September 28, 2005

Sallie A. Keith
Media Relations Office
216-433-5795
sallie.keith@nasa.gov

RELEASE: 05-038

ASTRONAUT CARL WALZ TO THROW FIRST PITCH AT INDIANS' GAME

Astronaut Carl Walz, a Cleveland native, is scheduled to throw out a 
ceremonial first pitch at the Cleveland Indians' game against the 
Tampa Bay Devil Rays, scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, September 
29.

Walz will present the Indians' organization with a Cleveland Indians 
shirt he wore while onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and 
video highlighting Walz's time on the ISS will be shown. 

NASA Glenn Research Center employees and their families will be at the 
ballpark. During the game, Eva, the larger-than-life inflatable 
astronaut, will interact with Slider to entertain the fans.

Walz was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in January 1990. 
He is a veteran of four space flights, and has logged 231 days in 
space. He was a mission specialist on STS-51 (1993); the orbiter 
flight engineer on STS-65 (1994); was a mission specialist on STS-79 
(1996) and served as flight engineer on ISS Expedition Four 
(2001-2002). Walz and fellow astronaut Dan Bursch currently hold the 
U.S. space flight endurance record of 196 consecutive days in space.

Presently, Walz is the associate director for the Life Support and 
Habitation program of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at 
NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. He is responsible for the 
development of advanced spacecraft life support, monitoring and 
control systems and extravehicular activity suits to support the 
Vision for Space Exploration.

A 1973 graduate of Charles F. Brush High School, Lyndhurst, Ohio, Walz 
received a bachelor of science degree in physics from Kent State 
University, Kent, Ohio in 1977 and a master of science in solid state 
physics from John Carroll University, Cleveland in 1979. 

	
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