page_title: NASA Astronaut Group 9
hierarchical_section_title: NASA Astronaut Group 9
caption_attribution_description: English: The ninth group of NASA astronauts selected in 1980. Back row, L-R: Guy S. Gardner, Robert C. Springer, Bryan D. O'Connor, Wubbo Ockels, Michael J. Smith, John M. Lounge. Middle row, L-R: James P. Bagian, John E. Blaha, Claude Nicollier, David C. Hilmers, William F. Fisher, Bonnie J. Dunbar, Jerry L. Ross. Front row, L-R: Charles F. Bolden Jr., Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Mary L. Cleave, David C. Leestma, Sherwood C. Spring, Richard N. Richards, Roy D. Bridges.
context_page_description: NASA Astronaut Group 9 was a group of 19 NASA astronauts announced on May 29, 1980, and completed their training by 1981. This group was selected to supplement the 35 astronauts that had been selected in 1978, and marked the first time that non-Americans were trained as mission specialists with the selections of ESA astronauts Claude Nicollier and Wubbo Ockels. In keeping with the previous group, astronaut candidates were divided into pilots and mission specialists, with eight pilots, eleven mission specialists, and two international mission specialists within the group.
context_section_description: NASA Astronaut Group 9 was a group of 19 NASA astronauts announced on May 29, 1980, and completed their training by 1981. This group was selected to supplement the 35 astronauts that had been selected in 1978, and marked the first time that non-Americans were trained as mission specialists with the selections of ESA astronauts Claude Nicollier and Wubbo Ockels. In keeping with the previous group, astronaut candidates were divided into pilots and mission specialists, with eight pilots, eleven mission specialists, and two international mission specialists within the group.
caption: Group 9 astronauts. Back row, L-R: Gardner, Springer, O'Connor, Ockels, Smith, Lounge. Middle row, L-R: Bagian, Blaha, Nicollier, Hilmers, Fisher, Dunbar, Ross. Front row, L-R: Bolden, Chang-Diaz, Cleave, Leestma, Spring, Richards, Bridges
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