NASA opened the third Integrated Space Operations Summit (ISOS) this morning in Nashville, Tenn. The summit focuses on strategic planning for human space flight programs.

NASA officials will be available for a media teleconference from 2 to 3 p.m. EST, Friday, April 1 to discuss summit results. Reporters must contact Erica Hupp (202/358-1237) by 11 a.m. EST, Friday to participate.

Participants in the media briefing:

–Michael Kostelnik, NASA deputy associate administrator for International Space Station and Space Shuttle Programs

–Woodrow Whitlow, deputy director, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., and ISOS Integration Panel chair

The summit’s aim is to ensure existing human spaceflight programs, including the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, remain focused on meeting the agency’s exploration goals, and to begin planning for the efficient transition of existing space operations resources toward future exploration needs.

Summit participants include NASA, industry, academia, and others with a stake in space operations. Panels have been working for months on specific issues. They use the summit to discuss their findings and make recommendations to NASA leadership.

For more on the Vision for Space Exploration, NASA’s Return to Flight of the Space Shuttle and assembly of the International Space Station on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov