George H. Diller                                                                             July 11, 2003 
Kennedy Space Center
321/867-2468

KSC Release No. 58-03

INTERNATIONAL NEWS MEDIA REQUIRED TO APPLY FOR SIRTF PRESS ACCREDITATION BY JULY 23

The launch of NASA’s Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is scheduled to occur on Aug. 23, 2003 at 1:37:43 a.m. EDT. Launch will occur aboard a Boeing Delta II Heavy launch vehicle from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

To comply with Department of Defense requirements, international news media are required to apply for accreditation to cover the launch not later than 30 days in advance. The deadline to request SIRTF accreditation is July 23, 2003. 

To apply for accreditation, the request should be made in writing on news organization letterhead and include full name, birth date, place of birth, country of citizenship, and passport number with expiration date.

Letters requesting accreditation should be faxed to 321-867-2692 to the attention of Diana Boles, SIRTF Launch Accreditation coordinator. She may be contacted at 321-867-2468.

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.