Special Medallion Will Be Used For The Game's Coin Toss

The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission will deliver a specially minted silver medallion to National Football League officials at 1000 EST Wednesday, January 27, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The medallion will be used for the official coin toss prior to the kickoff of Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday, February 7.

Shuttle commander Charlie Hobaugh, a graduate of North Ridgeville High School near Cleveland, Pilot Barry Wilmore, Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Bobby Satcher and Mike Foreman, from Wadsworth, Ohio, returned from their 11-day space mission to the International Space Station on November 27.

The crew will present Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys jerseys and a football, inscribed with the name of every member of the Hall of Fame, which accompanied the crew on their 4.5 million mile space journey last fall. The astronauts will share mission highlights with attendees, which will include local students and community partners.

The STS-129 shuttle mission included three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the station's truss, or backbone. The platforms hold large spare parts to sustain operations after the shuttles are retired. The crew delivered approximately 30,000 pounds of replacement parts for systems that provide power to the station, keep it from overheating, and maintain a proper orientation in space.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/shuttle