NASA Astronaut Jeff Hoffman

NASA Astronaut Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman British Interplanetary Society Lecture

If you are not already a member here is another reason to join the British Interplanetary Society.

Christmas Get-Together at the Society’s HQ

2 December 2008 6.30 - 8.30 pm

The Hubble Space Telescope: Window to a New Universe

Jeffrey Hoffman

Photo Credit: NASA

Five-time Space Shuttle astronaut Dr Jeffrey Hoffman, who made three spacewalks during the initial Hubble rescue/repair mission, will discuss the history of Hubble, share his spaceflight experiences, and offer a retrospective of Hubble’s greatest discoveries. The presentation will include a video of Hubble repair operations.

Apply for tickets, price £15, including refreshments, to the Executive Secretary, The British Interplanetary Society, 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ, enclosing sae. Each member may obtain a ticket for one guest.

This is a Members Only event, although each member may obtain a ticket for one guest.
Jeff Hoffman Mission Patches and lots of other collectables available from the Spaceboosters Online Store:

STS-51D, STS-35, STS-46, STS-61, STS-75

Expedition 20 Returns to Earth

Expedition 20 Comes Home



Surrounded by medical personnel, seated from left to right are spaceflight participant Guy Laliberte, Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Michael Barratt.They had landed minutes before at 12:32 a.m. EDT aboard the Soyuz capsule near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. Padalka and Barratt are returning from six months onboard the International Space Station, along with Laliberte who arrived at the station on Oct. 2 with Expedition 21 Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Maxim Suraev aboard the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Expedition 20 Crew Photos

Expedition 20 Mission Patch

Soyuz TMA-16 Embroidered Mission Patch

Soyuz TMA-16 Mission Patch - Now Available!

The Soyuz TMA-16 patch was based on artwork provided by 14-year old Anastasia Mestyashova from the Orenburg region in Russia. Central elements are a cosmonaut figure and three large stars, one for each launching crewmember: American astronaut Jeff Williams (dark blue star), Space Adventures participant Guy Laliberte (light blue star) and their Russian spacecraft commander Maxim Surayev (red star). The flags of the cosmonauts' home countries - Russia, the United States and Canada - are shown at the top of the shield. In the upper left corner, simple shapes symbolize the building blocks of the universe and life on Earh. The 'cradle of mankind', from which the mission originates, is depicted by a growing plant, gradually transforming into a fiery rocket trail and a spacecraft, bound for the International Space Station.

The ISS is drawn like a gold star, with 9 rays for each crewmember present when the Soyuz TMA-16 has arrived. The colors of the 6 stars and 3 shapes in the upper left corner, also represent the crew make up. Red for the three Russians, dark blue for the three Americans, light blue for the two Canadians and gold for soon-to-be ISS commander De Winne from Belgium.

The plant and rocket trail together form a '16', the Soyuz TMA mission number. The Earth in the background has the typical grid pattern seen in earlier Soviet and Russian space logo's, heralding all heroes of the Vostok, Woshkod and Soyuz flights of the past. The surnames of Williams and Laliberte are companied by the NASA and One Drop Foundation logo's respectively.

In the same area, a small red star and small blue star are included for the future, safe return of Surayev and Williams, who together will land in the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft in March 2010.

Padalka, Barratt and Laliberte have returned from the ISS - see previous post.

For Soyuz TMA Patches please visit the Spaceboosters Online Store

Soyuz Safe Return

Soyuz Landing Caps Historic Space Station Increment

WASHINGTON -- International Space Station Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt landed their Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft on the steppes of Kazakhstan Sunday, wrapping up a six-month stay. Joining them was spaceflight participant Guy Laliberte, who spent 11 days in space. Padalka, the Soyuz commander, guided the spacecraft to a parachute-assisted landing at 12:32 a.m. EDT at a site northeast of the town of Arkalyk. Russian recovery teams were on hand within minutes of landing to help the crew exit from the Soyuz vehicle and reacclimate to gravity.

The crew members will return to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, outside of Moscow, for reunions with their families. Padalka and Barratt spent 199 days in space and 197 days on the station after their March 26 launch. Laliberte launched with the Expedition 21 crew on a Soyuz vehicle Sept. 30 and returned after nine days on the station.

Padalka and Barratt presided over the inauguration of a six-person crew and two space shuttle assembly and resupply missions to the station. They also were station crew members during the delivery of tons of cargo and new science facilities for expanded research, and the arrival of the first Japanese H-II Transfer cargo vehicle.

The station now is occupied by Expedition 21 Commander Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency and Flight Engineers Roman Romanenko and Max Suraev of Russia, Bob Thirsk of the Canadian Space Agency and Nicole Stott and Jeff Williams of NASA. For information about the space station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

For space station souvenirs visit our online store!