NASA today named the crew responsible for giving the
growing International Space Station some extra support that
will clear the way for future expansion of the orbiting
laboratory. The seven-member crew is expected to fly into
orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis in early 2002.
During the 10-day STS-110 mission, Atlantis and its crew will
install the backbone of future space station growth by adding
exterior truss supports to the Destiny laboratory, which also
serves as the space station control center.
Leading the crew of STS-110 on board Atlantis will be
Commander Michael Bloomfield (Lt. Col., USAF). He is joined
on the flight deck by Pilot Stephen Frick (Lt. Cmdr., USN).
Mission specialists for the flight are Jerry Ross (Col.,
USAF, Ret.), Steven Smith, Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.), Lee M.E.
Morin (Capt., USN; M.D.; Ph.D.) and Rex Walheim (Lt. Col.,
USAF).
Bloomfield has two previous shuttle flights to his credit,
the STS-86 mission to the Russian space station Mir in 1997
and the STS-97 mission to the International Space Station
last year. He leads a crew of both experienced veterans and
first-time fliers.
Ross is a veteran of six shuttle missions and has extensive
spacewalking experience, having been outside the orbiter on
seven occasions. Smith has flown three times and has five
space walks under his belt. Astronauts Morin and Walheim are
first-time fliers and both will perform assembly work outside
the orbiting platform during their scheduled space walks.
The crew will install a second truss, called the S0 truss.
This is the center segment of a 300 foot-long station support
structure connected to the Destiny laboratory module. The
astronauts will also prepare this new section for the
addition of four more truss segments that will ultimately be
added to either side of this integral space station spine.
Ochoa, serving as the flight engineer, will mark her fourth
space flight with the launch of STS-110. She flew previously
as a member of the STS-56, STS-66 and STS-96 crews, often
specializing in the operation of the shuttle’s robotic arm.
Frick, who joins Bloomfield on the flight deck as the pilot
of Atlantis, joins Mission Specialists Morin and Walheim as a
first-time flier. All three are members of the 1996 astronaut
class.
For information on the STS-110 crew, its mission, or ongoing
International Space Station operations, visit the NASA human
space flight web site at:
