Idaho Flag flies high on Discovery
|
Vandal Pride reached new heights on Sunday, March 15, when Astronaut Steven Swanson took a University of Idaho flag into space on board the Discovery Space Shuttle. Swanson, a NASA mission specialist, has the silver and gold University of Idaho flag with him on the STS-119 Space Shuttle Discovery mission that launched from Kennedy Space Center on March 15 and is scheduled to last for 13 days. Steven Swanson is carrying the University of Idaho flag on behalf of his nephew Greg Swanson, an electrical engineering graduate student at the University of Idaho. Greg is also a nominee for the NASA International Year of Astronomy Student Ambassador for the state of Idaho. Steven also has a daughter who attended the University of Idaho in 2007-08. Greg Swanson hopes Steven Swanson will hang the flag and take a picture with it during the flight. The flag will be presented to the president of the University of Idaho, the dean of the College of Engineering and the director of NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium at the Engineering EXPO Dean's Reception on April 30 at the Best Western University Inn. "I thought this would be a great way to promote space exploration in our community," said Greg Swanson. Steven Swanson is the lead extravehicular activity (EVA) crew member and will perform three EVA's to install the last set of solar arrays for the International Space Station. An EVA is any activity for which a crewmember must go outside the protected "shirtsleeve" environment of the orbiter's crew cabin. For more information on the STS-119 Space Shuttle Discovery Launch or for links to watch the launch live and footage during the mission, visit the International Year of Astronomy Web site at www.IdahoIYA.com.
Continue online:
|