In late July, Space Shuttle Columbia will carry a crew of seven astronauts on a 16-day science research mission. A series of press briefings beginning at 7 a.m. CDT June 28 will outline the flight and the scientific research that will be undertaken during the mission. The briefings will take place at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, and NASA Headquarters (HQ), Washington, and will be broadcast live on NASA Television.

Columbia's 16-day mission, designated STS-107, will be dedicated to a mixed complement of competitively selected and commercially sponsored research in the space, life and physical sciences. An international crew of seven, including the first Israeli astronaut, will work 24 hours a day in two alternating shifts to carry out experiments in the areas of astronaut health and safety, advanced technology development, and Earth and space sciences.

Following the final briefing, round-robin interviews with crewmembers will be available to reporters at Johnson and reporters elsewhere who make prior phone arrangements by calling Johnson's newsroom by 4 p.m. CDT on Thursday, June 27. The round-robin interviews will not be broadcast on NASA TV.

Media wishing to cover the briefings in person must provide written applications for accreditation no later than June 21. Media should contact the JSC newsroom by phone at 281/483-5111 for accreditation requirements. Requests for access received after the June 21 date may not be processed.

Media wishing to participate by phone in the round-robin interviews must notify the JSC newsroom in writing no later than June 24.

NASA TV 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.

The briefing schedule follows.

STS-107 Preflight Briefings -- June 28, 2002 (all times Central)

7-8 a.m. Mission Overview (from JSC)

8-9:20 a.m. Physical Sciences/Space Products Briefing (from NASA HQ)

9:20-10:45 a.m. Biological Sciences Briefing (from JSC)

11 a.m.-12 noon Earth and Space Obs. Briefing (from NASA HQ)

12 noon-1 p.m. Delta 2 / Contour Pre-launch News Conference (from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.)

1-2 p.m. Educational Activities Briefing (from NASA HQ)

2-3 p.m. Crew News Conference (from JSC)

text-only version of this release