Preflight Briefings for Hubble Servicing Mission Set for Nov. 9
Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1726)
Eileen Hawley
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111)
NOTE TO EDITORS: N99-55
PREFLIGHT BRIEFINGS FOR HUBBLE SERVICING MISSION SET FOR NOV. 9
Background briefings on the upcoming Space Shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope will
be held on Tuesday, Nov. 9.
The mission, designated STS-103, will mark the third visit of a Space Shuttle crew to Hubble and
features four scheduled spacewalks by two teams of astronauts. Each spacewalk will last approximately
six hours as the astronauts install new gyroscopes, upgraded sensors, computers and recorders. The
teams also will install a new transmitter, add voltage/temperature improvement kits for the telescope’s
batteries, and begin repair of the insulation on the telescope’s outer surface, which has deteriorated during
nine years in orbit.
The briefings will begin at 8 a.m. CST with an overview of the mission objectives and spacewalk tasks.
That will be followed at 10 a.m. by a briefing on Hubble hardware and science originating from NASA
Headquarters. Following the NASA Video File at noon, the STS-103 astronauts will hold their press
conference at 2 p.m. All of the briefings will be carried live on NASA Television.
NASA Television is available through the GE-2 satellite, transponder 9C, located at 85 degrees West
longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 MHz, and audio at 6.8 MHz.
Following the mission briefings, round-robin interviews with the crewmembers will be held for reporters
at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and for those reporters who make advance arrangements to
participate by telephone. Media wishing to participate in the round-robin interviews must fax their request
to the Johnson Newsroom by close of business on Friday, Nov. 5. The fax number is 281/483-2000.
STS-103 PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFINGS
Tuesday, Nov. 9, 1999
(All times shown are CST)
8 a.m. Mission Overview and Spacewalk Briefing
Linda Ham, Lead Flight Director, Johnson Space Center
Keith Johnson, Lead EVA Officer, Johnson Space Center
10 a.m. Hubble Space Telescope Payload and Science Briefing
Dr. Edward Weiler; Associate Administrator for Space Science; NASA Headquarters; Washington, DC
Dr. John Campbell; Hubble Project Manager; Goddard Space Flight Center; Greenbelt, MD
Debra Henretty; Engineer; Guidance, Navigation and Control Center; Goddard Space Flight Center
Dr. Anne Kinney; Director, Astronomical Search for Origins; NASA Headquarters
11 a.m. NASA TV Video File
1 p.m. STS-103 Crew Press Conference
Curt Brown, Commander
Scott Kelly, Pilot
Steve Smith, Payload Commander, Mission Specialist (MS) 1
Jean-Francois Clervoy, MS2
John Grunsfeld, MS3
Mike Foale, MS4
Claude Nicollier, MS5
2 p.m. STS-103 Crew Round-Robin Interviews
These interviews will not be carried on NASA TV.
