George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
george.h.diller@nasa.gov
Susan Hendrix
Goddard Space Flight Center, Md.
301-286-7745
susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov
Rachel Hoover
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-930-6149
rachel.hoover@nasa.gov
MEDIA ADVISORY: M15-13
NASA SCHEDULES NEWS MEDIA EVENTS FOR IRIS LAUNCH
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph
(IRIS) mission is scheduled to launch Wednesday, June 26, from
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on an Orbital Sciences Corp.
Pegasus XL rocket. Launch is targeted for 7:27 p.m. PDT (10:27 p.m.
EDT) in the middle of a five-minute launch window.
The drop of the Pegasus from Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft will
occur over the Pacific Ocean at an altitude of 39,000 feet,
approximately 100 miles northwest of Vandenberg off the central coast
of California, south of Big Sur. The Pegasus will be deployed from
the L-1011 on a southerly launch azimuth of 198.6 degrees. The rocket
will place IRIS into a sun-synchronous polar orbit of 387.5 by 418.7
miles (620 by 670 km) at an inclination of 97.89 degrees.
IRIS is a NASA Small Explorer Mission to observe how solar material
moves, gathers energy and heats up as it travels through a
little-understood region in the sun's lower atmosphere. This
interface region between the sun's photosphere and corona powers its
dynamic million-degree atmosphere and drives the solar wind. The
interface region also is where most of the sun's ultraviolet emission
is generated that impacts the near-Earth space environment and
Earth's climate.
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
News media desiring accreditation for the prelaunch and launch
activities for IRIS should fax their requests on news organization
letterhead to:
2nd Lt. Kaylee Ausbun
30th Space Wing Public Affairs Office
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Telephone: 805-606-3595
Fax: 805-606-4571
Email: kaylee.ausbun@us.af.mil
Information required for U.S. media includes full legal name, date of
birth and media affiliation. A valid legal photo identification will
be required upon arrival at Vandenberg.
PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE
Tuesday, June 25: NASA will host a prelaunch news conference and
mission briefing scheduled to begin at noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT) in the
second-floor conference room of the NASA Vandenberg Resident Office,
Building 840, at Vandenberg Air Force Base. NASA Television will air
the briefing live with question-and-answer capability available from
other NASA field centers. Media also can ask questions via Twitter by
using the hashtag #askNASA during the briefings.
Participating in the prelaunch news conference will be:
-Geoffrey Yoder, Deputy Associate Administrator for Programs, Science
Mission Directorate
NASA Headquarters, Washington
-Tim Dunn, NASA Launch Director/NASA Launch Manager
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
-Bryan Baldwin, Pegasus Launch Vehicle Program Director
Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va.
-Gary Kushner, IRIS Project Manager
Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Palo Alto, Calif.
-Maj. Erin Willingham, Launch Weather Officer
U.S. Air Force 30th Weather Squadron, Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Calif.
IRIS MISSION BRIEFING
The IRIS mission briefing will immediately follow the prelaunch news
conference. Participants will include:
-Jeffrey Newmark, IRIS Program Scientist
NASA Headquarters, Washington
-Alan Title, IRIS Principal Investigator, Lockheed Martin
Advanced Technology Center Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory
Following the two briefings, news media will be taken to the
Vandenberg Air Force Base runway to see the Orbital Sciences L-1011
carrier aircraft with the Pegasus/IRIS rocket ready for launch.
Spokespersons will be on hand to answer questions and for interviews.
News media will be permitted to board the aircraft.
NEWS MEDIA COVERAGE OF IRIS EVENTS
Tuesday, June 25: News media desiring to cover the IRIS prelaunch news
conference and mission science briefing should meet at the south gate
of Vandenberg Air Force Base on California State Road 246 west of
Lompoc at 11:30 a.m. PDT for an escort to the NASA Vandenberg
Resident Office in Building 840. After the briefings end at
approximately 1:30 p.m., media who desire to see the Pegasus with
IRIS and tour Orbital's L-1011 "Stargazer" carrier aircraft will be
taken to the Vandenberg Air Force Base runway.
