| April 11, 2017 MEDIA ADVISORY M09-17 Orbital ATK CRS-7 Briefings and Events
Orbital ATK has contracted with ULA for its Atlas V rocket for the launch service, which will lift off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Under NASA’s first Commercial Resupply Services contract, Cygnus will carry more than 7,600 pounds of science research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory in support of the crew members. NASA Television launch coverage will begin at 10 a.m. EDT. Coverage will resume for solar array deployment at about 12:40 p.m. The post-launch news conference will occur at 2 p.m. If the launch does not occur on April 18, the next launch opportunity is 10:48 a.m. Wednesday, April 19, with NASA TV coverage starting at 9:45 a.m. The new experiments will include magnetized tools to make it easier to reproduce experiments on Earth, an antibody investigation that could increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment, and an advanced plant habitat for studying plant physiology and growing fresh food in space. Cygnus also is carrying 38 CubeSats, including many built by university students from around the world as part of the QB50 program, which are scheduled to deploy from either the spacecraft or space station in the coming months. Cygnus will remain on the station until mid-July when it will depart with several tons of trash for a fiery re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Prior to re-entry, a third experiment will be conducted to study how fire burns in space. Media at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida will have the opportunity to participate in special tours and briefings starting one day prior to launch. The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed. For more information about media accreditation, contact 321-867-2468 or KSC-Media-Accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. Media badges for this launch will be issued at the Astronaut Training Experience building located on State Road 405, Titusville.
Press Site Hours of Operation: 6 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Badging Hours of Operation: 5:30 – 6:30 a.m. and 9 - 10 a.m. (Media badges will be issued at the Astronaut Training Experience) Media participating in the morning tour will depart the press site by bus at 7:15 a.m.
Media will have the opportunity to watch the Atlas V roll out of the Vertical Integration Facility and into position at Space Launch Complex 41. Media must arrive at the Press Site by 7:15 a.m. for departure.
A prelaunch status briefing will be held at Kennedy’s Press Site at 10:30 a.m. NASA TV will provide live coverage. Participants will be:
News media will be able to establish remote cameras to capture the liftoff from the pad at Space Launch Complex 41. After all cameras are deployed, media will return to the Press Site at 3:30 p.m.
Media will have the opportunity to interview mission experts at the Press Site at 3:30 p.m. Participants will include a principle investigator with NASA’s SAFFIRE III experiment, Canadian university students who built a CubeSat as part of the QB50 program, and a student winner of Boeing’s Gene in Space DNA experiment.
Press Site Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Badging Hours of Operation: 7:30 – 9 a.m. (Media badges will be issued at the Astronaut Training Experience)
News media wanting to view the launch from the NASA Causeway will depart the Press Site by bus at 9:45 a.m. A sign-up sheet will be available in the newsroom for media desiring to photograph the launch from the roof of the Vehicle Assemble Building (VAB). Space is limited for this activity so media must sign up in person. At 9:55 a.m., media selected will depart the Press Site for the VAB.
Up to 50 social media representatives were invited to cover launch. Social media will attend some of the same activities as the traditional news media and will receive tours of various facilities and receive briefings about upcoming NASA and commercial partner activities.
NASA TV live coverage will begin at 10 a.m. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135 starting at 8:15 a.m. Launch also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.
A post-launch press conference with mission managers is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Learn more about the Orbital ATK CRS-7 mission by going to the mission home page at: http://www.nasa.gov/orbitalatk -end- | ||
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Press Contacts Amber Philman/Stephanie Martin Cheryl Warner |
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