March 15, 2018
Purdue alumnus’ mission to continue Cradle of Astronauts tradition
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The following Purdue experts can discuss various news topics related to Purdue alumnus and NASA astronaut Drew Feustel’s second mission to the International Space Station.
Feustel and his two crew members will take off around 1:45 p.m. EST Wednesday (March 21) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as part of Expedition 55/56.
Feustel graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Purdue’s College of Science. He flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 2011 for a 16-day mission to the space station. Feustel’s first mission came in 2009 as he flew aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis for the final mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Overall, he has logged more than 29 days in space with more than 42 hours in spacewalks.
Purdue University’s connection to space exploration
John Norberg, public speaker, author and columnist. As a flight historian, he has written on space and aviation at the university, including “Spacewalker,” with alumnus Jerry Ross, NASA’s most-launched astronaut, and “Wings of their Dreams,” a book about Purdue's role in aviation history.
Contact: John Norberg, 765-426-5474, jbnorberg@purdue.edu
News Service contact: Brian Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu
Purdue University’s place in space flight history
Tracy Grimm, the Barron Hilton Archivist for Flight and Space Exploration, offers a historical perspective on space flight and Purdue. She curates all of the personal papers items given to Purdue Archives and Special Collections from previous aviators and astronauts.
Contact: Tracy Grimm, 765-496-2941, grimm3@purdue.edu
News Service contact: Brian Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu
Drew Feustel’s continued connections to his alma mater, Purdue
Robert Nowack and Larry Braile, both professors in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, have stayed in contact with Feustel when he visits campus. Nowack served on Feustel’s graduate committee while Braile taught Feustel in several classes.
Contact: Larry Braile, 765-494-5979, braile@purdue.edu
Robert Nowack, 765-494-5978, nowack@purdue.edu
News Service contact: Brian Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu
Links to additional information
* Expedition 55 information: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition55/index.html
* Feustel’s NASA page: https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/andrew-j-feustel
* NASA TV feed of ISS Expedition 55-56 aboard Soyuz MS-08: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public
(Coverage begins at 12:45 p.m. EST; launch scheduled for around 1:45 p.m. EST)
Writer: Brian L. Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu