HOUSTON — The two crews aboard the International Space Station will answer questions about their upcoming change of command in a news conference at 9:10 a.m. CDT, Wednesday, April 1.
Expedition 19 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Mike Barratt will arrive at the station Saturday to join Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Koichi Wakata, Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov. Fincke and Lonchakov have been living and working aboard the station since October. They will return to Earth April 7 with Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi.
Simonyi, a U.S. software engineer, will spend 10 days on the station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. He also will be available to answer questions during the news conference.
Journalists who want to participate must call the public affairs office at their preferred NASA center by 10 a.m. Tuesday. NASA Television will provide live coverage of the 30-minute news conference. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For more information about the space station and its crew members, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station
