NASA
News
National Aeronautics
and
Space
Administration
John
F.
Kennedy
Space
Center
Kennedy Space
Center, Florida 32899
AC 321 867-2468
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For Release:
July 27,
2004
George H.
Diller
Kennedy
Space Center,
Fla.
(Phone:
321/867-2468)
KSC Release
No. 57- 04
NASA DIRECT! TO
PROVIDE LIVE COVERAGE OF MESSENGER LAUNCH
The NASA Direct! Web
site is featuring two webcast events and live countdown coverage for MESSENGER,
NASA's upcoming mission to unlock the secrets of Mercury the least explored
planet in our Solar System. Programming begins July 29 at 2 p.m.
EDT and concludes after
launch, currently scheduled for August 2 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
in Florida.
The first
NASA Direct! webcast, "MESSENGER Science and Technology," begins at
2 p.m.
EDT July 29. The program
will open with a welcome and introduction by Dr. Orlando Figueroa from NASA's
Office of Earth Science. After an introduction by Cheryle Mako, Mission
Integration Manager for NASA’s Launch Services Program, MESSENGER Project
Scientist Dr. Ralph McNutt will lend his expertise describing the science and
technology of the exciting mission, and answering the public’s
questions.
On July
30 at 2 p.m.
EDT, NASA Direct! will
broadcast “MESSENGER Mission Overview.” This informative webcast will begin with
a welcome by Kennedy Space Center Director James Kennedy. Host Tiffany Nail will
then introduce James Leary, MESSENGER’s Mission System Specialist. Leary will
answer questions about the spacecraft and explain how it was designed to survive
the extreme temperatures of Mercury. Next up will be NASA Launch Manager
Chuck Dovale, who will offer an overview of the launch process and readiness of
the spacecraft and launch vehicle. Programming will conclude with Delta Launch
Weather officer Joel Tumbiolo, who will provide a forecast of projected local
weather conditions at the time of launch.
In
addition to the NASA Direct! webcasts, the KSC Web Site provides live countdown
coverage from its Virtual Launch Control Center, located at
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/mission/vlcc.htm. Coverage will
feature real-time updates as milestones occur during the countdown, as well as
streaming video clips of countdown events. All videos are provided in Real Video
format.
MESSENGER
WEB COVERAGE SCHEDULE (all times are EDT and subject to
change)
L-3 Days –
Thursday, July 29 at 2
p.m. EDT
NASA Direct!
Program: “MESSENGER Science and Technology”
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/nasadirect/elv/messenger/event1.htm
L-2
Days – Friday, July 30 at 2
p.m. EDT
NASA Direct!
Program: “MESSENGER Mission Overview”
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/nasadirect/elv/messenger/event2.htm
L-0 Days - Launch Day, Monday, August 2 at
12
a.m. EDT
Live countdown
coverage
http://www.nasa.gov/messenger/
Although coverage
events for this mission do not begin until three days prior to launch, the
Launch Services Program’s MESSENGER Web site at http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/mission/index.htm was activated
approximately two months before the anticipated launch date. KSC’s Expendable
Launch Vehicles site at http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/elv.htm serves as a starting
point for coverage of other NASA ELV missions. For more information about this
mission, go to NASA’s MESSENGER Web site at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/main/index.html.
For further
information about the MESSENGER web events, contact Dennis Armstrong at
321/867-2468.
--
end--
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