WASHINGTON, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. space shuttle Discovery lifted off Sunday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission of delivering the International Space Station's (ISS) fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station's truss, or backbone. There are seven astronauts aboard the shuttle.
Lee Joseph Archambault: mission commander. As a U.S. Air Force colonel, Archambault has logged over 4250 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. He was the pilot on Atlantis' STS-117 mission (June 8-22, 2007) and has logged a total of 14 days in space.
Tony Antonelli: pilot. As a U.S. Navy commander, Antonelli has accumulated over 3,200 hours in 41 different kinds of aircraft and has completed 273 carrier arrested landings. Selected as a pilot by NASA in July 2000, Antonelli served in various technical assignments. This will be his first space flight.
Joseph Acaba: mission specialist. Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in May 2004. Acaba is a geologist-turned-teacher, will become the first person of Puerto Rican descent in space. This will be his first space flight.
John Phillips: mission specialist. Selected by NASA in April 1996, he flew aboard space shuttle Endeavour's STS-100 mission (April 19 to May 1, 2001). He also served a six-month tour of duty aboard the International Space Station in 2005. Twice flown, Phillips has logged over 190 days in space.
This will be his third space flight. He will operate a robot arm and help unfurl the space station's newly delivered solar wings.
Steven Swanson: mission specialist. Steve flew on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-117 mission on June 8-22, 2007, logging 336 hours in space including almost 14 EVA hours.
Richard Arnold: mission specialist. Selected as a Mission Specialist by NASA in May 2004. In August 2007, he completed aquanaut training and served as a mission specialist on a joint Extreme Environment Mission where he lived and worked in and around Aquarius -- the world's only undersea laboratory.
Koichi Wakata: mission specialist. Wakata, 45, who has a doctorate in engineering, worked for Japan Airlines before being chosen as an astronaut by the Japanese space agency in 1992. This will be his third space t station crew member.
