TJ Hennen - 17.08.1952

[Orionid]

Thomas John Hennen został wyselekcjonowany w ramach US Army Terra Scout (1988) oraz DoD Specjaliści ładunku STS-44 (1989).

Jest 261. człowiekiem w kosmosie.

Odbył 1 lot kosmiczny:
24.11.1991-01.12.1991 STS-44 Atlantis/F-10 006:22:50:43

1972 ukończył Urbana College w Urbana w stanie Ohio.

Podczas służby w armii amerykańskiej ukończył szereg zaawansowanych kursów szkoleniowych.

1972 rozpoczął służbę w U.S. Army.

1973–1975 służył w 163rd Military Intelligence Batallion w Fort Hood w Teksasie.

1976–1978 służył w 203rd Militery Intelligence Detachment.

1976 Został wyróżnionym absolwentem w Defence Sensor Interpretation and Application Training Program.

1978 został wyróżnionym absolwentem U.S. Air Force Europe (USAFE) Advanced Imagery Interpretation Course.

1981–1986 służył w U.S. Army Intelligence Center w Fort Huachuca w Arizonie.

Był oficerem projektu w ramach Imagery Intelligence (IMINT) Tactical Exploitation of National Space Capabilities Program (TENCAP) odpowiedzialnym za opracowanie wszystkich wymagań szkoleniowych, koncepcji i doktryny.

Jego wysiłki zaowocowały stworzeniem wielomilionowych programów szkoleniowych, wspierających wdrażanie różnorodnych nowych systemów, działających zarówno na poziomie taktycznym, jak i wywiadu narodowego.

Podczas tego zadania Hennen został mianowany ekspertem merytorycznym  IMINT w Department of the Army (DA).

Opracował i zarządzał dużym projektem dla Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).

Był autorem U.S. Army Radar Training Plan.

Brał udział w opracowaniu TENCAP Systems Management Model.

Został wybrany na członka zespołu Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), który opracował Joint Space Intelligence and Operations Course i reprezentował DA w DIA Intelligence Training Equipment (ITE) Subcommittee.

1986 rozpoczął służbę w Army Space Program Office w stanie Waszyngton.

09.1988 został wybrany jako jeden z trzech finalistów do udziału w locie Terra Scout na pokładzie wahadłowca kosmicznego.

Został wyznaczony na głównego specjalistę ładunku użytecznego.

1989 przeszedł szkolenie w "Home of Military Intelligence" w Fort Huachua w Arizonie

08.1989 został wybrany na głównego specjalistę ładunku użytecznego w eksperymencie Terra Scout.

1990 zgłosił się do NASA, aby rozpocząć szkolenie do lotu.

Hennen został pierwszym chorążym (Warrant Officer) U.S. Army and Department of Defense, którego wybrano na członka załogi wahadłowca kosmicznego.

Podczas misji STS-44 Atlantis przeprowadzał eksperymenty w ramach programów wojskowych Terra Scout i M88-1.

W ramach DSP (Defense Support Program) został umieszczony na orbicie tajny ładunek przy użyciu stopnia górnego IUS (Inertial Upper Stage).

12.1995 przeszedł w stan spoczynku w randze starszego chorążego 4. stopnia.

Po 1995 pełnił funkcję dyrektora zarządzającego fundacji non-profit Atlantis Foundation.
Jest to organizacja non-profit, która działa zarówno jako rzecznik, jak i dostawca usług dla dzieci z niepełnosprawnością intelektualną.

