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Astronauts share space through souvenirs (STS-124 OFK)

June 4, 2008

— Armstrong and Buzz are in space again, though they aren't the Apollo astronauts who made history walking on the Moon.

Rather, cyclist Lance Armstrong and 'space ranger' Buzz Lightyear are sharing space aboard shuttle Discovery, now docked to the International Space Station. And they are not alone; joining them for the 14-day mission are retired Houston Astros' player Craig Biggio and New York Giants' quarterback Eli Manning.

Of course, none of the individuals (and fictional character) are themselves in space, but the crew of STS-124 chose to take items representing each of them aboard the orbiter.

"Well, he's this super human" said astronaut Karen Nyberg of Lance Armstrong during an interview with collectSPACE before she launched. "I just love his athletic abilities. I am taking one of his [Tour de France] yellow jerseys."

Similarly, Manning's back-up Super Bowl XLII jersey and Biggio's last game-worn jersey have places in the orbiting locker room. Four of the crew members hail from the New York/New Jersey area, home to Manning's Giants, and all live, train and take instruction while in space from mission control in Houston, south of the Astros' Minute Maid Park.

Lightyear, or a 12-inch action figure-version of the Disney and Pixar "Toy Story" spaceman, will "fly" from Discovery to the space station for a six month stay, kicking off an educational partnership between NASA and the house that Walt built.

The stowaways are part of the crew's "personal preference kits" (PPKs), small pouches that hold mementos and not just for celebrities. A majority of the souvenirs are for their friends and family.

"Ryan, he has this little bullet that he used to carry around since he was a little kid. I know that sounds terrible but it's a spent rifle bullet and it just means something to him. I don't know why. So, we're flying that," pilot Ken Ham told collectSPACE about one of his two son's items. "And then Randy, he's a big Green Bay Packers fan, so he's got this Brett Favre thing."

Spacewalker Mike Fossum also took items for his boys.

"My second son John is 17, and he's finishing up his [Boy Scouts'] Eagle and I brought up on my first flight his Eagle badge but [on this flight, I have his] pin that will be pinned onto him during his Eagle ceremony. I flew my older son's [pin] on my first flight, he's already earned his. This time I am flying him a larger Eagle patch that he can have made properly framed and display in his office some day," said Fossum, who serves as a Scoutmaster of a Houston local Boy Scouts troop.

Greg Chamitoff, who joined the ISS's Expedition 17 crew after docking, is the second crewmen of Jewish descent to live aboard the station (the first, Garrett Reisman, will return to Earth with Discovery). He brought with him a pair of mezuzot as gifts for a former teacher and a friend. The encased, prayer-inscribed parchment customarily placed on the door frames of Jewish homes were designed by an Israeli artist who was inspired by space exploration. "I will install them [on the door of my sleep area], take pictures and then put them away," said Chamitoff.

The PPKs can also include small items for the astronauts themselves.

Nyberg brought a few pieces of fabric with her to knit into a quilt after the flight. "My mom taught me to sew when I was six. So I grew sewing, making my own clothes," she said.

Beyond their personal kits, the astronauts could also pack items for organizations in their mission's Official Flight Kit (OFK), a larger stash of official presentation items. In the STS-124 OFK there is a patch for Jet Blue Airlines; World Series pins for both the White Sox and Astros teams; and ocean water for the U.S. Merchant Marine Booster Club in Kings Point, NY.

Ham has a microphone stand for ESPN. Spacewalker Ron Garan has a silver coin for the Manna Energy Foundation, which he founded to combat poverty. Fossum flew a flag for his alma mater, Texas A&M University, continuing his display of Aggie pride that he started during his first flight.

Nyberg, as the University of North Dakota's first alumna to fly in space, took a flag and a certificate for the school, as well as a compact disc. "The School of Engineering has sent a disc that has the names of all the students, faculty and staff since I think 1897, whenever the school started."

