The next human journey to the International Space Station, and an
unprecedented landing by U.S. astronauts in a Russian spacecraft, will be
the subject of a briefing at 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 17 at the
Johnson Space Center, Houston. The briefing will be broadcast on NASA
Television with multi-center question-and-answer capability for reporters
at NASA centers.
Officials will offer a detailed preview of the upcoming launch and mission
of Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer/NASA
International Space Station Science Officer Ed Lu. Malenchenko and Lu are
scheduled to liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 26
in a Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft. They will dock with the Space Station on April 28.
The briefing will also review the more than 22 week Expedition 6 mission,
provide details about their return to Earth, and post-landing
rehabilitation of Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer/Soyuz Commander
Nikolai Budarin and NASA International Space Station Science Officer Don
Pettit. They are scheduled to land on the steppes of Kazakhstan on May 4 in
their Soyuz TMA-1 capsule, now docked at the Station. Their landing will
mark the first time U.S. astronauts will leave orbit in a Soyuz vehicle.
The Expedition 6 crew will undock from the Station after a six-day handover
with Expedition 7 counterparts.
The participants for the April 17 briefing are:
- William Gerstenmaier, International Space Station Program Manager
- Merri Sanchez, Expedition 7 Increment Manager
- Melissa Gard, Expedition 6 Increment Manager
- Dr. Neal Pellis, International Space Station Program Scientist
- Dr. Terrance Taddeo, NASA Flight Surgeon
Prior to the start of the briefing, at 1:30 p.m. EDT, B-roll footage and
graphics that are pertinent to the briefing will be fed on NASA TV.
On Friday, April 18, NASA Television will air a pre-launch news conference
with Expedition 7 crewmembers Malenchenko and Lu, which will be recorded
earlier in the day at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City,
Russia. The news conference will be broadcast at 9 a.m. EDT. Video B-roll
footage of the Expedition 7 crew’s prelaunch activities at the Baikonur
Cosmodrome will be seen on the NASA TV Video File, beginning on Wednesday,
April 23.
NASA Television is broadcast on AMC-2, Transponder 9C at 85 degrees West
longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 MHz, and audio
of 6.8 MHz.
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