June 30, 2000

Debbie Rahn
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1638)

Eileen Hawley
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

Release: N00-28

News Conference Scheduled to Discuss Launch Readiness of New Space Station Module

The status of the new Russian Zvezda Service Module, entering its final preparations for launch to the International Space Station (ISS), will be discussed at a news conference at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia, on Friday, July 7 at 6 a.m. EDT (2 p.m. Moscow time). The news conference will be broadcast live on NASA Television, but questions can only be accommodated for reporters attending the news conference in Korolev.

Zvezda, the Russian word for "star," is the cornerstone of the start of permanent human habitation of the ISS. The module is expected to be fueled for launch late next week at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and mated to its Proton launch vehicle to meet the July 12 launch date agreed to at a General Designers Review held in Korolev earlier this week.

The news conference is expected to feature participants representing NASA, the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, RSC-Energia, the Khrunichev State Research and Production Center, and the European Space Agency.

Additional details regarding Zvezda launch coverage on NASA TV and post-launch briefings are being refined and will be provided in a subsequent launch advisory to be issued next week.

NASA Television is available on GE-2, Transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 MHz, and audio of 6.8 MHz.

text-only version of this release