News

Nicole Stott

The first in a regular series of updates about NASA’s STS-128 launch, currently scheduled for August 6th and featuring the next best thing to a Manx astronaut – Nicole Stott – wife of Manx Space Ambassador, Chris Stott. Nicole is going to be up there for a few months as a Mission Specialist.

The STS-128 patch symbolizes the 17A mission and represents the hardware, people and partner nations that contribute to the flight. The Space Shuttle Atlantis is shown in the orbit configuration with the Multi Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Leonardo in the payload bay. This will be the first time that Atlantis has carried an MPLM to orbit. Earth and the International Space Station wrap around the Astronaut Office symbol reminding us of the continuous human presence in space. The names of the STS-128 crew members border the patch in an unfurled manner. Included in the names is the expedition crew member who will launch on STS-128 and remain on board ISS, replacing another Expedition crew member who will return home with STS-128. The banner also completes the Astronaut Office symbol and contains the U.S. and Swedish flags representing the countries of the STS-128 crew. The NASA insignia design for Space Shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize.