[sarex] EXP 8 & 9 STATUS N04-50

[Arthur Z Rowe <n1orc@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Submitted by Arthur - N1ORC - Amsar #31468

March 29, 2004

Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington
202/358-1272

James A. Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281/483-5111



NOTE TO EDITORS: #N04-050

NASA PROVIDES EXTENSIVE COVERAGE OF CREW EXCHANGE

NASA Television will carry the launch of Expedition 9, the next 
residents of the International Space Station, and return of the current 
crew, as well as numerous other events, over the next several weeks.

Russian Gennady Padalka is the Expedition 9 Commander. NASA astronaut 
Mike Fincke is flight engineer and space station science officer. The 
Expedition 9 crew is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, 
Kazakhstan on April 18 at approximately 11:19 p.m. EDT, aboard a Soyuz 
vehicle for the two-day trip.

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andre Kuipers of the Netherlands 
will join them. Kuipers is flying to the Station for nine days of 
scientific research under a commercial agreement between ESA and the 
Russian Federal Space Agency.

Kuipers, along with Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Science Officer Mike 
Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri, will return to Earth April 
29 on the Soyuz vehicle docked to the Station. Foale and Kaleri have 
lived and worked in orbit since last October.

NASA TV is available on AMC-9, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 85 
degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is 
vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. For information about NASA 
TV on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

In addition to video highlights of crew pre-launch activities airing 
regularly on the NASA TV Video File, major programming events 
include:(all times Eastern)

Wednesday, March 31: 9 a.m. EST- Expedition 9/ESA Crew News Conference 
from Star City, Russia (taped)

Sunday, April 18: 9 a.m. EDT- Expedition 9/ESA Final Crew Pre-launch 
News Conference from Baikonur, Kazakhstan (taped)

10:30 p.m. EDT - Expedition 9/ESA Launch coverage (live)(Launch 
scheduled at 11:19 p.m. EDT)

Wednesday, April 21: Midnight EDT - Expedition 9/ESA International Space 
Station Docking coverage (live) (Docking scheduled at 1 a.m. EDT)

Thursday, April 29: 1 p.m. EDT - Expedition 8/ESA Farewell and Hatch 
Closure coverage (live) (Hatch closure scheduled at 1:34 p.m. EDT)

4:15 p.m. EDT - Expedition 8/ESA ISS Undocking coverage (live) 
(Undocking scheduled at 4:46 p.m. EDT)

6:30 p.m. EDT - Expedition 8/ESA Deorbit Burn and Landing coverage 
(live) (Deorbit burn scheduled at approximately 7:04 p.m. EDT; landing 
scheduled at 7:58 p.m. EDT)

Friday, April 30: Time TBD -- Video of crew activities at the remote 
landing site in northern Kazakhstan (taped)

For information about Space Flight and the International Space Station 
on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

###



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