s96-18546 S96-18546 (5 Nov. 1996) --- Following their selection from among 2,400 applicants, the 44 astronaut candidates begin a lengthy period of training and evaluation at NASA's Johnson Space Center as they gather for their group portrait. This year's class is the largest in the history of space shuttle astronauts and their early program predecessors. Ten pilots and 25 mission specialists make up the internationally diverse class. The international trainees represent the Canadian, Japanese, Italian, French, German and European space agencies. Back row -- from the left, Christer Fuglesang, John Herrington, Steve MacLean, Peggy Whitson, Stephen Frick, Duane Carey, Daniel Tani, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Jeffrey Williams and Donald Pettit. Second to back row -- from the left, Philippe Perrin, Daniel Burbank, Michael Massimino, Lee Morin, Piers Sellers, John Phillips, Richard Mastraccio, Christopher Loria, Paul Lockhart, Charles Hobaugh and William McCool. Second to front row -- from the left, Pedro Duque, Soichi Noguchi, Mamoru Mohri, Gerhard Thiele, Mark Polansky, Sandra Magnus, Paul Richards, Yvonne Cagle, James Kelly, Patrick Forrester and David Brown. Front row -- from the left, Umberto Guidoni, Edward Fincke, Stephanie Wilson, Julie Payette, Lisa Nowak, Fernando Caldeiro, Mark Kelly, Laurel Clark, Rex Walheim, Scott Kelly, Joan Higginbotham and Charles Camarda. Guidoni represents the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Fuglesang and Duque represent the European Space Agency (ESA). Mohri and Noguchi represent the Japanese Space Agency (NASDA). MacLean and Payette are with the Canadian Space Agency. Perrin is associated with the French Space Agency (CNES) and Thiele represents the German Space Agency (DARA). Photo Credit: NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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