Media Opportunities with STS-98 Crew for this Week’s Countdown Test

John F. Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899

AC 321 867-2468

NASA Contact: Joel Wells

KSC Release No. 01 – 01

The crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-98, the 102nd mission in the
history of Shuttle flight, will be at Kennedy Space Center this week for the
Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). The crew is scheduled to
arrive at KSC Wednesday evening.

The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each Space Shuttle flight,
providing the crew an opportunity to participate in simulated countdown
activities. The TCDT ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a
simulated main engine cut-off. The crew also spends time undergoing
emergency egress training exercises at the pad and has an opportunity to
view and inspect the payloads in the orbiter’s payload bay.

The following events are available for media to attend during the
STS-98 TCDT.

* Thursday, Jan. 4 — Media are invited to attend a photo event
featuring the crew of STS-98 as they practice driving an armored personnel
carrier (M113). This transport is designed to assist the crew if an
emergency egress is required away from the pad. Media should be at the KSC
Press Site at 9:45 a.m. for transport to the M113 location.

* Friday, Jan. 5 — Media representatives will have an opportunity to
speak informally with and photograph the crew at Launch Pad 39A. Media
interested in participating in this question and answer session should be at
the KSC Press Site by 12:30 p.m. for transport to the pad. This question and
answer session will be a local media event only. However, the session will
be covered live on NASA TV beginning at about 1:30 p.m.

On Saturday, the crew will enter the orbiter Atlantis fully suited for the
final hours of the practice countdown, including the simulated Shuttle main
engine ignition and cut-off.

Following TCDT, the crew will depart KSC on Sunday for final mission
preparations in Houston, TX.

Atlantis, on mission STS-98, is targeted for launch from Kennedy Space
Center no earlier than Jan. 19. The flight is scheduled to last 11 days and
will feature Atlantis docking with the International Space Station (ISS).
Atlantis will deliver to ISS the U.S. Science Laboratory “Destiny”.

Crew members for mission STS-98 are: Commander Ken Cockrell; Pilot
Mark Polansky; and Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam, Thomas Jones, Marsha
Ivins.