NASA Astronaut Group 15


NASA Astronaut Group 15 was a group of 23 NASA astronauts announced on December 8, 1994. Group members adopted The Flying Escargot as their moniker, in reference to two members of the group being from France. The group featured ten pilots, nine mission specialists, and four international mission specialist trainees from France, Canada and Japan.
Three members of this group, Rick Husband, Michael P. Anderson, and Kalpana Chawla, died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. These three received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Another member of the group Pamela Melroy, served as Deputy Administrator of NASA from 2021 to 2025, having been appointed by US President Joe Biden.

Pilots

Mission Specialists

International mission specialists