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Dominican flag to fly on shuttle

The Dominican flag will either be aboard Discovery in July or Atlantis in August.

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- This Caribbean nation's flag is going where no Dominican has gone before, a New York congressman said.

The Dominican flag will be aboard a U.S. space shuttle this year, said U.S. Rep. Jose E. Serrano, who requested the honor to thank the 100,000 Dominican constituents in his Bronx, New York, district.

"It is this Puerto Rican congressman's humble tribute to a great community," Serrano said in a Monday phone interview.

The red and blue flag -- marked by a broad white cross and the national seal -- will either be aboard Discovery in July or Atlantis in August, NASA spokesman Dean Acosta said.

Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso thanked Serrano, "for this significant and unselfish recognition of the (Dominican Republic) and its children, especially its residents in the United States."

After the flight, the Dominican flag and a Puerto Rican flag the congressman arranged to send into space in 1998 will be on display at Hostos Community College in the Bronx.

The school is named for Puerto Rican independence advocate Eugenio Maria de Hostos, who is buried in the Dominican Republic's national shrine.

Christopher Perez, 38, who has sold flags in Santo Domingo for 15 years, said he was proud to know his country's flag will fly above the planet.

"It is going to stand out above the entire world," Perez said.