U.S. Army Captain Michael Kelvington, commander of the Battle company, 1-508 Parachute Infantry battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, bows next to remains of Gulam Dostager, a member of Afghan Local Police who was killed in the blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during the joint Tor Janda (Black Flag in Pashtu) operation, in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 25, 2012.  REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov  (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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Members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan as part of the 25th annual Fleet Week celebration in New York, May 23, 2012.  REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY ANNIVERSARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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FACTBOX: Space shuttle Endeavour's crew

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Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:17pm EST

(Reuters) - The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour blasted off on Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a 15-day mission to the International Space Station.

It carried a crew of seven:

* Commander Chris Ferguson, 47, a U.S. Navy captain born in Philadelphia, married with three children. Attended TOPGUN pilot training school, flew as pilot on shuttle Atlantis in September 2006 on the mission that restarted construction of the International Space Station. Logged over 12 days in space.

* Pilot Eric Boe, 44, a U.S. Air Force colonel born in Miami; married with two children. Logged more than 4,000 flight hours in 45 different aircraft. Served as NASA director of operations at Russia's cosmonaut training center in Star City in 2005 and 2006. He is one of three rookies aboard.

* Lead spacewalker Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, 45, U.S. Navy captain born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Navy diver and salvage officer who flew on shuttle Atlantis in September 2006, when she made two spacewalks to install a truss holding a massive pair of solar wings. Logged over 13 hours of spacewalks.

* Flight engineer and spacewalker Stephen Bowen, 44, U.S. Navy captain who was born in Cohasset, Massachusetts. Married with three children. He was the first submarine officer selected by NASA. First space flight.

* Spacewalker Robert Kimbrough, 41, U.S. Navy officer who was born in Killeen, Texas; married with three children. West Point graduate and attack helicopter platoon leader who served in Operation Desert Storm. Joined NASA in September 2000. First space flight.

* Mission specialist Donald Pettit, 53, born in Silverton, Oregon, married with two children. Served as science officer on the International Space Station from November 2002 to May 2003, logging 161 days in space including 13 hours of spacewalks. Launched on space shuttle Endeavour and returned to Earth on Soyuz TMA-1.

* Mission specialist Sandra Magnus, 44, born in Belleville, Illinois; married. Worked for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft on stealth radar technology. Flew on shuttle Atlantis in October 2002 and she operated space station's robotic arm during three spacewalks. Will stay aboard the space station, replacing station flight engineer Greg Chamitoff.

Source: NASA

(Reporting by Irene Klotz and Jim Loney; Editing by Chris Wilson)

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