The Nation - News from June 5, 1985

Thirteen new astronauts were named to the U.S. space corps, swelling the ranks to a record 103 as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration prepares for a launching schedule of two missions a month. The new group of five civilians and eight military officers consists of six pilot astronauts and seven mission specialists. They will join 90 astronauts already at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. A NASA official said the 103 astronauts will be enough to sustain a mission rate of 24 a year, the number of space shuttle launchings predicted for the end of this decade.