Mar 12 2012
From The Space Library
RELEASE: 12-077 RECORD-SETTING ASTRONAUT LOPEZ-ALEGRIA DEPARTS NASA
HOUSTON -- Michael Lopez-Alegria, NASA's most experienced spacewalker and the American holding the record for the single longest spaceflight mission, has left the agency. Lopez-Alegria flew on four missions and performed 10 spacewalks during his career. He most recently served in the Flight Crew Operations Directorate at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston as assistant director for the International Space Station (ISS). "Mike has faithfully served the Flight Crew Operations Directorate for many years," said Janet Kavandi, director of Flight Crew Operations at Johnson. "His unique background and diplomatic skills have made him an outstanding FCOD assistant director for space station and lead for the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel. Mike's tireless dedication to the safety and well-being of space station crews is well known. We will miss him and wish him well in his future endeavors." During his career, Lopez-Alegria logged more than 257 days in space, including 215 days as commander of the Expedition 14 mission to the ISS, which stands as the single longest spaceflight by an American. Lopez-Alegria also logged more than 67 hours during his 10 spacewalks, more than any other American, and second only in the record books to Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev. "Mike has been a huge asset to the astronaut office during the course of his career," said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office at Johnson. "His contributions in spacewalking, shuttle, space station and Soyuz operations are notable and very distinguished. Personally, we will miss his humor and insights and wish him all the best." Lopez-Alegria flew on three space shuttle missions. The first, STS-73 in 1995, focused on science experiments. He then served as NASA's director of operations at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, where he was in charge of American astronauts training for flights to the Russian space station Mir and the ISS. Lopez-Alegria later flew on STS-92 in 2000 and STS-113 in 2002, delivering critical truss elements to the station. Expedition 14 Commander Lopez-Alegria and his crew launched to the ISS on a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 18, 2006. This fourth and final mission earned Lopez-Alegria the spaceflight record. The crew conducted a seven-month mission to operate, maintain, build and use the station and its science facilities. During the expedition, two uncrewed Russian Progress cargo vehicles arrived and departed the station and a space shuttle assembly mission reconfigured the station's power supply. Lopez-Alegria's mission ended with a Soyuz landing on the Kazakh steppe on April 21, 2007.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-041 NASA OPENS MEDIA ACCREDITATION FOR SHUTTLE DISCOVERY DEPARTURE
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Media accreditation for activities surrounding space shuttle Discovery's departure from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is open. Discovery will be transported atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified 747 jet, to Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-041 NASA MARCH 13 NUSTAR MEDIA BRIEFING POSTPONED
WASHINGTON -- The Tuesday, March 13, media briefing to discuss the upcoming launch of the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) has been postponed. The spacecraft will lift off on an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket, which will be released from an aircraft originating from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The mission's Flight Readiness Review (FRR) is being rescheduled for no earlier than Thursday, March 15, to allow time for a review of data and simulations to qualify software associated with a new Pegasus flight computer. A revised launch date will be set at the FRR. A pre-launch media briefing will be rescheduled after the FRR is complete. NuSTAR will use advanced optics and detectors, allowing astronomers to observe the high-energy X-ray sky with much greater sensitivity and clarity than any mission flown before. The mission will advance our understanding of how structures in the universe form and evolve. It will observe some of the hottest, densest and most energetic objects in the universe, including black holes, their high-speed particle jets, ultra-dense neutron stars, supernova remnants, and our sun.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-081 NASA CTO PECK TO VISIT PASADENA'S HONEYBEE ROBOTICS WEDNESDAY
WASHINGTON -- NASA Chief Technologist Mason Peck will visit Honeybee Robotics in Pasadena, Calif., on Wednesday, March 14. Peck's visit will highlight how government can partner with small business to help create the jobs of the future through investment in science and technology. At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Peck will arrive at the facility, which is located at 398 West Washington Blvd. in Pasadena. Journalists and camera crews wanting to attend the Honeybee tour must be at the corporate offices no later than 8:45 a.m. for access to the event. Honeybee Robotics has been a technology supplier to the last three Mars missions. It has received multiple NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards to develop mechanisms that could be used on future NASA missions, many of which also have potential in the commercial marketplace. These include excavation and drilling tools for potential use in harsh environments on Earth and other planets. During his visit, Peck and senior company officials will be available to speak with reporters, tour facilities and answer questions about NASA's technology investments. There also will be a photo opportunity with Peck and company officials during the tour.
