BUZZ LIGHTYEAR RETIRES TO SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM

The Buzz Lightyear action figure that served 15 months aboard the International Space Station before returning to Earth on Space Shuttle Discovery in September, 2009, is retiring at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver joined with chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, John Lasseter, in presenting the action figure to the Museum on March 29, 2012. Buzz Lightyear became famous in Pixar’s animated Toy Story franchise.Buzz Lightyear will go on display later this year in the Air and Space Museum’s Moving Beyond Earth gallery.TRT:00:24Lori Garver, NASA Deputy AdministratorCenter Contact: Rob Navias, 281-483-5111HQ Contact: Michael Curie, 202-358-1100For more info: www.nasa.govCut# 1 - Lori Garver, NASA Deputy Administrator(TRT 00:24) - “Staying for 14 months on the space station, would in fact make Buzz if he were human, given him the spaceflight duration record for NASA. He was also however part of one the most successful educational campaigns ever carried out by the government in cooperation with entertainment industry.”