Astronaut Rex J. Walheim, a University of Houston engineering alumnus, will make his first trip to space and participate in two spacewalks during NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis mission to the International Space Station next month.
Walheim, who received a master of science in industrial engineering from the UH Cullen College of Engineering in 1989, will serve as one of five mission specialist on the Atlantis crew.
NASA's Shuttle mission STS-110, scheduled to launch April 5, is designed to deliver the first segment of an external truss structure to the space station.
The astronauts will deliver the 43-foot long S0 (S Zero) station truss-the first of nine truss sections that will support additional power and cooling systems for future international laboratories.
The flight will include four spacewalks to be conducted out of the station's Quest Airlock.