Gannon becomes the first CWPA team to slip the surly bounds of earth

Gannon Men's Water Polo Blasts Into Space

ERIE, Pa. -- The mother of a Gannon University student blasted into space Friday, Nov. 14 as part of the crew of STS-126, the next space shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Heidemarie Martha Stefanyshyn-Piper is one of seven crew members aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The goals of the mission include delivering equipment and supplies to the station, servicing the Solar Alpha Rotary Joints (SARJ), and repairing the problem in the starboard SARJ that has limited its use since STS-120.

Endeavour on Friday night launched as scheduled from the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Fla. Stefanyshyn-Piper is designated as a mission specialist, and is scheduled to perform three spacewalks as the lead astronaut.

Her son, Michael A. Piper, is a sophomore chemical engineering major at Gannon, and a member of the men’s water polo team. Michael Piper is a graduate of Clear Lake High School in Houston, Texas.

Stefanyshyn-Piper was born Feb. 7, 1963 in St. Paul, Minn. She is a naval officer in addition to serving as an astronaut. Her bio can be found at www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/stefanys.html.

STS-126 is scheduled to be a 15-day mission with four spacewalks, largely dedicated to servicing and repair of the Solar Alpha Rotary Joints (SARJ). An additional docked day may be added to the flight plan if consumables allow for it, to give the crew more time to complete their tasks.

STS-126 will carry the signatures of over 500,000 students who participated in the 2008 Student Signatures in Space program, jointly sponsored by NASA and Lockheed Martin. In celebration of Space Day last May, students from over 500 schools signed giant posters. Their signatures were scanned onto a disk, and the disk has been manifested on the STS-126 mission.

In addition, Michael Piper gave his mother a Gannon University water polo T-shirt that was signed by all the team members. She is taking the shirt with her on the mission.

Stefanyshyn-Piper’s mission aboard the Endeavour marks its 22nd flight, and the 27th shuttle mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour was the fifth and final NASA space shuttle to be built.

Release courtesy Gannon Athletic Communications