Santa Monica native is among those aboard Atlantis

AP Photo/Alan Diaz

Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

SANTA MONICA - A Santa Monica High School graduate is a part of the six-member crew aboard the space shuttle Atlantis that lifted off today from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This is the first such flight for mission specialist Randy Bresnik, 42, a 1985 graduate of Santa Monica High School, and Marine Corps lieutenant colonel.

His wife, Rebecca, is due to give birth to their daughter on Friday, while Bresnik is in space, according to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

Bresnik was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 2004 and completed training in February 2006.

The 11-day mission will deliver 14 tons of spare parts to the International Space Station and focus on storing spare hardware on the station's exterior. It will also return Nicole Stott to Earth from the International Space Station.

The mission will include three space walks, including two involving Bresnik, and the installation of two platforms to the station's truss, or backbone. The platforms will hold spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired.

Bresnik received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from The Citadel in 1989 and a master's degree in aviation systems from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 2002. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 1989 and designated a naval aviator in 1992. He flew combat missions during the Iraq War in 2003.

Bresnik's father, whose name is also Randy, still resides in Santa Monica.

The crew also includes Leland Melvin, who was a record-setting receiver for the University of Richmond and chosen by the Detroit Lions in the 11th round of the 1986 NFL Draft but released before the start of the season.