HOUSTON – The first female NASA astronauts to lead missions at the same time will be together for satellite interviews from 6 to 8 a.m. CDT on Thursday, Aug. 2. This fall, Peggy Whitson will command the International Space Station’s Expedition 16 crew and Pam Melroy will command the space shuttle Discovery’s STS-120 mission.
To participate in the interviews, media should contact Tim Hinson at 281-483-5111 by noon on Aug. 1.
Whitson will lift off in October aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for her second long-duration space mission. She will return to Earth in April 2008 after six months aboard the station.
Melroy is targeted to launch Oct. 20 on her third spaceflight, a 13-day shuttle mission to install Node 2, a pressurized module that is a connecting port and passageway to science labs and cargo spacecraft on the complex. She served as pilot on two prior shuttle flights.
For Whitson and Melroy’s biographical information, visit:
The interviews will be conducted live via the NASA Television analog satellite. The NASA TV analog satellite is AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude; transponder 5C, 3800 MHz, vertical with audio at 6.8 MHz.
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