NASA Daily News Summary

For Release: April 22, 1999

Media Advisory m99-080

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Summary

-- New X-34 Spaceplane to be Unveiled at Dryden

-- Four Aerospace Firms Win NASA's Highest Honor for Quality

-- Video File for April 22

-- Live Interview Opportunity: NASA Rides the Crest of

Environmental Monitoring for 20th Century, April 22

-- Live Interview Opportunity: NASA Uses Laser to Examine

U.S. Constitution, April 23
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NEW X-34 SPACEPLANE TO BE UNVEILED AT DRYDEN

NASA will unveil a new reusable, robotic rocket plane in the high
desert of California next week. The first of three X-34 demonstration
vehicles will be "rolled out" at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center,
CA, on Friday, April 30, opening a new era of low-cost reusable space
planes.

Contact at NASA Headquarters: Jim Cast, 202/358-1779;

Contact at NASA Dryden: Leslie Mathews, 661/258-3893;
Contact at NASA Marshall: Dominic Amatore, 256/544-0031;
Contact at Orbital Sciences: Barron Beneski, 703/406-5000.

For full text of the release:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/note2edt/1999/n99-021.txt

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FOUR AEROSPACE FIRMS WIN NASA'S HIGHEST HONOR FOR QUALITY

Four U.S. companies committed to innovative management, quality and

customer service have received NASA's George M. Low Award, the Agency's
highest honor for quality and technical performance and the oldest award
for organizational quality. NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin
presented the award to the following winners: Barrios Technology, Inc.,
Houston, TX, for small-business products; Kay and Associates, Edwards,
CA, for small-business services; Raytheon Support Services Company,
Annapolis Junction, MD, for large-business services; and Thiokol Space
Operations, Brigham City, UT, for large-business products.

Contact at NASA Headquarters: Sonja Alexander, 202/258-1761.

For the full text of the release:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-053.txt

If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will

e-mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list.

Index of 1999 NASA News Releases:

http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html

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SPECIAL PROGRAMMING NOTE: Regular NASA Television programming
will be unavailable April 23-25, 1999, as NASA TV broadcasts
the 50th Anniversary NATO Summit.

PROGRAMMING NOTE FOR TODAY: The ceremony to unveil the first

Landsat 7 image will be replayed on NASA TV at 4 p.m., 7 p.m.,
10 p.m. and 1 a.m.

NASA VIDEO FILE FOR April 22, 1999

ITEM 1 FIRST LANDSAT 7 IMAGE: SOUTH DAKOTA (TRT 4:54)

ITEM 2 EARTH DAY: HOME (TRT 3:30) (REPLAY)
ITEM 3 EARTH DAY: PULSE OF THE PLANET (TRT 21:34) (REPLAY)
ITEM 4 PRESERVING THE CONSTITUTION (REPLAY)
ITEM 5 LABORATORY DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (REPLAY)

ITEM 1 FIRST LANDSAT 7 IMAGE: SOUTH DAKOTA

ITEM 1A FIRST IMAGE FROM LANDSAT 7 - SOUTH DAKOTA

These views of South Dakota are the pictures released from

the Landsat 7 satellite. Landsat 7, launched April 15, is the
latest in a series that began with Landsat 1 in 1972. The
tirst three images show region near Yankton, SD, including
the Missiouri River. The last image shows the region near
Sioux Falls. Video Courtesy NASA / USGS

ITEM 1B LANDSAT 7 - ANIMATION

The satellite is gathering data from Earth's land surface and
surrounding coastal regions. Analysis of the data will
provide scientists with new information on deforestation,
receding glaciers and crop monitoring.

Center Contact: Wade Sisler 301-286-6256

HQ Contact: David Steitz 202-358-1730

ITEM 2 EARTH DAY: "HOME" (REPLAY)

NASA's newest Earth Science video features four decades
of images of Earth set to music, revealing how NASA's Earth
Science research has helped us see our home planet in new ways.

Contact at NASA Headquarters: David Steitz, 202/358-1730.

ITEM 3 EARTH DAY: PULSE OF THE PLANET (REPLAY)

