Mar 7 2011
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-045 International Space Station CREW HOLDS NEWS CONFERENCE
HOUSTON --Three crew members launching in May to live and work aboard the International Space Station will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. CST on Monday, March 21, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The briefing will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Questions will be taken from participating NASA centers. NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov will participate in individual round-robin interviews, in person or by phone, following the news conference. The crew also will participate in a photo opportunity for reporters at Johnson. Fossum, Furukawa and Volkov are three of the six crew members who will comprise Expeditions 28 and 29. The trio is scheduled to launch to the station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on May 30. They will join Expedition 28 NASA astronaut Ron Garan, and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyaev and Andrey Borisenko, who will stay aboard the station until mid-September. In early October, NASA's Dan Burbank, and Russia's Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin, will join Fossum, Furukawa and Volkov to complete the Expedition 29 crew.
RELEASE: 11-061 NASA OFFICIALS SPEAK AT SPACE STATION AND MARS CONFERENCE
WASHINGTON -- NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier and other NASA officials are scheduled to speak April 6 and 7 at the International Space Station and Mars Conference. Gerstenmaier is scheduled to speak during a dinner that begins at 7 p.m. on April 6. The conference will explore the links between research, operations and technology development aboard the space station, human spaceflight and exploration beyond low Earth orbit, with the ultimate goal of reaching Mars. Explore Mars is hosting the conference April 6-7 at the Jack Morton Auditorium at George Washington University in Washington. Explore Mars is a non-profit group that promotes science and technology innovation and education related to Mars exploration. "The International Space Station offers the only in-space platform to expand our knowledge of human health and survival in space and reduce the development and operational risk of the systems needed for future missions," said Sam Scimemi, deputy for the International Space Station Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington and a conference speaker. The program's objective is for a wide variety of experts to discuss the opportunities and challenges of using the station to advance human and robotic exploration and the science of Mars. "The space station will be a central part of our human spaceflight program for at least the next decade," said Chris Carberry, executive director of Explore Mars. "We hope we can show that by setting long-term goals for the space station and the space program, we will be able to magnify the short-term benefits here on Earth." Other agency speakers include James Garvin, chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; Dr. Richard S. Williams, chief health and medical officer at NASA Headquarters; and Bret Drake, architect for the Exploration Missions and Systems Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. John Grunsfeld, former NASA astronaut and current deputy director of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore also will make remarks.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-047 SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY MAKES FINAL RETURN TO EARTH WEDNESDAY
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to return to Earth for the final time on Wednesday, March 9, completing a 13-day mission to outfit the International Space Station. If Discovery lands Wednesday, it will have spent a total of 365 days in space and traveled more than 148 million miles during 39 flights. It launched on its first mission on Aug. 30, 1984. Wednesday landing opportunities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are at 11:57 a.m. and 1:34 p.m. EST. NASA managers will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Discovery to land. If Discovery is unable to land Wednesday, additional opportunities are available on Thursday at Kennedy and at backup landing site Edwards Air Force Base in California. For recorded updates about landing, call 321-867-2525. Approximately two hours after Discovery lands, NASA officials will hold a briefing to discuss the mission. The participants will be: - Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations - Mike Moses, space shuttle launch integration manager - Mike Leinbach, space shuttle launch director After touchdown, the astronauts will undergo routine physical examinations and meet with their families. The crew may participate in a post-landing news conference about 6.5 hours after landing. The news events will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's website.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-048 NASA'S STS-134 CREW MEDIA OPPORTUNITY AT ENDEAVOUR'S FINAL ROLLOUT
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The six astronauts who will launch aboard space shuttle Endeavour's final mission in April will answer media questions on Wednesday, March 9, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The availability takes place as the shuttle moves from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39A. Endeavour's first motion out of the VAB is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. Media representatives must arrive at Kennedy's news center by 7:30 p.m. for a rollout photo opportunity. NASA Television will provide live coverage of the rollout's beginning and the shuttle crew's question-and-answer session at 8:15 p.m. near Kennedy's news center. An interview opportunity with Endeavour Flow Director Dana Hutcherson will begin at 8:30 p.m., but will not be shown on NASA TV. NASA also will provide a sunrise photo opportunity at the launch pad on March 10 following Endeavour's arrival. During the 1 p.m. event at Kennedy's Space Station Processing Facility, reporters will have the opportunity to speak with managers and team members involved in processing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle physics detector designed to increase our understanding of the universe.
