CAPE CANVAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s Juno spacecraft, set to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in August, will be the focus of a media opportunity at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 16, at the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla.
The event is an opportunity to photograph the Juno spacecraft and interview project and launch program officials. The spacecraft will be seen just prior to its encapsulation into the payload fairing of the Atlas 551 launch vehicle. Launch is scheduled for Aug. 5.
Juno is the first of NASA’s three planetary missions launching this year, making 2011 one of the busiest ever in planetary exploration. The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter’s poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant’s origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.
For the July 16th event, U.S. news media representatives may proceed directly to Astrotech, located in the Spaceport Florida Industrial Park, 1515 Chaffee Drive, Titusville. Access will be available starting at 9:45 a.m., and the event will begin at 10 a.m.
STS-135 mission badges will be accepted. Government photo identification, such as a driver’s license or passport, will be required. Media who are foreign nationals may attend only if they possess an STS-135 mission badge or a permanently issued NASA Kennedy media accreditation badge from the Kennedy Space Center. Kennedy’s Press Site will not be open on Saturday.
Media should call Kennedy’s recorded update phone line on Friday evening at 321-867-2525 to confirm the date has not changed.
For the media event, procedures for optically sensitive spacecraft must be followed by individuals entering the cleanroom where the spacecraft is being prepared for launch. Full cleanroom attire (bunny suits) must be worn and will be furnished. Please do not wear perfume, cologne or makeup. Long pants and closed-toe shoes must be worn — no shorts or skirts.
Photographers will need to clean camera equipment under the supervision of contamination-control specialists. All camera equipment must be self-contained; no portable lights can be allowed. Non-essential equipment such as suede, leather or vinyl camera bags or other carrying cases must be left outside the cleanroom. No notebook paper, pencils, or conventional pens are permitted; special pens and cleanroom paper will be provided. No food, tobacco, chewing gum, lighters, matches or pocketknives will be allowed.
Flash photography cannot be permitted. There is adequate metal halide lighting in the facility for photography (white with slight green cast; suggested exposure for ISO-ASA 400 is 1/30 sec. at f/5.6). Use of wireless microphones and cellular telephones are not allowed inside the cleanroom. Also, because the Juno spacecraft is magnetically sensitive, magnets or devices containing magnets may not be brought in.
Project management for Juno is the responsibility of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spokespersons from JPL, Southwest Research Institute, Lockheed Martin and the NASA Launch Services Program will be available for questions and interviews.
For more information about Juno, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/juno