3A Planet Earth IMAX footage, STS 41-C
3B Manned Maneuvering Unit, IMAX footage, STS 41-C
3C Ring of Fire, first stage of separation, Apollo 4
3D Earthrise, Apollo 8
3E Earthrise, first color view from the moon , Apollo 8
3F Planet Earth, 1990 Galileo flyby
3G Spinning Earth, time lapse photography through periscope
3H First live TV view of Earth, Apollo 8
3I Moon over the Pacific, STS80
3J Lightning Storms over the Earth
3K Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies 1998, NOAA-7
3L 1998 Cloud Cover for 30 day period, GOES data
3M Solar Eclipse, Feb. 26, 1998, GOES-10
3N Himalayas, Earth Views, STS-87
3O Galapagos Islands, Earth Views, STS-80
3P Northern Africa, Earth Views, STS-87
3Q Global El Nino, 1997-1998
3R Retreat of Antarctic Ice Sheet, Year 2000 Animation
3S Antarctic Ozone Hole 1998, TOMS Animation
3T Miracle Swath: Four storms, Sept. 2, 1998, TRMM data
3U Aurora Borealis, View from Alaska
3V Aurora Borealis, Data Visualization, Polar UVI Instrument
3W 1998 Mexican Fires as seen from MIR Space Station
3X 1998 Mexican Fires, Data Visualization, SeaWIFS
3Y Beach Erosion, Airborne Topographic Mapper
3Z Hurricane Workbench Models 1998
3AA 3-D Huricane Model, CAMEX
3BB Hurricane Linda, Data Visualization, GOES data
3CC Cyclone Susan, 3-D Visualization, TRMM
3DD Typhoon Winnie over the Pacific, STS-85 flyover
3EE Mapping Earth, TRMM Spacecraft animation
3FF Hurricane Bonnie, GOES data
3GG Digital Earth Model Browser 1998
3HH Rocket View: Stardust Launch, Feb. 6, 1999
3II City Flyovers: Pittsburgh, LANDSAT
3JJ City Flyovers: New York, LANDSAT
3KK City Flyovers: Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, LANDSAT
3LL City Flyovers: Boston, LANDSAT
3MM City Flyovers: Portland, LANDSAT

Contact at NASA Headquarters: David Steitz, 202/358-1730.

ITEM 4 PRESERVING THE CONSITUTION (REPLAY)

A team of NASA scientists working at the request of the

National Archives has proved that the containers preserving
several pages of the U.S. Constitution are still safely
sealed. Scientists from NASA's Langley Research Center,
Hampton, VA, adapted a laser system from an atmospheric
research program to peer into the encasements protecting
three of the five pages of the Constitution. In the early
1950s, the Constitution was sealed in specially prepared
containers, which were filled with humidified helium to
protect the documents. By analyzing how the water vapor in
the containers absorbed the laser beam, the scientists
determined that the atmosphere had not changed.

Contact at NASA Headquarters: David Steitz, 202/358-1730;

Contact at NASA Langley: Bob Allen, 757/864-6176.

ITEM 5 LABORATORY DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (REPLAY)

Donald J. Campbell, Center Director of NASA's Glenn

Research Center, Cleveland, OH, has been named the 1998 Laboratory
Director of the year by the Federal Laboratory Consortium for
Technology Transfer. The award honors laboratory directors who have made
exemplary contributions to the overall enhancement of
technology transfer for economic development. Campbell received the
award today at the organization's 25th anniversary in Salt Lake City,
UT.

Contact at NASA Glenn: Lori J. Rachul, 216/433-8806.

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Live Interview Opportunity: NASA Rides the Crest of
Environmental Monitoring for the New Millennium, April 22

Topics: To celebrate Earth Day 1999, three Earth scientists

will be available to discuss some of the environmental issues
facing our global community as we near the end of the 20th
century. Subjects include Landsat 7, which will keep watch
over wilderness areas and basic ecosystems affected by an
ever-expanding global population; the Quick Scatterometer
mission, set for launch May 29, which will map the speed and
direction of Earth¹s ice-free oceans every day and shed new
light on global weather abnormalities like El Ninos; and
NASA's TOPEX/Poseidon satellite, which has been measuring
sea-surface heights and charting the topography of Earth¹s
oceans to improve long-term weather forecasting and help
prevent the loss of life by ferocious, fast-moving typhoons,
tropical storms and tsunamis.

Time: April 22, 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. EDT

To schedule an interview, contact: Jack Dawson or Diane

Ainsworth, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 818/354-5011.

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Live Interview Opportunity: NASA Uses Laser to Examine U.S.
Constitution, April 23

Topic: A team of NASA scientists working at the request of

the National Archives has proved that the containers
preserving several pages of the U.S. Constitution are still
safely sealed and protected. The NASA team adapted a laser
system used for atmospheric research to peer into the
protective cases containing three of the five pages of the
Constitution.

Talent: Dr. Joel S. Levine, senior research scientist at

NASA¹s Atmospheric Sciences Division

Time: April 23, 6 to 11 a.m. EDT

To schedule an interview, contact Ivelisse Gilman, Langley

Research Center, 757/864-5036.

Satellite information: Telstar 6, transponder 9 KU, 11900

Mhz. Producer¹s line: (757) 864-3965

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The NASA Video File airs at noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9

p.m. and midnight Eastern Time. NASA Television is available
on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with
vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, with
audio on 6.8 megahertz.

Refer general questions about the video file to NASA

Headquarters, Washington, DC: Ray Castillo, 202/358-4555, or
Pam Poe, 202/358-0373.

During Space Shuttle missions, the full NASA TV schedule will

continue to be posted at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/schedule.html

For general information about NASA TV see:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/

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Contract Awards

Contract awards are posted to the NASA Acquisition

Information Service Web site:

http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html

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end of daily news summary