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99TH SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION TO SERVICE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

NEW ORLEANS, LA., September 7th, 2000 -- The 99th Space Shuttle mission — STS-106, featuring the orbiter Atlantis and a crew of seven (five astronauts and two cosmonauts) — is scheduled for launch from Kennedy Space Center to the International Space Station at 7:45 a.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, September 8. The launch window is tight – only 2? minutes.

The Super Lightweight Tank built at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company – Michoud Operations in New Orleans will power the Space Shuttle into orbit.

The 10-day, 19-hour shuttle mission is a servicing trip to the International Space Station (ISS) where the crew will dock for five days.

While there, an American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut will conduct a 6?-hour space walk to integrate the Russian Service Module Zvezda with the ISS. The unmanned Zvezda docked with the space station in July and will serve as the living quarters for the first resident 3-man crew, scheduled to launch October 30 from Russia.

The STS-106 crew will also transfer two tons of food, fuel, clothing, computers, office supplies and personal hygiene items to the space station. In addition, the crew will assemble and install much of the electrical system, elements of the life support system and exercise equipment such as a bicycle ergometer and treadmill.

This 99th Space Shuttle mission will be followed by the 100th shuttle mission, now scheduled for October 5. The first shuttle mission flew April 12, 1981.

Opportunities to view the Shuttle in orbit can be found on the Web at: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/index.html

Harry Wadsworth will be at Michoud Operations for the launch Friday morning and can be reached at 257--0094 or by beeper at 572--8233.

NASA Television (NTV) will be available on GE-2, Transponder 9C at 85 degrees west longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 Mhz, and audio of 6.8 Mhz. The launch will also be broadcast live on WLAE-TV, Channel 32.

Harry Wadsworth, 504-257-0094 or harry.wadsworth@maf.nasa.gov