Kirsten Williams
Headquarters, Washington, DC                   January 19, 2000
(Phone: 202/358-0243)

Bruce Buckingham/Joel Wells 
Kennedy Space Center, FL
(Phone: 321/867-2468)

RELEASE:  00-14

JAN. 31 TARGETED AS LAUNCH DATE FOR NEXT SHUTTLE MISSION

     A mission to map regions that are home to 95% of the world's 
population will launch no earlier than Jan. 31, following a NASA 
readiness review.

     The 11-day Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) will 
employ a measurement technique called interferometry to gather 
images of a large majority of the Earth's surface for use by Earth 
scientists, military planners, civilian commercial aviation, 
weather forecasters and others.  In order to gather these images, 
two antennae will be used, including one on a 197-foot mast that 
will be the largest fixed structure ever flown in space.  

     "We are excited to undertake this first mission of 2000 and 
to utilize the SRTM aboard the Shuttle," said Space Shuttle 
program manager Ron Dittemore.  "The team has done a thorough job 
preparing Endeavour for flight, and we're ready to start this new 
year as successfully as we ended the last year."

     Endeavour's Jan. 31 launch window opens at 12:47 p.m. EST and 
extends for 2 hours, 2 minutes.  Landing is set to occur at NASA's 
Kennedy Space Center, FL, on Feb. 11 at about 4:55 p.m. EST.

     Endeavour's crew consists of Commander Kevin Kregel, Pilot 
Dom Gorie and Mission Specialists Janet Kavandi, Janice Voss, 
Mamoru Mohri of the Japanese Space Agency (NASDA) and Gerhard 
Thiele of the European Space Agency (ESA).

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