It Takes A Rocket Scientist

STATION NEWS

Kelly Beck - Flight Director for the STS-117 mission.

by Staff Writers
St. Louis MO (SPX) Jun 05, 2007
A graduate of Saint Louis University will serve as the flight director for NASA's first space shuttle mission of 2007. Kelly Beck, a native of Cahokia, Ill., and a 1988 graduate of SLU's Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology, will oversee the flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station.

Atlantis is targeted for launch at 6:38 p.m. (CDT) Friday, June 8. During the 11-day mission, construction work continues on the space station. The shuttle also will bring a new crew member to begin a five-month stay and will return home with a station resident who has been in orbit since December. At least three spacewalks will be conducted during Atlantis' flight.

Beck will lead a team of flight directors, flight controllers, support personnel and engineering experts who will staff mission control in Houston 24/7 during the mission.

"By being selected to lead this historic mission, Beck exemplifies the high-caliber graduates Parks College has produced during the last 80 years," said Manoj Patankar, Ph.D., dean of Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology. "We will be watching the Atlantis mission with great personal interest."

Beck earned her bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from SLU in 1988. She graduated summa cum laude.

"It gives the faculty and staff in the department great pride and satisfaction to see that one of their graduates has risen to the level of such high technical responsibility," said K. Ravindra, Ph.D., chairman of the department of aerospace and mechanical engineering.

Beck is the second Saint Louis University grad to oversee a NASA mission. One of SLU's most famous alumni is Gene Kranz, NASA's mission control commander when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon. The 1954 graduate, known for his "failure is not an option" motto, led the team that saved the Apollo 13 astronauts after an explosion crippled their ship in space (retold in the Oscar-winning film Apollo 13).

Email This Article

STATION NEWS

Spacewalkers Install Debris Panels

Houston TX (SPX) Jun 01, 2007
Two International Space Station cosmonauts successfully completed a 5-hour, 25-minute spacewalk from the Pirs docking compartment airlock Wednesday, installing Service Module Debris Protection (SMDP) panels and rerouting a Global Positioning System antenna cable.

ENERGY TECH GE's Jenbacher Engine Powers Commercial Landfill Gas Conversion Plant Supplying Fuel For Public Vehicles GE Unit To Double Renewable Energy Investing And Disclose Greenhouse Gas Emissions Airline Sector Puts Global Warming High On Meeting Agenda EON To Halve Carbon Emissions By 2030	CIVIL NUCLEAR NGO Warns Of Explosion Risk At Russian Nuclear Storage US Sees Technical Delay In India Nuclear Pact US Positive On Clinching India Nuclear Accord Britain To Sell Part Of British Energy
BLUE SKY AIRS Global Map Of Carbon Dioxide From Space Widespread Twilight Zone Detected Around Clouds Rand Says Further Study Warranted On Save The World Air Technology Noxious Lightning	WOOD PILE Uganda Shelves Plan To Convert Rainforest Indonesia's Crackdown On Illegal Logging Under Fire Brazil Demonstrating That Reducing Tropical Deforestation Is Key WinWin Global Warming Solution Global Scientists Urge Canada To Save Boreal Forest
FARM NEWS Space-Inspired Garden Takes Top Prize At UK's Chelsea Garden Show Top Chef Warns Of Environmental Impact Of Fine Dining Climate Change Threatens Wild Relatives Of Key Crops Journal Details How Global Warming Will Affect The World's Fisheries	CAR TECH Power Auto Group Debuts Fuel Efficient E-Vehicle Program Hydrogen Breakthrough Could Open The Road To Carbon-Free Cars New Research Advances Energy Efficiency, Safety And Performance Of Public Transit Toyota To Launch 100-Percent Ethanol-Powered Cars In Brazil
AEROSPACE Australia Fears Jet Flight Guilt Could Hit Tourism Nondestructive Testing Keeps Bagram Aircraft Flying New FAA Oceanic Air Traffic System Designed By Lockheed Martin Fully Operational NASA Seeks New Research Proposals	NUCLEAR SPACE Could NASA Get To Pluto Faster? Space Expert Says Yes - By Thinking Nuclear NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement