NASA Daily News Summary For Release: March 4, 1999 Media Advisory m99-044 TODAY'S SUMMARY: CAMPBELL NAMED LABORATORY DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR NASA RESEARCHERS DOCUMENT POTENTIAL SHRINKING OF GREENLANDS'S GLACIERS VIDEO FILE FOR MARCH 4, 1999 ********** CAMPBELL NAMED LABORATORY DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR NASA's Glenn Research Center Director Donald J. Campbell has been named the 1998 Laboratory Director of the Year by the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) for Technology Transfer. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Michael Braukus 202/358-1979. Contact at Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH Lori Rachul 216/433-8806. For full text, see: ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-032.txt ********** NASA RESEARCHERS DOCUMENT POTENTIAL SHRINKING OF GREENLAND'S GLACIERS Greenland's southeastern glaciers are rapidly thinning and their lower elevations may be particularly sensitive to climate changes, a NASA study suggests. Further information on the Greenland mapping project, including the technology behind the science, can be found on the web at: http://aol.wff.nasa.gov/aoltm.html Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: David E. Steitz 202/358-1730. Contact at Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA Keith Koehler 757/824-1579 For full text, see: ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-033.txt ********** If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e-mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list. Index of 1998 NASA News Releases: http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1998/index.html Index of 1999 NASA News Releases: http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html ********** Video Advisory v99-043 VIDEO FILE FOR MAR. 5, 1999 ITEM 1. WIDE-FIELD INFRARED EXPLORER (WIRE) LAUNCH ITEM 2. X-38 FLIGHT TEST ITEM 3. X-33 Launch Site Completed ITEM 4. GREENLAND ICE SHEET MAPPING (replay) ITEM 5. HUBBLE HERITAGE COOL PIC (replay) ^^^^^ NOTE ON NASA TELEVISION SCHEDULE: Due to the delay of the X-38 Flight Test from March 4 to March 5, the X-33 Briefing will also slip by one hour. The live events schedule for Friday, March 5, is as follows: 9:00 am - 10:00 am - Urban Heat Islands Live News Interviews - MSFC *11:00 am - completion - X-38 Flight Test (live) - DFRC *1:00 pm - 2:00 pm - X-38 Briefing - DFRC *2:00 - 3:00 pm - X-33 Launch Site Completion Press Briefing - DFRC ^^^^^ ITEM 1. WIDE-FIELD INFRARED EXPLORER (WIRE) LAUNCH WIRE launched on March 4. One of NASA's smallest spacecraft, it will tackle a very big cosmic question: What is the history of star-formation in the Universe? WIRE is NASA's first new spacecraft in the Origins Program. The four-month mission will help understand how and when galaxies formed, and the subsequent history of star-formation in the Universe. Answers to these questions will shed a strong light on the very nature of the Universe. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Donald Savage 202/358-1547. Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD: Lynn Jenner 301/286-0045. Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA: Jane Platt 818/354-5011. ITEM 2. X-38 FLIGHT TEST On March 4, a new X-38 prototype test vehicle took a flight test to determine how well its flight control system operates. After flying under its control system for about 12 seconds, the prototype further tested the parafoil landing system. The X-38 is an innovative spacecraft planned for use as a future "lifeboat" for the International Space Station. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Dwayne C. Brown 202/358-1726. Contact at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA: Fred A. Brown 805/258-2663. Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX: James Hartsfield 281/483-5111. ITEM 3. X-33 Launch Site Completed Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Jim Cast 202/358-1779. Contact at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA: Fred Brown 805/258-2663. Contact at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL: Dom Amatore 256/544-0031. ITEM 4. GREENLAND ICE SHEET MAPPING (replay) Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: David Steitz 202/358-1730. Contact at NASA Wallops Flight Facility: Keith Koehler 757- 824-1579 ITEM 5. HUBBLE HERITAGE COOL PIC (replay) Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Don Savage 202/358-1727. Contact at Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD: Ray Villard 410/338-4514. ^^^^^ Satellite Interview Opportunities: March 9: - DISCOVERY OF S-SHAPED SOLAR STRUCTURE MAY HELP SPACE WEATHER FORECASTERS PREDICT LARGEST EXPLOSIONS IN SOLAR SYSTEM Predicting the largest and most disruptive solar eruptions several days in advance may now be possible. Scientists discovered that an "S" shaped structure appears on the Sun in advance of a violent eruption, as powerful as billions of nuclear explosions. The observation may revolutionize the emerging science of space weather, which attempts to forecast solar activity and its impact on the Earth's environment. Solar researchers Richard Canfield (a research professor of physics from Montana State University-Bozeman) and Sarah Gibson (solar researcher from University of Cambridge, England) are available for live television interviews Tuesday, March 9, from 4 - 8 p.m. EST to talk about the latest images. The interviews come to you from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. To book a window: Deanna Corridon (301-286-0041, 888-474- 0915 pager) or Wade Sisler (301-286-6256, 888-474-0914 pager). *********************************************************** The NASA Video File airs at noon, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00 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. NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Ray Castillo 202/358-4555 END ********** CONTRACT AWARDS NASA posts contract awards to: http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html NASA issues the Daily News Summary at approximately 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on business days when we issue news releases, new Video File material or schedule live events. Members of the news media who wish to subscribe to or unsubscribe from this list should send an e-mail message to: brian.dunbar@hq.nasa.gov END OF DAILY NEWS SUMMARY