NASA Schedules Shuttle Return to Flight Crew Member TV Interviews

NASA Schedules Shuttle Return to Flight Crew Member TV Interviews

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Veteran Astronaut Andy Thomas is available for live interviews via satellite from 7 to 9 a.m. EST Friday, Feb. 25. Thomas will fly on the first Space Shuttle mission since the Columbia accident.

Media interested in interviewing Thomas: Contact Karen Svetaka, Johnson Space Center newsroom at: 281/483-8684 (office) or 713/708-1024 (pager) NLT 5 p.m. EST Thursday.

Thomas is a mission specialist aboard Shuttle Discovery's 12-day flight, targeted for launch in mid-May. The mission (STS-114) is Thomas' fourth on a Shuttle. The seven-member crew will test new Shuttle safety improvements; deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Thomas is the primary operator for the Shuttle's robotic arm. It will use a new boom extension to perform an unprecedented inspection of the orbiter's heat shield. He will also choreograph three scheduled spacewalks from inside the Shuttle.

Thomas was born in Adelaide, Australia and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He received a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Adelaide, South Australia, in 1978. Thomas began his work with NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1989 and was selected as an astronaut in 1992. For biographical information, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/thomas-a.html

NASA TV is available on the Web and via satellite in the continental U.S. on AMC-6, Transponder 9C, C-Band, at 72 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. In Alaska and Hawaii, NASA TV is available on AMC-7, Transponder 18C, C-Band, at 137 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 4060.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz.

NASA TV is available live on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about NASA's Return to Flight efforts and the STS-114 mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/


Source: NASA

CONTACT: Allard Beutel, Headquarters, Washington, +1-202-358-4769, or
James Hartsfield, Johnson Space Center, Houston, +1-281-483-5111, both of
NASA

Web site: http://www.nasa.gov/
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight


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