NASA Astronauts Return Coin from Space for the Super Bowl during a Series of Events in Northeast Ohio, Available for Interviews

CLEVELAND — Space shuttle Atlantis’ crew are delivering a specially minted silver coin that will be used at the official coin toss prior to the kickoff of Super Bowl XLIV during their Jan. 27 visit to Northeast Ohio. The crew wrapped up an 11-day journey in space of nearly 4.5 million miles on Nov. 27.

Commander Charlie Hobaugh, a graduate of North Ridgeville High School, Pilot Barry Wilmore, Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman, whose hometown is Wadsworth, Ohio, and Bobby Satcher will kick off their visit at 10 a.m. on Jan. 27 at the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

The crew will present Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys jerseys and a football, inscribed with the name of every member of the Hall of Fame, which also accompanied the crew on their 4.5 million mile space journey last fall. The astronauts will share mission highlights with attendees, which will include local students and community partners.

The crew also will discuss their flight with employees at NASA’s Glenn Research Center at 2 p.m. at in the Administration Building auditorium. An informal media opportunity will follow their presentation.

That evening, the astronauts also will attend the Cleveland Cavaliers game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. They will participate in pregame activities, make a presentation to Cavaliers’ General Manager Danny Ferry, interact with fans and view the game, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The astronauts will bring with them an NBA jersey that was flown on their shuttle flight. The jersey is expected to be returned to the NBA during the All-Star game in Dallas.

The STS-129 shuttle mission included three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the International Space Station’s truss, or backbone. The platforms hold large spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired. The shuttle crew delivered about 30,000 pounds of replacement parts for systems that provide power to the station, keep it from overheating, and maintain a proper orientation in space.

Reporters interested in attending the briefing and informal media opportunity at Glenn may contact Sally Harrington at 216-433-2037 or the Media Relations Office at 216-433-2901 by noon on Jan. 26 to be cleared through security.

For information about the STS-129 mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle