Two New Jersey Astronauts on Next Space Shuttle Flight; Reporters Invited to Interviews and Launch

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Apr 22, 2010, 12:14 ET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., April 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's next space shuttle mission, STS-132, will carry two New Jersey-born astronauts into orbit. The launch currently is scheduled for May 14 from the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

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Veteran space flier Ken Ham, who was born in Plainfield, N.J., will command shuttle Atlantis' next mission to the International Space Station. Garrett Reisman, of Morristown, N.J., will make his second journey to the station.

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. Reporters will be able to ask questions from participating NASA locations.

Ham and Reisman will both be available for interviews at Johnson by phone or in person after the briefings. Reporters must contact Gayle Frere at 281-483-8645 by April 26 to reserve an interview opportunity. Reporters planning to attend the briefings in Houston must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 6 p.m. EDT on April 26 for credentials.

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

Ham, who previously served as pilot on the STS-124 mission in 2008, is a captain in the U.S. Navy. Ham was selected as an astronaut in June 1998 and has logged more than 13 days in space. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and earned a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterrey, Calif. He is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. He completed two deployments to the Mediterranean Sea, including combat missions over North Iraq and Bosnia. He has logged more than 5,000 flight hours in more than 40 different aircraft.

Reisman was selected as a NASA astronaut in June 1998. He has logged more than three months in space, including seven hours spacewalking while serving as flight engineer for a long-duration mission aboard the station. In June 2003, Reisman was a crew member on NEEMO V, living on the bottom of the sea in the Aquarius habitat for two weeks. Reisman graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and earned both a master's degree and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

For Ham's complete biography, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/ham.html

For Reisman's complete biography, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/reisman.html

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

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

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