Dec. 22, 2004

Melissa Mathews 
Headquarters, Washington 
(Phone: 202/358-1272)

June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256/544-0034) 

MEDIA ADVISORY: M04-207

NASA PLANS NEWS BRIEFING ABOUT IMPROVED SHUTTLE TANK

An improved Space Shuttle External Tank is nearly ready for its role 
in returning the Orbiter to flight. NASA has scheduled a news media 
briefing to address the improvements and rollout of External Tank 
number 120 for shipping to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 

The telephone briefing is Tuesday, Dec. 28, at 11 a.m. EST. To 
participate, reporters should call June Malone (256/544-0034) at 
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., by 4 p.m. EST 
Dec. 27. News media who do not want to ask questions can listen to a 
live audio stream of the briefing on the Web at: 

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio 

Briefing participants:

– Sandy Coleman, External Tank Project Manager, Marshall Space 
Flight Center
– Ron Wetmore, vice president of the External Tank Project, 
Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Michoud Assembly Facility

The tank will help launch Space Shuttle Discovery on its Return to 
Flight mission (STS-114), targeted for launch next spring. The tank 
will be shipped from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New 
Orleans within the next two weeks. NASA has spent approximately 18 
months developing, testing and implementing safety enhancements for 
the tank to meet the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's 
recommendation to reduce the risk of falling debris hitting the 
Shuttle during launch. 

The Space Shuttle Propulsion Office at Marshall Space Flight Center 
manages the tank project. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. is the 
primary contractor. For information about NASA's Return to Flight on 
the Internet, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight 

	
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