Wednesday, June 26: News media representatives should meet at the
Vandenberg main gate at 5:45 p.m. PDT to be escorted to the
Vandenberg Air Force Base runway to view the departure of the L-1011
aircraft at 6:27 p.m. Media then will be taken to the second-floor
conference room of the NASA Resident Office in Building 840 on South
Vandenberg Air Force Base. From there, media may follow the flight
and launch of Pegasus/IRIS.
A post-launch news conference will not be held.
NASA TELEVISON LAUNCH COVERAGE
Live coverage on NASA Television of the IRIS launch will begin at 6
p.m. PDT (9 p.m. EDT) June 26. There will be live TV coverage of the
L-1011 departure at 6:27 p.m., as well as the deployment of the
Pegasus XL from the L-1011 carrier aircraft at approximately 7:27
p.m. PDT (10:27 p.m. EDT). Spacecraft separation from the Pegasus
vehicle occurs 13 minutes after launch. Live audio of the launch
coverage and the Pegasus/IRIS briefings will be available on the "V"
circuits at 321-867-1220, -1240, and -1260.
For NASA TV launch coverage information and schedules on the Internet,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntvFor information on receiving NASA TV, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/digital.htmlVOICE CIRCUIT COVERAGE
Audio only of the news conference and the launch coverage will be
carried on the NASA "V" circuits, which may be accessed by dialing
321-867-1220, -1240 or -1260. On launch day, "mission audio," the
launch conductor's countdown activities and communication with the
aircraft without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on
321-867-7135 starting at 5:30 p.m. PDT (8:30 p.m. EDT).
NASA WEB PRELAUNCH AND LAUNCH COVERAGE
Extensive prelaunch and launch day coverage of the IRIS spacecraft
aboard a Pegasus XL rocket will be available on NASA's home page at:
http://www.nasa.govA prelaunch webcast for the IRIS mission will be streamed on NASA's
website at 9 a.m. PDT (noon EDT) Tuesday, June 25. Live countdown
coverage through NASA's Launch Blog begins at 6 p.m. PDT (9 p.m. EDT)
on Wednesday, June 26. Coverage features live updates as countdown
milestones occur, as well as streaming video clips highlighting
launch preparations and the launch. A launch highlight podcast will
be posted approximately 30 minutes after launch. For questions about
countdown coverage, contact Jeanne Ryba at 321-867-7824.
To view the webcast and the blog or to learn more about the IRIS
mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/irisGOOGLE+ HANGOUT
NASA also will host a Google+ Hangout at 1:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June
25, on the IRIS mission. Social media followers may submit questions
on Twitter and Google+ in advance and during the event using the
hashtag #askNASA.
Before the hangout begins, NASA will open a thread on its Facebook
page where questions may be posted. The hangout can be viewed live on
NASA's Google+ page, the NASA Television YouTube channel or NASA TV.
For more information and to join the hangout, visit:
http://go.nasa.gov/17039WYIRIS AND PEGASUS XL NEWS CENTER
The IRIS News Center at Kennedy's Vandenberg Resident Office will be
staffed starting June 24 and may be reached between 8 a.m. and 4:30
p.m. PDT at 805-605-3051. A recorded status report also will be
available at that time at 805-734-2693. The U.S. Air Force 30th Space
Wing Public Affairs Office may be reached at 805-606-3595.
NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is
responsible for launch vehicle/spacecraft integration and launch
countdown management. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md., is responsible for the Small Explorers Program.
NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., is responsible
for mission operations and ground data systems. Lockheed Martin's
Advanced Technology Center Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo
Alto, Calif., designed and built the IRIS spacecraft and instrument.
Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., is responsible for providing
the Pegasus XL launch service to NASA.
