Space shuttle Discovery undocked from the International
Space Station (ISS) Tuesday with six NASA astronauts, one European Space Agency
(ESA) mission specialist and a Star Command Space Ranger for the trip back to
Earth.
Yes, that's right, Buzz Lightyear is on his way home.
The animated astronaut has been on a real space mission in
the form of a 12-inch tall action figure since launching last
year aboard Discovery's STS-124 mission, as part of an educational
partnership between NASA and the Walt Disney Company.
Buzz is returning with the STS-128 crew, including space
station flight engineer Tim Kopra who spent 44 days living on the ISS. By
comparison, Lightyear will have logged 467 days in space, assuming that the
weather in Florida does not delay his scheduled landing on Thursday evening.
That is a record, says Disney, pointing out that Lightyear's
stay surpasses the longest duration space mission set in 1995 by Russian
cosmonaut Valery Polyakov by a month.
During his time on-board the station, with the help of his
crewmates, Lightyear has been the star of recorded videos that are aimed at
exciting children about spaceflight, while teaching them the basics of working
in weightlessness.
A similar goal is shared by other items returning with the STS-128
astronauts. Although in space for less time than Buzz, just 13 days, the
astronauts each packed items to thank those who supported them while helping
promote the role space exploration plays back on Earth.
Toys and games
Buzz Lightyear is not the only toy aboard
Discovery.
STS-128 pilot Kevin Ford, making his first flight, brought a
seven-inch model of the space shuttle for his elementary school and as a
Hoosier, a model car for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana.
Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang, who coincidentally
combined both of Ford's items in the form of candy
he flew for his crewmates, chose among his mementos a chess piece for the Swedish Chess Academy.
The wood-carved knight, like the shuttle and car models,
were stowed inside the STS-128 Official Flight Kit, a duffle bag-sized
container of souvenirs flown at the request of the astronauts and the space
agency. The items it carries remain out of reach of the crew for the length of
the flight.
Which is why Fuglesang, who also flew a mini frisbee, was
unable to best his own record on this mission. Once a Swedish national frisbee
champion, Fuglesang on his first flight in 2006 set a record for "time
aloft" by floating a spinning frisbee for 20 seconds aboard the ISS.
With his chess piece and frisbee out of reach, Fuglesang
devised other means of sharing a game from space.
Challenging the public to a chess match, Fuglesang built a
board on the back page of the mission checklist.
"I needed some kind of chess board and so I made it out
of Velcro for myself," he explained in a pre-flight interview with
collectSPACE. Using blue and yellow hook-and-latch squares, Fuglesang affixed
paper pieces that he moved in response to e-mailed challenges.
As of Wednesday, the Swedish media was reporting that
Fuglesang's rook, guarding his queen, might be in trouble.
"I am kind of a good amateur player," Fuglesang
said of his own abilities. "When I was a teenager, I played for two years
in a club and did a bit of competition, but I never raised above average."
Flying the flag
Fuglesang is not flying the white flag to surrender just
yet, though the completion of his chess match, which began before he launched,
may not come until after he lands. He is however, flying the Swedish flag.
The blue and yellow banner, which is also featured on the
STS-128 crew's mission patch, is among a collection of flags inside the Official
Flight Kit.
"I am flying a couple of flags," shared Jose
Hernandez, whose family were Mexican migrant workers. "One is for a
squadron from Mexico that participated in World World II. They asked me to fly
their squadron's flag. I am flying a Mexican flag that I will present to
President Calderon when I return."
Danny Olivas, who like Hernandez is a mission specialist of
Mexican descent, chose to highlight another country's role in his youth.
"The country of Bhutan and my alma mater, University of Texas at El Paso, share an affiliation. The architecture at UTEP is all Bhutanese
architecture and so the country, their government, and UT El Paso have a pretty
close relationship and so in discussions with the folks at UTEP and with
representatives of the country, we were able to get a flag."
Ford, in addition to packing models, brought a flag for one
of his schools, the Air Force Institute of Technology.
"Although they have graduated many astronauts, I do not
think they had ever had anything ever offered to them. So I am flying their
flag and they are going to hang it back in their entry way and make a little
note underneath about their contribution to the astronaut corps," said
Ford.
For astronaut Pat Forrester the chance to fly a flag was
even more personal.
"During the training for this flight, my father passed
away. He was my biggest fan, loved space, loved NASA. So he was 30 years with
the military, a West Pointer just like me and he was buried at Arlington [Cemetery] in September. And the honor guard that did his service, I am flying
their guidon and will present that back to them when I get back — just a way of
thanking them for the way that they honored him in his burial."
Homecomings
As Forrester mentioned, the crew members will embark on tours
of the country, and to Sweden and other international destinations, to return
the items they flew.
"Hopefully, [these items] will serve as motivation for
kids and for people who are part of the organization that once presented to
them, will say 'Hey, if they did it, why can't I do it?'," said Hernandez.
One such opportunity is set for early October when Disney
plans a ticker-tape parade at the Magic Kingdom in Florida to welcome Buzz
Lightyear back to Earth, together with several of his NASA space station
crewmates.
Read the complete
contents of the STS-128 Official Flight Kit at collectSPACE.com.
Copyright 2009 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
advertisement
