Mar 8 2011
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-049 NASA HOLDS EVENTS TO PREVIEW FINAL SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHTS
HOUSTON --NASA will preview the final space shuttle missions during media events on Wednesday, March 23, and Thursday, March 24, at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. On March 23, reporters are invited to a media availability with three of the four STS-135 crew members who will fly aboard Atlantis on the final shuttle flight in June. STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus will demonstrate a shuttle rendezvous and docking to the International Space Station in Johnson's domed simulation facility. Reporters can film and photograph the crew, instructors and engineering support teams, as well as try the task first-hand. On March 24, there will be a series of news briefings about shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission targeted to launch on April 19. NASA Television and the agency's website will broadcast the briefings live. Reporters will be able to ask questions from participating NASA locations. The schedule of briefings is (all times CDT): 8 a.m. -- Program Overview 9:30 a.m. -- STS-134 Mission Overview 11:30 a.m. -- STS-134 Spacewalk Overview 12:30 p.m. -- Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Briefing 2 p.m. -- STS-134 Crew News Conference The STS-134 crew will be available for interviews at Johnson by phone or in person after the briefings. STS-134's 14-day mission to the International Space Station will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle physics detector designed to operate from the station and search for various types of unusual matter. The shuttle crew also will deliver spare parts, including two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank and additional parts for the Dextre robot. The crew also will transfer Endeavour's orbiter boom sensor system to the station truss as a permanent fixture to assist spacewalkers, if required. STS-134 will include four spacewalks. As Endeavour undocks from the station to return to Earth, Commander Mark Kelly and Pilot Greg H. Johnson will ease the shuttle back toward the station to test new sensor technologies that could make it easier for future space vehicles to dock to the International Space Station. Kelly and Johnson will be joined by Mission Specialists Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 directs NASA to conduct the STS-135 mission, and the teams are preparing for the target launch date of June 28. More information on mission preview briefings, which are targeted for mid-June, will be forthcoming. Atlantis will carry the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the station. The mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for remote-controlled robot refueling of satellites and spacecraft in orbit.
RELEASE: 11-066 NASA HOSTS STS-133 SONG CONTEST WINNER LIVE IN MISSION CONTROL
HOUSTON --For the first time, NASA astronauts aboard an orbiting spacecraft were awakened by a live performance from Mission Control, as Todd Park Mohr and three other members of Big Head Todd and the Monsters performed "Blue Sky" live at 2:23 a.m. CST. The live performance was broadcast to space shuttle Discovery Commander Steve Lindsey and the other five crew members, as they orbited 220 miles above the southern tip of South America. The song started the crew's last full day in space after spending eight days in joint operations, with the shuttle docked to the International Space Station. Discovery's landing is scheduled for 10:57 a.m. CST Wednesday, March 9, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "Blue Sky" was written by the band as a tribute for Discovery's return to flight mission (STS-114) in 2005. The song received the most votes in NASA's "Top 40 song contest." The top two songs were played as wakeup music for the shuttle crew. Receiving 722,662 votes (29 percent), "Blue Sky" outdistanced the "Theme from Star Trek." The theme received 671,133 votes (27 percent) and was played to wake the crew Monday morning with a special introduction by William Shatner, the actor who played Captain James T. Kirk. After the performance, Mohr briefly talked with Lindsey. "Well, that was terrific, we really appreciate it and congratulations on winning the contest," Lindsey said. "On behalf of Big Head Todd and the Monsters and songwriters and artists everywhere, we just want to thank you so much for your courage, your bravery and your effort in just giving all of us a better shot at knowing more," Mohr told Lindsey and the crew. "It's very inspirational to the arts as well." "We all wish you could see what we can see when we look out at the Earth; and hopefully, everybody will be able to do that one of these days. Hopefully sooner rather than later," Lindsey replied.
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