NASA Schedules News Conference About Next Space Shuttle Launch

NASA managers will hold a news conference no earlier than 5 p.m. CST on Monday, Nov. 22, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to discuss the next space shuttle mission, STS-133, which was delayed on Nov. 5.

NASA officials will announce the status of repairs to a leaking hydrogen system that caused the initial delay. They also will discuss the cracks on the tops of two, 21-foot-long support beams, called stringers, on the exterior of the shuttle’s external fuel tank in an area known as the intertank. The next launch window for space shuttle Discovery and six NASA astronauts begins Nov. 30.

The briefing participants are:

— Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations
— John Shannon, Space Shuttle Program manager

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 issued specifically for the STS-133 mission. Journalists planning to use the phone bridge must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no earlier than 4:45 p.m. Newsroom personnel will verify credentials and transfer reporters to the phone bridge. Capacity is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Live status updates will be provided during the meeting via the NASA News Twitter feed. To access the feed, go to the nasa.gov homepage or visit:
http://www.twitter.com/nasa

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