From NASANews@luna.osf.hq.nasa.govSun Jan 28 12:36:32 1996
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 14:44:15 -0500
From: NASA HQ Public Affairs Office <NASANews@luna.osf.hq.nasa.gov>
To: press-release-com@mercury.hq.nasa.gov
Subject: Launches and Science Briefings Scheduled for Polar and
NEAR

Donald Savage                               January 19, 1996
Headquarters, Washington, DC 
(Phone:  202/358-1547)

Jim Sahli
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
(Phone:  301/286-0697)

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, FL
(Phone:  407/867-2468)

Luther Young
Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory, MD
(Phone:  301/953-6268)

NOTE TO EDITORS:  N96-3

LAUNCHES AND SCIENCE BRIEFINGS SCHEDULED FOR POLAR AND NEAR 

       NASA managers yesterday approved the schedule for the 
launches of the upcoming Polar and Near Earth Asteroid 
Rendezvous (NEAR) missions, both to be launched on Delta-II 
rockets built by McDonnell Douglas.  The strategy calls for 
processing to proceed towards launch on February 2 for Polar 
at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA (VAFB) and February 16 for 
NEAR at Cape Canaveral Air Station, FL (CCAS).  

       However, on or before January 26, the management team 
will again assess the situation based on the readiness of 
NEAR.  If processing on NEAR is on schedule with no known 
constraints to meet its February 16th launch, the Polar launch 
will be rescheduled to February 22.  Managers explain that 
since a single Delta launch team is responsible for both 
launches, there is not sufficient turnaround time to support a 
February 2 launch on the West coast and a February 16 launch 
on the East coast.  There is no constraint to a February 22 
launch of Polar at VAFB and the previously-scheduled launch of 
the Space Shuttle STS-75 mission from Kennedy Space Center, FL.

SCIENCE BRIEFINGS

       The Polar science briefing will be held Tuesday, 
January 30, at 2 p.m. EST, at the Goddard Space Flight Center, 
Greenbelt, MD (GSFC), in the Visitor Center on Soil 
Conservation Rd.  Participants will be:  Dr. Mario Acuna, 

ISTP/GGS Project Scientist, GSFC;  Dr. Robert Hoffman, Deputy 
Polar Project Scientist, GSFC;  Dr. Robert Carovillano, GGS 
Program Scientist, NASA HQ;  Dr. Mary Hudson, Darmouth  
College, NH;  Dr. David Chenette, Lockheed Palo Alto Research 
Lab, CA;  and Joseph Dezio, Project Manager, Global Geospace 
Project, GSFC.

       The NEAR science briefing will be held Tuesday, 
February 6, at 2 p.m. EST at the NASA Headquarters auditorium, 
300 E St., SW, Washington DC (West lobby).  Participants will 
be Dr. John Kerridge, NEAR Program Scientist, NASA HQ;  Dr. 
Andrew Cheng, NEAR Project Scientist, Johns Hopkins University 
Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) and other panelists to be 
announced later.

       Both briefings will be carried live on NASA Television 
via Spacenet 2 Transponder 5, Channel 9, at 69 degrees West 
longitude.  The frequency is at 3880.0 megahertz, audio at 6.8 
megahertz.  There will be 2-way question and answer capability 
for reporters covering the briefings from participating NASA
Centers.

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