Astronauts living and working aboard the International
Space Station, while orbiting more than 200 miles above
Earth, will become the first-ever witnesses to present live
testimony before Congress during an unprecedented House
Science Committee Hearing.

The International Space Station is the most complex
international endeavor ever undertaken. Still under
construction, it is now larger and more capable than any
spacecraft ever flown.

The space testimonial is scheduled for Wednesday, July 25, at
noon.

Flight Engineers James Voss and Susan Helms, part of the
second crew to live on the station, will provide a brief tour
of the facilities, explain construction activities and
discuss research capabilities aboard the operational outpost.

Astronaut Mary Ellen Weber, a crewmember on the May 2000
space shuttle flight — the third mission to install
components and transfer supplies to the station — and
astronaut Bill Shepherd (Captain, USN), the first American
resident and commander on the station, will also testify at
the hearing.

Weber, who holds a doctorate in physical chemistry, will
explain the relevance of space-based experiments and provide
personal reflections on research and scientific
investigations in space.

Shepherd will discuss a typical day in the life of a
crewmember on the International Space Station, as well as the
challenges involved in constructing, living and working in a
permanently inhabited space-based facility.

The hearing will be held in Room 2318 of the Rayburn House
Office Building on Capitol Hill and is open to the public on
a first-come, first-served basis.

Testimony from the Expedition Two Crew will be carried live
on NASA Television and webcast on NASA’s Internet homepage.
The hearing will also be taped and replayed on NASA TV.

NASA TV is available on GE-2, Transponder 9C, at 85 degrees
West longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of
3880 MHz, and audio of 6.8 MHz.

NASA TV is transmitted on the World Wide Web at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/ntvweb.html

Additional information about the International Space Station,
upcoming missions, crews and their activities is available on
the Internet at:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/