The STS-132 Atlantis space shuttle crew visited NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center on June 17 to thank facility personnel for their role in enabling the successful May mission to the International Space Station. Crew members presented a video recap of their mission, scheduled as the last flight for the Atlantis shuttle. Following the presentation, Stennis Project Directorate Director Keith Brock (center) presented (from left) Mission Specialists Piers Sellers, Stephen Bowen, Michael Good, Garrett Reisman, Pilot Dominic Antonelli, and Commander Kenneth Ham with a plaque commemorating work at Stennis. Since the 1960s, Stennis has tested every engine used in all crewed Apollo and space shuttle missions, with no mission failing as a result of engine malfunction. On their mission, the STS-132 crew delivered the Russian Rassvet Mini-Research Module-1, only the second Russian module ever to be carried into space by a space shuttle. Atlantis also carried the first Russian module into space and was the first shuttle to dock to the Russian space Station Mir. Atlantis now is being prepared to serve as a backup craft should an emergency arise during the final two scheduled shuttle missions.
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Rebecca Strecker, NASA News Chief
NASA Public Affairs Office
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000
(228) 688-3249
Rebecca.A.Strecker@nasa.gov