SEATTLE, May 8, 2008--Many of the artifacts at The Museum of Flight have spent some time in space before they became part of the collection; soon a future artifact will begin its journey into orbit directly from the Museum! During the upcoming STS-125 space shuttle mission, University of Washington graduate and Seattle native shuttle pilot Navy Reserve Capt. Gregory C. Johnson will carry a Museum of Flight logo patch.
Weather permitting, the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-125) is scheduled to launch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Monday, May 11 at 11:01 a.m. PDT. STS-125's mission is to complete the fourth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Capt. Johnson graduated from West Seattle High School in 1972 and earned his bachelor of science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Washington in 1977.
Live NASA TV coverage of the launch will be shown on the big screen in the Museum's William M. Allen Theater from 10 a.m. until noon. Additional live coverage of space walks and other significant events will continue throughout the 11-day mission. Theater viewings are free with admission to the Museum.
Capt. Johnson's Museum patch will eventually be on display in the Museum's Space: Exploring the New Frontier exhibit which features many other space flight artifacts including the Resurs 500, an unmanned spacecraft from Russia which contained cultural gifts, commercial products and messages of goodwill from Russian President Boris Yeltsin and other European leaders; flight suits worn by astronauts Dr. Bonnie J. Dunbar, Edward Gibson and space tourist Charles Simonyi; and artifacts from astronaut Pete Conrad trips during the Gemini and Apollo programs.
Weather permitting, the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-125) is scheduled to launch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Monday, May 11 at 11:01 a.m. PDT. STS-125's mission is to complete the fourth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Capt. Johnson graduated from West Seattle High School in 1972 and earned his bachelor of science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Washington in 1977.
Live NASA TV coverage of the launch will be shown on the big screen in the Museum's William M. Allen Theater from 10 a.m. until noon. Additional live coverage of space walks and other significant events will continue throughout the 11-day mission. Theater viewings are free with admission to the Museum.
Capt. Johnson's Museum patch will eventually be on display in the Museum's Space: Exploring the New Frontier exhibit which features many other space flight artifacts including the Resurs 500, an unmanned spacecraft from Russia which contained cultural gifts, commercial products and messages of goodwill from Russian President Boris Yeltsin and other European leaders; flight suits worn by astronauts Dr. Bonnie J. Dunbar, Edward Gibson and space tourist Charles Simonyi; and artifacts from astronaut Pete Conrad trips during the Gemini and Apollo programs.
