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NASA Astronaut Group 16

The Sardines
Official group portrait
The astronauts of Group 16
Year selected1996
Number selected44

NASA Astronaut Group 16 ("The Sardines") was a group of 44 astronauts announced by NASA on May 1, 1996.[1] The class was nicknamed "The Sardines" for being such a large class, humorously implying that their training sessions would be as tightly packed as sardines in a can.[2] These 44 candidates compose the largest astronaut class to date. NASA selected so many candidates in preparation for the anticipated need for ISS crew members, along with regular shuttle needs. Nine of the 44 astronauts selected were from other countries including 5 from Europe and 2 from Canada and Japan.

Three members of this group, William C. McCool, David M. Brown, and Laurel B. Clark, died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[3][4][5] These three received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.[6]

  1. ^ Campion, Ed; Herring, Kyle (1 May 1996). "Release 96-84: NASA Selects Astronaut Class of 1996" (TXT). NASA News. NASA. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  2. ^ Shekhtman, Svetlana (16 March 2021). "Newly Named Asteroids Reflect Contributions of Pioneering Astronauts". Humans in Space. NASA. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  3. ^ Hull, Anne (2 February 2003). "Obituary for William C. McCool (Aged 41)". The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Lenfest Institute. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Hull, Anne (2 February 2003). "Obituary for David M. Brown (Aged 46)". The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Lenfest Institute. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Hull, Anne (2 February 2003). "Obituary for Laurel Blair Salton Clark (Aged 41)". The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Lenfest Institute. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ NASA History Division (28 April 2006). "Congressional Space Medal of Honor". Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.

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