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/hennen.pdf

http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/hennen_thomas.htm
http://www.astronautix.com/h/hennen.html
https://www.worldspaceflight.com/bios/h/hennen-t.php

https://mek.kosmo.cz/bio/usa/00261.htm
https://www.kozmo-data.sk/kozmonauti/thornton-kathryn-ryan.html
https://www.astronaut.ru/crossroad/264.htm
https://www.april12.eu/usaastron/hennen261ru.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Hennen_(astronaut)

Stephane SEBILE @spacemen1969 12:04 AM · Aug 17, 2025
17 août
Bon anniversaire (73) à Tom Hennen 🎂🎂🎂
(1 vol : STS-44 comme spécialiste charge utile projet Terra Scout (Renseignement US Army)).
Le ''moins diplômé'' de tous les astronautes.
Etait sous-officier (adjudant) lors de sa sélection.

https://twitter.com/spacemen1969/status/1956839385577525752

Association of Space Explorers @ASE_Astronauts 5:00 PM · Aug 17, 2025
#HappyBirthday to ASE Life Member Tom Hennen, who flew to space in 1991 aboard STS-44!

https://twitter.com/ASE_Astronauts/status/1957095158895272383
2023 https://x.com/spacemen1969/status/1692056412136820988
2023 https://x.com/ASE_Astronauts/status/1692175015826145503
2024 https://x.com/ASE_Astronauts/status/1824809033947066662
2024 https://x.com/spacemen1969/status/1824568568396075212

[Orionid]

Załoga spędziła Święto Dziękczynienia na orbicie.

Floating Feasts: How Astronauts Celebrate Thanksgiving in Space
By NASANovember 28, 2024

(...) Neri Vela introduced tortillas to space menus, and they have remained favorites among astronauts ever since. Unlike regular bread, tortillas do not create crumbs, a potential hazard in weightlessness, and have multiple uses for any meal of the day. The crew of STS-33, NASA astronauts Frederick D. Gregory, John E. Blaha, Manley L. “Sonny” Carter, F. Story Musgrave, and Kathryn C. Thornton, celebrated Thanksgiving aboard space shuttle Discovery in 1989. Gregory and Musgrave celebrated their second Thanksgiving in space two years later, joined by fellow STS-44 NASA astronauts Terrence T. “Tom” Henricks, James S. Voss, Mario Runco, and Thomas J. Hennen aboard space shuttle Atlantis. (...)
https://scitechdaily.com/floating-feasts-how-astronauts-celebrate-thanksgiving-in-space/

SMDC History: First space flight with two Army officers
By Sharon Watkins Lang, USASMDC/ARSTRAT Command Historian November 22, 2016



The initial astronaut selection criteria issued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration required jet pilot experience for all applicants. As a result, Army personnel were not eligible for astronaut duty. Although the criteria later changed to allow scientist astronauts, it was not until 1991 that two Army officers would serve together aboard the Space Shuttle.

On Nov. 24, 1991, Lt. Col. James Voss and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Thomas Hennen, two members of a six person crew, began their seven day mission aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, marking the first time that two Army personnel had flown aboard the same shuttle flight. STS-44 also marks another significant first as Hennen was the first, and remains the only, warrant officer to fly in space.

STS-44 was the ninth dedicated Department of Defense shuttle flight. On the first day, the crew addressed the primary mission launching a 5,200 pound Defense Support Program or DSP satellite, with an attached Inertial Upper Stage. Part of the Air Force's satellite early warning system, the DSP was designed to detect and report on real-time missile launches, space launches and nuclear detonations.

Despite a curtailed flight due to a malfunctioning Inertial Measurement Unit, the crew was able to complete most of the scientific and engineering experiments. As identified by NASA, these included sensor calibrations for the Air Force Maui Optical system and a variety of efforts to monitor, measure and document cosmic radiation ("energy loss spectra, neutron fluxes and induced radioactivity") and gamma rays.

The crew also conducted a number of medical experiments, part of the Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project, which sought to assess various efforts devised to counteract the adverse effects of prolonged weightlessness.

While Voss participated in a variety of experiments, Hennen focused upon Terra Scout. Trained in imagery analysis, terrain and aerial observations and geology, Hennen was selected in August 1989 to serve as a primary payload specialist for the Terra Scout experiment. Terra Scout involved the onboard observation and analysis of selected sites by Hennen who had "intensively studied the sites to be observed." Each site package included maps and photographs and large resolution panels. The grid pattern on the panels were designed to help assess the resolution limits from space.

