Sept. 14, 2011 Keith Koehler Wallops Flight Facility, Va. 757-864-1579 keith.a.koehler@xxxxxxxx David E. Steitz Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1730 david.steitz@xxxxxxxx MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-195 WALLOPS MEDIA ROUNDTABLE WITH NASA'S SPACE TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- Journalists are invited to a roundtable discussion at 11:30 a.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 16, with NASA's Space Technology Program Director Michael Gazarik during his visit to the agency's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Va. Robert Strain, director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and Wallops Director Bill Wrobel, will join Gazarik for the event. They will discuss Wallops' important role in the Space Technology Program and in the development of new cutting-edge technologies and innovations that will enable NASA's future missions in science, exploration and space operations. Next year, Wallops will conduct critical high-altitude balloon and sounding rocket flights for two major Space Technology projects. They will test inflatable aerodynamic decelerators for safely returning cargo to Earth from the International Space Station and for landing large-scale payloads on planetary surfaces. To attend the media roundtable or to participate via teleconference, journalists must contact Keith Koehler at 757-824-1579 or keith.a.koehler@xxxxxxxx by 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15. Audio of the event will be streamed live at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio For information about high altitude balloon and sounding rocket programs at Wallops, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/wallops For Gazarik's biography and information about the Office of the Chief Technologist, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/oct -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
