FACTBOX: Crew of space shuttle Discovery

(Reuters) - The U.S. space shuttle Discovery carried seven astronauts into space on Saturday on a mission to deliver Japan's Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station. Two of the astronauts have flown into space before and five are rookies.

Here are the crew members:

* Mission commander Mark Kelly, a 44-year-old Navy pilot from New Jersey who is making his third space flight. Married to a U.S. congresswoman, two children. Flew 39 combat missions in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. Was a member of the shuttle Endeavour crew that visited the space station in December 2001, and on Discovery in July 2006.

* Pilot Ken Ham, a 43-year-old Navy commander from New Jersey. Married with two children. Has a masters degree in aeronautical engineering. Served as a Navy test pilot and flew combat missions over northern Iraq and Bosnia. This is his first spaceflight.

* Karen Nyberg, 38, a mission specialist from Minnesota. Single, holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. Began work at the Johnson Space Center in 1991 and started training as an astronaut in 2000. This is her first spaceflight.

* Ron Garan, 46, an Air Force colonel from Yonkers, New York. Married with three children. Holds a masters in aerospace engineering. Deployed to southwest Asia in 1990-91 in support of Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield where he flew combat missions in an F-16. Selected as a NASA pilot in 2000. Making his first spaceflight.

* Mike Fossum, 50, an Air Force reservist who was born in South Dakota and grew up in Texas. Married with four children. Left active duty in 1992 to work for NASA as an engineer assigned to evaluate Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Flew with Kelly on Discovery in 2006 when he completed three spacewalks.

* Akihiko Hoshide, 39, born in Tokyo. Holds a masters degree in aerospace engineering. Joined Japan's space development agency in 1992 and started basic training to be a member of the International Space Station crew in 1999. In 2004 completed Soyuz flight engineer training in Russia. On his first spaceflight.

* Greg Chamitoff, 45, born in Montreal, Canada. Married with two children. Holds a doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT. Designed flight control upgrades for the space shuttle autopilot, attitude control system software for the space station. Will spend six months on the space station.

(Source: NASA web site, Reuters)

(Reporting by Irene Klotz in Cape Canaveral, editing by Jim Loney and Bill Trott)