Debra Rahn
Headquarters, Washington DC                    February 11, 1999
(Phone: 202/358-1638)

Doug Peterson
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone:  281/483-5111)

RELEASE:  99-18

GUIDONI TO ACCOMPANY FIRST ITALIAN
SPACE STATION ELEMENT TO ORBIT

     European Space Agency Astronaut Umberto Guidoni, Ph.D., will
be on board Discovery when it delivers one of the Italian Space
Agency's (ASI) contributions to the International Space Station on
a mission targeted for April 2000.  NASA Administrator Daniel S.
Goldin made this announcement in Rome, Italy, earlier this week.

     Guidoni is the first astronaut named to Shuttle flight STS-
102, which will carry one of three multi-purpose logistics modules
(MPLMs) scheduled for launch to the International Space Station.
Named "Leonardo," the 21 foot-long, 15-foot wide module was built
by ASI under a bilateral agreement with NASA that included a
flight opportunity for an Italian astronaut for the first MPLM
mission.

     Leonardo can carry up to 10 tons of cargo housed in standard
space station equipment racks. For this flight, Leonardo will
carry equipment and supplies to outfit the U. S. laboratory
module, "Destiny," which is scheduled for a March 2000 launch.
Leonardo, and its follow-on modules Raffaello and Donatello, is
designed to support dual functions, initially carrying cargo to
orbit and then serving as on-orbit Space Station modules.

     Guidoni has one previous Shuttle mission to his credit.  He
flew as a payload specialist on board STS-75 in 1996.  During that
16-day mission, he and six other astronauts supported numerous
experiments comprising the United States Microgravity Payload, and
also demonstrated the ability of the NASA/ASI's Tethered Satellite
System to generate electricity.

     The remaining crew members will be named at a later date.
For information on Guidoni, or any astronaut, see the NASA
Internet biography home page at URL: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/

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