Feb. 22, 2006

J.D. Harrington/Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
(202) 358-5241/3749

RELEASE: 06-065

NASA'S RETURN TO FLIGHT SHUTTLE CREW VISITS WHITE HOUSE

NASA's Return to Flight crew met with President George W. Bush in the
Oval Office at the White House this afternoon. The seven astronauts
flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery last summer. Their mission,
designated STS-114, was the first since the Space Shuttle Columbia
accident in 2003.

President Bush greeted NASA Administrator Mike Griffin and Discovery's
commander Eileen Collins, pilot Jim Kelly, and mission specialists
Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence, Charlie Camarda and
Soichi Noguchi, an astronaut with the Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency. A photograph of the meeting will be posted on the Web at:

http://www.nasa.gov/home

During their 14-day flight, the astronauts tested new equipment and
procedures developed to improve safety. The crew also resupplied and
made repairs to the International Space Station. The mission included
an unprecedented back flip maneuver as the shuttle approached the
station and the first repair of the orbiter's heat shield while in
space.

For information about NASA's shuttle program and the next mission,
STS-121, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home


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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.nl