KSC-05-S-00168

Rene Arriens is one of the last people the STS-114 crew will see before they launch on the Return to Flight mission. He's a spacecraft technician and operator for United Space Alliance at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. USA is NASA's primary contractor for processing Shuttle components, preparing them for flight. He's also one of seven people on the elite Shuttle Closeout Crew, which prepares the Space Shuttle's crew module for flight, and helps the astronauts climb aboard on launch day. 'Once the astronauts arrive on the pad, we proceed to put their parachutes on and the harnesses and go ahead and put them in, one on the flight deck and one on the mid-deck, in parallel. It usually takes about 35, 40 minutes to load a standard crew of seven.' It can be challenging, and the Closeout Crew has to be ready to deal with surprises. 'We're focused mostly around the crew and what they need, and we're very attentive. They may need glasses. I've had to braid hair to keep it from getting stuck in the collar when we snap that thing on. Gloves, make sure the finger holes aren't in backwards, or you have to put your hand in there and stuff them out -- just all kinds of little details that make everything go right.' When the crew is loaded and the cabin is sealed, it's time for the Closeout Crew to leave the astronauts behind. That's a sobering task, because Rene and his teammates know the STS-114 crew members personally. 'I've worked with three of them very, very extensively, many, many hours in the crew module, because they were 'Cape Crusaders' and served on the Closeout Crew in previous flights. So we've done closeouts together: Andy Thomas and Jim Kelly, the pilot, and Eileen Collins.' Rene knows the Shuttle team's reward for the past two years of hard work will be the launch just over the horizon. 'I think it's like an emotional release for me because we've been two years in the making, building up to this to return to flight, and we have put, instead of a month process, it's been a two-year process. And so many people -- SO MANY people -- they really have worked so many hours and given up so much of their personal time to make sure this thing gets off right. It's just one team and one mission, contractor and NASA alike. Everybody's focused on getting it right and flying it right and doing it right the first time.'