Dennis Armstrong
June 20, 2003
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 321/867-2468)
KSC Release No. 47-03
Note to Editors/News Directors:
KSC WEB TO PROVIDE LIVE COVERAGE OF MER-B LAUNCH
On Tuesday, June 24, the Kennedy Space Center Web site will begin its coverage of the launch of Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity, currently scheduled for June 26. The KSC Web Studio will present two NASA Direct! webcast events in addition to live coverage of the launch countdown.
The first program, “Preparing for Launch,” on June 24, will be hosted by Jon Cowart and will feature Launch Weather Officer Joel Tumbiolo, NASA Launch Manager Omar Baez, and MER Principal Investigator Steve Squyres. The “MER Mission Overview” program, on June 26, will feature MER spacecraft mission director Peter Theisinger with host Tiffany Nail.
During both programs, guests will answer questions submitted to the NASA Direct! Question Boards from space enthusiasts around the world. Anyone with questions regarding the MER mission or MER-B launch is encouraged to submit their questions to the appropriate NASA Direct! Question Board for a possible answer during the webcast. The NASA Direct! home page and Question Boards can be viewed online at
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/nasadirect/index.htm.
In addition to NASA Direct!, the KSC Web will provide live countdown coverage from the Virtual Launch Control Center, located at
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/merb/vlcc.htm. Coverage will feature real-time updating as milestones occur during the countdown, as well as downloadable and streaming video clips of countdown events. All videos will be provided in RealMedia format, with downloadable clips available in two sizes for users with 56K modems or cable/broadband connections.
MER-B WEB COVERAGE SCHEDULE (all times are EDT and subject to change)
L-2 Days - Tuesday, June 24
2:15 p.m. NASA Direct! program: Preparing for Launch
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/nasadirect/elv/merb/event1.htm
L-1 Day - Wednesday, June 25
11:00 p.m. Live countdown coverage begins
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/merb/vlcc.htm
L-0 Days - Launch Day, Thursday, June 26
3:00 p.m. NASA Direct! program: MER Mission Overview
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/nasadirect/elv/merb/event2.htm
Although coverage events for this mission do not begin until two days prior to launch, the MER-B coverage site at http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/merb/index.htm was activated approximately one month before the anticipated launch date. KSC’s Expendable Launch Vehicles site at http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/elv.htm will always serve as a starting point for coverage of other NASA ELV missions.
The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Newsroom offers an electronic subscription service for status reports and news releases issued from KSC. There are two possible ways to subscribe. You may send a blank e-mail message to ksc-news_release-subscribe@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov or follow the instructions on the Web site at http://kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov. The system will confirm the request via e-mail.