Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle Subject: STS-35 Press Kit [Part 3 of 3] (Forwarded) Message-ID: <1990Nov30.075042.234@news.arc.nasa.gov> Date: 30 Nov 90 07:50:42 GMT Sender: usenet@news.arc.nasa.gov (USENET Administration) Reply-To: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Lines: 658 An air/ground communications channel, in addition to the one used by the Mission Control Center in Houston, will be dedicated to communications between the Alabama control facility and the science crew aboard the Space Shuttle. "Huntsville" will be the call sign from space that astronauts will use to address their control team at the Marshall facility. The Spacelab Mission Operations Control facility is located on two floors of Building 4663 at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Most of the activity occurs in two work areas: the payload control area on the upper floor from which the overall payload is monitored and controlled; and the science operations area on the ground level, where scientists for the individual telescopes monitor their instruments and direct observations. The payload control area is the hub of payload operations. Communication with the crew, on-orbit and ground computer systems monitoring, science activities, and even television camera operations are marshalled from work stations in the control room. Console operators in the area are referred to as the payload operations control center (POCC) cadre. The cadre is made up of three teams under the leadership of the payload operations director. The operations control team is responsible for real-time payload control. They make sure that the pre-planned observation schedule is being followed and send commands to the instruments and instructions to the crew. Designated team members stay in voice contact with the the on-board science crew via an air-to-ground communications loop. The data management team ensures that the science data needed from the payload is scheduled and received properly. The responsibilities range from telling the on-board computer when to send down the information it has been storing to scheduling TV transmissions from orbit. The payload activities planning team is in charge of replanning the payload crew activity schedule when anything from unexpected science opportunities to equipment problems requires a change. After a science operations planning group makes rescheduling decisions for upcoming shifts, the planning team determines the many adjustments that will allow those changes to be accomplished. The POCC cadre also includes the mission scientist, who leads the science operations planning group and acts as a liaison between the cadre and the science investigator teams; the alternate payload specialist, a backup crew member who helps with air-to-ground communications and assists the mission scientist; and a public affairs commentator. The science operations area on the ground floor of the Spacelab Mission Operations Control facility is staffed by teams of scientists and engineers who developed the Astro-1 telescopes. The principal investigators and support groups for the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope, the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope and the Wisconsin Photo-Polariameter Experiment, along with the Broad Band X-ray telescope representatives and a team monitoring the Marshall Space Flight Center's Image Motion Compensation System share a large room in the science operations area. The teams monitor the data flowing back from each instrument, evaluate the instruments' performance, and assess and analyze the science information revealed by the data. It is possible for the principal investigator to talk directly with the crew member operating his instrument if circumstances demand personal interaction. Engineers on the science teams provide inputs on instrument performance and if necessary recommend alternate methods to maintain optimal performance. Scientists in each group evaluate the quality of data given the scientific objectives. They also may do preliminary analysis of their data, though a complete study may take months or even years. Space astronomy is a fluid process because observations sometimes produce unexpected results that demand more study than originally planned during the mission. In addition, hardware contingencies may demand that some activities be rescheduled. Any changes in the plan will affect the observations of all four science teams. Therefore, representatives from each team participate in the twice-daily, science- operations planning group meetings. The science objectives and viewpoints of the various teams are weighed; then the group agrees on changes to the original activity plan. BBXRT Payload Operations Control Center A special team located at a remote payload operations control center at the Goddard Space Flight Center will operate the Broad Band X- Ray Telescope and its Two-Axis Pointing System. However, some members of the BBXRT team will be stationed at