NASA Astronaut Rick Mastracchio Available for Interviews after Space Station Mission

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May 14, 2014, 12:41 ET

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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 [email protected] 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:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

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

http://www.twitter.com/AstroRM

http://www.twitter.com/NASA_Astronauts

For information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station