June 24, 2013

Michael Curie Kennedy Space Center, Fla 321-867-2468 michael curie@nasa gov

RELEASE: M16-13

NASA INVITES MEDIA TO STATUS UPDATES ON FUTURE HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT PROGRAMS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla -- Media representatives are invited to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, June 27, for updates about the agency’s human spaceflight programs Journalists will visit the Operations and Checkout Building at 11 a m EDT for a status briefing on NASA’s Orion, Space Launch System and Ground Systems Development and Operations programs At 1 p m , media will receive an update at Kennedy’s Press Site on the progress of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program

Participants in the 11 a m status briefing are:

-- Scott Wilson, manager of Orion Production Operations, NASA Kennedy -- Jules Schneider, manager of Orion Production Operations, Lockheed Martin -- Tom Erdman, Space Launch System, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Kennedy Resident office -- Jeremy Parsons, chief of Operations Integration Office, Ground Systems Development and Operations Program (GSDO), NASA Kennedy

Participants in the 1 p m update briefing are:

-- Ed Mango, Commercial Crew Program manager, NASA Kennedy -- Mike Good, astronaut, NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston Media must be at Kennedy's press site by 10:15 a m for transportation to the Operations & Checkout Building

News media without Kennedy accreditation need to apply for credentials by noon on June 26 International media accreditation for this event is closed Media must apply for credentials online at:

https://media ksc nasa gov

Badges for the events may be picked up at the Kennedy Space Center Badging Office on State Road 405

In a revamped area of the Operations and Checkout building, NASA employees and Lockheed Martin contractors are working side by side to prepare Orion for Exploration Flight Test-1 next year Orion is designed to take U S astronauts farther into space than ever before

The Orion spacecraft, managed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, will be launched on missions by the agency's heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS), an entirely new capability for human exploration, beginning in 2017 Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft from Kennedy for crew and cargo missions, SLS will expand human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala , manages SLS Kennedy manages the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program, which is preparing to process and launch the next-generation vehicles and spacecraft designed to achieve NASA's goals for space exploration

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, managed at Kennedy, is an innovative partnership to help the aerospace industry in the United States develop space transportation systems that can safely launch astronauts to the International Space Station and other low-Earth orbit destinations

For more information about NASA's Orion, SLS, and GSDO programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov/exploration

For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit:

http://www nasa gov/commercialcrew

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