...and our team name was "Whose Idea Was This Anyways?"

What I've been up to...

Work has been going well. I have mostly been providing engineering support specifically for Atlantis. Some of my work duties recently changed, and I am learning a whole lot more. Endeavour is still looking to launch on August 7th and I just hope we do not get rained out. Lately we have been getting a lot of evening thunderstorms.

I am wrapping up an Aviation/Aerospace Systems Saftey class and will be taking the final in about another week. I am in the middle of another class which I will be complete with in September. After these two classes, I have only my final research to complete. (Yey!) I'm trying to get ahead in the classes right now as I will be taking a little weekend trip to Seattle this weekend. I am in a wedding and will also be visiting my sister and nieces.

On Saturday I participated in my first triathalon! I swam, biked, and ran in the 3rd annual Astronaut Family Challenge Triathalon. I figured I would try out a triathalon for the first time and make it my "warm-up" for other upcoming races. I definitely learned that swimming is not my strongest. I am more of a runner than a swimmer and my legs were certainly feeling a little weak as I had to transition from swimming to biking. I'm glad I gave the triathalon a try and I would participate in another one, but I need to improve my swimming. Here are some pictures from Saturday.

Coalition for Space Exploration - Gen Y Board Member

It has been announced that I am on the Board of Advisors for the Coalition for Space Exploration to represent Generation Y. The Coalition for Space Exploration is a collaboration of space industry businesses and advocacy groups whose mission is to educate and inform the public on the value and benefits of space exploration. I hope to bring new ideas and effective ways of communication about space exploration to younger generations of Americans.

The story was published in:

Texas A&M school newspaper: The Batt

Embry-Riddle school newspaper: The Avion

SpaceRef.ca: article

A View from the VAB

Atlantis makes it home to KSC!

Endeavour heads over to the VAB!!!

Busy Busy Busy at KSC

Space Shuttle Atlantis is in Nebraska and will be coming back soon to KSC.












Space Shuttle Endeavour is currently getting ready to pull out of the Orbiter Processing Facility 2 to roll over to the Vehicle Assembly Building! :)

Visit http://astronauticast.forumastronautico.it

I was recently interviewed by Marco Zambianchi from Forum Astronautico in Italy. You can listen to or download the podcast directly from:

http://astronauticast.forumastronautico.it

The interview is translated in Italian and the non-translated version is also available. I would like to thank Forum Astronautico for taking the time to interview me and help spread the word and passion of space exploration.

Let me know what you think!

Atlantis has landed at Edwards Air Force Base

The weather at KSC was not that great. But the crew performed a magnificent landing at Edwards Air Force Base today. Welcome home to all! I'll be sure to post some landing pictures.

KSC weather conditions make landing a NO-GO!

Guess we'll try landing at KSC tomorrow. For now, I'll have to drive home in the rain. :(

Again, dependent on the weather!

We really hope to land at KSC today. But if the weather is not favorable, the crew will orbit stay in orbit for another day and attempt to land here tomorrow. We have already passed our first landing opportunity here at KSC, and the next attempt is at 3:30pm. We should know around 2pm if we're good to go or not as they would need to perform the deorbit burn at 2:25.

Atlantis Landing on Thursday!!

What a mission so far! Seriously! Atlantis undocked today from the International Space Station and the crew is all clear for Thursday's re-entry and landing. I am sure Suni Williams is delighted to be coming home along with the rest of the crew.

The S3/S4 truss on the Space Station was delivered and all work complete. Astronaut Danny Olivas did a fine job repairing the blanket on the OMS pod and a lot of work from the ground engineers and analysts went into evaluating the thermal/aerodynamic load conditions as well as devising a plan that could be performed in space with the available materials onboard.

Unfortunately, I will not be at the landing site this time, but I will be waiting for the sonic boom and still be close enough to get some pictures.

Endeavour will be rolling out to the VAB next week! I am so excited for this next mission and Atlantis' return.

Flight Day 3....Atlantis to Dock to the ISS

Today my imagery support begins from 1:00pm to about 1:00am. Currently many are evaluating the thermal blanket on the OMS pod by performing engineering assessments and pulling up the history of the part. We are determining the heating and aerodynamic effects that could occur during re-entry on the blanket cavity itself, as well as the surrounding parts. This afternoon I will be going in as Atlantis approaches the International Space Station. The crew on the Space Station will take images of Atlantis's lower surface. We will receive those pictures and begin to look for any discrepancies. Now, I must get ready....

And lift off for Space Shuttle Atlantis!!!!

Tomorrow I head out to Houston for mission imagery support. I was so excited this afternoon when the weather was looking favorable for launch. Here are some pictures from today's launch.

1 day till launch!

2 days till launch!!!

3 days till launch!

The Shuttle Launch Experience at the KSC Visitor Complex!

Yesterday I attended the grand opening of the new ride, The Shuttle Launch Experience, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. It was a very nice event. It started off with an intro from Dan LeBlanc, COO of the KSC Visitor Complex, and he recognized all the companies who helped with the success of this new attraction. A parade of flags followed, as well as singing of the National Anthem, and a briefing from Jeff Kottkamp, Lieutenant Governor of Florida. Then, John Young and Bob Crippen introduced 36 other astronauts. The ceremony proceeded with the ribbon cutting and the 38 astronauts ventured into the ride first. Following the astronauts, I had the opportunity to test out the ride. IT WAS AWESOME! Charlie Bolden is the host during the ride and he really does a great job. There was humor built in to it as well as an educational aspect that really teaches one about the critical stages during launch. What I loved most about the ride was the takeoff. The seat was vibrating to simuate launch and I could definitely feel my cheeks flapping. (However that could be because I was born with big cheeks. Ha ha!) The simulated microgravity feeling was cool too. Definitely a ride you'd want to check out!!!!!

The astronauts that were present yesterday were:
John Young, Bob Crippen, Jack Lousma, Hank Hartsfield, Story Musgrave, John Fabian, Norm Thagard, Guy Bluford, Hoot Gibson, Bruce McCandless, Mike Mullane, Jon McBride, Loren Shriver, Don Williams, Jeff Hoffman, John Creighton, Roy Bridges, John-David Bartoe, Charlie Bolden, Bob Cenker, Bob Springer, Mark Lee, John Blaha, Pierre Thuot, Sam Gemar, Bruce Melnick, Andy Allen, Mike (Rich) Clifford, Rick Searfoss, Bill Gregory, Sam Durrance, Kevin Kregal, Fred Leslie, Winston Scott, Roger Crouch, Greg Linteris, Buzz Aldrin, and Al Worden!!

The Boeing Company donates $10,000 to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation

Working at the Johnson Space Center for the day.....

I just got back to Orlando from Houston. Today I participated in a simulation of inspecting on-orbit imagery of the Orbiter's RCC panels. I was able to become acquainted with the criteria and different types of discrepancies the inspection team may encounter during the actual mission. During re-entry, the underbelly of the Orbiter heats up far less than the leading edge of the wings or the Orbiter nose cap. Hence, evaluation of these RCC components is very critical for the safe return of our astronauts.

Now, I have to continue typing my research proposal for school. I have finals coming up and only about 3 weeks of school left! Yikes!