The mission's primary payload, the Japanese pressurized module, the primary component of the three-part Kibo lab and the longest component to be added to the outpost, is represented on the crew by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission specialist Aki Hoshide. He chose items for several schools in Japan as well as a package of Zelkova Serrata tree seeds for the government of Tokyo.

"We are [flying] a Japanese flag, but the Kibo itself is the commemorative item, I think," said Hoshide.

 


Examples of patches, pins and more on shuttle Discovery. (cS)


The STS-124 Official Flight Kit Manifest

The following is the STS-124 Official Flight Kit manifest, as provided by NASA. Inventory numbers that are missing indicate items that were removed prior to launch.

No.   Description   Sponsor/Purpose

 

1.

 

  1. 625 STS-124 crew patches

  2. 75 Expedition 16 patches

 

Agency Presentation

2.

 

600 Small United States Flags

 

Agency Presentation

3.

 

4 Sets U.S. States & Territories Flags

 

Agency Presentation

4.

 

4 Sets United Nations Members Flags

 

Agency Presentation

5.

 

  1. 20 Small Texas Flags

  2. 5 Small NASA Flags

  3. 5 Small POW/MIA Flags

  4. 5 NASA Patches

  5. 5 Texas Lapel Pins

  6. 5 U.S./Japan Lapel Pins

  7. 1 Bronze NASA Seal Medallion

  8. 1 Silver Shuttle Pendant

  9. 6 Small JSC Medallions

 

Agency Presentation

6.

 

10 Small Flags of the Following States:

  1. Arizona

  2. South Dakota

  3. Minnesota

  4. Massachusetts

 

Agency Presentation

7.

 

5 Small Flags of the Following States:

  1. New Jersey

  2. Maine

  3. Idaho

  4. Wyoming

  5. California

  6. Texas

  7. New York

  8. Nevada

  9. North Dakota

 

Agency Presentation

8.

 

Small International Flags:

  1. 30 Japan

  2. 10 Russia

  3. 5 Australia

  4. 5 Canada

  5. 3 Vatican

  6. 3 Singapore

 

Agency Presentation

9.

 

20 Each Small Military Flags:

  1. U.S. Air Force

  2. U.S. Army

  3. U.S. Coast Guard

  4. U.S. Marine Corps

  5. U.S. Navy

 

Agency Presentation

10.

 

  1. 10 Small United States Flags

  2. 10 Small Alabama State Flags

 

Marshall Space Flight Center Presentation

11.

 

  1. 10 Small Louisiana State Flags

  2. 10 Small Mississippi State Flags

  3. 5 Small NASA Flags

  4. 5 Small United States Flags

 

Stennis Space Center Presentation

12.

 

  1. 2 Small United States Flags

  2. 2 Small Florida State Flags

  3. 10 Small KSC Coins

 

Kennedy Space Center Presentation

13.

 

100 Silver Snoopy Pins

 

Space Flight Awareness Presentation

 

14.

 

25 EVA Patches

 

Agency Presentation

15.

 

  1. 10 STS-124 Crew Patches

  2. 20 Small U.S. flags

  3. 10 DoD Space Test Program Patches

  4. 2 USAF E-7 Chevrons

  5. 1 STS-124 Kibo JEM PM & JEM RMS Patch

  6. 10 Space Development & Test Wing Coins

 

DoD Presentation

16.

 

15 STS-124 Crew Patches

 

United Space Alliance Presentation

 

17.

 

5 3" 2007 Constellation Ornaments

 

Constellation Program Office Presentation

 

18.

 

50 Small SPACE CAMP Flags

 

U.S. Space & Rocket Center Presentation

19.

 

  1. 3" Metal National Science Foundation Marker

  2. 3" U.S. Antarctic Program Patch

 

Agency Presentation

20.

 

H.M.S. Hood Cloth Badge

 

Agency Presentation

 

21.

