WASHINGTON – NASA has set media accreditation deadlines for the May space shuttle flight to the International Space Station. Shuttle Atlantis and six astronauts are targeted to launch the STS-132 mission on May 14 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Deadlines for international journalists to apply for the shuttle rollout and Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test are as early as April 12.
The 12-day flight will be the 32nd and final scheduled flight for Atlantis. The mission includes three spacewalks and will deliver the Russian-made Mini Research Module, a new communications antenna and batteries for one of the station’s solar arrays.
Reporters must apply for credentials to attend the launch or cover the mission from other NASA centers. To be accredited, reporters must work for verifiable news-gathering organizations. No substitutions of credentials are allowed at any NASA facility.
Additional time may be required to process accreditation requests by journalists from certain designated countries. Designated countries include those with which the United States has no diplomatic relations, countries on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, those under U.S. sanction or embargo, and countries associated with proliferation concerns. Please contact the accrediting NASA center for details. Journalists should confirm they have been accredited before traveling.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
Reporters applying for credentials at Kennedy should submit requests via the Web at:
Reporters must use work e-mail addresses, not personal accounts, when applying. After accreditation is approved, applicants will receive confirmation via e-mail. Accredited media representatives with mission badges will have access to Kennedy from launch through the end of the mission.
The application deadline for mission badges is May 2 for all reporters requesting credentials.
Atlantis’ move from the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, to Launch Pad 39A, planned for April 20, follows its rollover from Orbiter Processing Facility-1 to the VAB, which is targeted for April 13. Launch dress rehearsal activities, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT, and related training are scheduled for April 21-23. To attend rollout and the TCDT, international journalists must apply by 5 p.m. EDT April 12 to allow time for processing. U.S. media representatives must apply by April 16. Media badges will be valid for both activities.
Reporters with special logistic requests for Kennedy, such as space for satellite trucks, trailers, electrical connections or work space, must contact Laurel Lichtenberger by May 2 at:
laurel.a.lichtenberger@nasa.gov
There is no longer free wireless Internet access provided at Kennedy’s news center. Work space in the news center and the news center annex is provided on a first-come basis, limited to one space per organization. To set up temporary telephone, fax, ISDN or network lines, media representatives must make arrangements with BellSouth at 800-213-4988. Reporters must have an assigned seat in the Kennedy newsroom prior to setting up lines. To obtain an assigned seat, contact Patricia Christian at:
Journalists must have a public affairs escort to all other areas of Kennedy except the Launch Complex 39 cafeteria.
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
Reporters may obtain credentials for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston by calling the center’s newsroom at 281-483-5111 or by presenting STS-132 mission credentials from Kennedy. Media representatives planning to cover the mission only from Johnson need to apply for credentials only at the center. The application deadline for mission badges is May 6 for all reporters requesting credentials.
Journalists covering the mission from Johnson using Kennedy credentials must contact the center’s newsroom by May 6 to arrange workspace, phone lines and other logistics. Johnson is responsible for credentialing media if the shuttle lands at NASA’s White Sands Space Harbor, N.M. If a landing is imminent at White Sands, Johnson will arrange credentials.
DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER, EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF.
Notice for a shuttle landing at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards Air Force Base in California could be short. Domestic media outlets should consider accrediting Los Angeles-based personnel who could travel quickly to Dryden.
Deadlines for submitting Dryden accreditation requests are April 19 for non-U.S. media, regardless of citizenship, and May 20 for U.S. media who are U.S. citizens or who have permanent residency status.
For Dryden media credentials, U.S. citizens representing domestic media outlets must provide their full name, date of birth, place of birth, media organization, driver’s license number with the name of the issuing state, and the last six digits of their social security number.
In addition to the above requirements, foreign media representatives, regardless of citizenship, must provide data including their citizenship, visa or passport number and its expiration date. Foreign nationals representing either domestic or foreign media who have permanent residency status must provide their alien registration number and expiration date.
Journalists should fax requests for credentials on company letterhead to 661-276-3566 or e-mail requests to:
Requests must include a phone number and business e-mail address for follow-up contact. Journalists who previously requested credentials will not need to do so again.
NASA PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS:
Kennedy Space Center: Allard Beutel, 321-867-2468, allard.beutel@nasa.gov
Johnson Space Center: James Hartsfield, 281-483-5111, james.a.hartsfield@nasa.gov
Dryden Flight Research Center: Leslie Williams, 661-276-3893, leslie.a.williams@nasa.gov
For information about the International Space Station, visit:
For information about the STS-132 mission, visit:
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Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
katherine.trinidad@nasa.gov