Black Air Force colonel aboard crew on Space Shuttle Endeavour

Jet, August 27, 2007 by Marti Parham

U.S. Air Force Col. Benjamin Alvin Drew, Jr. is a member of the seven-person crew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour returning to earth this week following a scheduled 11-day mission designated STS-118.

On his first trip into outer space, Drew, a Mission Specialist-5, is assisting his team in delivering a new segment of the International Space Station's backbone of "truss" and repairing one of the station's gyroscopes that control its position in space.

The mission is Endeavour's first in four years.

Drew, 44 and single, is responsible for transferring cargo from the shuttle to the station and taking pictures.

"It's not a very glamorous role, but it's something I'm absolutely very happy to be doing ... They require a bit of time," said Drew of his duties. "I'm freeing up folks to focus on other things like the spacewalk."

Drew had been training as a capsule communicator in Mission Control when the last-minute decision was made to put Clay Anderson, who was slated for this flight, on Atlantis, which flew in June. Officials then offered Drew Anderson's slot.

The Washington, D.C., native earned bachelor's degrees in astronautical engineering and physics from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a master's in aerospace science from Embry Riddle University and a master's in strategic studies in political science from the U.S. Air Force Air University.

Drew was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force in 1984 and flew combat missions in Operations Just Cause, Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

The combat, pilot, who has flown over 30 types of aircraft, is also the first member of the 2000 astronaut class to ride on a shuttle mission in space.

--Marti Parham and AP reports