the Marshall control center to participate in science planning, and all commands issued to the payload will be coordinated with the mission management team at Marshall. The two payload operations control centers will be linked via voice communication so that teams at both places can confer. ASTRO-1 HISTORY In February 1978, NASA issued an announcement of opportunity for instruments that could travel aboard the Space Shuttle and utilize the unique capabilities of Spacelab. Three telescopes -- HUT, UIT, and WUPPE -- evolved as a payload manifested as OSS-3 through 7, and these missions were assigned to the Goddard Space Flight Center. Because the Instrument Pointing System and other Spacelab facilities were needed for OSS-3, management was moved in 1982 to the Marshall Space Flight Center. The payload was renamed Astro. The Wide Field Camera was added to the payload in 1984 to make detailed studies of Comet Halley, which was due to move through the inner solar system in the spring of 1986. The instruments were constructed, and the observatory had completed Spacelab integration and testing by January 1986. Astro-1, consisting of HUT, UIT, WUPPE and the Wide Field Camera, was ready for orbiter installation when the Challenger accident occurred. After the accident, the instruments were removed from Spacelab and stored. Periodic checks were made during storage. However, because of the the long interval, the decision was made to examine and recertify all of the Astro instruments. As a part of this process, questions arose in the summer of 1987 about the quality certifications of the bolts used in the Astro-1 hardware. Support structures and instrument and electronics attachments were inspected for possible faulty bolts. A total of 298 bolts eventually were replaced. HUT was kept at Kennedy Space Center, but its spectrograph was returned to The Johns Hopkins University in October 1988. Although protected from air and moisture by gaseous nitrogen, HUT's extremely sensitive ultraviolet detector had degraded with time. The detector was replaced but failed to pass an acceptance review, and a third detector was installed in January 1989. An aging television camera was replaced in May 1989. WUPPE's precise instruments also required recalibration after their storage period. Rather than ship the large, sensitive telescope back to the University of Wisconsin where it was developed, astronomers there built a portable vertical calibration facility and delivered it to the Kennedy Space Center. Calibration was completed in April 1989. WUPPE's power supplies for the spectrometer and for the zero order detector were returned to the University of Wisconsin, where they were modified to reduce output noise. UIT also stayed at Kennedy, where the power supply for its image intensifier was replaced in August 1989. Because Comet Halley was no longer in position for detailed observation, the Wide Field Camera was removed from the payload in the spring of 1987. In March of 1988, BBXRT was added to the Astro-1 payload. Originally proposed in response to the 1978 announcement of opportunity, BBXRT had been developed as one of three X-ray instruments in a payload designated OSS-2. This was renamed the Shuttle High-Energy Astrophysics Laboratory and proposed for flight in 1992. However, when Supernova 1987A occurred, BBXRT was completed ahead of schedule and added to the Astro-1 payload. The addition would allow study of the supernova and other objects in X-ray as well as ultraviolet wavelengths. The completed payload was tested at 6-month intervals. Level IV testing, in which instruments and command software are operated apart from Spacelab pallets, was completed in August 1989. The three ultraviolet telescopes, the Instrument Pointing System and the igloo were integrated with the Spacelab pallets for Level III testing, which concluded in December 1989. The pallet-mounted ultraviolet telescopes and pointing system, as well as the BBXRT and its Two-Axis Pointing System, were moved to the Cargo Integration Test Equipment stand where testing was completed at the end of February 1990. Astro-1 was installed in Columbia's payload bay March 20, 1990. Final integrated testing in the Orbiter Processing Facility between the orbiter, payload, mission centers and satellite relays was completed March 26-28. Payload pad activities included installation of Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) film, removal of telescope covers, final pallet cleaning and BBXRT argon servicing. SHUTTLE AMATEUR RADIO EXPERIMENT (SAREX) Conducting shortwave radio transmissions between ground-based amateur radio operators and a Shuttle-based amateur radio operator is the basis for the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX). SAREX communicates with amateur stations in line-of-sight of the orbiter in one of four transmission modes: voice, slow scan television (SSTV), data or (uplink only) fast scan television (FSTV). The voice mode is operated in the attended mode while SSTV, data or FSTV can