This subpart establishes policy, procedures, and responsibilities for selecting, approving, packing, storing, and disposing of mementos carried on Space Shuttle flights.

Sec. 1214.601 Definitions.

1. Mementos. Flags, patches, insignia, medallions, minor graphics, and similar items of little commercial value, especially suited for display by the individuals or groups to whom they have been presented.
2. Official Flight Kit (OFK). A container, approximately 0.057 cubic meters (2 cubic feet) in size, reserved for carrying official mementos of NASA and other organizations aboard Space Shuttle flights. No personal items will be carried in the OFK.
3. Personal Preference Kit (PPK). A container, approximately 12.82 centimeters x 20.51 centimeters x 5.13 centimeters (5" x 8" x 2") in size, separately assigned to each individual accompanying a Space Shuttle flight for carrying personal mementos during the flight.

1. Premise. Mementos are welcome aboard Space Shuttle flights. However, they are flown as a courtesy--not as an entitlement. The Associate Administrator for Space Flight is free to make exceptions to this accommodation without explanation. Moreover, mementos are ballast not payload. They can be reduced or eliminated (by the Deputy Director, Space Shuttle Program, Johnson Space Center) for weight, volume, or other technical reasons without reference to higher authority.
2. Constraints. Mementos to be carried on Space Shuttle flights must be approved by the Associate Administrator for Space Flight and are stowed only in an OFK or a PPK. Mementos will not be carried within payload containers, including Get-Away Specials, or in any other container or locker aboard the Space Shuttle, other than within the designated OFK or PPK.
3. Economic Gain. Items carried in an OFK or a PPK will not be sold, transferred for sale, used or transferred for personal gain, or used or transferred for any commercial or fund-raising purpose. Items such as philatelic materials and coins that, by their nature, lend themselves to exploitation by the recipients, or create problems with respect to good taste; or that are large, bulky, or heavy items (in the context of the OFK's size, as indicated in Sec. 1214.601(b) of this part) will not be approved for flight.

1. Purpose. The OFK on a particular flight enables NASA, developers of NASA sponsored payloads, NASA's external payload customers, other Federal agencies, researchers, aerospace contractors, and counterpart institutions of friendly foreign countries to utilize mementos as awards and commendations or preserve them in museums or archives. The courtesy is also extended to other organizations outside the aerospace community, such as state and local governments, the academic community, and independent business entities. In the latter case, it is customary to fly only one item for the requesting organization to be used for display purposes.
2. Limitations. In addition to Sec. 1214.602(c) of this part, U.S. national flags will not be flown as mementos except by U.S. Government sponsors.
3. Approval of Contents. At least 60 days prior to the launch of a Space Shuttle flight, an authorized representative of each organization desiring mementos to be carried on the flight in the OFK must submit a letter or request describing the item(s) to be flown and the intended purpose or distribution. Letters should be directed to the cognizant NASA office as follows:
   1. Space Shuttle customers/users of any nature, to the Director of Transportation Services, Code MC, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546.
   2. Foreign organizations/individuals, and Department of Defense organizations/individuals (both other than as a Space Shuttle customer) and other Federal agencies to the Associate Administrator of External Relations, Code X, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546. Upon receipt of all requests, the cognizant offices will review and forward data to the Associate Director, Code AC, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058.
   3. All others (aerospace companies, state and local governments, the academic community, and non-space-related businesses) may send requests directly to the Associate Director, Code AC, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058. In the event OFK requests, on a particular flight, exceed OFK capability, priority consideration may be given to those entities having payloads on that flight. The listing of the proposed OFK contents for each flight is prepared at the Johnson Space Center and forwarded to the Associate Administrator for Space Flight approximately 30 days prior to launch for approval.

1. Purpose. The PPK enables persons accompanying Space Shuttle flights to carry personal items for use as mementos. Only those individuals actually accompanying such flights (astronaut crew members, payload specialists, and space flight participants) may request authorization to carry personal items as mementos. These items must be carried in individually assigned PPK's.
2. Limitations. The contents of a PPK must be limited to 20 separate items, with a total weight of 0.682 kilograms (1.5 pounds). Each item is allocated for a different recipient and distributed accordingly. The volume of a PPK must be contained in a 12.82 centimeters x 20.51 centimeters x 5.13 centimeters (5" x 8" x 2") bag provided by NASA. Increases in these limitations will be authorized only by the Associate Administrator for Space Flight.
3. Approval of Contents. At least 60 days before the scheduled launch of a Space Shuttle flight, each person assigned to the flight who desires to carry items in a PPK must submit a proposed list of items and their recipients to the Associate Director, Johnson Space Center. The Associate Director will review the requests for compliance with this subpart and submit the crew members' PPK lists through supervisory channels to the Associate Administrator for Space Flight for approval. A signed copy of the Associate Administrator for Space Flight's approval will be returned to the Director, Johnson Space Center, for appropriate distribution.

1. Items intended for inclusion in OFK's or PPK's must arrive at the Johnson Space Center, Code AC, at least 45 days prior to the flight on which they are scheduled in order for them to be listed on the cargo manifest, packaged, weighed, and stowed aboard the Orbiter. Items must arrive at the Johnson Space Center prior to the 45-day limit even if the Associate Administrator for Space Flight's approval is still pending. Items not approved by the Associate Administrator for Space Flight will be returned to the requesting individual/organization.
2. The Associate Director, Johnson Space Center, is responsible for the following:
   1. Securing the items while awaiting the launch on which they are manifested.
   2. Packaging, weighing, and stowing the items according to the manifests approved by the Associate Administrator for Space Flight.

The Associate Director, Johnson Space Center, will:

1. Receive and inventory all items flown in the OFK and PPK's following each Shuttle flight.
2. Return the contents of the PPK's to the persons who submitted them.
3. Return all other flown items to the submitting organizations with an appropriate letter of certification.
4. Retain and secure mementos flown by the Agency for future use.

1. Official Flight Kit. Information on the contents of OFK's will be routinely released to the media and to the public upon their request, but only after the contents have been approved by the Associate Administrator for Space Flight.
2. Personal Preference Kit. Information on the contents of PPK's will be routinely released to the media and to the public upon their request immediately following postflight inventory.
3. Responsibility for Release of Information. The Director of Public Affairs, Johnson Space Center, is responsible for the prompt release of information on OFK and PPK contents.

The contents of OFK's and PPK's must meet the requirements set forth in NASA Handbook 1700.7, "Safety Policy and Requirements for Payloads Using the Space Transportation System (STS)."

Sec. 1214.609 Loss or theft.

1. Responsibility. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration will not be responsible for the loss or theft of, or damage to, items carried in OFK's or PPK's.
2. Report of Loss or Theft. Any person who learns that an item contained in an OFK or a PPK is missing shall immediately report the loss to the Johnson Space Center Security Office and the NASA Inspector General.