Media Invited To Visit Columbia Recovery Operations Base

NOTE TO EDITORS: n03-029

News media representatives are invited to visit the Angelina County Airport operations base for Space Shuttle Columbia recovery air searches on Friday, March 14, 2003, in Lufkin, Texas.

Reporters will meet the Texas Forest Services air search coordinator and visit the facilities where helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are serviced and prepared. Reporters will not be able to fly on search missions, but a location will be designated where reporters may record air search operations from the ground.

Media wishing to attend must contact the Joint Information Center (JIC) at Lufkin, Texas, no later than noon CST Thursday, March 13. Call the JIC at: 936/699-1019 or 936/699-1094; or send fax requests to: 936/631-3773. Media will receive specific instructions by telephone. Weather may affect some of the planned opportunities.

The opportunity is expected to last approximately two hours. While at the air search operations base, media representatives must follow all safety directions and stay with escorts. Appropriate clothing, including boots, is recommended for weather and rough terrain conditions.

For more information about NASA on the Internet: http://www.nasa.gov.