NASA Daily News Summary For Release: Feb. 2, 2000 Media Advisory m00-020 SUMMARY NEWS RELEASES: NASA FY 2001 Budget Briefing Scheduled Japanese-U.S. Satellite Ushers in Golden Era of X-ray Astronomy VIDEO: ALL TIMES EASTERN Video File For Feb. 2, 2000 Item 1 - Astro-E to Usher in Golden Era of X-ray Astronomy Item 2 - STS-99 Crew Departure for Johnson Space Center Item 3 - The Solar Magnetic Field is Crooked and Variable - JPL (replay) Item 4 - KSC Clean Up - KSC (replay) ***** NASA FY 2001 Budget Briefing Scheduled A briefing on NASA's fiscal year 2001 budget request will be held on Monday, Feb. 7, 2000, at 2:30 p.m. EST in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E Street, SW, Washington, DC. Headquarters contact: Beth Schmid (Phone: 202/358-1760) Japanese-U.S. Satellite Ushers in Golden Era of X-ray Astronomy Astro-E, the Japanese-U.S. X-ray spacecraft poised for a Feb. 8 launch, will showcase an entirely new technology in X-ray detection that not only will serve as a test bed for future missions but also will earn the distinction of being the coldest known object in space. Headquarters contact: Dolores Beasley (Phone: 202/358-1753) Goddard Space Flight Center contact: Nancy Neal Phone: 301/286- 0039) ***** Video File For Feb. 2, 2000 Item 1 - Astro-E to Usher in Golden Era of X-ray Astronomy HQ Contact: Dolores Beasley 202/358-1753 Goddard Contact: Wade Sisler 301/286-6256 Item 1: Astro-E to Usher in Golden Era of X-ray Astronomy TRT: 3:50 Synopsis: Astro-E, the Japanese-U.S. X-ray will showcase an entirely new technology in X-ray detection that will not only serve as a test bed for future missions but will also earn the distinction of being the coldest known object in space. ITEM 1a ASTRO-E SPACECRAFT Astro-E's targets include clusters of galaxies; supermassive black holes; neutron stars; supernova remnants; stellar coronae of stars 10,000-times more active than our Sun; and a study of the history of how chemicals are made throughout the Universe. ITEM 1b ASTRO-E TEAMS UP WITH CHANDRA Astro-E is primarily a spectroscopy mission, which means the satellite's instruments will study the "colors" of X-ray light, much like a prism breaks visible light into the colors of the rainbow. Whereas the recently launched Chandra X-ray Observatory (shown in this animation) excels in producing X-ray images, Astro-E excels in producing spectra. In this regard, Astro-E complements Chandra, analyzing the light that Chandra sees and determining the temperature, velocity and composition of the gas producing those X-rays. ITEM 1c INTERVIEW EXCERPTS Dr. Stephen Holt Astro-E Project Scientist NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD Contact: Nancy Neal 301-286-0039 Don Savage 202-358-1727 Item 2 - STS-99 Crew Leaves Cape TRT - 5:09 The STS-99 Crew departed Kennedy Space Center last night when the launch was scrubbed at Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch has been rescheduled for no earlier than February 9th. Center contact: Joel Wells 321/867-2468 HQ contact: Kirsten Williams 202/358-0243 Item 2 - STS-99 Crew Departure for Johnson Space Center HQ Contact: Kirsten Williams 202/358-0243 KSC Contact: Joel Wells 321/867-2468 Item 3 - The Solar Magnetic Field is Crooked and Variable - JPL (replay) HQ Contact: Dolores Beasley 202/358-1753 JPL Contact: Jane Platt 818/354-5011 Item 4 - KSC Clean Up - KSC (replay) HQ Contact: Kirsten Williams 202/358-0243 KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 321/867-2468 ***************************** TV Producers: Please note all times, unless otherwise noted, are Eastern Time. This heads-up announces our most current line-up of stories on NASA's daily Video File feed. As we try to provide you the best, most current service possible, THE LINE-UP MAY CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE DAY. Any CHANGES TO THE LINE-UP WILL APPEAR ON THE NASA VIDEO FILE ADVISORY on the web at ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt WE UPDATE THE ADVISORY THROUGHOUT THE DAY. The NASA Video File normally airs at noon, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 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. For general questions about the video file call NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Ray Castillo 202/358-4555 or Elvia Thompson 202/358-1696. ***************************** ***************************** Contract Awards NASA HEADQUARTERS AWARDS RESEARCH SUPPORT CONTRACT ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/contract/2000/c00-b.txt Contract awards are posted to the NASA Acquisition information Service Web site: http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html ***************************** The NASA Daily News Summary is issued each business day at approximately 2 p.m. Eastern time. Members of the media who wish to subscribe or unsubscribe from this list, please send e-mail message to: Brian.Dunbar@hq.nasa.gov ***************************** end of daily news summary