NASA Daily News Summary
For Release: Dec. 20, 1999
Media Advisory m99-261


SUMMARY:

NASA's FEATS PRESAGE ITS NEXT MILLENNIUM

NASA TO ISSUE STATUS REPORTS DURING Y2K TRANSITION

Video:

NOTE: DUE TO STS-103 MISSION COVERAGE, THE VIDEO FILE TODAY WILL
RUN AT NOON ONLY.


ALL TIMES EASTERN

Video File for Dec. 20, 1999


ITEM 1 - TERRA MISSION LAUNCH (replay)

ITEM 2 - DAZZLING LAVA FOUNTAIN ON IO SEEN BY GALILEO - JPL
         (replay)

ITEM 3 - FUTURE FLIGHT CENTRAL - ARC (replay)


Live Television Events This Week:

December 21, Tuesday

5:00 - 10:00 am - Future Flight Central Live News Interviews - ARC


----------------------


Subject:  Live Shots on NASA Virtual Airport Tower Dec. 21, 1999

To:       Assignment Editors and Morning News Producers

From:     Laura Lewis 650/604-2162, pager 650/317-0551
          NASA Ames Research Center

Airline passengers will soon benefit from NASA FutureFlight
Central, the world1s first full-scale virtual airport-control
tower located at NASA Ames Research Center.  Opened for business
on Dec. 13, 1999, NASA FutureFlight Central is a world-class
research facility dedicated to addressing the future needs of the
nation1s airports.  It is designed to test-–under realistic
airport conditions and configurations--ways to solve potential air
and ground traffic problems at commercial airports.

The new facility will benefit airline passengers by providing
safer air travel with fewer airport delays and greater cost
efficiencies.

NASA FutureFlight Central uses supercomputers and twelve rear-
projections video screens to provide a seamless, 360-degree high-
resolution view of an airport from the control tower.  The
facility can be configured to provide realistic views of any
airport in the world--either existing or under construction--under
all weather and seasonal conditions.  Real people interact during
live-action simulations to test new technologies, fine-tune
airport operations, and evaluate airport improvements under risk-
free conditions.

For more information about how this exciting new NASA technology
will benefit your viewers, interview Yuri Gawdiak, NASA Systems
Manager, or Nancy Dorighi, NASA FutureFlight Central facility
manager.  Yuri will be available from 5:00 - 8:00 a.m. EST (2:00 -
5:00 a.m. PST) and Nancy will be available from 8:00 - 10:00 a.m.
EST (5:00 - 7:00 a.m. PST) on Tuesday, Dec. 21.  Interviews will
be live from NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

Ask Yuri or Nancy:
*  What is NASA FutureFlight Central?
*  How will the new facility benefit air travelers?
*  In what ways can airports and airlines benefit from
   the new facility?
*  What are the other uses for the facility?

Contact Laura Lewis at 650/604-2162 to book an interview window on
December 21.

Further information about the facility can be found at:
http://ffc.arc.nasa.gov



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NASA'S 1999 FEATS PRESAGE ITS NEXT MILLENNIUM

     NASA's achievements in 1999 extended from terrestrial
airport runways to extrasolar planets and addressed
concerns ranging from the environmental to the
cosmological.  Background information is available to
illustrate the top 10 NASA stories of the year at the URLs
listed.  Plans are to air NASA's major 1999 video stories
on NASA TV Tuesday, Dec. 21, through Thursday, Dec. 23, at
noon and to list its top ten Internet stories at URL:
     http://www.nasa.gov/newsinfo/top10_99.html

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Sarah Keegan (Phone
202/358-1600).

For full text, see:
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-149.txt


-----------------------------


NASA TO ISSUE STATUS REPORTS DURING Y2K TRANSITION

     Reporters covering the transition of U.S. information
systems and infrastructure into the Year 2000 will be able
to receive status reports from NASA overnight on Dec. 31,
1999, and on Jan. 1, 2000.  The NASA Y2K Coordination and
Communications Team, located at the Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD, will issue status reports electronically.  Status
reports will also be posted to the NASA Headquarters File Transfer
Protocol (FTP) server.  Status reports will also be available
directly via FTP.  Status reports will also be available through
NASA's voicemail system by calling 202/358-1445.  NASA expects to
issue several status reports between late Friday evening and early
Saturday morning, depending on events.  Updates will be issued
after 5 p.m. EST Saturday only if events warrant.

