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Shuttle and souvenirs at space station (STS-116 Official Flight Kit)

December 11, 2006

— Roman has a recording. Sunita's got her snapshots. And Bill has his banner from up north.

The STS-116 crew, living aboard Discovery and docked with the International Space Station, has mementos and favorite items packed with them.

Launched on the evening of December 9, the six member crew has also delivered supplies for the ISS, a new truss segment, and a new station resident, who will stay on the ISS when Discovery returns to Earth.

For STS-116 commander Mark "Roman" Polansky, pilot Bill Oefelein and their four crewmates, the mementos in their personal preference kits (PPKs) and in the Official Flight Kit (OFK) are souvenirs of their just begun 12-day mission to be given to family, friends, and organizations that they support. For Sunita Williams, who moved onto the ISS on Monday, they'll act as reminders of home for the duration of her six-month stay.

"We all have a small amount that we can take up on shuttle," Williams told collectSPACE. "For the station we have a little extra [room] that we can take up of stuff that we can really use while we are up there, like a ball cap or whatever."

"Its just like your office, where you have pictures of your family or little things that are mementos to you and some of that stuff is a little extra for station crew members [as] we are going to be there for a longer period of time," said Williams.

The photos she has brought with her include a special member of the Williams' family: her "crazy" Jack Russell Terrier named Gorby.

"Unfortunately, I cannot bring my dog [with me] but there will be a lot of pictures of my dog up there."

Williams also has a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a small statue of Lord Ganesh and a letter written in Hindi by her father, representing her half-Indian heritage.

For her six other crew mates, "house guests" to her new home, their mementos are stowed and along for the ride.

Most have packed items for their hometowns, states and countries.

For three-time flyer Bob "Beamer" Curbeam, that means continuing a tradition. "Every flight that I have been on, I always take in my OFK a U.S. Virgin Islands flag," said the mission specialist and spacewalker. "My grandfather is from there, so I always take a flag from there."

"Whenever I fly my last [mission], after that I will return it to the governor and life will be good."

Similarly, Polansky, as the only other experienced crew member, extended a custom of honoring his home state.

"I flew things for my high school on my first mission. Since I grew up in Edison [New Jersey], I am flying an item for the Thomas Edison museum in the hometown. I believe we are flying a state flag for the governor. There's always a Jersey connection in there somewhere," shared commander Polansky.

Described in the OFK manifest as a "blue plastic cast cylinder" that is 4.25 inches long and 2 inches diameter, Polansky's item for the Thomas A. Edison Menlo Park Museum is likely a wax cylinder for the phonograph, the recording device invented by Edison.

For two crew members, the items they fly represent their status as the first astronaut from their region.

Oefelein is the first to hail from the 49th state.

"Its one of the fortunate things about being in the Navy. I'm still an Alaskan resident and can still maintain my residency up there... so I am taking something up for the state."

Indeed, six of the items in the OFK were borrowed from Anchorage, including a city medallion and a white shuttle patch from the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska.

Christer Fuglesang, the first Swede in space, has a full compliment of items from his nation.

"I am bringing... the Stockholm city flag with me for the town council there. I have a Swedish national flag I am flying for the Parliament," Fuglesang told to reporters.

"I have some things for some of the universities there, which I have been either studying to or earn a doctorate from a university in northern Sweden called the Umeå University, and the other ones are Stockholm University and the Royal Institute of Technology. Those are some other things I am flying for Sweden," said the European Space Agency astronaut.

In addition to home states and countries, some are also flying items for their families.

"I'm taking some things for my wife and kids. I'll probably take a few photographs for my parents," Nick Patrick, a mission specialist, told collectSPACE before the mission.

The items Joan Higginbotham decided to take were very personal to her. "Your space to take personal items is so limited and I struggle with that," she admitted.

"I am taking a picture of my father who passed away five years ago. I am [also] taking a White Sox cap from the World Series," the Chicago native said.

"I am also taking a shirt that I had gotten from our family reunion. I am taking it because my dad designed it when we went to our reunion back eons ago."

"It's a light purple shirt, and on the front is the skyline of Chicago and it's the neatest design I have ever seen. Of course, I am a little biased," said Higginbotham.

