Popcorn might be a bit messy for the International Space Station. However, that's the only thing NASA astronaut Michael Barratt will miss when he watches the new "Star Trek" movie. That, and the crowds.

Paramount Pictures transferred "Star Trek" to NASA's Mission Control in Houston, which then uplinked the film to the space station on Thursday, May 14. Barratt plans to watch the film on a laptop computer inside the Unity module.

"I remember watching the original 'Star Trek' series and, like many of my NASA coworkers, was inspired by the idea of people from all nations coming together to explore space," said Barratt. "'Star Trek' blended adventure, discovery, intelligence and story telling that assumes a positive future for humanity. The International Space Station is a real step in that direction, with many nations sharing in an adventure the world can be proud of."

I watched the movie on opening night and those of you who follow me on Twitter know that I said, "Trek is back! The new movie is great. I'm already looking forward to the next one. I hope we get a new series, as well." Although I'm looking forward to watching the IMAX version, I envy Michael for his venue.

This film is not the only one available to the crew aboard the station. There is a collection of DVDs and uplinked movies. The DVDs were delivered during previous shuttle and station missions and will remain aboard for the enjoyment of future crews. Some crews have had movie nights as regular activities. Former station astronaut Greg Chamitoff and his crewmates viewed the entire "Star Trek" series as a regular weekly event.

Barratt launched to the space station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft in March. He is scheduled to return to Earth on space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission in June. His station crewmates are Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. All three will become part of the station's first six-person crew, Expedition 20, when three new crew members arrive on May 29.

Image Credits (Full Size): Koji Watanabe/Getty Images

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According to MSNBC, former astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr. will most likely be tapped as the next head of NASA. He is scheduled to meet with President Obama in the Oval Office on Monday morning.

Bolden, a retired Brigadier General in the United States Marine Corps, served as an astronaut with NASA from August 1981 until June 27, 1994 when he returned to active duty with the Marines. During that time, he flew aboard the Space Shuttle missions STS-61C, STS-31, STS-45 and STS-60. In 2002, President Bush selected him to serve as Deputy Administrator of the space agency. He retired from the Marine Corps in 2003.

If the president selects Bolden, he would be the first African-American appointed to head the space agency.

Image Credits: NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA-JSC)

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Space shuttle Atlantis will meet up with the Hubble Space Telescope today. Engineers continue to examine the images captured during Tuesday’s inspection of Atlantis’ thermal protection system and exterior surfaces. During that inspection, mission managers noted one area of damage on the forward part of the spacecraft where the wing blends into the fuselage. Initially it appears to be very minor and of no concern for the mission, and the flight team notified the crew late Tuesday that no focused inspection of that particular area is necessary.

Extra time has been built into the EVA schedule at Hubble, so controllers hope that if any repair to the shuttle is necessary it can be accomplished within that time.

The STS-125 crew will perform five spacewalks to refurbish, restore and renew the Hubble Space Telescope. The first spacewalk is scheduled for Thursday.

NASA reports that debris hit the Space Shuttle Atlantis 104 seconds into the launch of mission STS-125 yesterday, leaving a 21-inch scratch. Inspection continues and we will provide more information as it becomes available.