SHUTTLE PILOT CARRIES AMA FLAG INTO SPACE

SHUTTLE PILOT CARRIES AMA FLAG INTO SPACE

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has announced
that Lt. Col. Duane G. Carey, pilot of Space Shuttle Mission STS-109, is
carrying into space a unique flag bearing the emblem of the AMA.

Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off from Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A at
6:22 a.m. Eastern Standard Time today, bound for the Hubble Space Telescope,
where the crew will conduct a servicing mission.

Carey, a 24-year AMA member and an avid motorcyclist, asked the AMA last year
for an item to take with him into space. He plans to donate the one-of-a-kind
flag to the AMA when he returns, for display at the Association's headquarters
in Pickerington, Ohio.

NASA regulations allow each member of a Space Shuttle's crew to carry only a
limited number of personal items.

Carey, 44, has logged over 3,700 hours in more than 35 different types of
aircraft as an Air Force test pilot. He began riding motorcycles at age 13, and
today enjoys both on-road and off-road motorcycling.

NASA's schedule calls for Space Shuttle Columbia to return on Tuesday, March 12,
landing at the Kennedy Space Center at 4:35 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

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The American Motorcyclist Association, founded in 1924, is a 270,000-member
non-profit organization. The Association's purpose is to pursue, protect and
promote the interests of motorcyclists, while serving the needs of its members.
For more information, visit the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com, or call
1-800-AMA-JOIN.

For more information
Duane G. Carey (NASA Biographical Data)
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/carey.html

Space Shuttle news & information (NASA)
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/

"The Ride of a Lifetime" (American Motorcyclist magazine, February 2002)
http://www.amadirectlink.com/magazine/2002/story1feb.htm