NASA TV to Provide Comprehensive Zvezda Service Module Coverage

Dwayne Brown

Headquarters, Washington, DC

(Phone: 202/358-1726)

Ed Campion

Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

(Phone: 281/483-5111)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N00-29

Extensive coverage of the Russian Zvezda Service Module
mission will be carried on NASA Television next week as will
subsequent events involving the new International Space Station
(ISS) component as it begins its lifetime on orbit.

Zvezda is scheduled to be launched on July 12 at 12:56 a.m.
EDT (4:56 GMT) atop a modified Proton rocket from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as the cornerstone of the Russian
contribution to the ISS and the first living quarters for crews
who will begin permanent occupancy of the Station later this year.

Live launch coverage on NASA TV is set to begin early Tuesday
at 12:30 a.m. EDT with commentary originating from the Russian
Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia, the Baikonur Cosmodrome
and the ISS Flight Control Room at Mission Control, NASA Johnson
Space Center, Houston, TX. Launch coverage with live television
of the Proton rocket during countdown, launch and its climb to
orbit will continue through Zvezda’s orbital insertion and
confirmation of the module’s solar array deployment about 15
minutes after launch.

The launch itself will be followed by post-launch news
conferences from Baikonur and Korolev and two weeks of periodic
update reports from Korolev as Zvezda undergoes an extensive on-
orbit checkout by Russian flight controllers. The ISS will
rendezvous and dock with Zvezda on the night of July 25.

The following is a schedule of planned Zvezda coverage on
NASA TV from launch through docking (days and times are subject to
change; all times are EDT):

Wednesday, July 12:

12:30 a.m. – Launch coverage begins

12:56 a.m. – Launch of Zvezda

1:15 a.m. – Launch coverage concludes

2:30 a.m. – Live coverage of post-launch news conference, Baikonur
(time approximate; expected to include ISS Heads of Agency;
questions only from reporters at Baikonur)

5:00 a.m. – Replay of post-launch news conference from Mission
Control, Korolev (time approximate; questions only from reporters
at Korolev)

6:00 a.m. – Video File feed originating from Johnson Space Center,
including a replay of launch, and reaction from NASA and ISS
Program officials)

Thursday, July 13:

8:00 a.m. – Zvezda Update Report, Korolev

Friday, July 14:

8:00 a.m. – Zvezda Update Report, Korolev

Monday, July 17:

8:00 a.m. – Zvezda Update Report, Korolev

Wednesday, July 19:

8:00 a.m. – Zvezda Update Report, Korolev

Friday, July 21:

8:00 a.m. – Zvezda Update Report, Korolev

Monday, July 24:

8:00 a.m. – Zvezda Update Report, Korolev

On Tuesday night, July 25, at a time yet to be determined,
the ISS will complete its rendezvous maneuvers and automatically
dock with Zvezda. NASA TV will provide live coverage of the key
activities associated with the final phase of the rendezvous and
the docking itself. Television is expected from cameras mounted
on the exterior of the Zarya Control Module of the ISS, which will
be the active vehicle for docking, and Zvezda itself. A post-
docking news conference will be broadcast live on NASA TV from the
Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev as soon after docking as
possible, with questions from reporters in Korolev only. More
information on docking coverage will be made available prior to
July 25.

NASA TV can be found on GE-2, Transponder 9C, 85 degrees West
longitude, vertical polarization with a frequency of 3880 MHz and
audio at 6.8 MHz.

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