Date: December 6th 2008

There are 2 messages totalling 146 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

VETERAN ASTRONAUT CARL WALZ LEAVES NASA
NASA ASSIGNS ASTRONAUT CREWS FOR FUTURE SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS

Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2008 08:37:30 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: VETERAN ASTRONAUT CARL WALZ LEAVES NASA

December 5, 2008

Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Grey Hautaluoma Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0668

Ashley Edwards Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1756

Report #H08-318

VETERAN ASTRONAUT CARL WALZ LEAVES NASA

HOUSTON -- NASA astronaut Carl Walz is leaving the agency to take a job in the private sector

Walz most recently served as director for the Advanced Capabilities Division in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington In the division, he played a key role in developing technologies that will lead to greater capabilities in robotic and human exploration of the solar system He oversaw work in many fields, including nuclear power and propulsion, human adaptation to spaceflight, and lunar exploration Many of these programs will help humans return to the moon and develop a sustained presence there

"NASA owes a great debt to Carl Walz for his service as an astronaut and the expertise and perspective he has shared with us in the Advanced Capabilities Division," said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate "The legacy of his leadership will be strongly felt in the next generation of manned space missions "

A veteran of four space shuttle missions and one International Space Station expedition, Walz spent 231 days in space He and fellow astronaut Dan Bursch held the U S spaceflight endurance record of 196 days in space until April 2007

Expedition 4, his last mission, launched aboard space shuttle Endeavour in December 2001 Walz, one of the station's earliest inhabitants, set up equipment and experiments for the orbiting laboratory He also completed two spacewalks during the mission, one in a Russian Orlan suit to outfit the Russian-supplied docking compartment and one in a U S spacesuit to prepare the station for its first truss segment His spacewalks lasted a total of 11 hours, 52 minutes

A retired U S Air Force Colonel, Walz also flew on STS-51 in September 1993, STS-65 in July 1994 and STS-79 in September 1996

Walz and the STS-51 crew deployed the U S Advanced Communications Technology Satellite and the Shuttle Pallet Satellite He also took a seven-hour spacewalk to evaluate tools for the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission during that flight

During STS-65, Walz and the crew worked in the second International Microgravity Laboratory spacelab module and conducted more than 80 materials and life sciences experiments That mission completed 236 orbits of Earth, traveling 6 1 million miles and setting a new flight duration record for the shuttle program

On STS-79, the seven-member crew docked with the Russian Mir station and set a record for docked mass in space That mission also completed a crew transfer, provided vital supplies to the Mir, and conducted important research and technology demonstrations NASA selected Walz as an astronaut in January 1990 In addition to his flights, he served in a variety of technical and management positions within the Astronaut Office in Houston

For Walz's complete biography, visit:

http://www jsc nasa gov/Bios/htmlbios/walz html

For more information about NASA's Exploration programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov/exploration

#

NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) This will add the e-mail address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov with the following command in the body of your e-mail message: "unsubscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) or from another account, besides the account used to subscribe: "unsubscribe hsfnews youremail@yourdomain com" (no quotes)

Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2008 12:29:09 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA ASSIGNS ASTRONAUT CREWS FOR FUTURE SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS

December 5, 2008

Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Katherine Trinidad Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100

Report #H08-321

NASA ASSIGNS ASTRONAUT CREWS FOR FUTURE SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS

WASHINGTON -- NASA has assigned the crews for space shuttle missions STS-130 and STS-131 The STS-130 mission will deliver a third connecting module to the International Space Station and a seven-windowed cupola to be used as a control room for robotics The STS-131 mission will deliver research and science experiment equipment, a new sleeping area and supplies to the station in a logistics module carried in the shuttle's payload bay

Marine Col George Zamka will command the shuttle Endeavour during STS-130, targeted for launch in December 2009 Air Force Col Terry Virts, Jr , will serve as the pilot Mission specialists are NASA astronauts Air Force Lt Col Robert Behnken, Nicholas Patrick, Kathryn Hire and Stephen Robinson Virts will be making his first trip to space

Navy Capt Alan Poindexter will command the shuttle Atlantis during STS-131, targeted for launch in February 2010 Air Force Lt Col James P Dutton, Jr , will serve as the pilot Mission specialists are NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio, Clayton Anderson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Naoko Yamazaki Dutton, Metcalf-Lindenburger and Yamazaki will be making their first trip to space

Zamka was born in Jersey City, N J , and grew up in several cities including Medellin, Colombia He received a bachelor's degree from the U S Naval Academy and a master's degree in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology He served as the pilot on STS-120

Virts was born in Baltimore and considers Columbia, Md , his hometown He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the U S Air Force Academy and a master's degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Behnken recently flew as a mission specialist on STS-123 Behnken holds bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering and physics from Washington University in St Louis He also has master's and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology Behnken was born in Creve Coeur, Mo

STS-130 will be the second flight for Nicholas Patrick, who flew as a mission specialist on STS-116 Patrick was born in North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom and considers London and Rye, N Y , his hometowns He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Hire will again serve as a mission specialist on her second spaceflight Her first was STS-90 She holds a bachelor's degree from the U S Naval Academy and a master's degree in space technology from the Florida Institute of Technology She was born in Mobile, Ala

Stephen Robinson is a veteran of three spaceflights Flying on STS-85, STS-95 and STS-114, he has logged more than 830 hours in space He was born in Sacramento, Calif , and holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical and aeronautical engineering from the University of California and master's and doctorate degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University

STS-131 will be the second spaceflight for Poindexter, who served as the pilot on STS-122 He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering He also has a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School He was born in Pasadena, Calif

Dutton joined NASA in 2004 His hometown is Eugene, Ore He has a bachelor's degree in astronautical engineering from the U S Air Force Academy and a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington in Seattle

Mastracchio flew as a mission specialist on STS-106 and STS-118 He was born in Waterbury, Conn , and earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Connecticut He also has master's degrees in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and physical science from the University of Houston

Anderson spent 152 days on the space station, as a flight engineer on Expedition 15 He launched to the station as part of the STS-117 crew and returned on the STS-120 mission Anderson's hometown is Omaha, Neb He has a bachelor's degree in physics from Hastings College, Neb , and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University

Metcalf-Lindenburger was selected as an astronaut in 2004 She was born in Colorado Springs, Colo , and considers Fort Collins her hometown She has a bachelor's degree in geology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash

Wilson was born in Boston This will be her third spaceflight She flew as a mission specialist on STS-121 and STS-120 Wilson received a bachelor's degree in engineering science from Harvard University and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas

Yamazaki was born in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, Japan She holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Tokyo Yamazaki was selected by National Space Development Agency of Japan (currently JAXA) as one of three astronaut candidates in 1999 and joined NASA's astronaut candidates for training in 2004

Video of the STS-130 and STS-131 crew members will air on NASA Television's Video File For downlink and scheduling information and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www nasa gov/ntv

For complete astronaut biographical information, visit:

http://www jsc nasa gov/Bios

For more information about the Space Shuttle Program and upcoming flights, visit:

http://www nasa gov/shuttle

For more about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www nasa gov/station

#

End of HSFNEWS Digest - 5 Dec 2008 to 6 Dec 2008 (#2008-137)

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

http://www aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/plugins/dada_bridge pl/u/[list]/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at: