The Citadel in Space

Photo courtesy of NASA

“I wish that I could be there with you,” he said to members of his class in a videotaped message. “I can’t believe that 20 years have passed by since we were there making those friendships and memories....I have something going on in a couple of days that makes it so that I can’t be with you.”

This year the Regimental Band, which was founded in 1909, celebrates 100 years. As a cadet, Bresnik played the drums.

Photo courtesy of NASA

While Bresnik is the first Citadel astronaut, the Military College has other ties to the space program, including Assistant Professor of Physics Luke Sollitt , who is part of a team exploring the shadowed regions of the moon in search of water. Harry Y. McSween, ’67 , is a geologist and an expert on meteorites, who has been playing a role in NASA spacecraft missions since 1997. The class of 1985 has two graduates, Stephen K. Odendahl, who is with NASA, and Brig. Gen. Christopher Pope, who is with the military space program.

Photo courtesy of NASA

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Randy Bresnik, ’89, and other crew members of the STS-129 mission are currently at Kennedy Space Center engaged in prelaunch activities.

Beginning Saturday, The Citadel Office of External Affairs will provide updates of the launch from Kennedy Space Center.

At the 11 a.m. prelaunch press conference today, NASA Shuttle Launch Weather Officer Kathy Winters said that there is only a 10 percent chance of weather prohibiting the launch Monday of the space shuttle Atlantis.

The STS-129 mission is currently slated to lift off from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on Monday at 2:28 p.m. The launch is the first for astronaut Randy Bresnik, ’89, a mission specialist who is one of the six crew members.

The Atlantis will carry 30,000 pounds of hardware to the International Space Station.

On Sunday morning at 6 a.m. Citadel photographer Russ Pace will accompany NASA personnel to a marsh near the launch pad where he will set up two cameras to be activated remotely at the time of liftoff. Later that day the shuttle’s protective Rotating Service Structure will be rolled away in preparation for the Monday launch.

Photo courtesy of NASA

NASA Shuttle Launch Weather Officer Kathy Winters said the weather continues to be favorable for a Monday launch. The conditions for a delayed launch are not as favorable with a 30 percent chance for weather prohibiting the launch on Tuesday and a 60 percent chance on Wednesday.

The seas are a little bumpy for the SRB recovery with swells predicted to be 7 to 9 feet. SRBs are the Solid Rocket Boosters—the rockets that provide the majority of the thrust for first two minutes of liftoff.

The STS-129 mission flight, the first for Randy Bresnik, ’89, is scheduled to return to Kennedy on Nov. 27. The crew will conduct three spacewalks and return International Space Station crew member Nicole Stott to earth.

Photo by Citadel Photographer Russ Pace

With the rollback of the rotating service structure (RSS) this evening, the Atlantis is one step closer to liftoff tomorrow.

Photo by Citadel Photographer Russ Pace

Citadel Commandant of Cadets Leo Mercado arrived at Kennedy Space Center Sunday for the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis. Mercado, class of 1979, represents the college, alumni and The Citadel family for Randy Bresnik’s inaugural space flight.

“With STS-129 mission, Randy Bresnik illuminates the leadership of Citadel alumni in our nation and the world of space exploration,” said Mercado. “The Citadel family is proud of Randy, and we wish him and the Atlantis crew Godspeed and success.”

Photo by Citadel Photographer Russ Pace

Crew members are currently strapped in and performing communication checks. Air to ground communication checks with Houston Mission Control Center are next on the agenda followed by the hatch closure.

NASA weather specialists continue to monitor weather.

While in space Bresnik will miss Thanksgiving and the birth of his daughter who is expected to be born later this week.

A noise has been detected in the hydrogen pump of the space shuttle Atlantis' fuel cell number 2, which is causing NASA officials concern. If serious, the issue could cause the mission to be scrubbed.

Weather conditions are favorable for the 2:28 p.m. launch of the space shuttle Atlantis and Randy Bresnik's inaugural spaceflight. The fuel cell problem is now a non-issue. The hatch has been closed and latched, and NASA’s two recovery ships, the Liberty Star and the Freedom Star, are in position to recover the solid rocket boosters after they fall in the water.

Photo by Citadel Photographer Russ Pace

Randy Bresnik, ’89, one of the six crew members onboard the space shuttle, was born Sept. 11, 1967, in Fort Knox, Ky. When he was two weeks old, his father, who was in the Army, drove the family to California. Just south of Malibu and a little north of Venice Beach in Santa Monica where there’s always an ocean breeze, Bresnik grew up riding his motorcycle along the Pacific Coast Highway and the canyons of Malibu. His grandfather was a photographer and photography became a hobby of Bresnik’s. In elementary school, he began playing the drums, a pastime that he continued through college.

When it came time to go to college, Bresnik accepted a Marine Corps scholarship and moved 2,500 miles away to The Citadel, a place he first learned of through Pat Conroy’s book, “The Lords of Discipline.” He was prepared to push himself to the limits.

Photo by Citadel Photographer Russ Pace

As a cadet, Bresnik was a member of Band Company and Junior Sword Drill. He majored in mathematics and earned Gold Stars for academic excellence.

“Most people wonder if they will ever get the chance to realize their full potential. Those who attend The Citadel don’t have to wonder. They know. I do not believe I would be blasting off on the space shuttle Atlantis in three days if I had not made that choice to experience the complete education The Citadel provides.”

As the Atlantis thundered away into orbit, it broke new ground for The Citadel. And from his vantage point in space, Bresnik has set his sights on another frontier, the International Space Station. Once again, he is pushing himself to the limits.

At 11:51 a.m. today about 200 miles above the Earth between Australia and Tasmania, the space shuttle Atlantis docked at the International Space Station.

Citadel graduate Randy Bresnik, ’89, one of the crew members on board the Atlantis, is due to become a father during the mission. His wife, Rebecca, was told she would never have a biological child, so the couple adopted a 2-year-old boy from the Ukraine last spring. Now Rebecca is expecting the birth of their daughter this week.

Randy Bresnik, ’89, is getting ready to walk. No tours for this former cadet—he’ll be conducting his first spacewalk also known as an EVA (extravehicular activity).

The STS-129 Mission will be conducting three EVAs, the first of which took place today at 9:18 a.m. Bresnik will participate in the second and third EVAs which are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21, at 8:10 a.m. and Monday, Nov. 23, at 7:18 a.m. EST. The spacewalks can be viewed on NASA TV . All times are subject to change.

Photo courtesy of NASA

The ISS is a research facility that orbits the earth. The endeavor, which began in 1998 when the first two modules were launched and joined together in orbit, is the work of more than 100,000 people from 15 nations.

The first crew arrived in 2000—one American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts. Expedition 20 and 21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott is the final astronaut scheduled to use a space shuttle for transportation to or from the ISS. Stott will return to Earth with the crew of the Atlantis.

Photo courtesy of NASA

The ISS has increased human understanding living in space which is critical for future space exploration, yet at the same time everything from the station’s construction to the experiments conducted onboard, the ISS is enhancing life on earth. Just one example of this is a plant-growth experiment without soil. In the sterile environment plants grew faster and disease-free with 90 percent less water leading to the development of a commercial aeroponic system.

For more information on the International Space Station, check out NASA's ISS fact sheet.

Photo courtesy of NASA

Abigail Mae Bresnik arrived on earth at 11:04 p.m. CST, Saturday, Nov. 21, in Houston, Tx. The new addition to the NASA family weighed in at 6 lbs, 13 oz. Bresnik, ’89, who conducted his first spacewalk on his daughter’s birthday, got the news Sunday morning by private phone patch through mission control. Bresnik later announced the good news to flight controllers and passed out cigars to the members of the STS-129 crew.

At 8:24 a.m. EST today Bresnik began the third and final spacewalk of the mission.