NASA and San Diego Padres Celebrate 40 Year Milestones

NASA astronaut and California native Dr. Tracy Caldwell will be honored at the San Diego Padres baseball game on July 20. Caldwell will throw out the first pitch as the Padres host the Florida Marlins on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. This year the Padres also celebrate 40 years as a Major League Baseball franchise. Fans will have the chance to meet Caldwell during an autograph session immediately following the first pitch.

Caldwell will be available for broadcast media interviews the morning of the game from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., and print media interviews at the ballpark. To schedule an interview with Caldwell, contact Victor Scott at 281-483-4942 or victor.j.scott@nasa.gov.

On July 21, Caldwell will talk about her life as an astronaut, answer audience questions and sign autographs at the San Diego Air & Space Museum from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. This event is open to the public.

Caldwell was born in Arcadia, CA and received a B.S. in Chemistry from California State University at Fullerton and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California at Davis. Selected by NASA to become an astronaut in 1998, she served as a Mission Specialist during STS-118 in Aug. 2007 and is currently assigned to spend six months on the International Space Station (ISS) as a Flight Engineer and member of the Expedition 23 crew.

Caldwell joins a team of astronauts this baseball season who are returning to their home regions as part of NASAs Hometown Heroes 2009 campaign to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the ISS in orbit and the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing.

For more information about NASA visit http://www.nasa.gov/home.