General of Canada.
    STS-96 Discovery (ISS supply mission)
    STS-127 Endeavour (ISS supply mission)
* Philippe Perrin (France; 1 flight)
    STS-111 Endeavour (ISS resupply mission)
* Gerhard Thiele (Germany; 1 flight)
    STS-99 Endeavour (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission)