Astronauts share space through souvenirs (STS-124 Official Flight Kit)

Astronauts share space through souvenirs (STS-124 OFK)

June 4, 2008

— Armstrong and Buzz are in space again, though they aren't the Apollo astronauts who made history walking on the Moon.

Rather, cyclist Lance Armstrong and 'space ranger' Buzz Lightyear are sharing space aboard shuttle Discovery, now docked to the International Space Station. And they are not alone; joining them for the 14-day mission are retired Houston Astros' player Craig Biggio and New York Giants' quarterback Eli Manning.

Of course, none of the individuals (and fictional character) are themselves in space, but the crew of STS-124 chose to take items representing each of them aboard the orbiter.

"Well, he's this super human" said astronaut Karen Nyberg of Lance Armstrong during an interview with collectSPACE before she launched. "I just love his athletic abilities. I am taking one of his [Tour de France] yellow jerseys."

Similarly, Manning's back-up Super Bowl XLII jersey and Biggio's last game-worn jersey have places in the orbiting locker room. Four of the crew members hail from the New York/New Jersey area, home to Manning's Giants, and all live, train and take instruction while in space from mission control in Houston, south of the Astros' Minute Maid Park.

Lightyear, or a 12-inch action figure-version of the Disney and Pixar "Toy Story" spaceman, will "fly" from Discovery to the space station for a six month stay, kicking off an educational partnership between NASA and the house that Walt built.

The stowaways are part of the crew's "personal preference kits" (PPKs), small pouches that hold mementos and not just for celebrities. A majority of the souvenirs are for their friends and family.

"Ryan, he has this little bullet that he used to carry around since he was a little kid. I know that sounds terrible but it's a spent rifle bullet and it just means something to him. I don't know why. So, we're flying that," pilot Ken Ham told collectSPACE about one of his two son's items. "And then Randy, he's a big Green Bay Packers fan, so he's got this Brett Favre thing."

Spacewalker Mike Fossum also took items for his boys.

"My second son John is 17, and he's finishing up his [Boy Scouts'] Eagle and I brought up on my first flight his Eagle badge but [on this flight, I have his] pin that will be pinned onto him during his Eagle ceremony. I flew my older son's [pin] on my first flight, he's already earned his. This time I am flying him a larger Eagle patch that he can have made properly framed and display in his office some day," said Fossum, who serves as a Scoutmaster of a Houston local Boy Scouts troop.

Greg Chamitoff, who joined the ISS's Expedition 17 crew after docking, is the second crewmen of Jewish descent to live aboard the station (the first, Garrett Reisman, will return to Earth with Discovery). He brought with him a pair of mezuzot as gifts for a former teacher and a friend. The encased, prayer-inscribed parchment customarily placed on the door frames of Jewish homes were designed by an Israeli artist who was inspired by space exploration. "I will install them [on the door of my sleep area], take pictures and then put them away," said Chamitoff.

The PPKs can also include small items for the astronauts themselves.

Nyberg brought a few pieces of fabric with her to knit into a quilt after the flight. "My mom taught me to sew when I was six. So I grew sewing, making my own clothes," she said.

Beyond their personal kits, the astronauts could also pack items for organizations in their mission's Official Flight Kit (OFK), a larger stash of official presentation items. In the STS-124 OFK there is a patch for Jet Blue Airlines; World Series pins for both the White Sox and Astros teams; and ocean water for the U.S. Merchant Marine Booster Club in Kings Point, NY.

Ham has a microphone stand for ESPN. Spacewalker Ron Garan has a silver coin for the Manna Energy Foundation, which he founded to combat poverty. Fossum flew a flag for his alma mater, Texas A&M University, continuing his display of Aggie pride that he started during his first flight.

Nyberg, as the University of North Dakota's first alumna to fly in space, took a flag and a certificate for the school, as well as a compact disc. "The School of Engineering has sent a disc that has the names of all the students, faculty and staff since I think 1897, whenever the school started."

The mission's primary payload, the Japanese pressurized module, the primary component of the three-part Kibo lab and the longest component to be added to the outpost, is represented on the crew by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission specialist Aki Hoshide. He chose items for several schools in Japan as well as a package of Zelkova Serrata tree seeds for the government of Tokyo.

"We are [flying] a Japanese flag, but the Kibo itself is the commemorative item, I think," said Hoshide.

