NASA Celebrates 25th Anniversary of First Shuttle Flight

April 6, 2006, NASA today launches a series of events to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first space shuttle flight. On April 12, 1981, shuttle Columbia lifted off with Commander John Young and pilot Robert Crippen. Their mission, known as STS-1, is being remembered as the boldest test flight in history. Several anniversary activities will be broadcast live on NASA Television.

The first event will take place today at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., and will air live on NASA Television beginning at 3 p.m. EDT. The STS-1 crew will address Kennedy employees and field their questions during a one-hour session.

On the actual anniversary date, NASA astronaut Steve Lindsey, commander of the next space shuttle mission, will be available for satellite interviews from the agency’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. EDT. To participate, media should call the center’s newsroom at (281) 483-5111 by 4 p.m. EDT April 11. Lindsey’s interviews and training b-roll will be broadcast live on the NASA TV analog satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 5C, 3800 MHz, vertical polarization, with audio at 6.8 MHz. The b-roll airs at 6:30 a.m. EDT.

At 10 a.m. EDT April 12, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin will join Young and Crippen at Space Center Houston to honor their mission and all those who made it possible. Due to limited seating, the event is not open to the public, but it will be broadcast live on NASA TV. At 11:05 a.m. EDT, the NASA administrator and members of Congress will hold an informal media availability at Space Center Houston.

At 11:45 a.m. EDT, Young and Crippen will participate in a news conference from Johnson’s Teague Auditorium on NASA TV. Reporters at Johnson, Kennedy and NASA Headquarters can ask questions. At 12:30 p.m. EDT, NASA TV will broadcast an event from the Teague where the STS-1 crew, former shuttle managers and flight directors will reminisce about the historic mission for Johnson employees.

Also on April 12, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., will observe e 25th anniversary during an employee event that will feature an STS-1 video on Marshall’s role in developing the propulsion systems for the flight.

NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., hosts a media day beginning at 1 p.m. EDT April 12. Media can tour facilities that support the Space Shuttle Program and the next generation of spacecraft. Also, astronaut Stephen Robinson will address Ames employees at 6 p.m. EDT. He worked as a scientist at Ames during STS-1 and flew on Space Shuttle Discovery in July. At 10 p.m. EDT, the public is invited to the center to hear Robinson’s experiences. Contact: Michael Mewhinney, Ames public affairs, at (650) 604-3937

Other NASA facilities hold events on other dates. NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., holds a media briefing at 1 p.m. EDT April 10 aboard NASA’s modified 747 shuttle carrier aircraft. Current and former NASA and Air Force employees will discuss the historic STS-1 landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Media interested in participating must submit a request by Thursday. Contact: Alan Brown, Dryden public affairs, at (661) 276-2665 or alan.brown@nasa.gov

The NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va., unveils a shuttle sculpture at 10 a.m. April 14. Wallops provided range-safety support during the STS-1 launch and tracked the shuttle during the mission. Contact: Keith Koehler, Wallops public affairs, at (757) 824-1579

NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, will hold a briefing at 11 a.m. EDT April 15 with a NASA aerospace engineer on what it takes to put a shuttle into orbit.

NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Miss., invites the media to a test-firing of a space shuttle main engine at 3 p.m. EDT April 21. The event marks both the STS-1 anniversary and the 40th anniversary of the first rocket engine static test-firing on the A-2 Test Stand. The stand was modified to test all shuttle main engines, including those which powered STS-1. Contact: Paul Foerman, Stennis public affairs, at (228) 688-1880

NASA TV will begin airing a Video File segment including footage of the STS-1 mission on Monday, April 10. NASA TV’s Public, Education and Media channels are available on an MPEG-2 digital C-band signal accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. In Alaska and Hawaii, they’re on AMC-7 at 137 degrees west longitude, transponder 18C, at 4060 MHz, horizontal polarization. For digital downlink information on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

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Katherine Trinidad

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