HAMPTON, VA - NASA briefings on the next space shuttle mission are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 16. The daylong series of media briefings from the Johnson Space Center will begin at 9 a.m. EST. Shuttle Atlantis' 11-day mission, designated STS-122, is targeted for launch Dec 6. The mission will deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station.
Lynchburg, Va., native, 1986 University of Richmond graduate, Detroit Lions NFL draftee, and former NASA Langley Research Center chemist -- Leland Melvin is a mission specialist on the crew of STS-122. Melvin began working in the Fiber Optic Sensors group of the Nondestructive Evaluation Sciences Branch at NASA Langley in 1989. Selected by NASA's astronaut program in June 1998, Melvin reported for training in August 1998. This will be Melvin's first spaceflight. For more information or for access to the Center to participate in the media briefings, contact Chris Rink at 757-864-6786 or christopher.p.rink@nasa.gov.
The schedule of briefings is:
9 a.m. -- Space Shuttle and Space Station Program Overview
10:30 a.m. -- STS-122 Mission Overview
12 p.m. -- NASA Television Video File
1 p.m. -- STS-122 Spacewalk Overview
2 p.m. -- STS-122 Crew News Conference
3 p.m. -- Crew Round-Robin Interviews (not televised)
4 p.m. -- Hans Schlegel News Conference for German media
Media planning to attend or participate in the briefings or round-robin interviews must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111, by 6 p.m. on Nov. 14. Reporters at other participating NASA locations will be able to ask questions.
All briefings, except the round-robin crew interviews, will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the Web at:
Steve Frick will command Atlantis' seven-member crew, which includes Pilot Alan Poindexter, mission specialists Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Leland Melvin and European Space Agency astronauts Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts. Eyharts will replace Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel Tani and remain aboard the station as a member of the Expedition 16 crew. Tani will return to Earth with the STS-122 crew.
For the latest information about the STS-122 mission and its crew, visit:
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