The space
shuttle Discovery crew is expected to complete its 14-day flight to the
International Space Station with a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
in Florida at 11:15 a.m. EDT on Saturday, June 14.
The STS-124 mission began May 31 and delivered two new sections of the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory to the station. During
three spacewalks, the crew installed the Japanese Pressurized Module, or
JPM, and Kibo's robotic arm system. Kibo's logistics module, which had been
attached temporarily to the Harmony node during the STS-123 mission in
March, was attached to the JPM. The flight also delivered station resident
Greg Chamitoff to the outpost. Discovery will return with Garrett Reisman,
who spent three months aboard the complex.
NASA managers will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before
permitting Discovery to return to Earth. Saturday landing opportunities at
Kennedy are at 11:15 a.m. and 12:50 p.m. Two hours after landing, NASA
officials will hold a media briefing to discuss the mission. The
participants will be:
- Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space Operations
- Kaoru Mamiya, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Vice President
- Mike Leinbach, NASA Space Shuttle Launch Director
After touchdown, the astronauts will undergo physical examinations and
meet with their families. The STS-124 crew is expected to hold a news
conference at 4:15 p.m. Saturday. Both news events will be broadcast live
on NASA Television. Media interested in participating must pick-up their
accreditation badges on Saturday.
The Kennedy News Center will open for landing activities at 7 a.m.
Saturday and close at 6 p.m. The STS-124 media badges are in effect through
landing. The media accreditation building on State Road 3 will be open on
Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The last bus will depart from the news
center for the Shuttle Landing Facility one hour before landing.
If landing is diverted to one of the shuttle's backup runways after
Saturday, media should call the Dryden public affairs office at
661-276-3449 or the White Sands Missile Range public affairs office at
505-678-1134. Dryden has limited facilities available to previously
accredited journalists for landings at Edwards Air Force Base. Journalists
with STS-124 mission badges from NASA will be issued credentials at White
Sands Missile Range.
SOURCE NASA
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