July 8, 2005 Allard Beutel Headquarters, Washington (Phone: 202/358-4769) Bruce Buckingham Kennedy Space Center, Fla. (Phone: 321/867-2468) MEDIA ADVISORY: M05-113 NASA SETS SPACE SHUTTLE RETURN TO FLIGHT BRIEFINGS News conferences, events and operating hours for NASA's Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) News Center are set for the July 13 launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery on the Return to Flight (RTF) mission, STS-114. The news conferences and events will be carried live on NASA Television unless otherwise indicated. The seven Discovery crew members, led by Commander Eileen Collins, will arrive at KSC on Sunday, July 10, no earlier than 11 a.m. EDT. This will be carried live on NASA TV. STS-114 BRIEFING and EVENTS SCHEDULE All times are Eastern. Questions at the briefings will only be taken from media at KSC. Launch Minus 3 Days (L-3 Days) - Sunday, July 10 9 a.m. Countdown Status Briefing --Jeff Spaulding , NASA test director --Scott Higginbotham, STS-114 payload manager --Kathy Winters, Shuttle weather officer 11 a.m. (no earlier than): STS-114 Flight Crew Arrival Noon: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) briefing (local only) 2 p.m. Propulsion Systems Modification Briefing --Neil Otte, chief engineer for External Tank --Sandy Coleman, External Tank project manager --Tom Williams, Solid Rocket Booster Dept. project manager 3 p.m. RTF Imagery Briefing --Bob Page, Shuttle imagery manager 4 p.m. Langley Engineers Analysis Briefing --Robert S. Barnes, manager, LaRC Shuttle RTF Project --Harry L. Belvin, deputy manager, LaRC Shuttle RTF Project (NOTE: Launch countdown officially begins at 6 p.m.) L-2 Days – Monday, July 11 10 a.m. Countdown Status Briefing --Pete Nickolenko, NASA test director --Scott Higginbotham, STS-114 payload manager --Kathy Winters, Shuttle weather officer 11 a.m. (local only) International Space Station (ISS) Processing Overview --Scott Higginbotham, STS-114 payload manager Noon: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) briefing (local only) 2 p.m. Shuttle Processing Overview --Jon Cowart, Shuttle manager 3 p.m. Discovery Processing Overview --Stephanie Stilson, Discovery vehicle manager No Earlier Than 4:30 p.m. STS-114 Launch Readiness Press Conference --Wayne Hale, Space Shuttle deputy program manager --Bill Gerstenmaier, ISS program manager --Mike Wetmore, Director, Shuttle processing --Dr. Kuniaki Shiraki, Space Station program manager, JAXA --TBD, Shuttle weather officer L-1 Day - Tuesday, July 12 10 a.m. Countdown Status Briefing --Jeff Spaulding, NASA test director --Scott Higginbotham, STS-114 payload manager --Kathy Winters, Shuttle weather officer 2 p.m. NASA Administrator’s Q&A --Michael Griffin, NASA administrator Launch Day - Wednesday, July 13 5:30 a.m. NASA Television live launch programming begins 5:30 a.m. – Live tanking activities commentary 10 a.m. – Live Launch commentary begins Launch Day Crew activities: (* live on NASA TV) 5:45 a.m. --- Crew wake up *10:15 a.m. --- Crew photo 11:30 a.m. - Weather briefing and suit up *11:40 a.m. - Suit up *12:01 a.m. - Walkout *12:30 a.m. - Arrive at pad *1:45 p.m. - Close hatch *3:51 p.m. -- Launch of Discovery Launch + 1 hour Post-launch Press Conference --Michael Griffin, NASA administrator -William Readdy, associate administrator for Space Operations --Bill Parsons, Space Shuttle program manager --Mike Leinbach, Shuttle launch director KSC News Center office hours for STS-114 (Times may be adjusted in real time depending on mission events and timelines.) Saturday, July 9 ----------- (Launch minus 4 days)---- 8 a.m. ----------6 p.m. Sunday, July 10 ----------- (Launch minus 3 days)---- 7 a.m. -------------- RTC Monday, July 11 ----------- (Launch minus 2 days)---- ---- 24-hours ---- Tuesday, July 12 ---------- (Launch minus 1 day)------ ---- 24-hours ---- Wednesday, July 13 ------ (Launch) Flight day 1 ----- ---- 24-hours ---- Thursday, July 14 --------- Flight day 2 ------------------ RTC ------------- 8 p.m. July 15 – July 23 ----------- Flight days 3 - 11------------ 5 a.m. ----------- 8 p.m. Sunday, July 24 ------------ Flight Day 12 ---------------- 5 a.m. ------------RTC Monday, July 25 ----------- (Landing) Flight day 13 -- RTC --------------11 p.m. Media are reminded they are required to be under Public Affairs escort at all times while at KSC, except when at the KSC News Center or the Complex 39 Cafeteria. Media are allowed at the KSC News Center only when Public Affairs personnel are on duty and the News Center is open. NASA TV is carried on the Web and on an MPEG-2 digital signal accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. It's available in Alaska and Hawaii on AMC-7, at 137 degrees west longitude, transponder 18C, at 4060 MHz, horizontal polarization. A Digital Video Broadcast compliant Integrated Receiver Decoder is required for reception. NASA TV is also available on the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-114 Return to Flight Space Shuttle mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight -end-