Frederick D Gregory

NASA announced astronaut crews for future missions Wednesday, including the space agency's first black shuttle commander and two civilian astronauts. Air Force Col. Frederick D. Gregory, who piloted Challenger during a 1985 mission, will command Discovery on a Defense Department flight scheduled for liftoff next Aug. 10. He will be the first black to command a shuttle mission. Civilian scientists Ronald A. Parise and Samuel T.

Former astronaut Frederick D. Gregory is expected to be named NASA's acting chief, a congressional spokesman said Thursday. House Science Committee spokesman Joe Pouliot said Gregory, 64, would become acting administrator to replace NASA chief Sean O'Keefe, who leaves the job today. Gregory, a veteran of three space shuttle flights and a former combat pilot, has been deputy administrator since 2002; it was not immediately clear whether he would be O'Keefe's permanent successor.

Air Force Col. John E. Blaha, who made his first space flight last March, was named Thursday to be in the crew of a secret military shuttle mission scheduled for November. He replaces S. David Griggs, who was killed June 17 in Arkansas while stunt flying. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Blaha, 46, will be the pilot in the four-man, one-woman crew commanded by Air Force Col. Frederick D. Gregory. The others have been training since November.

Air Force Col. John E. Blaha, who made his first space flight last March, was named Thursday to be in the crew of a secret military shuttle mission scheduled for November. He replaces S. David Griggs, who was killed June 17 in Arkansas while stunt flying. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Blaha, 46, will be the pilot in the four-man, one-woman crew commanded by Air Force Col. Frederick D. Gregory. The others have been training since November.

Former astronaut Frederick D. Gregory is expected to be named NASA's acting chief, a congressional spokesman said Thursday. House Science Committee spokesman Joe Pouliot said Gregory, 64, would become acting administrator to replace NASA chief Sean O'Keefe, who leaves the job today. Gregory, a veteran of three space shuttle flights and a former combat pilot, has been deputy administrator since 2002; it was not immediately clear whether he would be O'Keefe's permanent successor.

Challenger's fix-it astronauts revived two experiments that had been given up for lost and started the second half of their science mission today with 13 of 15 research instruments in working order. The astronauts, following instructions from the ground, brought a complex cosmic ray detector experiment to life by doing some rewiring and reprogramming. "The crew that launches with broken equipment brings back good equipment," said pilot Frederick D.

The space shuttle Atlantis lit up the night sky over the central Florida coast Sunday, flaming into the heavens with a six-man crew and a military spy satellite that was later parked in space. The start of the 10-day mission was smooth and spectacular; luminous smoke billowed from the launch pad as the orbiter rocketed out over the Atlantic Ocean in a graceful, fiery arc.

Atlantis' space scouts said Friday that they can see ships, planes and other military targets surprisingly well from orbit, although better optics could improve their vision. "I'm surprised at what I can see, more than what I expected to," astronaut Mario Runco Jr. said during a news conference. Runco said the crew has been able to pick out large ships and airplanes with the high-powered cameras and binoculars supplied by the Pentagon.

There's danger ahead for space shuttle astronauts unless Congress pays for long-term upgrades to the aging spaceship fleet, a NASA safety expert said Thursday. "I have never been as concerned for space shuttle safety as I am right now," said Richard D. Blomberg, former chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's aerospace safety advisory panel. The next flight, and perhaps many after that, will be safe, he told the House Science subcommittee on space and aeronautics.

Discovery's astronauts shut down experiments and checked flight control systems Saturday as they prepared to end their secret military mission with a rare night landing in the California desert. NASA gave no details of the flight, but standard procedure for the day before a landing would call for Commander Frederick D. Gregory and pilot John E. Blaha to run through a series of tests to make certain the shuttle's computers and control jets were ready for the return to Earth.

NASA announced astronaut crews for future missions Wednesday, including the space agency's first black shuttle commander and two civilian astronauts. Air Force Col. Frederick D. Gregory, who piloted Challenger during a 1985 mission, will command Discovery on a Defense Department flight scheduled for liftoff next Aug. 10. He will be the first black to command a shuttle mission. Civilian scientists Ronald A. Parise and Samuel T.

Charles J. Lang, a Los Angeles educator who encouraged African American youths to pursue careers in science and aerospace and helped NASA recruit for the space shuttle program, has died. He was 81. Lang, who taught English at West Los Angeles College from the school's inception in 1969, died Friday at California Hospital Medical Center of complications from pneumonia. He had been in ill health for two years.

The space shuttle Discovery made a smooth landing here at sunset Monday after high winds had postponed the touchdown nearly one day and forced a last-minute runway change. Officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration reported no problems with the Discovery or its five-member crew, who spent five days in space on a secret military mission, which reportedly involved launching a spy satellite.