Jim Cast
Headquarters, Washington, DC                  May 16, 2001
(Phone: 202/358-1779)

June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, AL
(Phone: 256/544-0031)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N01-30

SPACE LAUNCH INITIATIVE NEWS CONFERENCE SCHEDULED

NASA managers will discuss the status of the Space Launch 
Initiative (SLI) program during a news conference currently 
scheduled for 5 p.m. EDT, Thursday, May 17.  

The news event will be carried live on NASA Television and 
will originate from the James E. Webb auditorium at NASA 
Headquarters, 300 E St., SW, Washington, DC.  Two-way 
question-and-answer capability will be available at 
participating NASA centers.

The Space Launch Initiative is a comprehensive effort to 
dramatically increase the safety, reliability and 
affordability of space transportation systems.

Participants include: 
*  Sam Venneri, Associate Administrator for Aerospace 
Technology, NASA Headquarters
*  Art Stephenson, Director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight 
Center, Huntsville, AL
*  Dennis Smith, SLI Program Manager, Marshall Space Flight 
Center

NASA TV is broadcast on GE-2, transponder 9C, C-Band, located 
at 85 degrees West longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. 
Polarization is vertical and audio is monaural at 6.8 MHz.

Additional information on the SLI program is available on the 
Internet at:

               http://www.slinews.com

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