MEDIA ADVISORY
:
M08-118
Space Shuttle Discovery Set To Land Saturday
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The space shuttle Discovery crew is expected to complete its 14-day flight to the International Space Station with a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:15 a.m. EDT on Saturday, June 14.
The STS-124 mission began May 31 and delivered two new sections of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory to the station. During three spacewalks, the crew installed the Japanese Pressurized Module, or JPM, and Kibo's robotic arm system. Kibo's logistics module, which had been attached temporarily to the Harmony node during the STS-123 mission in March, was attached to the JPM. The flight also delivered station resident Greg Chamitoff to the outpost. Discovery will return with Garrett Reisman, who spent three months aboard the complex.
NASA managers will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Discovery to return to Earth. Saturday landing opportunities at Kennedy are at 11:15 a.m. and 12:50 p.m. Two hours after landing, NASA officials will hold a media briefing to discuss the mission. The participants will be:
- Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations
- Kaoru Mamiya, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Vice President
- Mike Leinbach, NASA Space Shuttle Launch Director
After touchdown, the astronauts will undergo physical examinations and meet with their families. The STS-124 crew is expected to hold a news conference at 4:15 p.m. Saturday. Both news events will be broadcast live on NASA Television. Media interested in participating must pick-up their accreditation badges on Saturday.
The Kennedy News Center will open for landing activities at 7 a.m. Saturday and close at 6 p.m. The STS-124 media badges are in effect through landing. The media accreditation building on State Road 3 will be open on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The last bus will depart from the news center for the Shuttle Landing Facility one hour before landing. For updated information about the landing, call 321-867-2525.
If landing is diverted to one of the shuttle's backup runways after Saturday, media should call the Dryden public affairs office at 661-276-3449 or the White Sands Missile Range public affairs office at 505-678-1134. Dryden has limited facilities available to previously accredited journalists for landings at Edwards Air Force Base. Journalists with STS-124 mission badges from NASA will be issued credentials at White Sands Missile Range.
For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-124 mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle For more on the International Space Station, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
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