NASA Invites Media To Two Historic Events At Kennedy Space Center

Michael Curie

Headquarters, Washington

Candrea Thomas

Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Reporters are invited to two historic Space Shuttle Program events at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 28. The final solid rocket booster (SRB) assembly will depart the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility, and the external fuel tank for the last planned shuttle flight will be removed from the barge that carried the tank from Louisiana.

NASA will provide video and still images of both events. The SRB event, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. EDT, consists of a ceremony, photo opportunity, and media interview opportunities with a booster project expert. At approximately 10:30 a.m., there will be a photo opportunity of the tank being towed off the Pegasus barge and into Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building, and interviews with External Tank/Solid Rocket Booster Vehicle Manager Alicia Mendoza. Reporters must arrive at Kennedy's news center by 8 a.m. for transportation to cover the SRB event. Journalists will be located in the turn basin parking lot for the tank opportunity.

The final train carrying shuttle solid rocket booster segments arrived at Kennedy on May 27. The segment cars travelled across the country after departing the ATK solid rocket booster plant in Promontory, Utah. ATK Launch Systems manufactures and tests the solid rocket motors. The assembly would be used in the solid rocket boosters designated for shuttle Atlantis' STS-335 rescue mission, in the unlikely event it was needed.

The tank, designated ET-122, will support shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission targeted for launch in February. It departed NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana on Sept. 21, to begin the six-day, 900-mile sea journey. The barge will arrive at Kennedy on Sept. 27. The tank will be offloaded on Sept. 28.

International media accreditation is closed for these events. U.S. reporters without permanent Kennedy credentials must apply for accreditation by noon, Sept. 27.

Reporters requesting accreditation must apply online at https://media.ksc.nasa.gov.

Badges for the events may be picked up Sept. 28 starting at 6 a.m. at the Kennedy Space Center Badging Office on State Road 405.

Video highlights of the tank move will air on NASA Television's Video File Tuesday afternoon. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

Images of the events will be posted on Kennedy's Media Gallery at http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov.

For more information about the Space Shuttle Program and missions, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle.

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