NASA Daily News Summary For Release: Dec. 17, 1998 Media Advisory 98-97 TODAY'S SUMMARY: DOT, FAA and NASA Commemorate Wright Brothers' 95th Anniversary NASA Video File for Dec. 17, 1998 See note about today's video file schedule ********** DOT, FAA AND NASA COMMEMORATE WRIGHT BROTHERS' 95TH ANNIVERSARY The Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA commemorated the 95th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight with an aviation education event for nearly 200 area students. The event was held on Thursday, Dec. 17, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST in the FAA auditorium, third floor, 800 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Michael Braukus 202/358-1979. Contact at Department of Transportation, Washington, DC: Lorie Dankers 202/366-5565. Contact at Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC: Marcia Adams 202/267-8521. Full text available at: ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1998/98-224.txt ^^^^^ If additional news releases are issued later today, summaries and Internet URLs will be e-mailed to this list. Index of NASA News Releases: http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1998/index.html ********** NASA VIDEO FILE FOR DEC. 17, 1998 ITEM 1: 1998 Global Temperature Smashes Record In 1998, global surface temperatures set a new record, report researchers at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). For the first time, scientists released data visualizations showing global temperature anomalies since 1950. Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD: Lynn Chandler 301/614-5562. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: David Steitz 202/358-1730. ITEM 2: Hubble Space Telescope Heritage Picture for December Shown is NGC 253, a large, almost edge-on spiral galaxy, and one of the nearest galaxies beyond our local neighborhood of galaxies. This dramatic galaxy shows complex structures such as clumpy gas clouds, darkened dust lanes, and young, luminous central star clusters. These elements are typical of spiral galaxies. Caroline Herschel discovered NGC 253 while looking for comets. The galaxy's closeness to Earth makes it an ideal target for amateur astronomers who can see the southern sky and for astronomers interested in learning more about the makeup of these stunning cities of stars. Contact at Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD: Ray Villard 410/338-4514. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Don Savage: 202/358- 1727. ITEM 2: NASA'S Top 10 Video Files of 1998 (replay) 1: JOHN GLENN RETURNS TO SPACE Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX: Eileen Hawley 281/483-5111. 2: BUILDING THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX: James Hartsfield 281/483-5111. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Dwayne Brown 202/358- 1726. 3: HUBBLE VIEWS POSSIBLE PLANET OUTSIDE MILKY WAY Contact at Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD: Ray Villard 410/338-4514. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Don Savage: 202/358- 1727. 4: GAMMA RAY BLAST RIVALS BIG BANG Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD: Bill Steigerwald 301/286-5017. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Don Savage 202/358- 1727. 5: LUNAR PROSPECTOR FINDS ICE ON MOON Contact at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA: David Morse 650/604-4724. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Doug Isbell 202/358- 1753. 6: EL NINO/LA NINA CAUSE SEVERE WEATHER Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA: Mary Hardin 818/354-0344. Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD: Wade Sisler 301/286-6256. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Dave Steitz 202/358- 1730. 7: ANTARCTIC OZONE HOLE BIGGEST YET Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD: Wade Sisler 301/286-6256. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Dave Steitz 202/358- 1730. 8: SCIENTISTS DISCOVER MAGNETAR Contact at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL: Tim Tyson 256/544-0994. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Don Savage 202/358- 1727. 9: SOLAR POWERED AIRPLANE REACHES ALTITUDE RECORD Contact at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA: Fred Brown 805/258-2663. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Mike Braukus 202/358- 1979. 10: EILEEN COLLINS NAMED FIRST FEMALE SHUTTLE COMMANDER Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX: Eileen Hawley 281/483-5111. ITEM 4: Animation of Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft's upcoming encounter with the asteroid Eros. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Doug Isbell/Don Savage 202/358-1547. Contact at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD: Helen Worth 240/228-5113. ITEM 5: Launch (on Dec. 11) of Mars Climate Orbiter (replay) Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA: Diane Ainsworth 818/354-5011. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Doug Isbell 202/358- 1753. ^^^^^ SPECIAL NOTE: CHANGE TO VIDEO FILE SCHEDULE TODAY Today, the noon and 3:00 p.m. video file will NOT run so NASA TV can bring you live video of the STS-88 crew, just returned from the successful first International Space Station assembly mission, as follows. At 11:00 a.m. the press will had the opportunity to ask questions of the crew at the Skid Strip at Patrick Air Force Base. Questions were limited to media onsite. The crew then departed for Houston. At approximately 3:30 p.m., NASA TV will cover the crew's arrival at Ellington Field in Houston. All times are Eastern. ^^^^^ The NASA Video File normally airs at noon, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00 p.m. and midnight Eastern time. NASA Television is available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz. Ray Castillo NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: 202/358-4555. The most recent NASA Video File Advisory can be found at: ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt ********** CONTRACT AWARDS NASA contract awards are posted to: http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html ********** The NASA Daily News Summary is issued at approximately 2:00 p.m. Eastern time on business days when news releases, new Video File material or live events are scheduled. Members of the news media who wish to subscribe to or unsubscribe from this list should send an e-mail message to: brian.dunbar@hq.nasa.gov ********** END OF DAILY NEWS SUMMARY