The Military Man in Space or M88-1 tri-service experiment performed a similar function. Focusing upon military exercises or mobile sea and/or ground assets, M88-1 sought to assess a person's visual and communications skills -- to observe and relay this data in near real-time to tactical personnel in the field. During this shuttle flight the M88-1 experiment utilized specialized optics and camera to collect high-resolution digital imagery which could then be stored and reviewed aboard the shuttle, orbiting at 195 nautical miles above the Earth, and relayed to the ground.

Hennen began his Earth observations with the Spaceborne Direct-View Optical System, or SPADVOS, on the second day of the flight. On the next day, Hennen focused on two specific targets -- Learmouth, Australia and Ford Island, Hawaii. An error with the SPADVOS and weather issues postponed a review of four additional locations. With the SPADVOS problem rectified, Hennen continued his studies on the third day with sites in South Africa, the Indian Ocean and Malaysia.

Multiple scouting opportunities were planned for each of the ten days that STS-44 was scheduled to be on orbit. Among the urban and rural sites selected for observation by Terra Scout and M88-1 were Brisbane, Australia; Cape Canaveral, Florida; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; the U.S. Embassy in Manila, The Philippines; Midway Island; Christmas Island; Chase Field, Texas; Honduras; the Strait of Malacca; and Yucatan, Mexico.

Weather conditions on Earth, however, obscured some of the intended targets. While both methods experienced minor equipment issues, they both achieved success by gathering important data on the equipment, the skillsets needed and the man-in-the-machine relationships. STS-44 returned to Earth on Dec. 1, 1991 landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, at 2:34 p.m.
https://www.army.mil/article/178688/smdc_history_first_space_flight_with_two_army_officers

‘Not a Dysfunctional Family’: 25 Years Since the Shortened Mission of STS-44 (Part 1)
by Ben Evans 9 years ago


The Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite, attached to is Boeing-built Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster, is deployed from Atlantis’ payload bay at the beginning of the STS-44 mission. Photo Credit: NASA

As the first African-American spacecraft commander, Gregory was excited not only by his unexpected assignment, but also by the fact that it would be aboard another shuttle orbiter. His first mission, in April 1985, had seen him pilot Challenger, whilst his second, in November 1989, saw him command Discovery. With the STS-44 flight aboard Atlantis, he would have flown three of NASA’s five-strong fleet of shuttles. “Each of these ladies,” he said of the three vehicles, “had slightly different personalities. You could get inside and hear things on one that you wouldn’t hear on the other, but Discovery and Atlantis were very close to each other. Challenger was a little earlier and so it had some slightly different characteristics.” By the time of his assignment to STS-44, Gregory was already thinking about how to close his astronaut career, and one option was to fly each of the five orbiters, including Columbia and Endeavour. “That would be a reason to stop flying,” he told the NASA oral historian, “so this one just kinda fit right into the scheme. I was pretty excited about it.” As events transpired, STS-44 would be Gregory’s final mission. (...)
https://www.americaspace.com/2016/11/26/not-a-dysfunctional-family-25-years-since-the-shortened-mission-of-sts-44-part-1/

‘Because I’m Scared to Death’: 25 Years Since the Shortened Mission of STS-44 (Part 2)
by Ben Evans 9 years ago


Fred Gregory leads the STS-44 crew out of the Operations & Checkout (O&C) Building at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), 25 years ago, this week. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de

Twenty-five years ago, this week, what should have been the third-longest space shuttle mission of its time—and the longest Department of Defense piloted spaceflight—got underway with a rousing night-time liftoff from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Aboard Atlantis for STS-44, which launched on the evening of 24 November 1991, Commander Fred Gregory, Pilot Tom Henricks, and Mission Specialists Jim Voss, Story Musgrave, and Mario Runco were accompanied by a professional Army imagery analyst, named Tom Hennen. Their task was to spend almost 10 days in orbit, deploying a $300 million Defense Support Program (DSP) infrared early-warning satellite and supporting a range of experiments designed to demonstrate the ability of a human observer to identify selected targets on the ground.