Veteran space flier Lee Archambault from Bellwood, Ill., will command space shuttle Discovery’s upcoming mission to the International Space Station. Discovery is targeted to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 12 at 7:28 a.m. EST.

To cover the launch at Kennedy, U.S. reporters must request credentials by Jan. 29, and foreign reporters must do so by Jan. 15. Journalists should submit requests online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov/

To request an interview with Commander Archambault, news media representatives should contact the Johnson Space Center newsroom in Houston at 281-483-5111 by Jan. 6.

Archambault is one of seven astronauts who will fly on the shuttle mission, which is designated STS-119. The shuttle will deliver the space station’s fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station’s backbone, or truss. The arrays will provide the electricity to power science experiments and increase the crew size to six in May. The 14-day flight will feature four spacewalks to prepare for the installation of the truss’ final segment, deploy the solar arrays and prepare them for operation. The shuttle also will deliver the first Japanese resident station crew member and bring back Belleville, Ill., native Sandra Magnus, who will have lived aboard the complex for more than three months.

Archambault graduated from Proviso West High School in Hillside, Ill. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois-Urbana in 1982 and 1984.

For Archambault’s complete biography, visit:

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

For the latest information about the STS-119 mission and crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For more about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station