NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio of Waterbury, Connecticut, who returned from the International Space Station Tuesday (May 13 U.S. time), will be available for live satellite interviews from 7 to 8 a.m. EDT Tuesday, May 20.
Mastracchio will participate from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. To participate, reporters should contact Karen Svetaka at 281-483-8684 or at karen.a.svetaka@nasa.gov no later than 2 p.m., Monday, May 19.
Mastracchio earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut, before earning postgraduate degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and the University of Houston, Clear Lake. A veteran of four spaceflights, Mastracchio flew as a mission specialist on space shuttle missions STS-106, STS-118 and STS-131 before completing this recent six-month stint aboard the space station as a member of Expedition 38/39.
Mastracchio launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Nov. 6 aboard a Soyuz spacecraft with Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mikhail Tyurin of the Russian Federal Space Agency.
During his mission Mastracchio and his crewmates performed several hundred experiments that crossed the fields of biology and biotechnology, physical science and earth science. Mastracchio also performed spacewalks that were vital to maintaining the space station, participated in multiple educational outreach events and gave the spring commencement address at his alma mater, the University of Connecticut.
Participating media will find satellite tuning information at:
http://go.nasa.gov/1hKwRze
For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and more downlink information, visit:
Mastracchio’s complete biography is available at:
http://go.nasa.gov/YlLlv5
Follow NASA astronauts and ISS crew members as they share their experiences aboard the space station on Instagram and Twitter:
http://instagram.com/iss
For information about the International Space Station, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
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Joshua Buck
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
jbuck@nasa.gov
Jay Bolden
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
jay.e.bolden@nasa.gov