Shuttle lifts-off with 7 crew, 6000 mementos (STS-121 Official Flight Kit)

Shuttle lifts-off with 7 crew, 6000 mementos (STS-121 OFK)

July 4, 2006

— Space shuttle Discovery launched the seven-person crew of STS-121 to orbit today (July 4), and with them, each took personal items to make their 12-days in space (or five months, as in the case of the soon-to-be space station resident on-board) a bit more like their life back on Earth.

The mission, NASA's 115th to be launched by the shuttle and the second test flight to follow the Columbia accident in 2003, carries in addition to the crew, 5,100 pounds of supplies and equipment for the International Space Station and new hardware to test shuttle safety techniques and perform repairs to the outpost. Stowed aboard Discovery's middeck are also thousands of fruit flies for an experiment dedicated to understanding the human immune system.

Inside a separate locker is the mission's Official Flight Kit, a collection of over 6,400 mementos being flown on behalf of NASA, its partner contractors and countries, and the organizations that have supported the crew of STS-121.

"I am carrying [inside the Official Flight Kit] a banner from the Merchant Marine Academy, [and] I believe, a hat from there," pilot Mark Kelly told collectSPACE during a series of interviews conducted several weeks earlier with the crew. "That's where I went to school as an undergrad. I am carrying stuff for them."

Separate from the Official Flight Kit (OFK), each crew member can carry a "personal preference kit," a small package of memorabilia for family and friends that NASA limits to 20 items and 1.5 pounds each.

"Personally, [I am carrying] stuff for my kids," said Kelly. "Some charms and stuff [for] my parents, my girlfriend, that sort of thing... mostly jewelry."

For their schools, civic groups and other groups, the crew members are each alocated a few items in the OFK.

"Some of the stuff actually belongs to [STS-121 mission specialist] Piers [Sellers]. "If you see the United Kingdom stuff in there, its not me. I gave him some of my spots," explained Kelly.

Sellers, who was born in the United Kingdom but is a U.S. citizen, has made local-U.K. headlines leading up to the today's launch for taking with him flags from schools in England and Scotland.

"I'm taking a few little things for family and friends, and a few things for the training team, the guys who spent years preparing us for this mission and training us. And a few flags and emblems for other organizations. Nothing much, nothing that you couldn't fit into a shoebox," Sellers told collectSPACE.

Collectors on the crew

Though the two women on the crew consider themselves collectors, neither is carrying items from their hobbies.

"I have a large collection of rubber stamps," described first-time mission specialist Lisa Nowak. "I like to make cards with them and sometimes just play with them. My little girls recently found out there are all kinds artwork they can create with them, not necessarily all on paper."

Asked if she was therefore flying a rubber stamp with her to space, Nowak admitted to overlooking that possibility.

"That would have been a good thing! I didn't put down that on my list of things, but no I am not taking one."

Instead, Nowak is taking with her a more personal item.

"My grandmother died a few years ago at age almost 100, and one of the special presents she left to me was her very beautiful engagement ring. I am taking that with me. That's probably one of the most treasured items that's going up there," she said.

Nowak's fellow female crewmate also collects stamps but of a different kind: the banned-from-flight postal variety.

"We are not allowed to bring any stamps to space, much to my dismay," said mission specialist Stephanie Wilson.

Federal regulations for the personal preference kits (PPK) and OFK specifically preclude "items such as philatelic materials and coins that, by their nature lend themselves to exploitation by the recipients."

Exploitation however, is far from the reason why Wilson collects stamps.

"I started collecting stamps pretty young, I believe when I was eight," described Wilson. "I mostly collect stamps off letters that I receive. I usually don't go out and purchase stamps but I like to be able to tell a story about a stamp: it came from this individual, on this card."

"So, its probably not worth very much," continued Wilson, "but its more sentimental than probably a pristine stamp collection. Its interesting to me to see the designs of the different stamps from the various countries."

Her stamp remaining on Earth, Wilson chose other items special to her, including a bible.