 

4"x5" Portrait Photocopy

 

Agency Presentation

 

Items 22 through 95 are manifested at the request of the STS-124 crewmembers.

 

22.

 

2"x1" Plain Gold Bar

 

U.S. Merchant Marine Alumni Assoc., Kings Point, NY

 

23.

 

2"x1" Plain Gold Bar

 

United States Merchant Marine Regiment, Kings Point, NY

 

24.

 

4"x1.5" Clear Container of Ocean Water

 

United States Merchant Marine Booster Club, Kings Point, NY

 

25.

 

Embroidered Patch

 

USS Midway, San Diego, CA

 

26.

 

Embroidered Patch

 

A-6 Intruder Ready Room Association, Washington, DC

 

27.

 

5"x5" Mounted Solar Cells

 

University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

 

28.

 

Small Dark Brown Wooden Turtle

 

University of Maryland, College Park, MD

 

29.

 

Small Light Brown Wooden Turtle

 

University of Maryland Alumni Association, College Park, MD

 

30.

 

Black School T-Shirt

 

Empire High School, Tucson, AZ

 

31.

 

Thin Metal Plate

 

Rede, Inc., New Orleans, LA

 

32.

 

4.5"x1.5" Microphone Stand

 

ESPN, New York, NY

 

33.

 

World Series Astros Pin

 

Houston Astros Baseball Team, Houston, TX

 

34.

 

Pink Ribbon Patch

 

Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council, Houston, TX

 

35.

 

Lapel Pin

 

Susan G. Kormen Foundation, Houston, TX

 

36.

 

Miniature Compass in Circular Container

 

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL

 

37.

 

Blue Patch

 

Jet Blue Airways, New York, NY

 

38.

 

Chicago White Sox World Series Pin

 

Chicago White Sox Baseball Team, Chicago, IL

 

39.

 

Beach Sand in Clear Vile

 

Matangi Island, Matangi, Fiji

 

40.

 

3'x5' Blue Banner

 

Arthur L. Johnson High School, Clark NJ

 

41.

 

3'x22" Yellow Banner

 

United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD

 

42.

 

8.5"x11" Certificate

 

University of North Dakota Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Grand Forks, ND

 

43.

 

Compact Disc

 

University of North Dakota School of Engineering, Grand Forks, ND

 

44.

 

3'x5' White Flag

 

University of North Dakota Alumni Association, Grand Forks, ND

 

45.

 

9"x4" Felt Pennant

 

University of Texas Department of Biomedical Engineering, Austin, TX

 

46.

 

3'x5' U.S. Flag

 

City of Vining, Vining, MN

 

47.

 

9"x5.5" Rwandan Flag

 

Engineers Without Borders, Longmont, CO

 

48.

 

10"x4" Multi-Colored Felt Pennant

 

Arizona Project Challenge, Queen Creek, AZ

 

49.

 

9"x4" Felt Pennant

 

State University of New York, Oneonta, NY

 

50.

 

4"x6" Ireland Flag with Signatures

 

Glencastle National School, Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland

 

51.

 

5"x7" Canvas Flag

 

Mount Carmel High School, Houston, TX

 

52.

 

8"x5.5" Decal

 

Roosevelt High School, Houston, TX

 

53.

 

Black and Grey Patch

 

United States Air Force Weapons School, Las Vegas, NV

 

54.

 

Black and White Patch

 

City of Yonkers, Yonkers, NY

 

55.

 

STS-124 Silver Medallion

 

St. Paul's Catholic Church, Nassau Bay, TX

 

56.

 

STS-124 Silver Medallion

 

Manna Energy Foundation, Houston, TX

 

57.

 

3'x5' University Flag

 

Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

 

58.

 

6"x2.5" Sash

 

Colonneh Lodge, Houston, TX

 

59.

 

Gold Medallion

 

312th Aeronautical Systems Group, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, OH

 

60.

 

Slide Ruler

 

Texas A&M University College of Engineering, College Station, TX

 

61.

