North Carolina Astronaut on Next Space Shuttle Flight; Reporters Invited to Launch

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Apr 28, 2010, 09:57 ET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., April 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tony Antonelli, who was raised in Fayetteville, N.C., will make his second journey into orbit on space shuttle Atlantis' next mission to the International Space Station. The STS-132 flight is targeted to launch May 14 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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The six astronauts for Atlantis' STS-132 mission will deliver the Russian-built Mini Research Module, also known as Rassvet (which means "dawn" in Russian) to the space station. The flight also will deliver critical spare parts and cargo. During the 12-day mission, three spacewalks are planned to put the spare parts on the station. STS-132 is the final scheduled flight of Atlantis. Following STS-132, two more shuttle flights remain scheduled.

The STS-132 crew will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. EDT May 3, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA Television and the agency's website will broadcast the briefings live. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

To cover the STS-132 launch on-site, U.S. reporters must request credentials from Kennedy by May 2. Media representatives should submit requests online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

Antonelli previously was the pilot on the STS-119 mission in 2009. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2000. He is a commander in the U.S. Navy, has a bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned a master's in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington. Antonelli has accumulated more than 3,200 hours in 41 different kinds of aircraft and has completed 273 carrier arrested landings. He is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.

For Antonelli's complete biography, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/antonelli-da.html

For the latest information about the STS-132 mission and crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For the schedule of remaining shuttle flights, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/stationflights

The public can learn how to view a shuttle launch or landing in Florida at:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/view

SOURCE NASA