News conferences and other events have been scheduled for launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia on mission STS-107, the 113th launch in the Shuttle program. Mission STS-107 is now set to launch between 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16. The exact launch time will be announced 24 hours prior to the targeted liftoff time.

News conferences and events listed below will be carried live on NASA Television (unless otherwise noted) and originate from the KSC News Center.

The seven-member STS-107 crew will arrive at KSC next week. A taped replay of their arrival will be broadcast on NASA TV the following day. Live media coverage of the crew arrival will not be accommodated.

On launch day, the crew will depart their KSC living quarters and be driven to the launch pad. A limited number of media will be permitted to view the walkout event. (Contact Manny Virata at 321-867-7820 for details.)

The crew breakfast, suit-up and walkout activities will be taped and replayed during live launch commentary beginning approximately three hours prior to liftoff.

In addition to daily 9 a.m. countdown status briefings, a prelaunch press conference will be held two days before launch. The full briefing schedule is listed below.

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STS-107 BRIEFINGS & EVENTS SCHEDULE (all times are EST)
(All briefings are held inside the KSC Press Site auditorium and will be carried live on NASA TV unless otherwise noted)

L-3 Days – Monday, Jan. 13

9 a.m. —— Countdown Status Briefing

  • Jeff Spaulding, Shuttle Test Director
  • Jack Keifenheim, STS-107 KSC Payload Mission Manger
  • Kathy Winters, Shuttle Weather Officer

(Crew arrival, taped earlier, will be replayed on NASA TV following the briefing.)

L-2 Days – Tuesday, Jan. 14

9 a.m. —— Countdown Status Briefing

  • Pete Nickolenko, Shuttle Test Director
  • Jack Keifenheim, STS-107 KSC Payload Mission Manger
  • Kathy Winters, Shuttle Weather Officer

4 p.m. —– Prelaunch News Conference

  • Ron Dittemore, Shuttle Program Manager, NASA, JSC
  • Mike Wetmore, Director of Shuttle Processing, NASA, KSC
  • Aby Har-Evan, Director General, Israel Space Agency
  • Lt. Michael Jennings, Launch Weather Officer, 45th Weather Squadron

L-1 Day – Wednesday, Jan. 15

9 a.m. —— Countdown Status Briefing

  • Jeff Spaulding, Shuttle Test Director
  • Jack Keifenheim, STS-107 KSC Payload Mission Manger
  • Kathy Winters, Shuttle Weather Officer

3:30 p.m. —– STS-107 Science Briefing

  • David Liskowsky, STS-107 Program Scientist, NASA Headquarters
  • John Charles, STS-107 Mission Scientist, NASA Johnson Space Center
  • Marilyn Vasques, Project Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center
  • Roger Crouch, Senior Scientist, NASA Headquarters

Launch Day – Thursday, Jan. 16

NOTE: Launch will occur between the hours of 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (The exact launch time will be announced Wednesday.) NASA Television live launch programming and commentary will begin about 3 hours prior to launch.

Launch +1 hour —– Post-launch Press Conference

  • Jim Halsell, Shuttle Program Launch Integration Manager, KSC
  • Mike Leinbach, Shuttle Launch Director, KSC