NOTE TO PRODUCERS:
A Video News Release and B-roll (total running time = 5
min.) will be broadcast by satellite on Monday, August 21, 2000,
1400-1500 (2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.) Eastern Time (1800-1900 UTC);
GE2 Transponder
6; 85 degrees West, downlink frequency: 3820 Horizontal. Betacam tapes
are available for overnight shipment. The VNR script is
on-line
here.
On August 25, 2000, we invite you to join in the celebration and help us
open an exciting new window on the Universe. On that date, the National
Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and
Associated Universities, Inc., will dedicate the world’s largest fully
steerable radio telescope. The Green Bank Telescope (GBT) dedication
ceremony will occur at 1:00 p.m. at the NRAO site in Green Bank, West
Virginia.
A slate of media activities is planned, and will include a tour conducted
on and inside the GBT itself, and a guided tour of the many historic
telescopes at the site.
The dedication ceremony will feature remarks from Dr. Rita R. Colwell,
Director of the National Science Foundation, and a keynote address by
U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd (D. – W.Va.), whose support was critical for
the construction of this new telescope. NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin
is also scheduled to offer remarks.
Media representatives are invited to attend an 11:30 a.m. luncheon prior
to the ceremony, along with NRAO staff and other guests. R.S.V.P.s for the
luncheon will be appreciated. Please contact Ms. Shirley Curry, at
304-456-2240, or by e-mail at: scurry@nrao.edu.
A GBT media website, with maps, driving directions, fact sheets, and
high-resolution images for download is available
by clicking
here. Press kits will be
available on Monday, August 21. Please contact Rebecca Johnson to request
one by overnight shipment. The kits will also be distributed at the event.
A limited number of seats on a bus traveling from Washington, DC to Green
Bank and returning that evening will be available. Please contact Rebecca
Johnson if you are interested.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National
Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated
Universities, Inc.
Contact:
Rebecca Johnson
NRAO Public Information Officer
Phone: 804-296-0323
E-mail: rjohnson@nrao.edu
(Note: at IAU General Assembly, Manchester, until August 14)
Dave Finley
NRAO Public Information Officer
Phone: 505-835-7302
E-mail: dfinley@nrao.edu
Amber Jones
NSF Public Information Officer
Phone: 703-306-1070
E-mail: aljones@nsf.gov
