by Larry E. Nazimek
Want to have your picture flown into space aboard the Space Shuttle? It’s absolutely free! (I thought I’d answer your first question before you asked.)
NASA is giving you an opportunity to have your photo flown on your choice of the last two Space Shuttle missions.
To start, go to http://faceinspace.nasa.gov/ and follow the instructions. After you upload a photo, you will be required to crop it, because the final product will have your face in the left front window of the Shuttle. Therefore, there is no point in selecting a photo on the basis of what you may be doing in the photo or whom you are doing it with. Family portraits are appropriate for displaying on your mantle piece or scrapbook, but not here.
Once you complete the process, you will have a confirmation statement to print for your records.
Following the mission, you can download and print a commemorative “flight certificate” signed by the mission commander.
If you do not have a photo to upload, but still want to participate, you can still submit your name without a photo, and you will still get the flight certificate, since your name will be onboard the Space Shuttle.
As this article goes to press, the launch of STS-133 is on hold due to a maintenance problem, and will launch not earlier than December 3, 2010. STS-134, the last Space Shuttle mission, is tentatively slated for launch February 27, 2011.
