Three retired colonels, all U.S. Military Academy graduates, will head skyward starting in November, with Tim Kopra (Class of 1985) off to the station for the more standard visit of about six months. Before Kopra returns to Earth in May 2016, Jeff Williams ('80) will launch in March, returning that September.
The same month Williams lands, Shane Kimbrough ('89) will head into orbit, scheduled to be gone until early 2017. It'll mark the first extended stay in space for Kimbrough, who flew on a 16-day mission aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 2008 that assisted in ISS assembly. Kopra visited the station for two months in 2009, and Williams will be making his fourth trip to space and his third long-duration ISS stay. He'll also pass a major milestone, entering the flight with more than 362 days off the planet. Full Story»