In late July, Space Shuttle Columbia will carry a crew
of seven astronauts on a 16-day science research mission. A
series of press briefings beginning at 8 a.m. EDT June 28
will outline the flight and the scientific research that will
be undertaken during the mission. The briefings will take
place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, and NASA
Headquarters (HQ), Washington, and will be broadcast live on
NASA Television.

Columbia’s 16-day mission, designated STS-107, will be
dedicated to a mixed complement of competitively selected and
commercially sponsored research in the space, life and
physical sciences. An international crew of seven, including
the first Israeli astronaut, will work 24 hours a day in two
alternating shifts to carry out experiments in the areas of
astronaut health and safety, advanced technology development,
and Earth and space sciences.

Following the final briefing, round-robin interviews with
crewmembers will be available to reporters at Johnson and
reporters elsewhere who make prior phone arrangements by
calling Johnson’s newsroom by 5 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June
27. The round-robin interviews will not be broadcast on NASA
TV.

Media wishing to cover the briefings in person must provide
written applications for accreditation no later than June 21.
Media should contact the JSC newsroom by phone at 281/483-
5111 for accreditation requirements. Requests for access
received after the June 21 date may not be processed.

Media wishing to participate by phone in the round-robin
interviews must notify the JSC newsroom in writing no later
than June 24.

NASA TV is available on GE-2, Transponder 9C, at 85 degrees
west longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of
3880 MHz and audio of 6.8 MHz.

The briefing schedule follows.

STS-107 Preflight Briefings — June 28, 2002
(all times Eastern)

8-9 a.m. Mission Overview (from JSC)

9-10:20 a.m. Physical Sciences/Space Products Briefing
(from NASA HQ)

10:20-11:45 a.m. Biological Sciences Briefing (from JSC)

12 noon-1 p.m. Earth and Space Obs. Briefing (from NASA HQ)

1-2 p.m. Delta 2 / Contour Pre-launch News Conference
(from NASA’s Kennedy
Space Center, Fla.)

2-3 p.m. Educational Activities Briefing (from NASA
HQ)

3-4 p.m. Crew News Conference (from JSC)