Oct 6 2017
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY M17-117 NASA Offers Access to Cygnus Spacecraft Ahead of Next Space Station Mission
Media are invited to view and photograph Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft, packed with cargo and scientific experiments for its upcoming flight to the International Space Station, at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct. 18, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.
Media also will have an opportunity to speak with NASA and Orbital ATK officials about the targeted no earlier than Nov. 10 mission and the space agency’s effort to send supplies to the space station using commercial companies. The officials available at the event include:
- Sam Scimemi, director for the International Space Station, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- Rick Mastracchio, senior director of operations, commercial resupply services program, Orbital ATK, Dulles, Virginia
- Kurt Eberly, vice president, Antares, Orbital ATK
To attend this event, media must apply for accreditation by contacting Keith Koehler at keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov by noon, Tuesday, Oct. 17. Accreditation is open only to media who are U.S. citizens.
Orbital ATK will make its eighth Cygnus cargo delivery to the International Space Station under its commercial resupply services contract with NASA. The resupply mission will launch on the company’s Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A at Wallops.
Following the Cygnus viewing, media will have the opportunity to visit the upgraded Wallops Range Control Center.
MEDIA ADVISORY M17-120 Media Accreditation Opens for Launch of NOAA’s JPSS-1 Satellite
The Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1), the first in a new series of four highly advanced National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) polar-orbiting satellites, which will help increase weather forecast accuracy from three to seven days out, is scheduled to launch on Friday, Nov. 10 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2W is targeted for 1:47 a.m. PST (4:47 a.m. EST) at the opening of a 65-second launch window. JPSS, a collaborative effort between NOAA and NASA, represents significant technological and scientific advancements in observations used for severe weather prediction and environmental monitoring.
Media accreditation for U.S. citizens or permanent resident card holders is open through noon Wednesday, Nov. 1. Please provide full name, date of birth, and driver’s license or identification card number and state from which it was issued. The deadline for accreditation of international news media is at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11. Please provide full name, date of birth, and passport number and country from which it was issued.
Media interested in attending launch need to register by emailing Michael Stonecypher, 30th Space Wing Public Affairs Officer, at michael.stonecypher@us.af.mil.
JPSS satellites circle Earth from pole-to-pole and cross the equator 14 times daily providing full global coverage twice a day. Polar satellites are considered the backbone of the global observing system.
NOAA’s National Weather Service uses JPSS data as critical input for numerical forecast models, providing the basis for mid-range forecasts. These forecasts enable emergency managers to make timely decisions to protect American lives and property, including early warnings and evacuations.