be operated in either attended or unattended modes. During the mission, SAREX will be operated by Payload Specialist Ron Parise, a licensed operator (WA4SIR), during periods when he is not scheduled for orbiter or other payload activities. At least four transmissions will be made to test each transmission mode. The primary pair of frequencies intended for use during the mission is 145.55 MHz as the downlink from Columbia, with 144.95 MHz as the uplink. A spacing of 600 KHz was deliberately chosen for this primary pair to accommodate those whose split frequency capability is limited to the customary repeater offset. SAREX crew-tended operating times will be dictated by the time of launch. As a secondary payload, SAREX will be operated by Parise during his pre- and post-sleep activities each day. This means that wherever the Shuttle is above Earth during those operating windows, amateur stations can communicate with Columbia. Currently, those windows provide coverage for Australia, Japan, South America and South Africa. The continental United States has little or no coverage except through a network of ground stations in other parts of the world in conjunction with relay links back to the United States. Another part of the SAREX is the "robot," providing an automated operation which can proceed with little human intervention. The robot will generally be activated during one of the crew-tended windows and deactivated during the next one. This gives approximately 12 hours on and 12 hours off for the robot, with the operational period chosen to cover all of the U.S. passes. SAREX has previously flown on missions STS-9 and STS-51F in different configurations, including the following hardware: a low-power hand-held FM transceiver, a spare battery set, an interface (I/F) module, a headset assembly, an equipment assembly cabinet, a television camera and monitor, a payload general support computer (PGSC) and an antenna which will be mounted in a forward flight window with a fast scan television (FSTV) module added to the assembly. Antenna location does not affect communications and therefore does not require a specific orbiter attitude for operations. The equipment is stowed in one middeck locker. SAREX is a joint effort of NASA and the American Radio Relay League (ARRL)/Amateur Radio Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) STS-35 COLUMBIA SAREX FREQUENCIES Shuttle Transmit Accompanying Shuttle Frequency Receive Frequencies Group 1 145.55 MHz 144.95 MHz 145.55 144.91 145.55 144.97 Group 2 145.51 144.91 145.51 144.93 145.51 144.99 Group 3 145.59 144.99 145.59 144.95 Group 4 145.55 144.95 145.55 144.70 145.55 144.75 145.55 144.80 145.55 144.85 Note: The 145.55/144.95 combination is in both Groups 1 and 4 because alternate uplink frequencies from Group 1 would be used over North and South America while those from Group 4 would be used generally in other parts of the world. "SPACE CLASSROOM, ASSIGNMENT: THE STARS" "Space Classroom" is a new NASA educational effort designed to involve students and teachers in the excitement of Space Shuttle science missions. This new program joins more than 160 other educational programs being conducted by NASA that use the agency's missions and unique facilities to help educators prepare students to meet the nation's growing need for a globally competitive work force of skilled scientists and engineers. The first Space Classroom project, called Assignment: The Stars, will capitalize on the December 1990 flight of Astro-1, a Space Shuttle astronomy mission. It is designed to spark the interest of middle school students, encouraging them to pursue studies in mathematics, science and technology. It will offer educators an alternative approach to teaching their students about the electromagnetic spectrum -- a science concept that is required instruction in many classrooms in the United States. Space Classroom, Assignment: The Stars, involves several educational elements: a lesson on the electromagnetic spectrum to be taught live by the Astro-1 crew from the cabin of the Space Shuttle Columbia during the flight; a supporting lesson to be taught from the Astro-1 control center in Huntsville, Ala.; an Astro-1 teachers guide; an Astro-1 slide presentation; a NASA educational satellite video conference next fall; and post-flight video products suitable for classroom use. The major component of Assignment: The Stars will be a lesson taught by members of the Astro-1 science crew from the Space Shuttle as they orbit the Earth during the mission. This 15-20 minute presentation will focus on the electromagnetic spectrum and its relationship to the high-energy astronomy mission. The crew presentation will be followed by demonstrations and discussions of the concepts introduced by the crew from a classroom in the Astro-1 control center at Marshall Space Flight Center. The lesson will conclude with an opportunity for some students participating in the lesson from Marshall and students at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., to