HOUSTON – During space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-123 mission, NASA’s Johnson Space Center will operate a phone bridge for media briefings that occur outside of the normal business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT Monday through Friday.

The new system will allow media not present at Johnson to ask questions by phone during the mission status briefings. To be eligible to use this service, reporters must possess a valid media credential issued by a NASA center or for the STS-123 shuttle mission.

Media planning to use the service must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of a briefing in which they wish to participate. Newsroom personnel will verify their credentials and transfer them to the phone bridge.

During the briefing, the moderator will call on each participant that has been transferred into the system for questions. The capacity of the phone bridge is limited; it will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Endeavour’s mission to the International Space Station is set to lift off at 1:28 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11.

For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For the latest information about the STS-123 mission and its crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle