NASA News: NASA Gives News Media Access To Final Shuttle Simulations

HOUSTON -- As the final space shuttle training simulations take place
at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the agency is giving
journalists an unprecedented view of the crew and Mission Control
team training for the upcoming STS-135 mission.

On Thursday, June 16, news media representatives can witness one of
the final launch and ascent simulations conducted by the STS-135
crew, flight controllers and simulation and training teams. The
Johnson badging office opens at 6 a.m. CDT and journalists should
arrive early to be ready for transportation to the training site at 7 a.m.

Reporters will be able to photograph the crew getting into the
motion-based shuttle simulator and gather behind-the-scenes
interviews and footage with the teams that train the astronauts
before launch. Flight controllers who oversee the shuttle's
performance from the ground also will be available.

Filming and photographs will be allowed using only available light
inside both the simulation control rooms and the space shuttle flight
control room in the Mission Control Center. Reporters also will be
able to listen to and record conversations between the crew and
mission control, as well as between the flight director and his team
as they work through mock shuttle launches.

Following the simulation, STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug
Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim and
STS-135 Ascent Flight Director Richard Jones will be available for a
question-and-answer session in mission control. NASA Television will
air the event live at 1 p.m. The training team will be available for
interviews afterward.

On Friday, June 17, the space shuttle and space station flight
controllers will practice the shuttle's final rendezvous and docking
with the International Space Station. Reporters should arrive at
Johnson's badging office by 10:30 a.m. for transportation to the
training facility.

Journalists will have access to Johnson's fixed-based shuttle
simulator and can witness the STS-135 crew preparing for a mock
terminal initiation burn and getting the shuttle ready for docking
with the station. At noon, news media representatives will be
escorted to mission control to tour the space shuttle flight control
room and the space station training version. The flight control team
will be practicing the shuttle's backflip as it approaches the
station and the docking. Reporters will have access to the front of
the room and can listen to the flight director's audio and the
air-to-ground transmissions from the shuttle crew. The simulated
docking is expected to begin at 2 p.m.

Both training events will be recorded for broadcast on NASA TV. The
schedule is below.

June 16
1 p.m. - Question-and-answer session with STS-135 crew and flight
control team in space shuttle flight control room
2 p.m. - Replay of STS-135 ascent simulation

June 17
3:30 p.m. - Replay of STS-135 rendezvous simulation with shuttle and
station flight control teams

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

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the mission and crew, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/STS-135

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NASA Spacecraft to Make Cross Country Voyage

WASHINGTON -- NASA is inviting the public to view a test version of
the agency's next spacecraft that will carry humans into deep space.

The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, which NASA announced last month would
be the agency's deep space crew module based on the original work on
the Orion capsule, will make three stops as it travels by truck from
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California to the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida.

The planned stops are June 15-16 at the Pima Air and Space Museum in
Tucson, Ariz.; June 19-20 at the Bob Bullock Texas State History
Museum in Austin, Texas; and June 24-25 at the Tallahassee Challenger
Learning Center in Florida. The module also will be on display June
29-July 4 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

During a test flight in New Mexico last year, a new launch abort
system propelled the spacecraft off the launch pad to a speed of
almost 445 mph in three seconds. The spacecraft then parachuted to
the desert floor.

The test module eventually will be moved to Kennedy's Operations and
Checkout Facility for further study. The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's
propulsion, life support, thermal protection and avionics systems
ultimately will enable astronauts to travel for extended deep space
missions and return safely to Earth.

Reporters interested in seeing the test spacecraft or scheduling
interviews should contact Dan Huot at daniel.g.huot@nasa.gov or call
the Johnson Space Center newsroom at 281-483-5111.

The public can contact each of the sites directly for information on
seeing the spacecraft and hours of operation. For more information on
the each of the museums, visit:

http://www.pimaair.org

http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/the_museum/about.html

http://www.challengertlh.com/

To learn more about the development of the vehicle, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/mpcv

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