ask questions of the crew in orbit. Students at both centers will participate in additional workshops, tours and laboratory sessions. The lesson by the crew, the follow-up lesson from the Astro-1 control center and the question-answer session will be carried live on NASA Select TV, Satcom satellite F2R, transponder 13, 3960 megahertz, 72 degrees West longitude. NASA Select will carry continuous programming of all mission events as well. The lesson is tentatively scheduled for the fifth day of the mission. Beginning about 1 week before launch, Astro-1 Update, a recorded bulletin on the status of the Astro-1 mission and Space Classroom, will be available by dialing 205/544-8504. In the fall of 1991, tapes of the lesson will available for a small fee from NASA CORE, Lorain County Joint Vocational School, 15181 Route 58 South, Oberlin, Ohio, 44074 (phone: 216/ 774-1051). ORBITER EXPERIMENTS PROGRAM The advent of operations of the Space Shuttle orbiter provided an opportunity for researchers to perform flight experiments on a full-scale, lifting vehicle during atmospheric entry. In 1976, to take advantage of this opportunity, NASA's Office of Aeronautics, Exploration and Technology instituted the Orbiter Experiments (OEX) Program. Since the program's inception, 13 experiments have been developed for flight. Principal investigators for these experiments represent NASA's Langley and Ames Research Centers, Johnson Space Center and Goddard Space Flight Center. Six OEX experiments will be flown on STS-35. Included among this group will be five experiments which were intended to operate together as a complementary set of entry research instrumentation. This flight marks the first time since the September 1988 return-to-flight that the Langley experiments will fly as a complementary set. Shuttle Entry Air Data System (SEADS) The SEADS nosecap on the orbiter Columbia contains 14 penetration assemblies, each containing a small hole through which the surface air pressure is sensed. Measurement of the pressure levels and distribution allows post-flight determination of vehicle attitude and atmospheric density during entry. SEADS, which has flown on three previous flights of Columbia, operates in an altitude range of 300,000 feet to landing. Paul M. Siemers III, Langley, is the principal investigator. Shuttle Upper Atmosphere Mass Spectrometer (SUMS) The SUMS experiment complements SEADS by enabling measurement of atmospheric density above 300,000 feet. SUMS samples air through a small hole on the lower surface of the vehicle just aft of the nosecap. It utilizes a mass spectrometer operating as a pressure sensing device to measure atmospheric density in the high altitude, rarefied flow regime where the pressure is too low for the use of ordinary pressure sensors. The mass spectrometer incorporated in the SUMS experiment was spare equipment originally developed for the Viking Mars Lander. This is the first opportunity for SUMS to fly since STS-61C in January 1986. Robert C. Blanchard and Roy J. Duckett, Langley, are co-principal investigators. Both SEADS and SUMS provide entry atmospheric environmental (density) information. These data, when combined with vehicle motion data, allow determination of in-flight aerodynamic performance characteristics of the orbiter. Aerodynamic Coefficient Identification Package (ACIP) The ACIP instrumentation includes triaxial sets of linear accelerometers, angular accelerometers and angular rate gyros, which sense the orbiter's motions during flight. ACIP provides the vehicle motion data which is used in conjunction with the SEADS environmental information for determination of aerodynamic characteristics below about 300,000 feet altitude. The ACIP has flown on all flights of Challenger and Columbia. David B. Kanipe, Johnson Space Center, is the ACIP principal investigator. High Resolution Accelerometer Package (HiRAP) This instrument is a triaxial, orthogonal set of highly sensitive accelerometers which sense vehicle motions during the high altitude portion (above 300,000 feet) of entry. This instrument provides the companion vehicle motion data to be used with the SUMS results. HiRAP has been flown on 11 previous missions of the orbiters Columbia and Challenger. Robert C. Blanchard, Langley, is the HiRAP principal investigator. Shuttle Infrared Leeside Temperature Sensing (SILTS) This experiment uses a scanning infrared radiometer located atop the vertical tail to collect infrared images of the orbiter's leeside (upper) surfaces during entry, for the purpose of measuring the temperature distribution and thereby the aerodynamic heating environment. On two previous missions, the experiment obtained images of the left wing. For STS-35, the experiment has been reconfigured to obtain images of the upper fuselage. SILTS has flown on three Columbia flights. David A. Throckmorton and E. Vincent Zoby, Langley, are co-principal investigators. Aerothermal Instrumentation Package (AIP) The AIP comprises some 125 measurements of aerodynamic