 


Two hundred fifty (250) flags honoring the 25th anniversary of Space Camp are packed inside the STS-116 Official Flight Kit. They are flying alongside thousands of other items carried as mementos for NASA and the STS-116 crew to present after the 12-day mission to the International Space Station. (U.S. Space & Rocket Center)

The STS-116 Official Flight Kit Manifest

The following is the STS-116 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.

 

  1. 625 STS-116 Crew Patches

  2. 25 Expedition 14 Patches

 

Agency Presentation

2.

 

600 Small United States Flags

 

Agency Presentation

 

3.

 

3 Sets U.S. States & Territories Flags

 

Agency Presentation

 

4.

 

3 Sets United Nations Members Flags

 

Agency Presentation

 

5.

 

  1. 20 Small Texas Flags

  2. 20 Small JSC Medallions (in Lucite)

  3. 10 U.S.-Sweden Friendship Pins

  4. 5 U.S.-Germany Friendship Pins

  5. 1 Large Pewter NASA Medallion

  6. 1 Large Bronze NASA Medallion

 

Agency Presentation

6.

 

10 Each Small Flags of the Following States:

  1. New Jersey

  2. Texas

  3. Alaska

  4. Maryland

  5. Illinois

  6. Massachusetts

  7. Ohio

 

Agency Presentation

7.

 

Small Flags of the Following Countries:

  1. 5 France

  2. 5 Czech Republic

  3. 50 Sweden

  4. 5 Denmark

  5. 5 Slovenia

  6. 5 Norway

  7. 5 Finland

  8. 30 United Kingdom

  9. 30 Scotland

  10. 5 India

  11. 30 Spain

  12. 5 Switzerland

  13. 30 Germany

  14. 5 Peru

 

Agency Presentation

8.

 

Small Military Flags:

  1. 10 U.S. Air Force

  2. 40 U.S. Navy

  3. 10 U.S. Marine Corps

  4. 10 U.S. Army

  5. 10 U.S. Coast Guard

 

Agency Presentation

9.

 

  1. 10 Small United States Flags

  2. 10 Small Alabama State Flags

  3. 40 Small STS-116 Crew Patches

 

Marshall Space Flight Center Presentation

10.

 

250 Small SPACE CAMP Flags

 

MSFC and U.S. Space & Rocket Center

 

11.

 

  1. 10 Small Louisiana State Flags

  2. 10 Small Mississippi State Flags

  3. 5 Small NASA Flags

  4. 5 Small United States Flags

 

Stennis Space Center Presentation

12.

 

  1. 200 Silver Snoopy Pins

  2. 100 Small Discovery Flags

  3. 100 Small ISS Flags

 

Space Flight Awareness Presentation

13.

 

50 EVA Patches

 

Agency Presentation

 

14.

 

DELETE

 

 

15.

 

25 Center Operations Patches

 

Agency Presentation

 

16.

 

  1. 25 STS-116 Crew Patches

  2. 55 Small U.S. Flags

  3. 50 DoD Space Test Program STP-H2 Patches

  4. 10 Space & Missle System (SMC) Coins

 

DoD Presentation

17.

 

15 STS-116 Crew Patches

 

United Space Alliance Presentation

 

18.

 

  1. 30 ESA Patches (Polyester)

  2. 4 ESA Patches (Embroidered)

  3. 1 Small Stuffed Lion Mascot

  4. T-Shirt

  5. 38 Expedition 13 Patches

  6. 50 Celsius Patches

 

European Space Agency Presentation

 

Items 19 through 87 are manifested at the request of the STS-116 crewmembers.

 

19.

 

Blue Plastic Cast Cylinder (4.25"x2"D)

 

Thomas A. Edison Menlo Park Museum, Edison, NJ

 

20.

 

White, Green and Purple Mouse Pad

 

The International School of Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

 

21.

 

Red, White and Blue Flag with Alamo Scene

 

City of San Antonio, San Antonio, TX

 

22.

 

Stuffed Bear (8"x3")

 

United States Holocaust Museum, Washington, DC

 

23.

 

United States Flag (3'x5')

 

Houston Fire Department, Houston, TX

 

24.

 

United States Flag (3'x5')

 

Food Safety Net, San Antonio, TX

 

25.

 

Texas State Flag (3'x5')

 

Agri-West Corporation, San Antonio, TX

 

26.

 

Silver City Medallion

 

City of Auriol, France

 

27.

 

Green Plastic Expandable Sphere

 

Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, NJ

 

28.

