Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC                January 29, 1996
(Phone:  202/358-1979)

Jerry Berg
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
(Phone:  205/544-0034)

RELEASE:  96-14

NASA SELECTS PAYLOAD SPECIALISTS FOR SHUTTLE MISSION

     Dr. Roger K. Crouch and Dr. Gregory T. Linteris have 
been selected to fly as payload specialists on the 1997 
Microgravity Science Laboratory mission.

     Crouch earned a Ph.D. in physics from Virginia 
Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.  
He is the lead microgravity scientist in NASA's Office of 
Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications, Washington, 
DC.  The 55-year-old Crouch was an alternate payload 
specialist for STS-42, the first International Microgravity 
Laboratory mission.  He resides in Laurel, MD.

     Linteris, 38, earned a Ph.D. in mechanical and 
aerospace engineering from Princeton University, Princeton, 
NJ.  He is a mechanical engineer at the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, where he is 
responsible for developing a research program on advanced 
fire suppressants.  Linteris lives in Great Falls, VA.

     NASA has designated Dr. Paul D. Ronney of the 
University of Southern California to serve as a backup, or 
alternate, to Crouch and Linteris.  As an alternate, Ronney 
will undergo the same training as Crouch and Linteris and 
will be ready to serve on the flight crew if necessary.  
Ronney is a resident of Monrovia, CA.

     The 16-day Spacelab mission is scheduled for flight 
aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on the STS-83 mission in 
the spring of 1997.  Crouch and Linteris will conduct more 
than 25 investigations in microgravity sciences, such as 
fluid physics, combustion science and materials science.  
Ronney will serve in a key mission position as crew 
interface coordinator in the Spacelab Mission Operations 
Control Center at the Marshall Space Flight Center, 
Huntsville, AL.

                    -end-