surface temperature and pressure at discrete locations on the upper surface of the orbiter's left wing and fuselage, and vertical tail. These sensors originally were part of the development flight instrumentation system which flew aboard Columbia during its Orbital Flight Test missions (STS-1 through 4). They have been reactivated through the use of an AIP-unique data handling system. Among other applications, the AIP data provide "ground-truth" information for the SILTS experiment. The AIP has flown on two previous Columbia flights. David A. Throckmorton, Langley, is principal investigator. STS-35 CREW BIOGRAPHIES Vance D. Brand, 58, will serve as Commander. Selected as an astronaut in 1966, he considers Longmont, Colo., to be his hometown. STS-35 will be Brand's fourth space flight. Brand was Apollo Command Module Pilot on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission, launched on July 15, 1975. This flight resulted in the historic meeting in space between American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts. The three-member U.S.crew spent 9 days in Earth orbit. Brand's second flight was as Commander of STS-5 in November 1982, the first fully operational flight of the Shuttle Transportation System and first mission with a four person crew. Brand next commanded the 10th Space Shuttle mission aboard Challenger. STS-41B with its crew of five was launched Feb. 3, 1984. Prior to joining NASA, Brand was a commissioned officer and naval aviator with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1953 to 1957. Following release from active duty, he continued in Marine Corps Reserve and Air National Guard jet fighter squadrons until 1964. Brand was employed as a civilian by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation from 1960 to 1966. He was an experimental test pilot on Canadian and German F-104 programs and has logged 8,777 flying hours, which includes 7,312 hours in jets, 391 hours in helicopters, 531 hours in spacecraft and checkout in more than 30 types of military aircraft. Guy S. Gardner, 42, Col. USAF, will serve as Pilot. Selected as an astronaut in 1980, he considers Alexandria, Va., to be his hometown. STS-35 will be his second Shuttle flight. Gardner was Pilot for STS-27, a 4-day flight of Atlantis launched Dec. 2, 1988. The mission carried a Department of Defense payload. The crew completed their mission with a lakebed landing at Edwards on Dec. 6. Gardner graduated from George Washington High School in Alexandria in 1965. He received a bachelor of science degree in engineering sciences, astronautics and mathematics from the USAF Academy in 1969 and a master of science degree in astronautics from Purdue University in 1970. After completing pilot training, he flew 177 combat missions in Southeast Asia in 1972 while stationed at Udorn, Thailand. In 1973, he flew F-4's and in 1975 attended the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards. In 1977-78 he was an instructor pilot at the USAF Test Pilot School. He has logged over 4,000 hours flying time and 105 hours in space. Jeffrey A. Hoffman, 45, will serve as Mission Specialist 1 (MS1). Selected as an astronaut in 1978, he was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. STS-35 will be his second Shuttle flight. Hoffman was a Mission Specialist aboard Discovery on STS-51D, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center in April 1985. On this mission, he made the first STS contingency spacewalk, in an attempted rescue of the malfunctioning Syncom IV-3 satellite. Hoffman graduated from Scarsdale High School, Scarsdale, N.Y., and received a bachelor of arts degree in astronomy from Amherst College in 1966. He received a doctor of philosophy in astrophysics from Harvard University in 1971 and a masters degree in materials science from Rice University in 1988. At NASA, Hoffman has worked as the astronaut office payload safety representative. He also has worked on extravehicular activity (EVA), including the development of a high-pressure space suit. John M. "Mike" Lounge, 43, will be Mission Specialist 2 (MS2). Selected as an astronaut in 1980, Lounge considers Burlington, Colo., to be his hometown. He will be making his third Shuttle flight. Lounge was a mission specialist on STS-51I conducted in August 1985. During that mission his duties included deployment of the Australian AUSSAT communications satellite and operation of the remote manipulator system (RMS) arm. The crew deployed two other communications satellites and also performed a successful on-orbit rendezvous and repair of the ailing SYNCOM IV-3 satellite. His second flight was aboard Discovery on STS-26 in September 1988. Lounge graduated from Burlington High School in 1964 and received a bachelor of science degree in physics and mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1969 and a master of science degree in astrogeophysics from the University of Colorado in 1970. At NASA, Lounge now serves as Chief of the Space Station Support Office which works with