NASA Astronaut Group 12

NASA Astronaut Group 12 was a group of 15 astronauts announced by NASA on June 5, 1987.

Group members

Pilots

Andrew M. Allen, U.S. Marine Corps
Kenneth D. Bowersox, U.S. Navy
Curtis L. Brown, Jr., U.S. Air Force
Kevin P. Chilton, U.S. Air Force
Donald R. McMonagle, U.S. Air Force
William F. Readdy, U.S. Navy
Kenneth S. Reightler, Jr., U.S. Navy

Mission specialists

Thomas D. Akers, U.S. Air Force
N. Jan Davis, Engineer
C. Michael Foale, Astrophysicist
Gregory J. Harbaugh, Engineer
Mae C. Jemison, Physician
Bruce E. Melnick, U.S. Coast Guard
Mario Runco, Jr., U.S. Navy
James S. Voss, U.S. Army

Further information

The group's informal nickname is an acronym for "George Abbey Final Fifteen". Of this group, Mae Jemison would become the first female African-American in space, Bruce Melnick the first Coast Guard aviator in space, while Michael Foale would fly aboard the Mir space station. At the time of the Columbia accident in 2003, William Readdy was Associate Administrator for Space Flight and Kenneth Bowersox was commanding the Expedition 6 crew on the ISS. Chilton, after leaving NASA, became the first NASA astronaut to become a General in the U.S. Air Force and was commander of U.S. Strategic Command from October 2007 until January 2011.