Dennis Armstrong                                                                      August 18, 2003
Kennedy Space Center
(321) 867-2468

KSC Release No. 71-03

KSC WEB TO PROVIDE LIVE COVERAGE OF SIRTF LAUNCH

On Wednesday, Aug. 20, the Kennedy Space Center web site will begin its coverage of the launch of NASA’s Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), currently scheduled for 1:37 a.m. EDT Aug. 23. The KSC Web Studio will present two NASA Direct! webcast events in addition to live coverage of the launch countdown.

The first program, “Mission Overview,” on Aug. 20, will be hosted by Tiffany Nail and will feature NASA Launch Manager Omar Baez, Project Manager David Gallagher and Project Scientist Mike Werner. The “Preparing for Launch” program, on Aug. 21, will feature host Cris Guidi with NASA Launch Director Omar Baez, Launch Weather Officer Joel Tumbiolo and SIRTF Outreach Program Manager Michelle Thaller.

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 SIRTF mission or SIRTF launch is encouraged to submit the 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/sirtf/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.

SIRTF WEB COVERAGE SCHEDULE (all times are EDT and subject to change)

L-3 Day - Wednesday, Aug. 20
11 a.m. -- NASA Direct! program: “Mission Overview SIRTF”
<http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/nasadirect/elv/sirtf/event1.htm>

L-2 Day -Thursday, Aug. 21
2:15 p.m. -- NASA Direct! program: “Preparing for Launch”
<http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/nasadirect/elv/sirtf/event2.htm>

L- 1 Day (Friday) through Launch Day, Saturday, Aug. 23
11:15 p.m. (Friday) -- Live countdown coverage begins
<http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/sirtf/vlcc.htm>

Although coverage events for this mission do not begin until three days prior to launch, the SIRTF coverage site at <http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elvnew/sirtf/index.htm> was activated approximately one month before the anticipated launch date. KSC’s Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELV) 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.