Examples of patches, pins and more on shuttle Discovery. (cS)

The STS-124 Official Flight Kit Manifest

The following is the STS-124 Official Flight Kit manifest, as provided by NASA. Inventory numbers that are missing indicate items that were removed prior to launch.

No.	Description	Sponsor/Purpose

1.	625 STS-124 crew patches 75 Expedition 16 patches	Agency Presentation
2.	600 Small United States Flags	Agency Presentation
3.	4 Sets U.S. States & Territories Flags	Agency Presentation
4.	4 Sets United Nations Members Flags	Agency Presentation
5.	20 Small Texas Flags 5 Small NASA Flags 5 Small POW/MIA Flags 5 NASA Patches 5 Texas Lapel Pins 5 U.S./Japan Lapel Pins 1 Bronze NASA Seal Medallion 1 Silver Shuttle Pendant 6 Small JSC Medallions	Agency Presentation
6.	10 Small Flags of the Following States: Arizona South Dakota Minnesota Massachusetts	Agency Presentation
7.	5 Small Flags of the Following States: New Jersey Maine Idaho Wyoming California Texas New York Nevada North Dakota	Agency Presentation
8.	Small International Flags: 30 Japan 10 Russia 5 Australia 5 Canada 3 Vatican 3 Singapore	Agency Presentation
9.	20 Each Small Military Flags: U.S. Air Force U.S. Army U.S. Coast Guard U.S. Marine Corps U.S. Navy	Agency Presentation
10.	10 Small United States Flags 10 Small Alabama State Flags	Marshall Space Flight Center Presentation
11.	10 Small Louisiana State Flags 10 Small Mississippi State Flags 5 Small NASA Flags 5 Small United States Flags	Stennis Space Center Presentation
12.	2 Small United States Flags 2 Small Florida State Flags 10 Small KSC Coins	Kennedy Space Center Presentation
13.	100 Silver Snoopy Pins	Space Flight Awareness Presentation

14.	25 EVA Patches	Agency Presentation
15.	10 STS-124 Crew Patches 20 Small U.S. flags 10 DoD Space Test Program Patches 2 USAF E-7 Chevrons 1 STS-124 Kibo JEM PM & JEM RMS Patch 10 Space Development & Test Wing Coins	DoD Presentation
16.	15 STS-124 Crew Patches	United Space Alliance Presentation

17.	5 3" 2007 Constellation Ornaments	Constellation Program Office Presentation

18.	50 Small SPACE CAMP Flags	U.S. Space & Rocket Center Presentation
19.	3" Metal National Science Foundation Marker 3" U.S. Antarctic Program Patch	Agency Presentation
20.	H.M.S. Hood Cloth Badge	Agency Presentation

21.	4"x5" Portrait Photocopy	Agency Presentation

Items 22 through 95 are manifested at the request of the STS-124 crewmembers.

22.	2"x1" Plain Gold Bar	U.S. Merchant Marine Alumni Assoc., Kings Point, NY

23.	2"x1" Plain Gold Bar	United States Merchant Marine Regiment, Kings Point, NY

24.	4"x1.5" Clear Container of Ocean Water	United States Merchant Marine Booster Club, Kings Point, NY

25.	Embroidered Patch	USS Midway, San Diego, CA

26.	Embroidered Patch	A-6 Intruder Ready Room Association, Washington, DC

27.	5"x5" Mounted Solar Cells	University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

28.	Small Dark Brown Wooden Turtle	University of Maryland, College Park, MD

29.	Small Light Brown Wooden Turtle	University of Maryland Alumni Association, College Park, MD

30.	Black School T-Shirt	Empire High School, Tucson, AZ

31.	Thin Metal Plate	Rede, Inc., New Orleans, LA

32.	4.5"x1.5" Microphone Stand	ESPN, New York, NY

33.	World Series Astros Pin	Houston Astros Baseball Team, Houston, TX

34.	Pink Ribbon Patch	Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council, Houston, TX

35.	Lapel Pin	Susan G. Kormen Foundation, Houston, TX

36.	Miniature Compass in Circular Container	Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL

37.	Blue Patch	Jet Blue Airways, New York, NY

38.	Chicago White Sox World Series Pin	Chicago White Sox Baseball Team, Chicago, IL

39.	Beach Sand in Clear Vile	Matangi Island, Matangi, Fiji

40.	3'x5' Blue Banner	Arthur L. Johnson High School, Clark NJ

41.	3'x22" Yellow Banner	United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD

42.	8.5"x11" Certificate	University of North Dakota Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Grand Forks, ND

