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LOCKHEED MARTIN-DESIGNED CAMERA SYSTEM TO SHOW NEW PERSPECTIVE AT LIFTOFF

NEW ORLEANS, LA., October 4th, 2002 -- When Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off between 1 and 5 p.m. Monday, October 7, those watching around the world will be able to view the launch from a perspective never seen before on the shuttle. A new camera system attached to Lockheed Martin’s External Tank will show a “live” view looking down the Space Shuttle to the ground.

This viewpoint should make for some exciting pictures not only at launch, but also during Solid Rocket Booster separation two minutes into flight, and ET separation from the Orbiter eight and a half minutes into flight when the astronauts reach orbit at a speed of 17,500 mph.

Lockheed Martin designed the camera system, which includes transmitter, battery pack and antennae. The SONY camera at six inches long and about the diameter of a quarter resembles a short, thin flashlight. Lockheed Martin builds the External Tank at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The ET carries the liquid propellants used in the orbiter’s three main engines and powers the Space Shuttle to orbit.

A crew of five astronauts and one cosmonaut aboard STS-112 will deliver another large piece -- a 43-foot truss – to the International Space Station.

Harry Wadsworth will be at the Michoud facility for the launch and can be reached at 257-0094 or by pager at 572-8233.

NASA Television will carry the launch “live” on GE-2, Transponder 9C at 85 degrees west longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 Mhz, and audio of 6.8 Mhz.

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

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