 

New Jersey State Flag (23.5"x36")

 

Office of the Governor, Trenton, NJ

 

29.

 

Tapestry with School Bus Picture (18"x18.5")

 

Conoco Phillips Alaska, Anchorage, AK

 

30.

 

Orange School Banner

 

West Anchorage High School, Anchorage, AK

 

31.

 

Black, Yellow and White VF-31 Patch

 

VF-31 Squadron, Virginia Beach, VA

 

32.

 

White Shuttle Patch

 

Challenger Learning Center of Alaska, Anchorage, AK

 

33.

 

Blue, Gold and White Patch

 

176th Wing, Alaska Air National Guard, Kulis ANG Base, AK

 

34.

 

Blue VFA-146 Patch with Yellow Letters

 

VFA-146 Squadron, Lenmoore, CA

 

35.

 

Red, White and Blue Patch with Red Letters

 

National Science Foundation, Washington, DC

 

36.

 

Oregon State University Bronze Medallion

 

Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR

 

37.

 

Alaska Civil Air Patrol Gold Medallion

 

Alaska Civil Air Patrol, Anchorage, AK

 

38.

 

City of Anchorage Medallion

 

City of Anchorage, Anchorage, AK

 

39.

 

Red and White National Flag of Peru (35.5"x58")

 

Government of Peru, Lima, Peru

 

40.

 

Green Washington State Flag (36"x58")

 

Office of the Secretary of State, Olympia, WA

 

41.

 

White Flag with Emblem (36"x23")

 

The World Tae Kwon Do Federation, Seoul, Korea

 

42.

 

Blue Flag with White Cross (64"x36")

 

Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, Scotland

 

43.

 

Red, White and Blue British Flag (58"x34")

 

British Embassy, Washington, DC

 

44.

 

Blue and White Museum of Flight Flag (13"x45")

 

Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA

 

45.

 

Blue School Flag (36"x58")

 

Harrow School, London, UK

 

46.

 

Blue Royal Air Force Ensign (6"x6")

 

Royal Air Force, London, UK

 

47.

 

Red, White and Blue Burgee (18"x12.5")

 

The American Yacht Club, Rye, NY

 

48.

 

Blue Scarf with Red and Yellow Stripes

 

University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

 

49.

 

Blue Kenosha News Paper Route Bag (28"x14")

 

Kenosha News/United Communications, Kenosha, WI

 

50.

 

Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory Foam Board Placard

 

Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, Houston, TX

 

51.

 

Quilt Piece (6"x6")

 

Seabrook Intermediate School, Seabrook, TX

 

52.

 

Princeton University Bronze Medallion

 

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

 

53.

 

Olympic Park Institute White Flag (4"x6")

 

Olympic Park Institute, Port Angeles, WA

 

54.

 

2006 Final Four Championship Game Ticket

 

National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, IN

 

55.

 

White and Black Banner (3'x5')

 

African-American Society, Princeton, NJ

 

56.

 

St. Thomas Flag (21.5"x33")

 

Island of St. Thomas, St. Thomas, VI

 

57.

 

Gold and Maroon Flag (48"x73")

 

Cosmo Club of Washington, Washington, DC

 

58.

 

White School Banner (6.5"x29")

 

Rymdgymnasiet, Kiruna, Sweden

 

59.

 

Green and White Flag (3'x5')

 

Awty International School, Houston, TX

 

60.

 

Swedish National Flag (28"x48")

 

The Swedish Parliament, Stockholm, Sweden

 

61.

 

Universitet Flag (36"x42")

 

Stockholm Universitet, Stockholm, Sweden

 

62.

 

Gold Pin

 

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden

 

63.

 

Red and White Society Pennant (8"x13")

 

Sailing Society of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden

 

64.

 

Black and Orange Patch

 

Fysiksektionen, KTH (Student body of the School of Physics), Stockholm

 

65.

 

Black and White Poster (19"x17")

 

Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

 

66.

 

Gold "IVA" Lapel Pin

 

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden

 

67.

 

Blue Flag (6.25"x6.25")

 

Stockholm City, Stockholm, Sweden

 

68.

 

Red, White and Blue Flag (7.25"x5.25")

 

Norsk Romcenter, Oslo, Norway

 

69.

 

Blue School Banner (36"x31")

 

Whitney M. Young High School, Chicago, IL

 

70.