"I have a few personal items for family members. From the Buffalo Solider Museum that is here in Houston, I am flying a flag commonly flown by one of the regiments of the Buffalo Soliders," she said.

Showing school spirit

Wilson is also carrying items from her graduate school, the University of Texas, which is the subject of a good natured rivalry with mission specialist and Texas A&M University alum Michael Fossum.

Said Wilson, "We both try to have a lot of paraphernalia from our schools. In general, when [Mike's] performing a run in our pool in the Neutral Bouyancy Laboratory, he has a bandana that has Texas A&M on it and so for different events, we'll have different mementos or memorabilia from our schools.

"I think the pictures on orbit will be interesting as we bring out the various memorabilia. I am hoping that none of mine will be missing and I am sure he's hoping none of his will be missing as well," Wilson said.

Indeed, Fossum says he hopes that both his, and more importantly, Wilson's mementos stay in their respective control.

"I certainly have my mementos that I have tucked away and I know she does, too," Fossum told collectSPACE. "I suspect we might both see a little of each others.

"My biggest fear is I'll be getting ready to go out the door for my spacewalk, and she's one of the people that will actually be helping me get into the suit and get to get prepared, and that she's going to do something like put a [University of Texas] Longhorn sticker on my forehead," joked Fossum. "I'll never live it down."

Fossum will 'be prepared' for anything Wilson plans, as obtaining the rank of Eagle in the Boy Scouts taught him. Still an active scout leader, he is flying badges that both he and his son earned.

"I am carrying a couple of [boy scout] uniform parts with me into space. I'm carrying actually my Eagle pin from when I earned my Eagle as a scout. I'm carrying one that my older son earned about a year ago. I am carrying it for him," Fossum told collectSPACE.

Digital deliveries

In addition to the tangible trinkets, the crew is also taking electronic files that are personal to them.

"We actually carry iPods now [so] I had my son put a lot of [music] on there for me," Commander Steven Lindsey said. "I'm not really exactly sure what I have on there. He promises that it is music that I am going to like but I've heard some of the stuff he listens to and I'm not sure I will. But fortunately, I hardly have any time to listen to it."

For European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, the only STS-121 crewmember who will remain on the space station after Discovery undocks, electronic archives mean the ability to carry more for his five month mission than if he had been limited to hard copies.

"I also had the chance to take some personal items, most of it in electronic format. That is, by the way, also one of the big differences to my stay on-board the Russian space station Mir," Reiter told collectSPACE. "The music I had to record on minidiscs and I had to take it up. Nowadays, everything can be put in electronic form: music, electronic books, pictures of the family."

"And of course, I also take also some paper pictures, some patches from my military flying squadron, from my university, from my hometown with me."

In fact, most of Reiter's personal mementos weren't his to choose.

"My family prepared a little surprise packet for me. Of course I don't know yet what is in it, it's already stowed, so as soon as we get on orbit and it is unpacked, it will be quite interesting to see what they were thinking of and what they provided there."

Space shuttle Discovery lifts off from Kennedy Space Center on July 4, 2006, with the crew of mission STS-121. (collectSPACE)