design and operation of the Freedom space station. Robert Allan Ridley Parker, 53, will serve as Mission Specialist 3 (MS3). Selected as an astronaut in 1967, he grew up in Shrewsbury, Mass., and will be making his second Shuttle flight. Parker was a member of the astronaut support crews for Apollo 15 and 17 missions. He served as a mission specialist on Columbia's sixth space flight, STS-9, in November 1983 which was the first Spacelab mission. Parker attended primary and secondary schools in Shrewsbury, Mass.; received a bachelor of arts degree in astronomy and physics from Amherst College in 1958, and a doctorate in astronomy from the California Institute of Technology in 1962. Samuel T. Durrance, 46, will serve as a Payload Specialist. Durrance is a research scientist in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. He considers Tampa, Fla., his hometown. Durrance has made International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite observations of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. He helped develop special pointing techniques needed to observe solar system objects with that satellite. His main astronomical interests are in the origin and evolution of planets, both in this solar system and around other stars. Durrance received a bachelor of science degree and a master of science degree in physics from California State University and a doctor of philosophy degree in astrogeophysics from the University of Colorado. Ronald A. Parise, 38, also will serve as a Payload Specialist. Parise is a senior scientist in the Space Observatories Department, Computer Science Corporation in Silver Spring, Md. He is a member of the research team for the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope, one of the instruments scheduled for flight as part of the Astro payload. He is from Warren, Ohio. Parise has participated in flight hardware development, electronic system design and mission planning activities for the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope project. He is pursuing his astronomical research interests with the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite under a NASA grant. Parise also will conduct the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) during the STS-35 mission. He received a bachelor of science degree in physics, with minors in mathematics, astronomy and geology from Youngstown State University, Ohio, and a master of science degree and a doctor of philosophy degree in astronomy from the University of Florida. STS-35 MISSION MANAGEMENT Office of Space Flight Dr. William B. Lenoir - Associate Administrator Joseph B. Mahon - Director, Flight Systems Robert L. Crippen - Director, Space Shuttle Leonard S. Nicholson - Deputy Director, Space Shuttle (Program) Brewster Shaw - Deputy Director, Space Shuttle (Operations) Office of Space Science and Applications Dr. Lennard A. Fisk - Associate Administrator Alphonso V. Diaz - Deputy Associate Administrator Robert Benson - Director, Flight Systems Division Dr. Charles Pellerin, Jr. - Director, Astrophysics Division William Huddleston - Astro Program Manager Dr. Edward Weiler - Astro Program Scientist Dr. David Huenemoerder - Deputy Program Scientist Office of Space Operations Charles T. Force - Associate Administrator Eugene Ferrick - Director, Tracking & Data Relay Satellite Systems Division Robert M. Hornstein - Director, Ground Networks Division Ames Research Center Dr. Dale L. Compton - Director Victor L. Peterson - Deputy Director Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility Kenneth J. Szalai - Site Manager Theodore G. Ayers - Deputy Site Manager Thomas C. McMurtry - Chief, Research Aircraft Operations Division Larry C. Barnett - Chief, Shuttle Support Office Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. John Klineberg - Director Peter T. Burr - Director of Flight Projects Dale L. Fahnestock - Director of Mission Operations and Data Systems Directorate Dr. Theodore Gull - Astro Mission Scientist Frank Volpe - BBXRT Manager Bruce Thoman - BBXRT Operations Manager Johnson Space Center Aaron Cohen - Director Eugene F. Kranz - Director, Mission Operations Franklin Brizzolara - Payload Integration Manager Kennedy Space Center Forrest S. McCartney - Director Jay Honeycutt - Director, Shuttle Management & Operations Robert B. Sieck - Launch Director John T. Conway - Director, Payload Management & Operations Joanne H. Morgan - Director, Payload Project Management Robert Sturm - Astro-1 Launch Site Support Manager Langley Research Center Richard H. Petersen - Director W. Ray Hook - Director for Space James P. Arrington - Chief, Space System Division Marshall Space Flight Center T. Jack Lee - Director Jack Jones - Astro Mission Manager Stuart Clifton - Assistant Mission Manager Dr. Eugene Urban - Deputy Mission Scientist Thomas Rankin - Payload Operations Director Fred Applegate - Payload Operations Director Steven Noneman - Payload Operations Director Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com