NASA News National Aeronautics and Space Administration John F. Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899 AC 321-867-2468 ____________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________ For Release: June 5, 2003 Dennis Armstrong Kennedy Space Center, Fla. (321) 867-2468 KSC Release No. 41 - 03 KSC'S EXPENDABLE VEHICLE WEB COVERAGE DEBUTS WITH MER-A LAUNCH With the launch of the first rover beginning the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission, the Kennedy Space Center Web site is celebrating its first-time online coverage of an expendable vehicle mission. On Saturday, June 7, NASA Direct!'s MER-A programming will kick off with "Preparing for Launch," hosted by Jon Cowart and featuring Launch Weather Officer Joel Tumbiolo, NASA Launch Manager Omar Baez, and MER Manager Matt Wallace. The launch day program, "MER Mission Overview," will be hosted by Tiffany Nail and will include MER Flight Systems Manager Richard Cook and Deputy Project Manager Richard Brace. Viewers will see informative programming highlighting the objectives of the MER-A launch and the twin rovers' upcoming mission. During both programs, featured guests will answer questions submitted to the NASA Direct! Question Boards from space enthusiasts around the world. The NASA Direct! home page and Question Boards can be viewed online at http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/nasadirect/index.htm. In addition to NASA Direct!, the KSC Web will provide live countdown coverage from the Virtual Launch Control Center, located at http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/mera/vlcc.htm. Coverage will feature real-time updating as milestones occur during the countdown, as well as downloadable and streaming video clips of countdown events. All videos will be provided in RealMedia format, with downloadable clips available in two sizes for users with 56K modems or cable/broadband connections. MER-A WEB COVERAGE SCHEDULE (all times are EDT and subject to change) L-1 Day - Saturday, June 7 Approx. 2:15 p.m. NASA Direct! program: Preparing for Launch http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/nasadirect/elv/mera/event1.htm L-0 Days - Launch Day, Sunday, June 8 Approx. 12:15 p.m. Live countdown coverage begins http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/mera/vlcc.htm Approx. 5:15 p.m. NASA Direct! program: MER Mission Overview http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/nasadirect/elv/mera/event2.htm For the exact time of the start of NASA Direct! programming, please check the NASA Direct! site each program day. Although coverage events for this mission do not begin until one day prior to launch, the MER-A coverage site at <http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/mera/index.htm> was activated approximately one month before the anticipated launch date. KSC's Expendable Launch Vehicles site at <http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/elv.htm> will always serve as a starting point for coverage of other NASA ELV missions. -- end -- ------------------------------------------------------------- For automatic email subscriptions to this KSC originated press releases, send an Internet electronic mail message to mailto:ksc-news_release-subscribe@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov. With no subject or message. The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription. To remove your name from the list at any time, send an email addressed to mailto:ksc-news_release-unsubscribe@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov . With no subject or message. or you can (un)subscribe on the World Wide Web at: http://kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov/ Status reports and other NASA publications are available on the World Wide Web at: http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/kscpao.htm .
