NASA Sets Media Credential Deadlines for Next Space Shuttle Flight
WASHINGTON -- NASA has set media accreditation deadlines for the May
space shuttle flight to the International Space Station. Shuttle
Atlantis and six astronauts are targeted to launch the STS-132
mission on May 14 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Deadlines for international journalists to apply for the shuttle
rollout and Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test are as early as
April 12.
The 12-day flight will be the 32nd and final scheduled flight for
Atlantis. The mission includes three spacewalks and will deliver the
Russian-made Mini Research Module, a new communications antenna and
batteries for one of the station's solar arrays.
Reporters must apply for credentials to attend the launch or cover the
mission from other NASA centers. To be accredited, reporters must
work for verifiable news-gathering organizations. No substitutions of
credentials are allowed at any NASA facility.
Additional time may be required to process accreditation requests by
journalists from certain designated countries. Designated countries
include those with which the United States has no diplomatic
relations, countries on the State Department's list of state sponsors
of terrorism, those under U.S. sanction or embargo, and countries
associated with proliferation concerns. Please contact the
accrediting NASA center for details. Journalists should confirm they
have been accredited before traveling.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
Reporters applying for credentials at Kennedy should submit requests
via the Web at:
https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
Reporters must use work e-mail addresses, not personal accounts, when
applying. After accreditation is approved, applicants will receive
confirmation via e-mail. Accredited media representatives with
mission badges will have access to Kennedy from launch through the
end of the mission.
The application deadline for mission badges is May 2 for all reporters
requesting credentials.
Atlantis' move from the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, to Launch
Pad 39A, planned for April 20, follows its rollover from Orbiter
Processing Facility-1 to the VAB, which is targeted for April 13.
Launch dress rehearsal activities, known as the Terminal Countdown
Demonstration Test, or TCDT, and related training are scheduled for
April 21-23. To attend rollout and the TCDT, international
journalists must apply by 5 p.m. EDT April 12 to allow time for
processing. U.S. media representatives must apply by April 16. Media
badges will be valid for both activities.
Reporters with special logistic requests for Kennedy, such as space
for satellite trucks, trailers, electrical connections or work space,
must contact Laurel Lichtenberger by May 2 at:
laurel.a.lichtenberger@nasa.
There is no longer free wireless Internet access provided at Kennedy's
news center. Work space in the news center and the news center annex
is provided on a first-come basis, limited to one space per
organization. To set up temporary telephone, fax, ISDN or network
lines, media representatives must make arrangements with BellSouth at
800-213-4988. Reporters must have an assigned seat in the Kennedy
newsroom prior to setting up lines. To obtain an assigned seat,
contact Patricia Christian at:
patricia.christian-1@nasa.gov
Journalists must have a public affairs escort to all other areas of
Kennedy except the Launch Complex 39 cafeteria.
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
Reporters may obtain credentials for NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston by calling the center's newsroom at 281-483-5111 or by
presenting STS-132 mission credentials from Kennedy. Media
representatives planning to cover the mission only from Johnson need
to apply for credentials only at the center. The application deadline
for mission badges is May 6 for all reporters requesting credentials.
Journalists covering the mission from Johnson using Kennedy
credentials must contact the center's newsroom by May 6 to arrange
workspace, phone lines and other logistics. Johnson is responsible
for credentialing media if the shuttle lands at NASA's White Sands
Space Harbor, N.M. If a landing is imminent at White Sands, Johnson
will arrange credentials.
DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER, EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF.
Notice for a shuttle landing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center
in Edwards Air Force Base in California could be short. Domestic
media outlets should consider accrediting Los Angeles-based personnel
who could travel quickly to Dryden.
Deadlines for submitting Dryden accreditation requests are April 19
for non-U.S. media, regardless of citizenship, and May 20 for U.S.
media who are U.S. citizens or who have permanent residency status.
For Dryden media credentials, U.S. citizens representing domestic
media outlets must provide their full name, date of birth, place of
birth, media organization, driver's license number with the name of
the issuing state, and the last six digits of their social security
number.
In addition to the above requirements, foreign media representatives,
regardless of citizenship, must provide data including their
citizenship, visa or passport number and its expiration date. Foreign
nationals representing either domestic or foreign media who have
permanent residency status must provide their alien registration
number and expiration date.
Journalists should fax requests for credentials on company letterhead
to 661-276-3566 or e-mail requests to:
DrydenPAO@nasa.gov
Requests must include a phone number and business e-mail address for
follow-up contact. Journalists who previously requested credentials
will not need to do so again.
NASA PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS:
Kennedy Space Center: Allard Beutel, 321-867-2468,
allard.beutel@nasa.gov
Johnson Space Center: James Hartsfield, 281-483-5111,
james.a.hartsfield@nasa.gov
Dryden Flight Research Center: Leslie Williams, 661-276-3893,
leslie.a.williams@nasa.gov
For information about the International Space Station, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
For information about the STS-132 mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
Source: NASA
