Contact
Steve Roy
Media Relations Department
(256) 544-0034
steve.roy@msfc.nasa.gov

Media Advisory: 00-267

Space Station’s ‘gateway to the stars’ to depart NASA Marshall Center Sept. 13

What: Next week, engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will begin transport operations on what will become -- in the next year -- the gateway to the stars for the crew of the International Space Station. The 6-1/2-ton (5.8 metric tons) airlock module will leave its test berth at the Marshall Center, bound for Redstone Army Airfield in Huntsville. There, it will be loaded aboard NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft for its flight to Kennedy Space Center, Fla. -- and its eventual rendezvous in space with the orbiting research facility.

Who: Interviews can be scheduled with engineers and transport personnel responsible for hardware installation, testing and move operations for the Joint Airlock Module.

When: Sept. 13, 5 a.m. CDT. The airlock module will roll out from its facility at approximately 5 a.m. for the 45-minute trip to Redstone Airfield. Takeoff is scheduled for 9 a.m. CDT.

Where: Media are invited to meet at 4:30 a.m., in front of Marshall Center Bldg. 4200, for badging and escort to the move route.

To attend: Media planning to cover the airlock move should contact Steve Roy in the Marshall Media Relations Department at (256) 544-0034.