The next space shuttle crew will take news media questions at 8 a.m. EST, Friday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla. To attend, media must contact Kennedy’s Press Site at (321) 867-2468 by 4 p.m. EST, Thursday. Media without Kennedy credentials may request them on the Web at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

Six members of Space Shuttle Discovery’s upcoming flight (STS-121) will be at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test. The astronauts will take an up-close look at the shuttle, inspect hardware and mission payloads. STS-121, targeted for launch no earlier than May, will fly to the International Space Station to evaluate flight safety procedures, including shuttle inspection and repair techniques.

STS-121 crew: Commander Steve Lindsey; Pilot Mark Kelly; Mission Specialists Mike Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson, Piers Sellers and Thomas Reiter. Reiter, from the European Space Agency, will not attend the interface test or media availability.

For information about the crew and STS-121 on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home