A look at the shuttle Atlantis’ crew

updated 1:15 p.m. ET June 3, 2007

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis took scrupulous notes during two of last year’s construction missions on the international space station. They’ll be expected to accomplish the same challenging tasks.

Spacewalking astronauts last year ran into some glitches and had to figure out how to loosen stubborn latches and bolts, how to fold up an obstinate solar array (kind of like folding a wrinkled roadmap) and how to get the solar array’s rotary joint to spin. All these are tasks the seven astronauts will tackle during their 11-day mission.

“We’ve had the benefit of learning from the people who have gone before us,” said astronaut Patrick Forrester.

The four first-time spacefliers in the crew — Clayton Anderson, pilot Lee Archambault, Danny Olivas and Steven Swanson — were all members of the astronaut class of 1998.

All of Atlantis’ astronauts were born in the United States, a contrast to flights in recent years that typically include an international crew member. This is the first time there’s been an all native-born crew since April 2002.

Here is a more detailed look at the seven flying aboard Atlantis:

U.S. Marine Col. Frederick “Rick” Sturckow, commander
Age: 45
Hometown: Born in La Mesa, Calif. but considers Lakeside, Calif. his hometown.
Family: Married, two children.

NASA Rick Sturckow is known as C.J. or "Caustic Junior."

Sturckow has the nickname C.J., or Caustic Junior, but he swears it’s not because of his personality. It was given to him when he was a young Marine because he resembled a squadron commander who was appropriately called “Caustic.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic State University, Sturckow was commissioned by the Marines in 1984 and earned his pilot wings almost three years later. He attended the Navy Fighter Weapons (Topgun) School, and later the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. During the first Gulf War from 1990-91, he flew 41 combat missions. Sturckow worked as a test pilot before he was chosen for the astronaut corps in 1994.

He’s flown on two missions to the space station, one on Endeavour in 1998 and the second on Discovery in 2001. One of his crewmates then was Patrick Forrester, who will be flying with him again on Atlantis.

U.S. Air Force Col. Lee Archambault, pilot.
Age: 46
Hometown: Born in Oak Park, Ill., but considers Bellwood his hometown.
Family: Married, three children.

NASA Lee Archambault flew 22 combat missions during the first Gulf War.

Archambault is hesitant to tell how he earned the nickname Bru as a young lieutenant. Let’s just say it involved a fighter bomber he was flying, the mistaken flipping of some switches and the accidental jettisoning of a bomb rack unit, also known as a “bru.”

“We were on a range. There were no houses, no people, nothing below us. It ended up being a very embarrassing experience,” he said. “When I came to NASA, I thought (the nickname) would all be over. One of my first days after I walked through the door, somebody called me it and it stuck.”

Archambault was commissioned by the U.S. Air Force in 1985 after he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical/astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

After getting his pilot wings in 1986, he became a combat-ready pilot and later flew 22 combat missions during the first Gulf War. He had a second tour in Saudi Arabia in 1991, assisting postwar peacekeeping efforts, and then flew as a test pilot after attending U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base.

He was selected into the astronaut corps in 1998, and this will be his first spaceflight.

“If I had to guess right now, the most exciting part of the mission will probably be the first eight minutes as we make it into orbit,” he said.

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