NASA Offers Satellite Interviews Inside New Space Station Module; The Module Will Carry a Human-like Robot to Orbit in November

Michael Curie

Headquarters, Washington

Tracy Young
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA is offering live satellite interviews on Thursday, Sept. 16, from inside the next component of the International Space Station. The Permanent Multipurpose Module, or PMM, will launch in November aboard space shuttle Discovery.

Scott Higginbotham, payloads manager for Discovery’s STS-133 mission, will conduct the interviews from the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. To maintain a pristine environment inside the PMM, Higginbotham will be dressed in protective blue clothing, known as a “bunny suit,” that prevents even the smallest dust particles from causing contamination.

Interview slots are available from 6 - 9 a.m. EDT. To schedule interviews, media should contact Alysia Lee at 321-861-3530 or alysia.k.lee@nasa.gov by noon on Wednesday, Sept. 15.

The PMM will carry a variety of spare parts and supplies, as well as Robonaut 2, or R2, the first human-like robot in space. The PMM can support experiments in fluid physics, materials science, biology, biotechnology and other microgravity experiments. A prepackaged video of Higginbotham providing a tour of the PMM and video b-roll of the PMM's interior will air on NASA TV Sept. 16 from 5:30 - 6 a.m., and between interviews when possible.

Higginbotham has worked for NASA since 1987, beginning his career in the Space Shuttle Program as a mechanical systems engineer for the external fuel tank. He currently is a mission manager in the International Space Station and Spacecraft Processing Directorate responsible for leading teams of engineers and technicians that assemble and test experiments, satellites, and station components to fly aboard the shuttle.

The NASA Television Live Interview Media Outlet channel will be used for the interviews. The channel is a digital satellite C-band downlink by uplink provider Americom. It is on satellite AMC 3, transponder 9C, located at 87 degrees west, downlink frequency 3865.5 Mhz based on a standard C-band, horizontal downlink polarity. FEC is 3/4, data rate is 6.0 Mbps, symbol rate is 4.3404 Msps, transmission DVB-S, 4:2:0.

The interviews also will air live on NASA TV. For streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.