Astronaut Returns Flag

Today in the second floor rotunda of the Nebraska State Capitol astronaut Clayton Anderson returned the Nebraska state flag he had taken with him on his June 8, 2007 Space Shuttle Mission to the International Space Station. Speaker of Nebraska’s Unicameral Legislature Mike Flood from Norfolk called upon Senator Bob Krist from Omaha and Senator Kate Sullivan from Cedar Rapids to escort Anderson from the Speaker’s Office to the Rotunda for the ceremony.  Anderson told the assembled state senators, capitol staff and students from Central City the flag had been with him on his 152 day mission at the space station and he was returning it to the state he loves.  During the program, Anderson presented the Speaker with a photograph he had taken from the space station October 20, 2007.  The photograph, taken from over 200 miles above the Earth, shows north Lincoln with Memorial Stadium standing out in game day red and the capitol standing tall at the bottom of the image. In his remarks Anderson told the students he was depending on them to follow in his footsteps by studying science and becoming the next generation of astronauts. Following the program Anderson posed for photographs. Before he left the rotunda Anderson greeted and shook hands with students, many of whom proclaimed they would never wash their hands again. That sounds like the beginning of a science experiment.