For Immediate Release
March 6, 2008
KNOXVILLE -- A University of Tennessee Space Institute alumnus
will be in command of Space Shuttle Endeavour when it launches
Tuesday, March 11 from Kennedy Space Center.
Astronaut Dominic Gorie will lead the crew of shuttle mission
STS-123 on its 16-day mission. The mission has a distinctly
international feel, with astronauts from France and Japan joining
the Americans on the crew to deliver Japanese and Canadian additions
to the International Space Station.
This will mark Gorie's fourth shuttle flight -- he flew on Discovery
in 1998 and on Endeavour in 2000 and 2001. A former Navy captain,
Gorie earned a master's degree in aviation systems from the UT Space
Institute (UTSI) in 1990.
"We are very proud to count Dominic Gorie as one of more than 10
UTSI graduates who have become astronauts and flown on the Space
Shuttle," said Don Daniel, UT Associate Vice President for UTSI.
"All of us at the UT Space Institute look forward to a good launch
next week, an exciting mission to the space station and a safe
return to earth for Commander Gorie and the entire crew."
Gorie, who served as a Navy test pilot, says that training combined
with what he learned through UTSI was critical in his development as
an astronaut. "Everything we do in the Space Shuttle is based on
being a test pilot, and the experiences and the flight design, and
exposure to multiple airplanes and different platforms," said Gorie.
"Those two schools together, test pilot school and UTSI, gave me and
other astronauts a great foundation to start doing what we're
doing."
With five different spacewalks taking place during the mission,
STS-123 is among the longest and most active missions ever, making
Gorie's job as commander even more critical.
"On this flight I can’t imagine a more exciting series of events,"
said Gorie in a NASA interview. "I haven't flown with this kind of
mission before, but with this many spacewalks and this many robotics
operations, it's really an exciting flight to be a part of."
In addition to supervising the various aspects of the mission as
commander, Gorie will perform a number of complex maneuvers as the
shuttle approaches the station to dock.
"That is one of the most exciting parts of the mission for me. You
get to fly formation with the space ship being framed by creation
underneath you that's just spectacular," said Gorie.
The Japanese addition is that country's first contribution to the
station. Astronaut Takao Doi of the Japanese space agency, JAXA,
will play a key role in the installation process, and Gorie said
he's excited to be part of the moment.
That's going to be a very exciting, rewarding part of the flight,"
Gorie said. "To see Takao's face, knowing that he’s a JAXA
astronaut, delivering their first piece of hardware, is going to be
really exciting."
This marks the second consecutive flight of the shuttle Endeavour
with a UT alumnus in command. Scott Kelly, also a UTSI graduate,
commanded Endeavour's last mission in April 2007.
Gorie says that the experience of being a shuttle commander has
given him even more perspective on the intense level of work
involved in bringing about a successful mission. "Especially now, as
a commander, you see what it takes on the ground and around the
country and actually around the world now with the international
presence growing," said Gorie. "You feel like a smaller and smaller
part of that with each subsequent flight, but to be a part of it at
all is a wonderful feeling, and to see what we're really
accomplishing is really tremendous."
DOMINIC
GORIE
STS-123 Commander
and UTSI Graduate
-- Photo
provided by NASA
STS-123
CREW PATCH—The STS-123 crew patch depicts the space shuttle
in orbit with the crew names trailing behind. STS-123's major
additions to the International Space Station, Kibo and Dextre, are
both illustrated. The space station is shown in the configuration
that the STS-123 crew will encounter when it arrives.
--Art provided by NASA
GORIE LEADS STS-123 CREW TO THE PAD—The crew of mission STS-123 smile and wave as they leave the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to the Launch Pad 39A for a simulated launch countdown exercise on Feb. 26. UTSI Graduate and Mission Commander Dominic Gorie can be seen out in front leading the crew. Other crew members shown from left are (front row), Pilot Gregory H. Johnson and Mission Specialist Garrett Reisman, (middle row) Mission Specialists Robert L. Behnken and Mike Foreman, and (back row) Mission Specialists Takao Doi and Rick Linnehan.
--Photo provided by NASA/Kim Shiflett
For
more information, including a very thorough press kit, on the
STS-123 mission visit NASA’s website at
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
For more info on Commander Dominic Gorie, check out his NASA bio at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/gorie.html
