How many people traveled on the space shuttle?

September 21, 2011 6:37 AM

How many people flew on the Space Shuttle?
posted by Brandon Blatcher (35 comments total)

This includes: astronauts, cosmonauts, foreigners, mission specialists, payload specialists and the ones who just made a one-way trip (up or down) and includes Challenger/51-L and Columbia/STS-107.

Is foreigner a job title now?
posted by Ahab at 6:41 AM on September 21, 2011

This includes: astronauts, cosmonauts, Foreigner, mission specialists, payload specialists and the ones who just made a one-way trip (up or down) and includes Challenger/51-L and Columbia/STS-107.

Of course, as they took the midnight space shuttle, it was important that they didn't stop believing. That, in fact, they held onto that feeling.
posted by litleozy at 6:45 AM on September 21, 2011 [9 favorites]

How Many trifecta!
posted by saturday_morning at 6:46 AM on September 21, 2011 [1 favorite]

Is foreigner a job title now?

My name is Manuel, I come from Barcelona.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:47 AM on September 21, 2011 [5 favorites]

A fine effort litleozy. It kind of feels like your first time.
posted by Trochanter at 6:47 AM on September 21, 2011 [1 favorite]

http://www.howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com/
posted by memebake at 6:48 AM on September 21, 2011 [4 favorites]

Of course, as they took the midnight space shuttle, it was important that they didn't stop believing. That, in fact, they held onto that feeling.

Because it's such a long Journey?
posted by Elmore at 6:48 AM on September 21, 2011 [3 favorites]

winger lol
posted by griphus at 6:49 AM on September 21, 2011 [1 favorite]

Of course, as they took the midnight space shuttle, it was important that they didn't stop believing. That, in fact, they held onto that feeling.

Boooo, wrong band! Get off the stage!
posted by dismas at 6:49 AM on September 21, 2011 [3 favorites]

GODDAMMIT :(
posted by litleozy at 6:50 AM on September 21, 2011 [4 favorites]

Foreigner: My name is Manuel, I come from Barcelona.

Interviewer: Is this your first time on the shuttle?

Foreigner: Si.

Interviewer: What will you do in space?

Foreigner: Sew.

Interviewer: What will you do if the shuttle crashes?

Foreigner: Sue.
posted by Trochanter at 6:52 AM on September 21, 2011 [1 favorite]

Wow, what an interesting discussion!

You know, on that other site. The one that isn't Metafilter.
posted by jsturgill at 6:56 AM on September 21, 2011 [3 favorites]

just made a one-way trip (up or down)

I'm pretty sure that the category "just made a one way trip down" only includes babies born in space and aliens.

Both of which are indeed job titles, in case you were wondering
posted by kiltedtaco at 7:05 AM on September 21, 2011 [2 favorites]

Is foreigner a job title now?

No, it's an awakard descriptor that signals the writer's desire to include everyone in the query. A bit Americanist perhaps, but hardly terrible.

The post struck me as fascinating because at first glance it should be a simple answer, but there's a couple of caveats once you get into specific meanings. The other data was also intriguing, sort of Trivia Pursuit of space shuttle information.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:10 AM on September 21, 2011

Of course, as they took the midnight space shuttle...

You know, Brandon took that midnight space shuttle to Georgia.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:10 AM on September 21, 2011

I'm pretty sure that the category "just made a one way trip down" only includes babies born in space and aliens.

I think there have been some astronauts that went up to the ISS on a Soyuz but returned via shuttle.
posted by TedW at 7:12 AM on September 21, 2011

just made a one-way trip (up or down)

I retract my previous comment, since I couldn't be bothered to read the word "shuttle" that followed "space".
posted by kiltedtaco at 7:13 AM on September 21, 2011

Because it's such a long Journey?

Something somthing Air Supply.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 7:20 AM on September 21, 2011 [3 favorites]

The frustrating thing about that discussion thread is that it's clear that one or two know-it-alls had put the Shuttle astronaut data into a spreadsheet or small db and were doling info out sparingly in answer to very specific questions instead of sharing so people could sort and select the data to answer their own questions. The link the one guy posted to a text file of astronaut last names (which must have been cut and pasted from a spreadsheet) seemed pretty asshatty, I thought.

(Not to derail y'all's 80s-music puns or anything.)
posted by aught at 7:44 AM on September 21, 2011

aught,

Once all the data is compiled, sorted, and displayed there is no more discussion. What's the point of having a discussion forum?

Also ...

The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 (as being signed by President Obama today) includes a section on the "Sense of Congress on the Space Shuttle Program," wherein this statement appears:
The Space Shuttle has carried more than 355 people from 16 nations into space.
Even taking the possible addition of STS-135 into account, the statement still reads wrong; the count is 355, not "more than."

THAT THEY TOLD US ABOUT! No telling how many others they had crammed into those things. Or babies were born during a mission! "Official" numbers do not always equal "actual" numbers.
posted by LoudMusic at 7:51 AM on September 21, 2011

FBI in da cargo hold! CIA in da house! SWAT in da cockpit! Be afraid... be very afraid.
posted by the_very_hungry_caterpillar at 7:53 AM on September 21, 2011

aught, is this what you're talking about?

