NASA Updates Media Accreditation Deadlines for Next Shuttle Mission

WASHINGTON - NASA is adjusting the media accreditation deadlines for the upcoming space shuttle mission, STS-117. Shuttle Atlantis is targeted to launch June 8 to begin an 11-day mission to the International Space Station.

All U.S. and international media must apply for credentials to attend the liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida or to cover the mission from other NASA centers. To be accredited, media must work for legitimate, verifiable news-gathering organizations. Reporters may need to submit requests for credentials at multiple NASA facilities.

Additional time may be required to process accreditation requests by journalists from certain designated countries. Designated countries include those with which the United States has no diplomatic relations, are on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, are under U.S. sanction or embargo, or which raise proliferation concerns. Please contact the accrediting NASA center for details. Journalists should confirm they have been accredited before they travel.

No substitutions of credentials are allowed at any NASA facility. If the STS-117 launch is delayed, the deadline for domestic media may be extended on a day-by-day basis.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
Media applying for credentials at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., should submit requests via the Web at https://media.ksc.nasa.gov. Media must use work, not personal e-mail addresses, when applying for credentials. Once accreditation is approved, applicants will receive confirmation via e-mail. All media must apply by May 31.

Media with special logistic requests for Kennedy Space Center, such as space for trailers, electrical connections or work stations in the newsroom, must contact Laurel Lichtenberger at laurel.a.lichtenberger@nasa.gov by May 31.

Work stations are provided on a first-come basis. To set up temporary telephone, fax, ISDN or network lines, media must make arrangements with BellSouth at 800-213-4988. Media must have an assigned seat in the Kennedy newsroom prior to setting up lines. Media must have a public affairs escort to any other Kennedy area except the Launch Complex 39 cafeteria.

Kennedy credentials will be honored during the STS-117 mission at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, and NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. Media must contact NASA Dryden public affairs for access to Edwards.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
Media may obtain Johnson Space Flight Center credentials by calling the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or present Kennedy STS-117 mission credentials. Media planning to cover the mission only from Johnson need apply for credentials only at Johnson. Deadlines for submitting Johnson Space Center accreditation requests are May 15 for non-U.S. media, regardless of citizenship, and June 1 for U.S. media who are U.S. citizens.

Media covering the mission from Johnson using Kennedy credentials must contact the Johnson newsroom by March 7 to arrange workspace, phone lines and other logistics. Johnson is responsible for credentialing media if the shuttle lands at White Sands Space Harbor, N.M. If a landing is imminent at White Sands, Johnson will arrange credentials.

DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER
Notice for a space shuttle landing at Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., could be short. National media should consider accrediting Los Angeles-based personnel who could travel quickly to Dryden. Deadlines for submitting Dryden Flight Research Center accreditation requests are May 11 for non-U.S. media, regardless of citizenship, and June 13 for U.S. media who are U.S. citizens.

For Dryden media credentials, U.S. citizens representing domestic media must provide their full name, date of birth, place of birth, media organization, the last six digits of their social security number and driver’s license number, including the name of the issuing state.

In addition to the above requirements, foreign media representatives, regardless of citizenship, must provide data including their citizenship, visa or passport number, expiration date, and alien registration number if applicable.

Media should fax requests for credentials on company letterhead to 661-276-3566. E-mailed requests to pao@dfrc.nasa.gov are acceptable for media who have been accredited at Dryden within the past year. Requests must include a phone number and business e-mail address for follow-up contact.