NASA ANNOUNCES BRIEFINGS ABOUT NEXT SHUTTLE MISSION

July 25, 2006

Allard Beutel
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4769

James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111

MEDIA ADVISORY: M06-120

NASA ANNOUNCES BRIEFINGS ABOUT NEXT SHUTTLE MISSION

NASA will preview the next space shuttle mission in a series of media
briefings Friday, Aug. 11. Space Shuttle Atlantis' mission,
designated STS-115, is targeted for late August and will resume
construction of the International Space Station. The mission will
begin a series of flights as complex and challenging as any in
history to complete assembly of the station.

The briefings will originate from NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston and be carried live on NASA TV beginning at 9 a.m. EDT.
Questions will be taken from media at participating NASA locations
and from Canadian Space Agency headquarters in St. Hubert, Quebec,
Canada.

Round-robin interview opportunities with Atlantis crew members will be
available to media in person or by phone from 3 to 6 p.m. EDT at
Johnson. Those interviews will not be broadcast on NASA TV.

Media planning to attend the briefings or participate in the round
robins must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 to arrange
credentials and interview time. U.S. media should contact Johnson by
Aug. 9 to make arrangements. Representatives of foreign media,
regardless of their own citizenship, must contact Johnson by Friday,
July 28, to arrange credentials.

Atlantis' crew is Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and
mission specialists Daniel Burbank, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper, Joe
Tanner and Steve MacLean, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut.

The Aug. 11 briefings are (all times Eastern):
9 a.m. -- Program and International Space Station Assembly Overview
Briefing
10:30 a.m. -- STS-115 Mission Overview Briefing
noon -- STS-115 Spacewalk Overview Briefing
1 p.m. -- NASA TV Video File
2 p.m. -- STS-115 Crew News Conference
6 p.m. -- STS-115 Canadian Space Agency Briefing with Mission
Specialist Steve MacLean (for Canadian media)

The STS-115 mission, set for 11 to 12 days, will install a new 17-ton
segment of the space station's truss backbone that will add a new set
of giant solar panels and associated batteries to the complex.

For NASA TV schedules, downlink information and links to streaming
video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For the latest information about the STS-115 mission and its crew,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle


-end-

--
--------------

Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.nl