Today, I sat down with the data from SpaceFacts.de [link], and after about an hour sorting out the non-shuttle fliers, arrived at a total of 353 through STS-134, which I have as a list presented in the order of first shuttle launch.

All that information is on a website for people to look at and browse and use! And people from the thread used that website to answer an interesting question! And then one of them helpfully shared the fruits of his labor for all to see and/or use as they wished!

This is a good thing.

my god I'm running out of exclamation marks
posted by jsturgill at 7:58 AM on September 21, 2011

Yes, it is a good thing, and a good post. Too bad MetaFilter seems to be aiming for Reddit levels of dumb today.

OTOH, the Related Posts at bottom had one I had missed, and it led to a book I was unaware of.
posted by bitmage at 8:03 AM on September 21, 2011

Most of the answers in that thread date back to 09-10. I don't think any newbies flew the last few missions this year but there must have been some first-timers two years ago.

Aren't most mission specialists are considered astronauts.

And the first-timers on Challenger's last flight were astronauts, whether or not they hit that BS 50-mile mark.
posted by NorthernLite at 8:13 AM on September 21, 2011

And the first-timers on Challenger's last flight were astronauts, whether or not they hit that BS 50-mile mark.

They were astronauts who did not go into space on that trip. Hence Christa McAuliffe has never gone into space, since that was her first spaceflight. Ronald McNair, who was making his second flight on Challenger, is recorded as having gone into space.

Also, space officially beings at sixty-two miles up, not fifty. Though the US Defense Department defined it as fifty miles back in the '60s, so some NASA astronauts had technically gone into space before their first mission.

532 people have traveled into space, based on the Defense Department's definition from the '60s. If go you by the modern definition, it drops to 517.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:27 AM on September 21, 2011

The CollectSPACE site is worth perusing. I didn't realize that the towers and service structure had already been removed from pad 39B.
posted by bitmage at 8:30 AM on September 21, 2011

I want to know what they're going to do with the shuttle crawler. Forget that Knight XV thing, the crawler-transporter would be the most badass personal vehicle of all time.
posted by elizardbits at 8:50 AM on September 21, 2011

From Wikipedia:

Kennedy Space Center has been using the same two crawlers, nicknamed "Hans" and "Franz" for the bodybuilding characters,[3] since their initial delivery in 1965. In their lifetime, they have traveled more than 3,400 miles (5,500 km), about the same driving distance as Miami to Seattle.[6]

The crawlers were overhauled in 2003 with upgrades to the Motor Control Center, which houses the switchgear and electrical controls of all of major systems onboard, a new engine and pump ventilation system and new diesel engine radiators, and replacement of the two driver cabs on each vehicle (one on each end).[6] NASA had planned to use the crawlers for the Constellation program after the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011; due to their age and need to support the heavier Ares V and its launch tower, NASA planned to modify the crawler's engines. With the cancellation of the Constellation program, the fate of the crawlers is unknown.[citation needed]

I was hoping they'd go up on ebay.

They'll probably keep the crawlers for that fancy new rocket, the Space Launch System. It's supposed to start flying in 2017. In the meantime, workers at the Cape will be drag-racing them.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:54 AM on September 21, 2011

If any of you guys ever had an itch to do an in depth FPP on Hominy Grits, today is the perfect day for it.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 9:27 AM on September 21, 2011

Forget that Knight XV thing, the crawler-transporter would be the most badass personal vehicle of all time.

The crawler only goes 2mph unloaded, so you wouldn't want to be headed anywhere in a hurry.

It's been around since before the Shuttle, so I assume they'll keep them for future launches. Something will still be needed to move craft from the VAB to the pads, and it was designed for that purpose.
posted by bitmage at 9:54 AM on September 21, 2011

Wow, what an interesting discussion!
You know, on that other site. The one that isn't Metafilter.

Woah! No need to get Hot Blooded.
posted by entropicamericana at 10:17 AM on September 21, 2011

If any of you guys ever had an itch to do an in depth FPP on Hominy Grits, today is the perfect day for it.

You say that in jest. but one of many FPP's that I have considered making but have never gotten around to is "Cooking With Lye" in which I planned to take a look at all the ways in which lye is used in food preparation. Things such as lutefisk, olives, bagels and pretzels, moon cakes, and, yes, grits.
posted by TedW at 10:31 AM on September 21, 2011

memebake: "http://www.howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com/"

That we *know* of.
posted by Apropos of Something at 11:32 AM on September 21, 2011

Realizing that the count is now complete and will never change is depressing in the extreme.

Is foreigner a job title now?

"I'm not from around here! I have my own customs! Look at my crazy passport!"
posted by tigrrrlily at 10:02 AM on September 22, 2011

Pentagon’s Secret Space Plane Could Be Astronauts’ Next Ride
posted by homunculus at 11:01 AM on October 11, 2011