Space Shuttle Discovery Set To Land Saturday

June 12, 2008

Candrea Thomas
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
candrea.k.thomas@xxxxxxxx

Mike Curie
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4715
michael.curie@xxxxxxxx

MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-118

SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY SET TO LAND SATURDAY

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The space shuttle Discovery crew is expected
to complete its 14-day flight to the International Space Station with
a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:15 a.m. EDT
on Saturday, June 14.

The STS-124 mission began May 31 and delivered two new sections of
the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory to the station.
During three spacewalks, the crew installed the Japanese Pressurized
Module, or JPM, and Kibo's robotic arm system. Kibo's logistics
module, which had been attached temporarily to the Harmony node
during the STS-123 mission in March, was attached to the JPM. The
flight also delivered station resident Greg Chamitoff to the outpost.
Discovery will return with Garrett Reisman, who spent three months
aboard the complex.

NASA managers will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before
permitting Discovery to return to Earth. Saturday landing
opportunities at Kennedy are at 11:15 a.m. and 12:50 p.m. Two hours
after landing, NASA officials will hold a media briefing to discuss
the mission. The participants will be:

- Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations
- Kaoru Mamiya, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Vice President
- Mike Leinbach, NASA Space Shuttle Launch Director

After touchdown, the astronauts will undergo physical examinations
and
meet with their families. The STS-124 crew is expected to hold a news
conference at 4:15 p.m. Saturday. Both news events will be broadcast
live on NASA Television. Media interested in participating must
pick-up their accreditation badges on Saturday.

The Kennedy News Center will open for landing activities at 7 a.m.
Saturday and close at 6 p.m. The STS-124 media badges are in effect
through landing. The media accreditation building on State Road 3
will be open on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The last bus will
depart from the news center for the Shuttle Landing Facility one hour
before landing. For updated information about the landing, call
321-867-2525.

If landing is diverted to one of the shuttle's backup runways after
Saturday, media should call the Dryden public affairs office at
661-276-3449 or the White Sands Missile Range public affairs office
at 505-678-1134. Dryden has limited facilities available to
previously accredited journalists for landings at Edwards Air Force
Base. Journalists with STS-124 mission badges from NASA will be
issued credentials at White Sands Missile Range.

For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming
video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For the latest information about the STS-124 mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For more on the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station


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