Astronauts aren’t the only things going up into space this month.

The Ohio State Army ROTC flag will be aboard the space shuttle Columbia, taking off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on Feb. 28 at 6:52 a.m.

Lt. Col. Nancy Currie is an OSU Army ROTC alumna and the NASA astronaut taking the flag into space.

“To my knowledge it’s the first flight when they have loaded flags from a variety of organizations,” said Lt. Col. Jack Gumbert, professor of military science for the Army at OSU. “Each astronaut has the chance to take some personal item up.”

“It’s a way to share the space program with all those people who pay for it,” said James Hartsfield, NASA spokesman at the Johnson Space Center. “We can’t fly everybody, but we can fly momentos.”

Hartsfield said each crew member has a small amount of personal space for each flight, called a personal preference kit. School flags and other school spirit items are usually taken. However, they cannot take something which could be sold after the flight for commercial profits, he said.

Currie’s invitation did not stop at the flag, however. She also invited Gumbert and OSU Army ROTC students to attend the launch.

From Feb. 27 to March 1, Gumbert and four students will have the opportunity to meet astronauts, observe the launch from the viewing stands and attend the Currie family launch reception. Gumbert said many students were interested in taking the trip, but he had to limit the number because of finances.

“These students show great aptitude in school work in majors that allow background for the Army Astronaut program,” Gumbert said. Each student attending also has a 3.5 GPA or higher. “My intention in them going is to show them an event which will trigger their imagination, and might interest them in following in Currie’s footsteps.”

Gumbert said when these cadets become captains, the Army will contact them about joining the astronaut program, which trains ROTC members to be mission specialists like Currie. If they join the program, they will perform both military and civilian experiments.

“I’ve always been inspired by flight,” said Cadet Brian Downs, a sophomore in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. “I thought about it a while ago – being an astronaut – and it has always been in the back of my mind. This might help me decide what I want to do.”

Cadets Luke Anderson, a junior in mechanical engineering, and Thomas Hardy, a junior in electronic and computer engineering, are also attending the launch with Gumbert. Hardy also serves as the Army ROTC Web-master.

During three years of active duty for the Army, Cadet Justin Crocker, a freshman in criminology, worked making gas jets for plane engines. He said he is interested in seeing the different types of flying and comparing vertical flight to horizontal flight. He is the only student attending the launch who does not major in some sort of engineering.

“This is what college is all about, a way to discover new avenues and explore new experiences,” Crocker said. “Why would anyone pass it up if they have the opportunity to go?”

Currie – who received a bachelor’s in biological science from OSU – is scheduled to visit OSU May 23 in Hitchcock Hall to speak to ROTC cadets and the department of engineering. She will also have breakfast with the ROTC seniors at the Fawcett Center the morning of May 24.