Veteran Astronaut Wendy Lawrence is available for live interviews via satellite from 7 to 9 a.m. EST Wednesday, March 16. She will fly on the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-114) mission, the first since the Columbia accident.

Media interested in interviewing Lawrence must contact Karen Svetaka at the Johnson Space Center at: 281/483-8684 (office) or 713/708-1024 (pager) by 3 p.m. EST March 15.

The mission will test Shuttle safety improvements and deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station (ISS). Lawrence, a mission specialist, is part of the seven-member crew for the mission. This is her fourth Shuttle mission, and she is in charge of the transfer of supplies and equipment to the ISS. She and other crew members will operate the Shuttle and ISS robotic arms. They are used to assist spacewalks, install equipment and inspect the orbiter’s thermal protective tiles.

Lawrence was born in Jacksonville, Fla. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1981. She received a Master of Science degree in ocean engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1988. She was selected as an astronaut in 1992 and served as the Director of Crew Training for U.S. astronauts in Russia. For biographical information, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lawrence.html

Video highlights of Lawrence and the STS-114 crew training airs on NASA TV beginning at 6:30 a.m. EST March 16.

NASA TV is available via satellite and on the Web in the continental U.S. on AMC-6, Transponder 9C, C-Band, at 72 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. In Alaska and Hawaii, NASA TV is available on AMC-7, Transponder 18C, C-Band, at 137 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 4060.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz.

NASA TV is available on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about the Space Shuttle Return to Flight mission or the STS-114 crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov