Contact: Joan Moody of the U.S. Department of the Interior,202-208-6416

On Tuesday, June 10, Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton and NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe will announce the location and name of a mountain peak in Colorado in memory of the seven Space Shuttle Columbia astronauts lost upon re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere on Feb. 1, 2003.

They will be joined by Judge Paul Brown of Arlington, Va., father of the late astronaut David Brown and by officials of the U.S. Board of Geographic Names.

WHO:

  • Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton
  • NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe
  • Judge Paul Brown, father of late astronaut David Brown
  • Leo Dillon, chair, U.S. Board on Geographic Names
  • Robert Hiatt, Domestic Names Committee Chair, U.S. Board of Geographic Names
  • Roger Payne, executive secretary, U.S. Board on Geographic Names
  • WHAT: Ceremony Announcing Naming of Mountain Peak in Memory of Space Shuttle Columbia Astronauts

    WHEN: Tuesday, June 10, 2 p.m. EDT

    WHERE: Room 5160, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. (Check in at C Street Security)

    WHY: To honor Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, Rick Husband, William McCool and Ilan Ramo.

    Media Credentials or Advance Reservations Required for Check-in