Reaching for the stars

Reaching for the stars

PHOTO COURTESY OF NASA

Attired in his Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuit, astronaut and Rice alumnus John “Danny” Olivas, STS-117 mission specialist, waves as he awaits the start of the mission’s third session of extravehicular activity in the Quest Airlock of the International Space Station while Space Shuttle Atlantis was docked with the station.

Olivas said he took a Rice University flag into space as a way of saying “thanks” to the professors and to the institution that helped mold his career.

“The educational institutions that I attended provided me with
the tools I needed, and still use today, to define my career and life,” Olivas said. “Rice is an integral part of who I am and I am indebted to the tireless
efforts of the professors and instructors under whom I studied.”

Olivas and the rest of the Atlantis crew are scheduled to return to Earth June 22.