| August 06, 2018 MEDIA ADVISORY M18-103 Parker Solar Probe Briefings and Events
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, a historic mission that will revolutionize our understanding of the Sun, is scheduled to launch on Saturday, Aug. 11. The first launch opportunity is at 3:33 a.m. EDT, at the opening of a 65-minute window. The spacecraft will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed. Launch coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website at 3:00 a.m. EDT. Parker Solar Probe, protected by a first-of-its-kind heat shield and other innovative technologies, will provide unprecedented information about our Sun, where changing conditions can spread out into the solar system to affect Earth and other worlds. The spacecraft will fly directly into the Sun's atmosphere where, from a distance of – at the closest approach -- approximately 4 million miles from its surface, the spacecraft will trace how energy and heat move through the Sun’s atmosphere and explore what accelerates the solar wind and solar energetic particles. Parker Solar Probe is part of NASA’s Living with a Star Program, managed by the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, designed, built and manages the mission for NASA. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is the provider of the Delta IV launch service for Parker Solar Probe. Northrop Grumman is providing the rocket’s fully-integrated third stage. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, is responsible for launch service acquisition, integration, analysis and launch management. The following is a complete schedule of mission coverage, including opportunities for media participation. All time are EDT: Accreditation The deadline for accreditation for media has passed. Media badges will be issued at the Press Accreditation Office located on State Road 3, Merritt Island. For questions about accreditation, please email ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other media questions, contact Kennedy’s newsroom at 321-867-2468. L-3 Day (Wednesday, Aug. 8) Press Site Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. International Teleconferences A series of six international media teleconferences will be held – Japanese, Italian, German, French and Spanish – each 20 minutes in duration, with the exception of the Spanish briefing, which will last an hour. The teleconferences will take place at the following times: 9 a.m. – Japanese 10 a.m. – Italian 11 a.m. – German 12 p.m. – French 1 p.m. – Spanish To participate, media must email their name and affiliation to Andrew Schurr at andrew.d.schurr@nasa.gov or call 202.358.0690 by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 7. L-2 Day (Thursday, Aug. 9) Press Site Hours of Operation: 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Badging Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. - Noon Foreign Nationals will be picked up at the Press Accreditation Office at 11:15 a.m. Prelaunch Mission Briefing A prelaunch mission briefing will be held at 1 p.m. at the Operations and Support Building II. Media wishing to attend this activity should meet at the Kennedy Press Site at Noon for transportation. The briefing will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Media unable to attend the briefing in person, may ask questions via a phone bridge. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact Kennedy’s News Center at 321-867-2468 L-1 Day (Friday, Aug. 10) Press Site Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Badging Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Foreign Nationals will be picked up at the Press Accreditation Office at Noon and 4:15 p.m. Media Availability Parker Solar Probe scientists and instrument principal investigators will be available for interviews at the Kennedy Press Site from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Slots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Remote Camera Setup There will be an opportunity for media to establish sound-activated/timer-set remote cameras to photograph the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy liftoff with Parker Solar Probe at Space Launch Complex 37. Media that do not have a remote camera to set up may not participate in this event. Media wishing to attend this activity should meet at the Kennedy Press Site at 4:45 p.m. to be escorted to and from the launch pad. Mobile Service Tower Photo Opportunity There will be an opportunity for media to photograph the mobile service tower rollback at Space Launch Complex 37. Media wishing to attend this activity should meet at the Kennedy Press Site at 4:45 p.m. to be escorted to and from the launch pad. L-0 Day (Saturday, Aug. 11) Press Site Hours of Operation: 1 a.m. – 8 a.m. Badging Hours of Operation: 1 a.m. - 3 a.m. Foreign Nationals will be picked up at the Press Accreditation Office at 1:30 a.m. Launch Viewing Media may view the Parker Solar Probe launch from the Kennedy Press Site, ITL Causeway or the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) roof (space is limited). Media who wish to view the launch from the ITL Causeway or the VAB roof should meet at the Kennedy Press Site at 1:30 a.m. to be escorted. Media must RSVP with their preference for the ITL Causeway or the VAB roof by Noon on Wednesday, August 8 to ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. Only one representative per organization may sign up for the VAB roof. NASA TV Launch Coverage NASA TV live launch coverage will begin at 3:00 a.m. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. 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. NASA Web Prelaunch and Launch Coverage Prelaunch and launch day coverage of Parker Solar Probe will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning at 3:00 a.m. as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the newsroom at 321-867-2468. You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at https://blogs.nasa.gov/parkersolarprobe/. Post-launch News Conference A post-launch news conference will be held shortly after the end of launch coverage at Kennedy’s Press Site TV Auditorium and air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Join the conversation on social media by following on Twitter and Facebook at: and https://www.facebook.com/NASASunScience/ -end- Dwayne Brown / Karen Fox Geoffrey Brown Tori McLendon | ||
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