NASA Schedules News Conference About Space Shuttle Status

HOUSTON -- NASA managers will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. CST
Tuesday, Jan. 11, at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
They will discuss Discovery's STS-133 flight to the International
Space Station and talk about the progress of repairs since the
shuttle's original launch date last November.

The briefing participants are:

-- Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations
-- John Shannon, Space Shuttle Program manager
-- Mike Suffredini, International Space Station Program manager

Space Shuttle Program managers briefed senior NASA officials Monday
about the status of repairs and engineering evaluations associated
with cracks found on 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets called
stringers on the shuttle's external fuel tank. Managers approved
installing small strips of metal, called radius blocks, on the tank's
remaining stringers. Testing and analysis show the modification will
provide additional strength to the stringers.

The news conference will air live on NASA Television and the agency's
website. Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA centers
or by calling into a phone bridge. To use the phone bridge, reporters
must have valid media credentials issued by a NASA center or
specifically for the STS-133 mission. Journalists planning to use the
phone bridge must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no
later than 12:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Newsroom personnel will verify credentials and transfer reporters to
the phone bridge. Capacity is limited and available on a first-come,
first-served basis.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For STS-133 crew and mission information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

Source: NASA

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