Museum of Flight Honors Heroes of Spaceflight Sept. 22-23

Museum of Flight Honors Heroes of Spaceflight  

Sept. 22-23   

Saturday Gala and Sunday public programs with over 40 astronauts, cosmonauts and NASA flight controllers including Buzz Aldrin, Gene Kranz, Charles Simonyi

SEATTLE, September 19, 2012--On Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 22-23, The Museum of Flight in Seattle will welcome one of the largest gatherings of astronauts, mission controllers and cosmonauts in recent history. The distinguished group will be honored at the Museum's Saturday night Wings of Heroes Gala. More than a dozen of the honorees will be participating in panel discussions open to the public on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Museum's Space Shuttle Trainer will also be previewed on Sunday in the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery. The Sunday programs and Space Gallery preview are free with admission to the Museum. 

On Friday, Sept. 21 the Museum will take possession of the historic documents of Seattle-native and former NASA Johnson Space Center Director George Abbey. Media are invited to attend a brief ceremony with Abbey in the Museum Library and Archives Building on Friday, Sept. 21 at approximately 2 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 21, George Abbey Donation to Museum

Seattle native George W. S. Abbey held key management positions in NASA and played a major role in all of America's human spaceflight programs from Apollo to the space shuttle.

The 111 boxes of Dr. Abbey's papers document his NASA career (1964-2003) and include correspondence, memoranda, technical proposals and reports, presentations and briefings, mission planning documents and reports, and photographs. The papers are a unique and valuable resource for study of NASA's management of the Apollo and Skylab programs, development of the space shuttle, joint programs with the USSR and later with the Russian government, Earth and Life Sciences, and the design and construction of the International Space Station.

Saturday, Sept. 22 Wings of Heroes Gala
4:30 to 10 p.m The 2012 Wings of Heroes Gala is a celebration of the men and women who helped make spaceflight a reality and who continue to serve as the visionaries and entrepreneurs who are taking space exploration to even greater heights today. Those in attendance include NASA astronauts and flight controllers from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, and Shuttle programs. Honorees also include cosmonauts and spaceflight participants. Buzz Aldrin will present a special tribute to the late Neil Armstrong. In addition to Aldrin, honorees include the first man to walk in space, Alexey Leonov, and the last man to walk on the Moon, Gene Cernan. Legendary NASA mission controller Gene Kranz will also be in attendance. The Gala is sold-out. It is open to credentialed media, prior registration required.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Media access to the Gala is restricted and requires credentials for those who wish to attend. However, media is welcome and encouraged to have their own sneak peek of the Space Gallery this week, prior to the Gala and Sunday's activities and to cover the arrival of the Abbey Papers. You will NOT be granted access to the Gala without pre-arranged press credentials, but guests will be walking down the red carpet prior to entry beginning at approximately 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 23 Heroes of Spaceflight Public Programs

The Charles Simonyi Space Gallery will be temporarily open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., for a preview of the Space Shuttle Trainer exhibit. After Sunday, the Space Gallery closes until the exhibit's grand opening on Nov. 10.

On Sunday, astronauts, cosmonauts and mission specialists and other honorees from Saturday's Gala will participate in panel discussions at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The programs and Space Gallery are free with admission to the Museum. 

11 a.m. - Moon Missions - The First Space Station - The Shuttle

Buzz Aldrin - NASA astronaut, Gemini 12, Apollo 11.

Gerald Carr - NASA astronaut, Skylab 4 (1974).

Owen Garriott - NASA astronaut, Skylab 3 (1973), shuttle mission STS-9 (1983).

Jack Lousma - NASA astronaut, Skylab 3 (1973), shuttle mission STS-3 (1982).

T.K. Mattingly - NASA astronaut, Apollo 16, shuttle missions STS-4, STS-51C.

Milton Windler - NASA mission controller for Apollo 13 and other moon program missions, Skylab.

Jerry Bostick - NASA mission controller for Apollo 13 and other moon program missions, shuttle program manager.

1 p.m. - Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and International Space Programs

Valery Kubasov - Cosmonaut, Soyuz 6 (1969), Soyuz 19/Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (1975), Soyuz 36/Salyut-6 space station (1980).

Alexey Leonov - Cosmonaut, Voskhod 2 (1965), Soyuz 19/Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (1975).

Charles Lewis - NASA mission controller for Apollo 17, Skylab, ASTP and early shuttle flights.

Sy Liebergot - NASA flight controller for missions including Apollo 13 and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

Glynn Lunney - NASA mission controller for Apollo 13 and other moon program missions, manager of Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and shuttle program.

Charles Simonyi - Spaceflight participant, Soyuz TMA-10, 9 (2007), 14 and 13 (2009).

2 p.m. - Book signing/autograph session.

Note: Panelists will only sign their books and materials for purchase at the Museum store.

Access this and all other Museum of Flight news releases online at:

http://www.museumofflight.org/press/archives

###

The non-profit Museum of Flight is one of the largest independent air and space museums in the world. The Museum's collection includes more than 150 historically significant air- and spacecraft, as well as the William E. Boeing Red Barn^® -- the original manufacturing facility of the Boeing Co. The Airpark includes outdoor displays with the first jet Air Force One, a Concorde airliner, and the first Boeing 747 jumbo jet. The Museum aeronautical library and archival holdings are the largest on the West Coast. The Education Office offers weekend family programs, programs for students and educators, and overnight camps for children. McCormick & Schmick's Wings Café is on site.

The Museum of Flight is located at 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, Exit 158 off Interstate 5 on Boeing Field half-way between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is id="mce_marker"7 for adults, id="mce_marker"4 for seniors 65 and older, id="mce_marker"3 for active military, $9 for youth 5 to 17, and free for children under 5. Group rates are available. Admission on the first Thursday of the month is free from 5 to 9 p.m. courtesy of Wells Fargo. For general Museum information, please call 206-764-5720 or visit museumofflight.org.