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Brian Dunbar (Phone
202/358-1600).

For full text, see:
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/note2edt/1999/n99-061.txt


-----------------------------



If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e-
mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list.

Index of 1999 NASA News Releases:
http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html



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Video File for Dec. 20, 1999


ITEM 1 - TERRA MISSION LAUNCH (replay)



ITEM 2 - DAZZLING LAVA FOUNTAIN ON IO SEEN BY GALILEO - JPL
         (replay)

A fiery lava fountain shooting more than a mile above the surface
of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io has been captured by the camera
onboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft during a recent close flyby.
The images, showing a curtain of lava erupting within a giant
volcanic crater, will be unveiled today during the American
Geophysical Union's fall  meeting in San Francisco.  Galileo took
the pictures on Thanksgiving night, November 25.

The new Io images are available at (as of noon today):
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/io

Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA:  Jane
Platt (Phone 818/354-5011).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Doug Isbell (Phone
202/358-1753).



ITEM 3 - FUTURE FLIGHT CENTRAL - ARC (replay)

Contact at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA:  Michael
Mewhinney (Phone 650/604-3937).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Michael Braukus
(Phone 202/358-1979).

ITEM 3a - FUTUREFLIGHT CENTRAL - ANIMATION----------------TRT  :29

NASA1s FutureFlight Facility, opening Dec. 13, 1999, is the
world1s first full-scale virtual airport control tower. Located at
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, the facility will
provide the airline industry with robust test and research
capabilities within a safe, real-time, simulated environment.


ITEM 3b - FUTUREFLIGHT CENTRAL - ANIMATION----------------TRT 1:38

Simulations from the control tower of NASA1s new FutureFlight
Facility, depicting San Fransisco International airport and its
virtual air traffic.


ITEM 3c - FUTUREFLIGHT CENTRAL B-ROLL---------------------TRT 2:33

Testing of the systems in the new FutureFlight Central facility,
showing both the control tower and the downstairs pseudo-pilot
areas.


ITEM 3d - AIRPLANE B-ROLL---------------------------------TRT 1:34

Montage of commercial aircraft at various U.S. airports engaging
in ground transportation maneuvers as well as footage inside an
air traffic control tower.


ITEM 3e - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS------------------------------TRT 1:52

Paul Kutler, Deputy Director, Information Sciences & Technology
Directorate, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA.


ITEM 3f - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS------------------------------TRT 1:37

Nancy Dorighi, Facility Manager, FutureFlight Central, NASA Ames
Research Center, Moffett Field, CA.


ITEM 3g - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS-----------------------------TRT  1:24

Jim McClenahen, Air Traffic Control Analyst, FutureFlight Central,
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA.



-----------------------------


Unless otherwise noted, ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN.

ANY CHANGES TO THE LINE-UP WILL APPEAR ON THE NASA VIDEO FILE
ADVISORY ON
THE WEB AT ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt
WE UPDATE THE ADVISORY THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

The NASA Video File normally airs at noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m.
and midnight Eastern Time.

NASA Television is available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees
West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0
megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz.

Refer general questions about the video file to NASA Headquarters,
Washington, DC: Ray Castillo, 202/358-4555, or Elvia Thompson,
202/358-1696, elvia.thompson@hq.nasa.gov

During Space Shuttle missions, the full NASA TV schedule will
continue to be posted at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/schedule.html

For general information about NASA TV see:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/


*****************************


Contract Awards

Contract awards are posted to the NASA Acquisition information
Service Web site: http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html


*****************************


The NASA Daily News Summary is issued each business day at
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message to:

Brian.Dunbar@hq.nasa.gov


*****************************

end of daily news summary