Bay Area Citizen - News
Spirited crowd greets Endeavour crew
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| A group of young admirers eagerly waits to hear from the astronauts on the STS-126 mission landed back on Earth Sunday on the space shuttle Endeavor |
By RICHARD TEW
A bright blue sky set the tone for a jubilant celebration at Ellington Field on Monday, as a huge crowd welcomed the STS-126 crew back to Earth.
The shuttle Endeavour landed on Sunday after a 16-day mission to the International Space Station.
This was the 27th time a shuttle as docked with the space station.
Endeavor's mission this time was to continue projects that will increase the capacity of the space station, allowing more astronauts to live there in the future.
The STS-126 crew accomplished this by adding more crew quarters, additional exercise equipment, equipment for the regenerative life support system and spare hardware, plus required supplies.
JSC Center Director Mike Coats opened the ceremony with an overview of the mission and a brief introduction of each of the astronauts.
Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus was not in attendance; although she traveled to the space station on Endeavour, she will stay there for six months, replacing Expedition 17 Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff.
Coats said the mission’s goals included fixing a number of small maintenance-releated problems with the space station.
“I want to congratulate the commander, Chris Ferguson,” Coats said.
“Chris did a good job and made a fantastic landing in California.”
Ferguson then took the microphone, telling the crowd that “we put people and payloads in space and bring them home on a regular basis, and that's a neat job.”
Shuttle Pilot Eric Boe commented on his most memorable experience in outer space.
“It was really great getting to fly Endeavor around the ISS before docking,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who represents District 118, was in attandance to show her support for the shuttle crew.
“It's very special for me to be able to come out and acknowledge the Clear Lake and the NASA family,” she said.
Jackson-Lee has served on the House Science Committee for 12 years, along with the aeronautics subcommittee.
“When I came to Congress, the (space station) was just in the works, and I've had the privilege to see the program continue to grow and expand, and to do more research to help the lives of those of us on Earth,” Jackson-Lee said.
“With NASA now in it's 50th year, we have much to celebrate.”
Jackson-Lee presented tokens of support to each of the members of the STS-126 crew before crew members were released to sign autographs and mingle with co-workers, friends and family members.
The shuttle Endeavour landed on Sunday after a 16-day mission to the International Space Station.
This was the 27th time a shuttle as docked with the space station.
Endeavor's mission this time was to continue projects that will increase the capacity of the space station, allowing more astronauts to live there in the future.
The STS-126 crew accomplished this by adding more crew quarters, additional exercise equipment, equipment for the regenerative life support system and spare hardware, plus required supplies.
JSC Center Director Mike Coats opened the ceremony with an overview of the mission and a brief introduction of each of the astronauts.
Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus was not in attendance; although she traveled to the space station on Endeavour, she will stay there for six months, replacing Expedition 17 Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff.
Coats said the mission’s goals included fixing a number of small maintenance-releated problems with the space station.
“I want to congratulate the commander, Chris Ferguson,” Coats said.
“Chris did a good job and made a fantastic landing in California.”
Ferguson then took the microphone, telling the crowd that “we put people and payloads in space and bring them home on a regular basis, and that's a neat job.”
Shuttle Pilot Eric Boe commented on his most memorable experience in outer space.
“It was really great getting to fly Endeavor around the ISS before docking,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who represents District 118, was in attandance to show her support for the shuttle crew.
“It's very special for me to be able to come out and acknowledge the Clear Lake and the NASA family,” she said.
Jackson-Lee has served on the House Science Committee for 12 years, along with the aeronautics subcommittee.
“When I came to Congress, the (space station) was just in the works, and I've had the privilege to see the program continue to grow and expand, and to do more research to help the lives of those of us on Earth,” Jackson-Lee said.
“With NASA now in it's 50th year, we have much to celebrate.”
Jackson-Lee presented tokens of support to each of the members of the STS-126 crew before crew members were released to sign autographs and mingle with co-workers, friends and family members.
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