Four NASA astronauts have been chosen to fly on the newly created Space Shuttle mission, STS-121. It is the mission following the Space Shuttle’s Return to Flight.<\/p>\n
Veteran astronaut Steven W. Lindsey (Col., USAF) is the commander of STS-121. Mark E. Kelly (Cmdr., USN) is the pilot; Carlos I. Noriega (Lt. Col., USMC, Ret.) and Michael E. Fossum are the mission specialists. Other crewmembers will be named later.
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\nSTS-121 was added to the flight schedule to help accommodate the growing list of requirements originally assigned to the Return to Flight mission. The crew will re-supply the International Space Station with equipment and consumables. They will also continue the testing and development of new hardware and procedures designed to make Space Shuttle flight safer.<\/p>\n
The crew recently began their pre-mission training together at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston. Initial activities focus on general procedural training on Shuttle and Station systems, preliminary spacewalk development and robotics training.<\/p>\n
Lindsey is a three-time Shuttle astronaut, including commanding the STS-104 mission in 2001. Kelly has flown in space once, and Noriega twice. Fossum is making his first trip.<\/p>\n