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 European 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) Pilot, STS-109 Columbia (Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission; Columbia's last successful flight) Stephen Frick (2 flights) Pilot, STS-110 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the S0 Truss Segment) Commander, STS-122 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the Columbus Laboratory) Charles O. Hobaugh (3 flights) Pilot, STS-104 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched the Quest Joint Airlock) Pilot, STS-118 Endeavour (ISS assembly mission – launched the S5 Truss Segment) Commander, 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 Kelly (4 flights; fellow astronaut Scott 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 AMS-02 and ELC-3) Scott Kelly (4 flights; fellow astronaut Mark 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) Soyuz TMA-01M (Expedition 25/26) Soyuz TMA-16M/TMA-18M (Expedition 43/44/45/46) – ISS year long mission Paul Lockhart (2 flights) Pilot, STS-111 Endeavour (ISS resupply mission) Pilot, STS-113 Endeavour (launched the P1 Truss Segment, last flight before the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) Christopher Loria (0 flights) Assigned as the pilot for STS-113 but suffered herniated lumbar discs during mission training. Ultimately the injury resulted in his medical disqualification from further spaceflight assignments. William C. McCool (1 flight; died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) Pilot, 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) Pilot, STS-98 Atlantis (ISS assembly mission – launched Destiny) Commander, STS-116 Discovery (ISS assembly mission – launched the P5 Truss Segment) Commander, STS-127 Endeavour
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