NASA, ESA Hold Jan. 16 NASA TV Briefing On New Orion Agreement

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Jan 04, 2013, 05:28 ET

HOUSTON, Jan. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) will hold a news briefing at 10:30 a.m. CST on Wednesday, Jan. 16, to discuss the details of a recent agreement for ESA to provide a service module for the Orion spacecraft's Exploration Mission-1 in 2017. NASA Television will carry the briefing live from the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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The agreement, which expands on the successful partnership between the agencies on the International Space Station and other activities, ensures continued international collaboration as humans explore new frontiers in the solar system.

Orion will be the most advanced spacecraft ever designed and carry astronauts farther into space than ever before. The service module will be attached directly behind Orion and provide the capsule's power, thermal control and propulsion.

The news conference participants will include:

-- William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations

-- Thomas Reiter, ESA director of Human Spaceflight and Operations

-- Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager

-- Bernardo Patti, ESA manager of International Space Station operations

For those attending the briefing at Johnson, the deadline for U.S. reporters to request credentials is Monday, Jan. 14. The deadline for international residents is Tuesday, Jan. 8. Reporters wishing to attend at other NASA centers should contact those centers' newsrooms for specific deadlines.

To participate via the phone, reporters must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 10:15 a.m. the day of the briefing. Media will not be able to connect after the briefing has started.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about Orion, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/orion

SOURCE NASA