RELEASE: 94-006

NOTE TO EDITORS:

SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION STS-60 PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFINGS

Pre-flight briefings for the next Space Shuttle mission, STS-60 aboard Discovery, are scheduled for January 19 at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.

The 18th mission of Discovery, scheduled for launch from the Kennedy Space Center February 3, will feature the deployment and retrieval of the Wake Shield Facility; the second flight of the Spacehab module, and the first flight of a Russian Cosmonaut aboard a Space Shuttle.

The Wake Shield Facility, designed and built in Houston, is intended to create a high-quality vacuum for the conduct of materials processing experiments in addition to measuring accelerations and investigating plume impingement effects. Spacehab first flew on STS-57 in June 1993 and provides almost three times the existing amount of middeck locker space available to conduct small-scale experiments during the eight day mission.

The briefings will include a mission overview by the lead flight director beginning at 8 a.m. CST; a discussion of U.S. and Russian cooperation in space from 9 to 9:45 a.m. CST; an overview of the Wake Shield Facility from 9:45 to 10:30 a.m. CST; and a briefing on the Spacehab module and the experiments for this flight, to be held from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. CST. At Noon CST, the six-person STS-60 crew will discuss their mission in a one-hour press conference. As time permits, the crew will be available for brief one-on-one interviews following their press conference. News media interested in the one-on-one interviews should contact the JSC Newsroom before close of business January 14.

SPECIAL NOTE:

NASA Select programming, including press conferences, is now carried on Spacenet 2, transponder 5 with a frequency of 3800 MHz. The satellite is located at 69 degrees West longitude.

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