 

Boy Scouts of America Patch

 

BSA Order of the Arrow National Lodge, Houston, TX

 

62.

 

Boy Scouts of America Patch

 

National Eagle Scout Association, Houston, TX

 

63.

 

Silver Air Force Wings

 

Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, TX

 

64.

 

3'x5' U.S. Flag

 

Creech Air Force Base, Indian Springs, NV

 

65.

 

21" Bolo Tie

 

Lakota Native American Indian Tribe, Sioux Falls, SD

 

66.

 

3'x2' Texas Flag

 

City of McAllen, McAllen, TX

 

67.

 

27"x15" Japanese Painting

 

Keio University, Tokyo, Japan

 

68.

 

7.5"x4" Abacus

 

Keio University Department of Engineering, Tokyo, Japan

 

69.

 

21"x14" Blue and Red Flag

 

Keio University Alumni Association, Tokyo, Japan

 

70.

 

8.5"x11" Laminated Picture

 

Futakotamagawa Elementary School, Tokyo, Japan

 

71.

 

4.5"x11" White Flag

 

Maeikei Gakuen Junior High School and High School, Tsukuba, Japan

 

72.

 

White Polo Shirt

 

United World College of South East Asia, Singapore

 

73.

 

34"x14" White Banner

 

Japan National Committee on United World Colleges, Tokyo, Japan

 

74.

 

Red Rugby Jersey

 

Japan Rugby Football Union, Tokyo, Japan

 

75.

 

Package of Zelkova Serrata Seeds

 

Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo, Japan

 

76.

 

Kibo Patch

 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, Japan

 

77.

 

1.5"x1.5" Mounted Tuning Fork

 

Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA

 

78.

 

3'x5' Brown and Navy Banner

 

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

 

79.

 

Blue T-Shirt

 

Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX

 

80.

 

3'x5' Boy Scout Troop #1190 Flag

 

Scout Troup #1190, Houston, TX

 

81.

 

35.5"x34" Tropical Print Scarf

 

Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney, Australia

 

82.

 

University Patch

 

The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

 

83.

 

Expedition 17 Silver Medallion

 

University of Houston Clear Lake Space Science Department, Houston, TX

 

84.

 

Expedition 17 Medallion

 

California Polytechnic State University Math Department, San Luis Obispo, CA

 

85.

 

Expedition 17 Medallion

 

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

 

86.

 

Expedition 17 Medallion

 

United Space Alliance, Houston, TX

 

87.

 

Gold Navy Wings

 

Agency Presentation

 

88.

 

Gold Navy Wings

 

Agency Presentation

 

89.

 

Silver Air Force Wings

 

Agency Presentation

 

90.

 

Gold Astronaut Pin

 

Agency Presentation

 

91.

 

Gold Astronaut Pin

 

Agency Presentation

 

92.

 

Gold Astronaut Pin

 

Agency Presentation

 

93.

 

Gold Astronaut Pin

 

Agency Presentation

 

94.

 

Gold Astronaut Pin

 

Agency Presentation

 

95.

 

Gold Astronaut Pin

 

Agency Presentation

 

Items 96 through 101 are manifested at the request of the STS-124 payload customers.

 

96.

 

  1. 100 JAXA STS-124/IJ Patches

  2. 100 JAXA STS-124/IJ Pins w/o needle

  3. 100 Japan Flags

  4. 100 Kibo Logo Flags

  5. 100 JAXA Flags

  6. 100 Kibo Character Decals

 

JAXA Presentation

97.

 

40 BCAT Stickers

 

International Space Station Presentation

 

98.

 

50 OZ Payload Office Patches

 

International Space Station Presentation

 

99.

 

50 Increment 17 Pins

 

International Space Station Presentation

 

101.

 

  1. 75 STS-124 Crew Patches

  2. 300 Sheets SSP Bookmarks

  3. 20 STS-124 Pins

 

SSP Presentation

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