They are expected to stay in their lockers, but astronauts may pull them out during the mission if they have time, said Debbie Biggs, an education specialist for International Space Station National Lab Education Projects. Two small LEGO shuttles are packed inside Discovery for the STS-133 launch to promote the new partnership. 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to announce the partnership. Melvin flew two shuttle flights, spending time at the station during both missions. "We're going to use the classroom of space, the International Space Station, to inspire the next generation," said Leland Melvin, associate administrator for NASA Education and a former astronaut. The project is one of the first steps in a three-year partnership between NASA and the Denmark-based The LEGO Group, maker of the ubiquitous plastic bricks that have been covering children's playroom floors for decades. The students will build some of the same things in their own classrooms and see firsthand how differently objects behave in space, where there is practically no gravity, compared to the familiar world of Earth. LEGO bricks aren't just for kids, and they aren't just for Earth, either.Īstronauts on board the International Space Station will build small model spacecraft and working objects in orbit and share the experience with schoolchildren watching on Earth. The company brought in a ton of bricks and let students build their own rocket, launch center and space colony designs. Tanner, 9, takes part in the LEGO activity at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. LEGO's Stephan Turnipseed and NASA's Leland Melvin hold up a NASA logo made of LEGO bricks as they mark a new, 3-year partnership between the toy brick builder and the space agency. LEGO is going to release four NASA-related kits as part of its education agreement with NASA. Leland Melvin, NASA's associate administrator of Education, right, shows off a space shuttle made of LEGO bricks as Stephan Turnipseed, president of LEGO Education North America, looks on. The activity tent was set up in a launch viewing area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the event. Students dig into a pile of LEGO bricks to begin constructing their miniaturized visions of the future of space travel. Follow for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter and on Facebook. You can follow Senior Writer Clara Moskowitz on Twitter ClaraMoskowitz. A prototype shuttle called Enterprise, which never made it to space, will be displayed at New York's Intrepid Museum of Sea, Air and Space. Their sister orbiter, Discovery, is marked for the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Once the orbiters are retired, they will be sent to museums for public display.Įndeavour is bound for the California Science Center in Los Angeles, while Atlantis will go to the Kennedy Space Center's Visitor's Center. However, if Endeavour's mission is delayed much further, NASA has said the Atlantis flight could be pushed back, too. The shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to lift off June 29 for its last journey to the International Space Station. Wednesday the astronauts met with their flight directors and robotics and spacewalk officers to review plans for their mission.Īfter Endeavour's flight, NASA has only one more space shuttle mission planned. The crew will continue training until a new launch date has been set. Įndeavour's crewmembers returned to Houston, where they live and train, after their launch delay. The STS-134 mission is scheduled to last 14 days, but NASA hopes to add two extra days in orbit to allow the astronauts to complete more work. "Managers will continue to evaluate the repair process and make any additional adjustments before scheduling Endeavour’s next launch attempt, which remains no earlier than May 10," NASA's statement said.Įndeavour is slated to carry six astronauts, an astrophysics experiment, and a shipment of spare parts to the International Space Station. A meeting of top shuttle manager tomorrow (May 6) is expected to end with a new launch target. NASA has not set a new launch date for Endeavour, but mission managers have said the mission will not lift off before May 10.
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