When space shuttle Discovery lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, it will carry into space seven astronauts who share a common goal: to prove that NASA can overcome the setbacks that have kept the shuttle on the ground for the past two-and-a-half years.
Here are the backgrounds of the crew members of shuttle flight STS-114:
Eileen Collins, commander
Born: Nov. 19, 1956
When she was just a child attending summer camp, Eileen Collins watched nearby sailplanes taking off into the sky and decided that she, too, would leave the ground one day.
By age 16, she had begun saving up for flying lessons. By 19, she was taking them. And at 23, she was a graduate of the Air Force pilot-training program.
The achievements only got more exciting from there. In 1990, NASA selected her to be an astronaut. Five years later, she was flying into space as the first woman to pilot a space shuttle. Then, in 1999, she became the first woman to command a shuttle mission.
As commander of flight STS-114, Collins will help pilot James Kelly fly shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station and back.
Collins is also responsible for ensuring the success of the mission and the safety of the crew and the spacecraft. Though it's unlikely that she would have to discipline crew members, NASA regulations give her the authority to "use any reasonable and necessary means, including the use of physical force, to achieve this end."
Collins is married and has a daughter and a son.
James "Vegas" Kelly, pilot
Born: May 14, 1964
When he was five, James Kelly gathered with his family around the television to watch Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon. He's wanted to be an astronaut ever since.
A lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, Kelly has logged over 3,000 flight hours in more than 35 different aircraft. He spent 307 of those hours piloting shuttle Discovery to and from the International Space Station in 2001.
For the current mission, Kelly will add a new maneuver to his repertory: assisting Cmdr. Collins in flipping Discovery end to end in a never-before-tried roll.
Kelly is married and has four children.
Charles Camarda, mission specialist
Born: May 8, 1952
Though STS-114 is Charles Camarda's first flight on board the space shuttle, he has worked for NASA as a research engineer since he graduated from college in 1974.
His research has focused on ways to protect aircraft and spacecraft from heat damage. At NASA's Langley Research Center, he studied ways to cool the leading edges of the space shuttle -- expertise that has been in especially high demand since a hole in the edge of Columbia's wing allowed superheated gases to enter and destroy the spacecraft upon re-entry in 2003.
Camarda's duties for mission STS-114 include inspecting the shuttle for damage while in flight and helping transfer cargo to the International Space Station.
He is married and has four children.
Wendy Lawrence, mission specialist
Born: July 2, 1959
Like many shuttle astronauts, Wendy Lawrence credits watching the Apollo 11 mission on television for her interest in space. However, one can't discount the fact that her family once lived across the street from John Glenn and just around the corner from Alan Shepard -- or that her father, Navy pilot William Lawrence, may have joined these men in history if not for a heart murmur.
Lawrence graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1981 and was designated a naval aviator the following year. Her aircraft of choice has mainly been helicopters, in which she has logged more than 1,500 hours of flight time. However, she has also put in over 894 hours on three shuttle missions.
In addition to being a NASA astronaut, she is a captain in the U.S. Navy.
For the current mission, Lawrence is in charge of the transfer of supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. She is also responsible for operating the station's robotic arm.
Lawrence is single.
Soichi Noguchi, mission specialist
Born: April 15, 1965
Soichi Noguchi is the only foreign astronaut on board flight STS-114. Before joining what is now the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency in 1996, Noguchi worked as an aerodynamics engineer for a Japanese firm.
Noguchi claims he is an "ordinary" person who was once a Boy Scout and who likes basketball, skiing, camping and flying.
STS-114 will be Noguchi's first flight in space. He is the fifth Japanese astronaut to fly in space and the fourth to fly on the space shuttle.
During the mission, he will join Mission Specialist Steve Robinson on three spacewalks. One spacewalk will focus on tile-repair techniques, another will replace a failed gyroscope on the International Space Station, and the last will install a storage platform on the station.
Noguchi is married and has three children.
Stephen Robinson, mission specialist
Born: Oct. 26, 1955
At age 13, Stephen Robinson built and flew a hang glider with a 40-foot wingspan constructed out of aluminum pipes gathered from a scrap yard. Since then, he has logged more than 1,400 hours of flight time in everything from antique spacecraft to NASA jets.
Robinson has researched fluid dynamics and aerodynamics at NASA's Ames and Langley Research Centers, located in California and Virginia, respectively. In his spare time, he plays lead guitar in a rock band called Max Q. The name refers to the point, roughly one minute after launch, at which the space shuttle can be throttled to full power.
During STS-114, Robinson will perform three spacewalks alongside Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi.
He is single.
Andrew Thomas, mission specialist
Born: Dec. 18, 1951
Australia is not known for space exploration. But Andrew Thomas didn't let that prevent him from becoming an astronaut.
In 1977, Thomas moved to the United States to work as a research scientist for Lockheed. After working his way up to a position as manager of Lockheed's Flight Science Division, where he oversaw research in aerodynamics and propulsion, Martin moved to Pasadena, California, to get closer to the space program.
For the next three years, Thomas worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, conducting experiments in laboratories and in low gravity on board the space agency's KC-135 aircraft. Then, in 1992, his childhood dream came true when he found out that NASA had selected him for the Astronaut Corps.
Thomas has flown on three shuttle missions and has lived on the Russian Mir space station for 130 days. He was the last NASA astronaut to visit Mir before it was shut down and crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
On STS-114, Thomas is responsible for operating the shuttle's robotic arm and new boom sensor system. He will also help Mission Specialists Noguchi and Robinson prepare for their spacewalks.
Thomas is married to astronaut Shannon Walker.
