Preflight Briefings on Second Expedition to International Space Station

After more than four months in orbit, it’s time for
Expedition One to come to a close and make way for the second
expedition to the International Space Station during the next
flight of Space Shuttle Discovery.

The first-ever crew exchange aboard the station will be the
focus of the STS-102 preflight briefings, now scheduled for
Wednesday, Feb. 28, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston,
TX.

During the STS-102 mission, Discovery will carry the
Expedition Two crew – Russian Commander Yury Usachev and
American Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms – to the
orbiting science outpost.

At the end of the flight, Discovery brings the Expedition One
crew home. American Commander Bill Shepherd and Russian
cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev return after a
pioneering four-month mission that prepared the space station
for scientific research.

STS-102 is commanded by veteran astronaut Jim Wetherbee, who
will be joined by Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Andy
Thomas and Paul Richards.

Discovery’s flight will also feature the debut of the Italian-
built, NASA-owned Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
(MPLM), the first of three cargo-carrying vessels containing
scientific racks and other supplies for the space station.

The briefings will begin with an overview of the Space Station
Program at 9 a.m. EST. An STS-102 mission overview briefing
follows at 10 a.m., with a briefing on the Leonardo Multi-
Purpose Logistics Module at 11:30 a.m., followed at noon by
the NASA Television Video File. A briefing about the space
walks scheduled for the STS-102 mission is planned for 12:30
p.m. EST, followed by an overview of the Expedition Two
mission and scientific activities at 1:30 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m., the Expedition Two crew will discuss their
activities aboard the space station, before joining the STS-
102 astronauts for a combined crew news conference at 3:30
p.m.

Round-robin interviews with all seven crew members will follow
the joint crew conference, for reporters in attendance at
Johnson, and by phone for those who make advance arrangements.
The round-robin interviews will not be televised. Space may be
limited and reporters planning to attend the preflight
briefings and participate in the round-robin interviews must
contact the JSC newsroom at 281/483-5111 by close of business
on Feb. 23, 2001.

NASA Television is available on GE-2, Transponder 9C at 85
degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, with a
frequency of 3880 MHz, and audio of 6.8 MHz.

STS-102 / EXPEDITION TWO PREFLIGHT BRIEFINGS

(all times are EST)

9:00 a.m. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION OVERVIEW
Tommy Holloway, ISS Program Manager, Johnson

Bob Cabana, ISS Deputy Manager for International
Relations, Johnson

10:00 a.m. STS-102 MISSION OVERVIEW

John Shannon, STS-102 Lead Flight Director, Johnson

Rick LaBrode, ISS Lead Flight Director, Johnson

Bernestine Dickey, STS-102 Launch Package Manager,
Johnson

11:30 a.m. MULTI-PURPOSE LOGISTICS MODULE OVERVIEW

Silvana Rabbia, MPLM Program Manager, Italian Space
Agency (ASI)

12:00 p.m. NASA TELEVISION VIDEO FILE

(from NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC)

12:30 p.m. STS-102 EVA OVERVIEW

Kieth Johnson, STS-102 Lead EVA Officer, Johnson

1:30 p.m. EXPEDITION TWO AND SCIENCE OVERVIEW

Merri Sanchez, Expedition Two Increment Manager, Johnson

John Uri, Increment Scientist, Johnson

Lybrease Woodard, Lead Payload Operations Director, NASA

Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL

2:30 p.m. EXPEDITION TWO CREW NEWS CONFERENCE

Yury Usachev, Expedition Two Commander (Rosaviakosmos)

Jim Voss, Flight Engineer One (NASA)

Susan Helms, Flight Engineer Two (NASA)

3:30 p.m. JOINT CREW NEWS CONFERENCE

Jim Wetherbee, Commander

Jim Kelly, Pilot

Andy Thomas, Mission Specialist 1 (MS 1)

Paul Richards, Mission Specialist 2 (MS 2)

Jim Voss, Mission Specialist 3 (MS 3)

Susan Helms, Mission Specialist 4 (MS 4)

Yury Usachev, Mission Specialist 5 (MS 5)

4:30 p.m. ROUND-ROBIN INTERVIEWS
(Not seen on NASA Television)