May 19, 1997

Debra J. Rahn
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1639)

James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 713/483-5111)

Release: N97-35

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Press Conference With International Space Station Crew Set

A press conference with members of the first crew of the International Space Station -- Commander Bill Shepherd, Soyuz Commander Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev -- will be held at 10:30 a.m. CDT Wednesday, May 21 at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX. The press conference will be televised live on NASA-TV and include questions from media at participating NASA centers.

Shepherd, Gidzenko and Krikalev are scheduled for launch aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in January 1999 to begin a permanent human presence aboard the International Space Station, the first component of which is currently scheduled for launch in June 1998. The crew began training last year for the flight, which currently is planned to exceed four months. Crew members' training encompasses segments in both Russia and the U.S., and they are now completing a month-long session in the U.S. They will not return to the U.S. for training again until the fall.

NASA-TV is available through the GE2 satellite which is located on Transponder 9C, at 85 degrees West longitude, frequency 3880.0 MHz, audio 6.8 MHz.

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