The STS-121 Official Flight Kit Manifest

The following is the STS-121 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.	625 STS-121 Crew 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.	20 Small Texas Flags 20 Small NASA Flags 5 NASA Lapel Pins 5 NASA Patches 2 Gold Space Station Lapel Pins 2 Texas Lapel Pins 5 U.S.~Italy Friendship Pins 5 U.S.~Germany Friendship Pins 3 Large JSC Medallions 8 Small JSC Medallions 1 Large Pewter NASA Medallion 1 Large Bronze NASA Medallion	Agency Presentation
6.	Small Flags of the Following States: 20 California 10 Nebraska 20 Texas 10 New Jersey 10 South Dakota 20 Maryland 10 Colorado 10 Massachusetts	Agency Presentation
7.	Small Flags of the Following Countries: 100 Italy 100 Germany 20 United Kingdom 10 Ireland 2 Jamaica 2 Puerto Rico 2 United Nations 20 China	Agency Presentation
8.	Small Military Flags: 20 U.S. Air Force 20 U.S. Navy 20 U.S. Marine Corps 10 U.S. Army 10 U.S. Coast Guard	Agency Presentation
9.	10 Small United States Flags 10 Small Alabama State Flags	Marshall Space Flight Center Presentation
10.	2 Small United States Flags 10 Gold Medallions	Kennedy Space Center Presentation
11.	10 Small Louisiana State Flags 10 Small Mississippi State Flags 5 Small NASA Flags 5 Small United States Flags	Stennis Space Center Presentation
12.	200 Silver Snoopy Pins 100 Small Discovery Flags 200 Small ISS Flags	Space Flight Awareness Presentation

13.	50 EVA Patches	Agency Presentation
14.	50 MOD Patches	Agency Presentation
15.	25 Center Operations Embroidered Patches	Agency Presentation

16.	90 Small United States Flags 25 DDMS Patches 20 MAUI Payload Experiment Patches 3 1st Range Ops Medallions 6 Military Insignia 3 Navy Patches	DoD Presentation

17.	120 Small Gold and White Longhorn Pins	Agency Presentation

18.	8 Medium Mars Flags	Agency Presentation

19.	School T-Shirt	John H. Guyer High School, Denton, TX

Items 20 through 84 are manifested at the request of the STS-121 crewmembers.


20.	Blue and Orange Honors Sash	University of Texas at San Antonio, TX

21.	Band T-Shirt	Clear Brook High School, Friendswood, TX

22.	Uniform Top	Winter Guard, Friendswood, TX

23.	Silver Air Force Medallion	Air Force Institute of Technology, Dayton, OH

24.	Polo Shirt	University of Houston, Houston, TX

25.	Nebraska Flag	Burwell Senior Citizens Center, Burwell, NE

26.	Neckerchief	Boy Scout Troup 161, Temple City, CA

27.	United States Flag	1st Church of the Nazarene, Pasadena, CA

28.	United States Flag	Abraham Lincoln Traditional School, Phoenix, AZ

29.	Society Flag	British Interplanetary Society, London, England

30.	Red Baseball Cap	Tower of London, London, England

31.	ISLSCP Logo	International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project, Greenbelt, MD

32.	Round Gold Ingot	United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY

33.	Gold Bar	U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Assoc., Kings Point, NY

34.	Gold Bar	U.S. Merchant Marine Regiment of Midshipman, Kings Point, NY

35.	Signed Class T-Shirt	Gold HIll School, Fullerton, CA

36.	Corsican Flag	City of Ajaccio, Corsica, France

37.	Committee Banner	National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, New York, NY

38.	Air Force Patch	Air Force Academy Squadron 11, Colorado Springs, CO

39.	Aeronautical Systems Center Commander Medallion	Air Force Material Command/Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson

40.	University Flag	Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

41.	Cadet Flag	Corp of Cadets, College Station, TX

42.	Philmont Staff Patch	Philmont Boy Scout Ranch, Cimarron, NM

43.	Council Identification Patch	Rio Grande Council of Boy Scouts, Harlingen, TX

44.	Lodge Pocket Flap Patch	Wewanoma Boy Scout Lodge, Harlingen, TX

45.	Council Identification Patch	Sam Houston Area Boy Scouts, Houston, TX

46.	Large Boy Scout Patch	Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America, Irving, TX

47.	Nickel Bar	Air Force Academy Association of Graduates, Colorado Springs, CO

48.	School Flag	McAllen High School, McAllen, TX

49.	University Flag	Rice University, Houston, TX

50.	White Quilt/Red Backing	Stearns Elementary School, Pittsfield, MA

51.	White and Green School Pennant	Crosby Elementary School, Pittsfield, MA

52.	Green School Banner	Taconic High School, Pittsfield, MA

53.	Crimson Banner	Harvard University Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Cambridge

54.	White Banner	University of Texas Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Austin, TX

55.	STS-121 Silver Medallion	Harvard University Atmospheric Research Project, Boston, MA

56.	Company Flag	Buffalo Soliders National Museum, Houston, TX

57.	United States Flag	American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Denver, CO

58.	Red Baseball Cap	National Brotherhood of Skiers, Pasadena, CA

59.	Photo of Museum	The Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA

60.	Class of '85 Flag	United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD

61.	Patch	Navy Aerospace Engineering Corp., Washington, DC

62.	Coozie	Tilden Middle School, Rockville, MD

63.	Silver Pin with Statue of Liberty Face	National Organization of Italian American Women, New York, NY

64.	Blue School Lanyard	Luxmanor ELementary School, Rockville, MD

65.	Blue School Patch with Eagle	United States Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, MD

66.	Gold Pin with Simulated Diamonds and Emeralds	Saint Elizabeth Church, Houston, Texas

67.	Gold Pin with Purple Violet	African Violet Society, Beaumont, TX

68.	Round Space Patch	Boy Scouts of America, Irving, TX

69.	Rectangular Space Patch	Girl Scouts of America, Irving, TX

70.	Green Flag	House of Commons, London, England

71.	Red Flag	House of Lords, London, England

72.	Green and White University Flag	Leeds University, Leeds, United Kingdom

73.	Climbing Carabiner (Metal Ring)	Ed Tom Foundation, Houston, TX

74.	Flag	Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, Houston, TX

75.	Flag on Small Staff	Blue Peter British Children's Program, London, England

76.	Foundation Flag	Make-A-Wish Foundation, Houston, TX

77.	2004 Class Picture	Cranbrook School, Kent, United Kingdom

78.	School Patch	Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

79.	Large Silver Royal Society Medallion	The Royal Society, London, England (UK National Academy of Science)

80.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

81.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

82.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

83.	Gold Astronaut Pin	Agency Presentation

84.	Gold Air Force Wings	Agency Presentation

Items 85 through 94 are manifested at the request of the STS-121 payload customers.

85.	150 ULF 1.1 Cloth Patches 200 ULF 1.1 Decals 200 ULF 1.1 Pins 25 Increment 13 Pins	ULF 1.1 Payload Customer Presentation

86.	200 FPMU Decals 48 Engineering Support Contract Patches 100 FIT Placards 50 POEMS Placards 45 Space Life Sciences Lab Patches 49 ISS Research and Technology Patches	JSC ISS Payloads Customer Presentation

87.	100 STS-121 Crew Patches 15 SEM Satchel Placards	SPACEHAB Presentation

89.	100 Italian-ALTEC Pennants	Italian Space Agency (ASI) Presentation

90.	200 LMC Decals 50 LMC Patches 50 LMC Pins	Goddard Space Flight Center LMC Presentation

91.	100 DTO 849 Pins 50 DTO 851 Patches 30 DTO 851 Patches 200 DTO 848 Decals 2 RCC Repair Decals/1 Pennant 200 DTO 848 Patches	Customer DTO Presentation

92.	250 Decals 150 Patches	Wireless Instrumentation System Presentation

93.	300 Sheets SSP Bookmarks	Space Shuttle Program Presentation

94.	50 MAUI Patches	DoD Presentation Items

95.	1 Dominican Republic Flag	Agency Presentation

STS-121 OFK Addendum: Expedition 13 Crewmember Thomas Reiter (Up on STS-121 — Over to ISS — Down on STS or Soyuz) Expedition 13 — ISS Official Flight Kit (OFK)

1.	Flag	City of Neu Isenburg, Germany

2.	Rock	Der Weg Der Steine Project (The Journey of the Rock), Neu Isenburg

3.	Patch	Astrolab - ESA

4.	Patch	European Astronaut Centre
5.	Patch	European Space Agency (ESA)

6.	Flag	ESA - DLR (German Space Agency)

7.	Flag	European Union