Astronaut Lisa Caputo Nowak, a Washington, D.C.-area native and sister of Stone Ridge Alumnae Andrea Caputo Rose ’83 and Marisa Caputo Terrenzi ’86, visited Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart on Friday morning, October 20. In two separate forums, she addressed students in Grades 1-12 about NASA and the U.S. Space program, her personal experience as an astronaut and training for her first spaceflight, as well as her role as a mission specialist and one of two women on the seven-member crew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS-121 to the International Space Station in July 2006. Her presentation included a 22-minute mission DVD and PowerPoint slides, followed by questions from the audience.

The STS-121 Discovery mission bound for the International Space Station marked the first spaceflight for Astronaut Nowak. According to NASA, Mission Specialist Nowak was responsible for operating “both the shuttle and station robotic arms aboard to support station assembly tasks and spacewalks.” The mission also evaluated “new shuttle flight safety procedures, including in-flight inspection and repair techniques.

Local media outlets and newspapers covered Astronaut Lisa Nowak's visit to Washington, D.C. See The Catholic Standard ["Shuttle astronaut visits Stone Ridge"] and the Gazette ["Students get a visit of astronomical proportions"] newspaper articles for more information.

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