Communities participating in National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 3, will get a special greeting from the crew of the International Space Station.

"We're a long way from home," Expedition 9 Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer Mike Fincke said, "Conducting the research that will pave the way for the future exploration away from our planet, but we wanted to join you in reinforcing the spirit of community that National Night Out promotes," he added. National Night Out, sponsored by the National Town Watch Association, is an event observed by millions across the country with neighborhood block parties, cookouts, visits by local law enforcement, and other activities. The objectives are to generate support for local anti-crime programs, heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, and strengthen neighborhood spirit and local police-community partnerships.

The video greeting from the Station will be on the NASA TV Video File daily beginning Friday, July 30, airing at noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT. NASA TV is available in the continental United States on AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, Transponder 9, 3880 MHz, vertical polarization, audio at 6.8 MHz. In Alaska or Hawaii, NASA TV can now be seen on AMC-7, at 137 degrees west longitude, Transponder 18, at 4060 MHz, vertical polarization, audio at 6.8 MHz.

The crew's greeting also is available on the Internet at:

http://anon.nasa-global.speedera.net/anon.nasa-global/iss_nightout.wmv (Windows) or http://anon.nasa-global.speedera.net/anon.nasa-global/iss_nightout.mov (QuickTime)

Although few areas will have an opportunity to see the station on this year's National Night Out, almost every month the orbiting complex is easily visible on a number of evenings or early mornings as it flies above many cities. To find out when the Station will next be visible in your area, visit:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html

For more information about National Night Out, visit:

http://www.nationalnightout.org/nno/

text-only version of this release