Media and the public may relive the most recent International Space Station mission with astronaut Leroy Chiao, who returned to Earth last month, during a 7:30 p.m. June 1 presentation at Space Center Houston.
The free briefing in the Space Center Theater will include slides, a video presentation and a question-and-answer session. Doors will open at 7 p.m. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the 580-seat theater fills, guests will be seated in an adjacent area and may watch the program on closed-circuit television.
Throughout the six-month mission, Expedition 10 Commander and Space Station Science Officer Chiao kept busy in the Destiny Lab with various experiments that took advantage of the Station’s microgravity environment. Research ranged from studying the effects of spaceflight on the human body and working to develop diagnostic telemedicine techniques to learning how simple soldering might be made a practical repair technique in zero-g.
In addition to scientific research, Expedition 10 Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov and Chiao conducted two spacewalks, the first of which was jam-packed with tasks. In only five-and-a-half hours, the two explorers installed a universal work platform, set up a European commercial experiment, relocated a Japanese materials exposure pallet, inspected vents for the environmental systems in the Zvezda module and installed a Russian experiment.
In late March the crewmembers made their second spacewalk, devoted largely to installing additional navigational and communications equipment needed for the upcoming first flight of the European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle, which will expand the ability of the Space Station program to keep the Station and its crews supplied on orbit.
During his time in space, Chiao also became the first astronaut to cast a vote in a U.S. presidential election.
