NEBRASKANS TO NASA
JOIN US IN FLORIDA TO WATCH CLAY LAUNCH OFF INTO SPACE
CLAYTON ANDERSON: NASA SHUTTLE LAUNCH
Nebraska’s only astronaut Clayton Anderson will be launching into space on Discovery on his final space shuttle mission. The launch of mission STS-131 will be a historic moment for Nebraska and we’d like YOU to be there to share it with us!
STS-131 Launch Postponed
Launch of STS-131 has been postponed to a date no earlier than April 5, 2010. This date is tentative and can possibly be pushed back even further if necessary. The postponement was due to the unusually cool weather that Florida has experienced recently. Given the low temperatures, Space Shuttle Discovery can not safely and securely be transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building where it needs to be taken in order to undergo preparations for launch.
KEEP YOUR EYES HERE FOR LAUNCH UPDATES INCLUDING FINAL DATE AND TIME!
Despite the postponement from the original launch date, we here at the Strategic Air & Space Museum would like to encourage you to join us down in Cape Canaveral, Florida at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in April to support Clay and his family and see him off into orbit. It will be an inspiring and momentous occasion that we can all talk about for years to come, not only for the fact that Clay is our only homegrown Nebraska astronaut, but also because seeing a shuttle launch is something you may never get to do again. NASA is retiring the Space Shuttle program after the final shuttle launch in May of 2010….come and help usher out a legacy of space exploration!
Make it a vacation! Plan to go down and enjoy the NASA shuttle launch and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex along with everything else that Florida has to offer. Take time to enjoy the beautiful coastline and beaches, spend some time in the ocean at Cocoa Beach, enjoy the local restaurants and seafood shacks, tour all that Disney has to offer, and more! We would love to see you down there cheering on Clay Anderson along with us!
Can’t make it to Florida?
Join us at the Museum in April for a live-feed broadcast of Clay’s Shuttle launch! Come see the action from our theater and tour Clay’s exhibit. Launch date and time pending.
MISSION INFORMATION
Mission: STS-131
Date: April 5, 2010
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: -
For detailed and up-to-date information including mission objectives, pre-launch training, photos, newsletters on Clay’s upcoming launch, and more please visit:
PURPOSE OF MISSION
STS-131 will be delivering experiment racks to the International Space Station. The experiment racks – the window observational research facility and the muscle atrophy research and exercise system rack – are pretty much exactly what they sound like. The window observational research facility is designed to beef up the work that astronauts are able to do looking out the window of the Destiny laboratory by adding cameras, multispectral and hyperspectral scanners, camcorders and sensors. With those instruments, the crew will be able to study global climates, land and sea formations and crop weather damage like never before.
Meanwhile, the muscle atrophy research and exercise system rack – or MARES – will give the crew members a way to assess the strength of their muscles while in space.
CLAY’S BIO
Born February 23, 1959 in Omaha, Nebraska. He considers Ashland, Nebraska to be his hometown. Married to the former Susan Jane Harreld of Elkhart, Indiana. They have two children; a son, Clayton “Cole” and a daughter, Sutton Marie.
Recreational Interests Include: Officiating College and High School basketball; participation in all sports; coaching youth sports; flying; reading; writing music; playing the piano/organ and vocal performance. As an undergraduate he competed on the football, basketball and track teams.
Education: Graduated from Ashland-Greenwood High School, Ashland, Nebraska, 1977; received a bachelor of science degree (Cum Laude) in Physics from Hastings College, Nebraska in 1981 and a master of science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Iowa State University in 1983.
NASA Experience: Clay has been with NASA since 1983 performing a variety of tasks and filling several different roles including Mission Planning and Analysis, Flight Design Manager, Chief of the Flight Design Branch, and Manager of Emergency Operations Center at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Clay has performed significant duties in International Space Station (ISS) missions including duties as Mission Specialist, Crew Support Astronaut, and ISS Capsule Communicator among others.
In 2007, Clay spent a five-month tour of duty working aboard the International Space Station. He launched to the Station on June 8, 2007 aboard Shuttle Atlantis with the crew of STS-117. During his 152-day tour of duty aboard the ISS, Anderson performed 3 spacewalks (EVAs) two with crewmembers of STS-118, totaling 18 hours, 01 minutes.
Please call us with any questions you have about the launch @ 402.944.3100 x211.