43.	Compact Disc	University of North Dakota School of Engineering, Grand Forks, ND

44.	3'x5' White Flag	University of North Dakota Alumni Association, Grand Forks, ND

45.	9"x4" Felt Pennant	University of Texas Department of Biomedical Engineering, Austin, TX

46.	3'x5' U.S. Flag	City of Vining, Vining, MN

47.	9"x5.5" Rwandan Flag	Engineers Without Borders, Longmont, CO

48.	10"x4" Multi-Colored Felt Pennant	Arizona Project Challenge, Queen Creek, AZ

49.	9"x4" Felt Pennant	State University of New York, Oneonta, NY

50.	4"x6" Ireland Flag with Signatures	Glencastle National School, Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland

51.	5"x7" Canvas Flag	Mount Carmel High School, Houston, TX

52.	8"x5.5" Decal	Roosevelt High School, Houston, TX

53.	Black and Grey Patch	United States Air Force Weapons School, Las Vegas, NV

54.	Black and White Patch	City of Yonkers, Yonkers, NY

55.	STS-124 Silver Medallion	St. Paul's Catholic Church, Nassau Bay, TX

56.	STS-124 Silver Medallion	Manna Energy Foundation, Houston, TX

57.	3'x5' University Flag	Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

58.	6"x2.5" Sash	Colonneh Lodge, Houston, TX

59.	Gold Medallion	312th Aeronautical Systems Group, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, OH

60.	Slide Ruler	Texas A&M University College of Engineering, College Station, TX

61.	Boy Scouts of America Patch	BSA Order of the Arrow National Lodge, Houston, TX

62.	Boy Scouts of America Patch	National Eagle Scout Association, Houston, TX

63.	Silver Air Force Wings	Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, TX

64.	3'x5' U.S. Flag	Creech Air Force Base, Indian Springs, NV

65.	21" Bolo Tie	Lakota Native American Indian Tribe, Sioux Falls, SD

66.	3'x2' Texas Flag	City of McAllen, McAllen, TX

67.	27"x15" Japanese Painting	Keio University, Tokyo, Japan

68.	7.5"x4" Abacus	Keio University Department of Engineering, Tokyo, Japan

69.	21"x14" Blue and Red Flag	Keio University Alumni Association, Tokyo, Japan

70.	8.5"x11" Laminated Picture	Futakotamagawa Elementary School, Tokyo, Japan

71.	4.5"x11" White Flag	Maeikei Gakuen Junior High School and High School, Tsukuba, Japan

72.	White Polo Shirt	United World College of South East Asia, Singapore

73.	34"x14" White Banner	Japan National Committee on United World Colleges, Tokyo, Japan

74.	Red Rugby Jersey	Japan Rugby Football Union, Tokyo, Japan

75.	Package of Zelkova Serrata Seeds	Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo, Japan

76.	Kibo Patch	Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, Japan

77.	1.5"x1.5" Mounted Tuning Fork	Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA

78.	3'x5' Brown and Navy Banner	California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

79.	Blue T-Shirt	Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX

80.	3'x5' Boy Scout Troop #1190 Flag	Scout Troup #1190, Houston, TX

81.	35.5"x34" Tropical Print Scarf	Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney, Australia

82.	University Patch	The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

83.	Expedition 17 Silver Medallion	University of Houston Clear Lake Space Science Department, Houston, TX

84.	Expedition 17 Medallion	California Polytechnic State University Math Department, San Luis Obispo, CA

85.	Expedition 17 Medallion	Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

86.	Expedition 17 Medallion	United Space Alliance, Houston, TX

87.	Gold Navy Wings	Agency Presentation

88.	Gold Navy Wings	Agency Presentation

89.	Silver Air Force Wings	Agency Presentation

90.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

91.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

92.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

93.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

94.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

95.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

Items 96 through 101 are manifested at the request of the STS-124 payload customers.

96.	100 JAXA STS-124/IJ Patches 100 JAXA STS-124/IJ Pins w/o needle 100 Japan Flags 100 Kibo Logo Flags 100 JAXA Flags 100 Kibo Character Decals	JAXA Presentation
97.	40 BCAT Stickers	International Space Station Presentation

98.	50 OZ Payload Office Patches	International Space Station Presentation

99.	50 Increment 17 Pins	International Space Station Presentation

101.	75 STS-124 Crew Patches 300 Sheets SSP Bookmarks 20 STS-124 Pins	SSP Presentation