[sarex] A Piece of the Past Hitches a Ride on Next Space Shuttle Mission

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468


> June 5, 2007
>
> Allard Beutel
> Headquarters, Washington 
> 202-3458-4769
>
> Kathy Barnstorff
> Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
> 757-864-9886
>
> Kevin Crossett
> Jamestown 2007, Jamestown, Va.
> 757-253-4534
>
> Elizabeth S. Kostelny
> Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, Richmond, Va.
> 804-648-1889, ext. 306 
>
>
> A PIECE OF THE PAST HITCHES A RIDE ON NEXT SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION
>
> HAMPTON, Va. -- A small piece of early American history will become 
> the latest space traveler with the liftoff of NASA's space shuttle 
> Atlantis. Atlantis is scheduled to launch Friday, June 8 at 7:38 p.m. 
> EDT for the STS-117 mission to the International Space Station. 
>
> A nearly 400-year-old metal cargo tag bearing the words "Yames Towne" 
> and some commemorative mementoes are packed in Atlantis' middeck 
> floor cargo space for the roundtrip flight to the International Space 
> Station. Their hitchhike through the galaxy honors this year's 400th 
> anniversary of Jamestown, Va., the first permanent English settlement 
> in North America.
>
> "We found the tag at the bottom of a well during a dig at the James 
> Fort," said William M. Kelso, director of archaeology at Historic 
> Jamestowne for the Association for the Preservation of Virginia 
> Antiquities. "It appears to be a discarded shipping tag from a crate 
> or trunk that arrived from England around 1611. The artifact clearly 
> marks Jamestown as a destination - our nation's first address."
>
> NASA has teamed with Jamestown 2007 to promote the spirit of 
> exploration then, now and in the future. The artifacts' 
> out-of-this-world trip is just one of a number of events held during 
> the last 18 months that have commemorated the nation's pioneering 
> spirit.
>
> When the one-inch in diameter artifact lands back on Earth, it will 
> have logged more than four million miles spanning four centuries. It 
> will have traveled from England to Jamestown, then to and from the 
> space station. Two sets of Jamestown commemorative coins, authorized 
> by Congress and issued by the U.S. Mint, also are on Atlantis.
>
> The cargo tag and coin sets honoring Jamestown were handed over to 
> NASA's Lesa Roe, director of the Langley Research Center in Hampton, 
> Va., before they made their way aboard the shuttle. "NASA's proud to 
> be entrusted with this piece of exploration history and to extend 
> America's great sense of adventure, exploration and heritage into the 
> future of space," she said when accepting the priceless artifact. 
>
> A $5 gold piece and a silver dollar, both of which depict Jamestown 
> symbols, make up each commemorative coin set. When returned from 
> space, NASA will present one set to Virginia Governor Tim Kaine for 
> display at Jamestown Settlement, a 17th century living history 
> museum. The second set will be displayed at the National Park 
> Service's Historic Jamestowne Visitor Center. 
>
> NASA will return the shipping tag to Historic Jamestowne where it will 
> join hundreds of other artifacts in a new archaeological museum 
> called the Archaearium. Since 1994, archaeologists at the Jamestown 
> Rediscovery project have dug up more than a million items, including 
> the long-lost remains of James Fort. For centuries, the fort was 
> believed to have eroded into the James River. 
>
> NASA's vision to return to the moon then venture to Mars and beyond 
> continues the legacy of exploration and discovery begun 400 years ago 
> by America's earliest explorers. To learn more about NASA's long-term 
> exploration goals, visit: 
>
> http://www.nasa.gov/exploration
> For more information about the commemoration of Jamestown's 400th 
> anniversary, visit: 
>
> http://www.americas400thanniversary.com
> For more information about Historic Jamestowne, visit:
>
> http://www.historicjamestowne.org
> For more information about space shuttle Atlantis' mission to the 
> space station, visit:
>
> http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
>
> 	
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