NASA to Host Briefings, Events for Aug. 11 Launch to Touch Sun

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Aug 06, 2018, 19:03 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As NASA nears the launch of its Parker Solar Probe, the agency will host a series of media briefings beginning Wednesday, Aug. 8. These briefings, as well as special programs, the launch on Saturday, Aug. 11, and a postlaunch news conference all will air on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Parker Solar Probe will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The first launch opportunity is at 3:33 a.m. EDT, at the opening of a 65-minute window.

Although the deadline has passed for media to attend the launch of this historic mission to our Sun, journalists may participate in prelaunch and postlaunch news briefings via phone by contacting Kennedy's News Center at 321-867-2468 for dial-in information.

The following is a complete schedule of mission coverage, including opportunities for media participation. All time are EDT:

Wednesday, Aug. 8

NASA will host a full morning of foreign-language teleconferences for international media, during which they can discuss mission science with project researchers.

9 a.m. – Japanese
10 a.m. – Italian
11 a.m. – German
Noon – French
1 p.m. – Spanish

To participate, media must email their name and affiliation to Andrew Schurr at [email protected] by 8 a.m. Aug. 8.

Thursday, Aug. 9

1 p.m. – Prelaunch mission news briefing

Friday, Aug. 10

6 p.m. – NASA Edge prelaunch broadcast
7:30 p.m. – What Parker Solar Probe Will Provide to Humanity

Saturday, Aug. 11

3 a.m. – Launch coverage begins
3:33 a.m. – Launch
TBD – Postlaunch news conference

Media may participate in the postlaunch news briefings via phone by contacting Kennedy's News Center at 321-867-2468 for dial-in information.

Parker Solar Probe will revolutionize our understanding of the Sun. The spacecraft will fly closer to the Sun's surface than any spacecraft before it, facing brutal heat and radiation. It will be the first spacecraft to fly directly through the Sun's corona – the part of the solar atmosphere visible during an eclipse – to answer questions about solar physics that have puzzled scientists for decades.

Gathering information about fundamental processes near the Sun can help improve our understanding of how our solar system's star changes the space environment, where space weather can affect astronauts, interfere with satellite orbits, or damage spacecraft electronics.

For more details on the Parker Solar Probe mission and prelaunch and launch events, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/parker-solar-probe-briefings-and-events

Join the conversation on social media at:

https://twitter.com/NASASun

and

https://www.facebook.com/NASASunScience/

SOURCE NASA