The next crew of the International Space Station will brief media at 2 p.m.
EST, Feb. 3.

The briefing is live on the Web and NASA TV from NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston. Reporters will be able to ask questions from participating NASA centers. Expedition 11 Flight Engineer and NASA Station Science Officer John Phillips and Commander Sergei Krikalev will discuss their upcoming six-month mission.

The mission is scheduled to launch on a Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakhstan April 15. European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori will launch aboard the Soyuz and spend about a week onboard as a visiting researcher before returning to Earth with Expedition 10.

Following the news conference, Phillips, Krikalev and Vittori are available for interviews. To arrange interviews, media should call the JSC at: 281/483-5111 by 1 p.m. EST Feb. 2.

Phillips and Krikalev will be on the Station when the Space Shuttle Discovery launches this spring, resuming flights following the Columbia accident. Discovery will dock with the Station, bringing supplies and a new gyroscope. The flight will test many new Shuttle safety measures, some of which will involve the Station crew.

NASA TV is available via satellite and on the Web in the continental U.S. on AMC- 6, Transponder 9C, C-Band, at 72 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. In Alaska and Hawaii, NASA TV is available on AMC-7, Transponder 18C, C-Band, at 137 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 4060.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. The news conference will be available live on the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv