NASA Sets Briefings For June Shuttle Mission To The Space Station

NASA will hold a series of media briefings on Wednesday, May 27, to preview the upcoming space shuttle mission to the International Space Station. NASA Television and the agency’s Web site will provide live coverage of the briefings from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Questions also will be taken from other participating NASA locations.

Shuttle Endeavour’s 16-day flight, called STS-127, is targeted to launch on June 13. The flight will deliver a new station crew member and will complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory. The shuttle and station crews will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module. The platform will serve as a type of “front porch” for experiments that require direct exposure to space.

U.S. reporters planning to attend the briefings in Houston must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-283-5111 by 5 p.m. on May 20 to arrange credentials. Journalists who are foreign nationals must contact the Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m. on May 13.

Also on May 27, Endeavour’s seven astronauts will be available for round-robin interviews at Johnson. Reporters must contact Gayle Frere at 281-483-8645 by May 20 to reserve an interview opportunity.

Mark Polansky will command the STS-127 crew, which includes Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Julie Payette and Tim Kopra. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station.

The schedule of activities is (all times CDT):

7 a.m. — Video B-roll feed
8 a.m. — Space Shuttle and Space Station Program overview briefing
9:30 a.m. — STS-127 mission overview briefing
11 a.m. — NASA TV Video File
11:30 a.m. — STS-127 spacewalk overview briefing
1 p.m. — STS-127 crew news conference

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information,
visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For the latest information about the STS-127 mission and its crew,
visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For the latest information on the International Space Station, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station