NASA Names Crew For New Space Shuttle Mission

Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington                 December 2, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-1272)

Doug Peterson
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

RELEASE: 03-385

NASA NAMES CREW FOR NEW SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION

     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.

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.

STS-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.

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.

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.

For crew biographies visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios

For information about NASA and the human space flight program 
on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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