NASA Astronaut Kjell Lindgren, part of the crew that’s scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in May, will take part in a NASA Television news conference and media interviews Wednesday, March 18, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. 

Lindgren, cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will launch to the space station aboard a Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft May 26 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to round out the Expedition 44 crew. The trio will return to Earth in November as part of the Expedition 45 crew. 

The news conference with the crew members will air live on NASA TV at 2 p.m. EDT. B-roll video of the crew will air beginning at 1:30 p.m. Reporters who wish to participate by telephone should call Johnson’s newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 1:50 p.m. Those following the briefing on social media can ask questions using the hashtag #askNASA.

After the news conference, interview opportunities are available in person or by phone. To request credentials to attend in person or to reserve an interview opportunity, media must contact Johnson’s newsroom by 6 p.m. Monday, March 16.

Board certified in emergency and aerospace medicine, Lindgren is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and Colorado State University. He was a member of the academy’s “Wings of Blue” parachute team. Lindgren received his medical degree from the University of Colorado. Lindgren began at Johnson Space Center as a flight surgeon before being selected as an astronaut in 2009.

The Expedition 44 crew members will share their flight experiences on Instagram at: http://instagram.com/iss 

To follow Lindgren on Twitter, visit: http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Kjell

For Lindgren’s full biography, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lindgren-kn.html 

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv 

For more information about the International Space Station and its crews, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station