NASA Offers Media Access To Lunar-Bound Spacecraft

[KSC News Center <ksc@mediaservices.nasa.gov>]

Aug. 4, 2011

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
george.h.diller@nasa.gov 

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov 

MEDIA ADVISORY: M28-11

NASA OFFERS MEDIA ACCESS TO LUNAR-BOUND SPACECRAFT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's GRAIL spacecraft, scheduled to launch 
to the moon in September, will be the focus of a media opportunity on 
Thursday, Aug. 11, at 9:30 a.m. EDT at the Astrotech Space Operations 
facility in Titusville, Fla. The event is an opportunity to 
photograph the two GRAIL spacecraft and interview project and launch 
program officials.

GRAIL, short for the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, will be 
seen just prior to being transported to NASA's Pad 17-B at nearby 
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and attached to the United Launch 
Alliance Delta II 7920-H expendable launch vehicle rocket.

The spacecraft's primary science objectives are to determine the 
structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance 
understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. 

For the event, U.S. news media representatives may proceed directly to 
Astrotech located in the Spaceport Florida Industrial Park, 1515 
Chaffee Drive, Titusville. Access through the gate will start at 9:30 
a.m. The event begins at 9:45 a.m.

Media identification and government photo identification, such as a 
driver's license or passport, will be required for access to 
Astrotech. Journalists who are foreign nationals may attend only if 
they possess a permanently issued NASA media accreditation picture 
badge from the Kennedy Space Center, or a Kennedy issued white badge 
with an affixed green dot.

Media should call Kennedy's update phone line at 321-867-2525 on 
Wednesday evening to assure the status of the event has not changed.

For the media event, procedures for optically sensitive spacecraft 
must be followed by individuals entering the cleanroom where the 
spacecraft is being prepared for launch. Full cleanroom attire (bunny 
suits) must be worn and will be furnished. Please do not wear 
perfume, cologne or makeup. Long pants and closed-toe shoes must be 
worn, no shorts or skirts.

Photographers will need to clean camera equipment under the 
supervision of contamination-control specialists. All camera 
equipment must be self-contained; no portable lights can be allowed. 
Non-essential equipment such as suede, leather or vinyl camera bags 
or other carrying cases must be left outside the cleanroom. No 
notebook paper, pencils or conventional pens are permitted; special 
pens and cleanroom paper will be provided. No food, tobacco, chewing 
gum, lighters, matches or pocketknives will be allowed.

Flash photography cannot be permitted. There is adequate metal halide 
lighting in the facility for photography (white with slight green 
cast; suggested exposure for ISO-ASA 400 is 1/30 sec. at f/5.6). Use 
of wireless microphones and cellular telephones are not allowed 
inside the cleanroom. 

Project management for GRAIL is the responsibility of NASA's Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The mission is led by the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Mass. The 
launch is managed by NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy 
Space Center. Spokespersons from JPL, spacecraft builder Lockheed 
Martin, and the Launch Services Program will be available for 
questions and interviews.

For more information about the GRAIL mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/grail 

	
-end-



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