March 06, 2009 Katherine Trinidad Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 katherine.trinidad@xxxxxxxx Candrea Thomas Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-867-2468 candrea.k.thomas@xxxxxxxx MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-037 NASA ANNOUNCES SHUTTLE PRELAUNCH EVENTS AND COUNTDOWN DETAILS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Media briefings, events and operating hours for the news center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are set for the upcoming launch of space shuttle Discovery. The STS-119 mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to lift off at 9:20 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 11. On Sunday, March 8, Discovery's seven astronauts are expected to arrive at Kennedy at approximately 3 p.m. NASA Television will provide live coverage as Commander Lee Archambault briefs reporters. Journalists with Kennedy access badges who plan to cover the event must be at the news center by 1:30 p.m. for transportation to the Shuttle Landing Facility. NASA will provide continuous mission updates online, including a webcast and a blog, at: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle On launch day, a blog will update the countdown beginning at 4 p.m. Originating from Kennedy, the blog is the definitive Internet source for information leading up to launch. During the mission, visitors to NASA's shuttle Web site can read about the crew's progress and watch the spacewalks live. As Discovery's flight wraps up, NASA's blog will detail the spacecraft's return to Earth. Live updates to the NASA News Twitter feed will be added throughout the shuttle launch countdown, mission and landing. To access the NASA News Twitter feed and other agency Twitter feeds, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/collaborate Detailed lists of countdown milestones, news briefing times and participants, and hours of operation for Kennedy's news center and media credentialing office are available at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv -end- To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