 

T-Shirt

 

Hands of Worldwide, Carlisle, MA

 

71.

 

Jersey

 

Chicago White Sox, Chicago, IL

 

72.

 

Scanned Image of Bessie Coleman's Pilot License

 

DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago, IL

 

73.

 

Sorority Banner (13"x60")

 

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Washington, DC

 

74.

 

Photocopy of Members of The Links, Inc. (8.5"x11")

 

The Links, Incorporated, Washington, DC

 

75.

 

Poster (26"x19.5")

 

National Council of Negro Women, Inc., Washington, DC

 

76.

 

Alabama State University History on Paper (8.5"x11")

 

Alabama State University, Chicago, IL

 

77.

 

White Needham Town Flag (35"x60")

 

The Needham Historical Society, Inc., Needham, MA

 

78.

 

Blue Banner (3'x5')

 

U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD

 

79.

 

Pennant (30"x11")

 

Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL

 

80.

 

Leather Key Chain with Gold Emblem

 

United States Marshals Service, Washington, DC

 

81.

 

Leather Key Chain with Gold Emblem

 

United States Marshals Service, Portland, OR

 

82.

 

Gold Astronaut Pin

 

Agency Presentation

 

83.

 

Gold Astronaut Pin

 

Agency Presentation

 

84.

 

Gold Astronaut Pin

 

Agency Presentation

 

85.

 

Gold Astronaut Pin

 

Agency Presentation

 

86.

 

Gold Astronaut Pin

 

Agency Presentation

 

87.

 

Gold Wings

 

Agency Presentation

 

Items 88 through 94 are manifested at the request of the STS-116 payload customers.

 

88.

 

300 Sheets of Bookmarks

 

JSC Shuttle Program Presentation

 

89.

 

  1. 100 ISS-12A.1 Mission Patches

  2. 25 ISS-12A.1 Mission Pins

 

JSC/OC ISS Customer Presentation

90.

 

  1. 200 STS-116 Crew Patches

  2. 200 STS-116 Mission Pins

 

JSC/OC Cargo Mission Contract Presentation

91.

 

  1. 200 STS-116 Crew Patches

  2. 250 STS-116 Mission Pins

  3. 50 3-D Holographic Cards

  4. 100 STARS Decals

 

JSC/OC/SPACEHAB Presentation

92.

 

  1. 100 Flags (75 U.S., 25 Colorado)

  2. 50 Syncrhonized Position Experiment Patches

  3. 35 TRAC Decals

 

JSC/OC/OZ Utilization Presentation

93.

 

100 ISS Research and Technology Patches

 

JSC/OC/OZ Utilization Presentation

 

94.

 

  1. 25 Space Test Program Payload Patches

  2. 15 Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment Patches (2 ANDE, 1 NRL, 2 STP, 10 STP-H2)

  3. 50 Elastic Memory Composite Hinge Payload Patches

 

JSC/OC/OZ/DoD Presentation

 
STS-116 OFK Addendum: Expedition 14 Crewmember Sunita Williams (Up on STS-116 — Over to ISS — Down TBD)

Expedition 14 — ISS Official Flight Kit (OFK)

 

1.

 

USNA Flag (3'x5')

 

United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD

 

2.

 

New England Patriots Baseball Cap

 

New England Patriots, Foxborough, MA

 

3.

 

WHOI T-Shirt

 

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA

 

4.

 

Florida Tech Baseball Cap

 

Florida Tech, Melbourne, FL

5.

 

B 2004 World Series Champion Beanie Cap

 

Red Sox, Kenmore Square, Boston, MA

 

6.

 

Needham T-shirt

 

Needham School District, Needham, MA

 

STS-116 OFK Addendum: Expedition 14 Crewmember Michael Lopez-Alegria (Up on STS-116 — Over to ISS — Down TBD)

Expedition 14 — ISS Official Flight Kit (OFK)

 

1.

 

USNA Banner (2'x3')

 

United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD

 

2.

 

2005 Championship Pennant

 

Houston Astros, Houston, TX

 

3.

 

Pelican Aviation T-Shirt

 

Pelican Aviation, Acadiana, LA

 

4.

 

Cloth Banner (1.5'x1.5')

 

Sociedad Astronomica Y Geografica, De Ciudad Real, Spain


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