Astronaut Mike Hopkins, Next Station Crew Meet Media

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Jul 08, 2013, 12:25 ET

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The next International Space Station crew, NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy, will be available for news media interviews and filming opportunities Wednesday, July 17, at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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Hopkins, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, is in the final phase of his mission training as he and his crewmates prepare for their Sept. 25 launch to the space station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

A news conference with the three Expedition 37-38 explorers will be carried live on NASA Television at 2 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. CDT). It is one of several opportunities NASA is offering media representatives to learn more about how Hopkins and other astronauts prepare for long duration missions.

The schedule of activities is as follows (all times CDT):

-- 9 a.m.: Tour of International Space Station training facilities, including astronaut exercise devices.

-- 1 p.m.: Interactive Expedition 37-38 Crew News Conference.

-- 2:15 p.m.: Interview opportunities (in-person, by phone or through Internet platforms).

-- 4:30 p.m.: Train Like An Astronaut demonstration with local area youth.

News media representatives who want to attend any of the activities in person or interview the crew members after the briefing should contact Johnson's newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 5 p.m. July 15. The deadline for international journalists is 5 p.m. July 9.

Reporters who want to participate in the crew news conference by telephone should call the Johnson newsroom no later than 12:45 p.m. July 17. Reporters who want to ask questions from participating NASA centers should contact those centers' newsrooms for specific deadlines.

Hopkins enjoys numerous fitness-related hobbies such as weight lifting, hockey and football -- he was captain of the University of Illinois football team. To share his passion for lifelong fitness, Hopkins is inviting the public to train alongside him in the months leading up to his mission, while in space and through his post-flight rehabilitation.

For Mike Hopkins' full biography, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/hopkins-ms.html

To see training and mission posts from Hopkins on Twitter, follow:

@AstroIllini

To join the conversation about the International Space Station on Twitter, follow the hashtag #ISS. To learn more about to connect and collaborate with NASA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/connect

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the International Space Station and its crews, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

SOURCE NASA