Challenge Center of the Rio Grande Valley



In a surprise move Monday, February 15, 2010, NASA tapped the Redhead Express for a special mission to the International Space Station (SS) to rendezvous with a comet. After a mission briefing by Flight Directors, Alberto Villarreal and Art Castillo, the Redhead crew departed from a secret launch pad in San Benito, Texas at approximately 10:30 am. Being the first to employ the Beta-Molecular Integrated Transport System (BITS) the crew landed on the SS within minutes of takeoff. Half their crew manned Mission Control (MC) where they guided the astronauts through all the steps of their tasks. Those on the SS prepared the probe, triangulated the coordinates for launch of the probe, preformed physicals on the crew, checked the mass and density of meteoroid samples, conducted investigations of living insect specimens, monitored the space capsule conditions and maintained continuous communications with MC. Half way through the mission a collision with a meteor shower required evacuation of the SS. Miraculously the Mission Control team was able to take their place within minutes. The comet probe was successful. Even now scientists and engineers are analyzing data recovered during the mission. Crews returned to earth and celebrated by eating junk food.

Crew Manifest
COM: Bud and Apryll
DATA: Sean and Bob
NAV: Kendra and Connie
MED:Jack and LaRae
PROBE: Brett and Connie
REM: Alisa, Ammon and Liz
LS: Meghan and Corkey
ISO: Joseph and Mary
Flight Hosts: Kathy and Will

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