Astronaut Tony Antonelli, who was raised in Indiana and North Carolina, will make his first journey into orbit, serving as the pilot on space shuttle Discovery’s upcoming mission to the International Space Station. Discovery is targeted to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 12 at 7:28 a.m. EST.

To cover the launch at Kennedy, U.S. reporters must request credentials by Jan. 29, and foreign reporters must do so by Jan. 15. Journalists should submit requests online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov/

To request an interview with Pilot Antonelli, news media representatives should contact the Johnson Space Center newsroom in Houston at 281-483-5111 by Jan. 6.

Antonelli is one of seven astronauts who will fly on the 14-day space shuttle mission, which is designated STS-119. As the pilot, he will assist with the rendezvous and docking to the station and will undock Discovery at the end of the mission. The shuttle will deliver the space station’s fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station’s backbone, or truss. The arrays will provide the electricity to power science experiments and increase the crew size to six in May. The shuttle also will deliver the first Japanese resident station crew member and bring back U.S. astronaut Sandra Magnus, who will have lived aboard the complex for more than three months.

Antonelli graduated from Douglas Byrd High School in Fayetteville, N.C. He earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington.

For Antonelli’s complete biography, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/antonelli-da.html

For the latest information about the STS-119 mission and crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For more about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station