NASA ANNOUNCES 14TH INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CREW

May 2, 2006

Joe Pally
Headquarters, Washington
(202) 358-7239

Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(281) 483-5111

RELEASE: 06-209

NASA ANNOUNCES 14TH INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CREW

NASA astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria and Sunita Williams and Russian
cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin have been named as the 14th crew of the
International Space Station. Expedition 14 is scheduled to begin this
fall.

Lopez-Alegria, a veteran of three space flights, will command
Expedition 14 and serve as the NASA station science officer for the
six-month mission. He and Tyurin, a veteran station crew member from
Expedition 3, are in training to launch aboard a Russian Soyuz
spacecraft in September 2006. Tyurin will serve as flight engineer
and Soyuz commander.

Williams will join Expedition 14 in progress and serve as a flight
engineer, after traveling to the station on space shuttle mission
STS-116. This will be Williams's first space flight.

Selected as an astronaut in 1992, Lopez-Alegria flew his first shuttle
mission, STS-73, in 1995 and later visited the station on shuttle
missions STS-92 in 2000 and STS-113 in 2002, conducting five
spacewalks during the station assembly complex. He has logged more
than 42 days in space, including 34 hours spacewalking. Lopez-Alegria
is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and received a Master of
Science degree from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Williams was selected as an astronaut in 1998. She also is a graduate
of the Naval Academy and received a Master of Science degree from the
Florida Institute of Technology. Williams was designated a Naval
aviator in 1989 and graduated from the Naval Test Pilot School in
1993. She has logged more than 2,770 flight hours in 30 different
types of aircraft. At NASA, Williams has served as a liaison in
Moscow supporting Expedition 1 and has supported station robotics
work.

Tyurin was selected as a cosmonaut in 1993 and was a flight engineer
aboard the station for Expedition 3 in 2001. He has spent 125 days in
space. Tyurin is a graduate of the Moscow Aviation Institute.

Astronaut Peggy Whitson is the backup commander for Expedition 14.
Astronaut Clay Anderson is backup flight engineer. Cosmonaut Yuri
Malenchenko is the backup Soyuz commander and flight engineer.

For information about Expedition 14, the International Space Station
and its missions, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home

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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.nl