NASA Daily News Summary
For Release: Feb. 2, 2000
Media Advisory m00-020


SUMMARY

NEWS RELEASES:
NASA FY 2001 Budget Briefing Scheduled
Japanese-U.S. Satellite Ushers in Golden Era of X-ray Astronomy

VIDEO:

ALL TIMES EASTERN

Video File For Feb. 2, 2000

Item 1 - Astro-E to Usher in Golden Era of X-ray Astronomy

Item 2 - STS-99 Crew Departure for Johnson Space Center

Item 3 - The Solar Magnetic Field is Crooked and Variable - JPL
(replay)

Item 4 - KSC Clean Up - KSC (replay)


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NASA FY 2001 Budget Briefing Scheduled
     A briefing on NASA's fiscal year 2001 budget request will be
held on Monday, Feb. 7, 2000, at 2:30 p.m. EST in the James E. Webb
Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E Street, SW,
Washington, DC.

Headquarters contact: Beth Schmid (Phone:  202/358-1760)

Japanese-U.S. Satellite Ushers in Golden Era of X-ray Astronomy

     Astro-E, the Japanese-U.S. X-ray spacecraft poised for a Feb.
8 launch, will showcase an entirely new technology in X-ray
detection that not only will serve as a test bed for future
missions but also will earn the distinction of being the coldest
known object in space.

Headquarters contact: Dolores Beasley (Phone: 202/358-1753)

Goddard Space Flight Center contact: Nancy Neal Phone: 301/286-
0039)

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Video File For Feb. 2, 2000


Item 1 - Astro-E to Usher in Golden Era of X-ray Astronomy

HQ Contact:     Dolores Beasley 202/358-1753
Goddard Contact:        Wade Sisler 301/286-6256

Item 1: Astro-E to Usher in Golden Era of X-ray Astronomy TRT: 3:50

Synopsis:       Astro-E, the Japanese-U.S. X-ray will showcase an entirely new
technology in X-ray detection that will not only serve as a test bed for future
missions but will also earn the distinction of being the coldest known object in
space.


ITEM 1a ASTRO-E SPACECRAFT

Astro-E's targets include clusters of galaxies; supermassive black holes; neutron
stars; supernova remnants; stellar coronae of stars 10,000-times more active than
our Sun; and a study of the history of how chemicals are made throughout the
Universe.


ITEM 1b ASTRO-E TEAMS UP WITH CHANDRA

Astro-E is primarily a spectroscopy mission, which means the satellite's
instruments will study the "colors" of X-ray light, much like a prism breaks
visible light into the colors of the rainbow. Whereas the recently launched
Chandra X-ray Observatory (shown in this animation) excels in producing X-ray
images, Astro-E excels in producing spectra. In this regard, Astro-E complements
Chandra, analyzing the light that Chandra sees and determining the temperature,
velocity and composition of the gas producing those X-rays.


ITEM 1c INTERVIEW EXCERPTS

Dr. Stephen Holt
Astro-E Project Scientist
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD

Contact:        Nancy Neal 301-286-0039
                Don Savage 202-358-1727


Item 2 - STS-99 Crew Leaves Cape
TRT - 5:09
The STS-99 Crew departed Kennedy Space Center last night when the launch was
scrubbed at Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch has been rescheduled for no earlier
than February 9th.

Center contact: Joel Wells 321/867-2468
HQ contact:     Kirsten Williams 202/358-0243

Item 2 - STS-99 Crew Departure for Johnson Space Center

HQ Contact:     Kirsten Williams 202/358-0243
KSC Contact:    Joel Wells 321/867-2468

Item 3 - The Solar Magnetic Field is Crooked and Variable - JPL
(replay)

HQ Contact:     Dolores Beasley 202/358-1753
JPL Contact:    Jane Platt 818/354-5011

Item 4 - KSC Clean Up - KSC (replay)

HQ Contact:     Kirsten Williams 202/358-0243
KSC Contact:    Bruce Buckingham 321/867-2468

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TV Producers:

Please note all times, unless otherwise noted, are Eastern Time.

This heads-up announces our most current line-up of stories on
NASA's daily Video File feed. As we try to provide you the best,
most current service possible, THE LINE-UP MAY CHANGE THROUGHOUT
THE DAY.

Any CHANGES TO THE LINE-UP WILL APPEAR ON THE NASA VIDEO FILE
ADVISORY on the web at
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt
WE UPDATE THE ADVISORY THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

The NASA Video File normally airs at noon, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m.,
9:00 p.m. and midnight Eastern Time. NASA Television is available
on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with
vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, with
audio on 6.8 megahertz.

For general questions about the video file call NASA Headquarters,
Washington, DC: Ray Castillo 202/358-4555 or Elvia Thompson
202/358-1696.

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Contract Awards

NASA HEADQUARTERS AWARDS RESEARCH SUPPORT CONTRACT
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/contract/2000/c00-b.txt


Contract awards are posted to the NASA Acquisition information
Service Web site: http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html



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end of daily news summary