Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington, DC              July 23, 2001
(Phone: 202/358-1726)

RELEASE: 01-149

ASTRONAUTS TO TESTIFY FROM SPACE TO U.S. CONGRESS

     Astronauts living and working aboard the International 
Space Station, while orbiting more than 200 miles above 
Earth, will become the first-ever witnesses to present live 
testimony before Congress during an unprecedented House 
Science Committee Hearing.

The International Space Station is the most complex 
international endeavor ever undertaken. Still under 
construction, it is now larger and more capable than any 
spacecraft ever flown.

The space testimonial is scheduled for Wednesday, July 25, at 
noon.

Flight Engineers James Voss and Susan Helms, part of the 
second crew to live on the station, will provide a brief tour 
of the facilities, explain construction activities and 
discuss research capabilities aboard the operational outpost.  
 
Astronaut Mary Ellen Weber, a crewmember on the May 2000 
space shuttle flight -- the third mission to install 
components and transfer supplies to the station -- and 
astronaut Bill Shepherd (Captain, USN), the first American 
resident and commander on the station, will also testify at 
the hearing.
 
Weber, who holds a doctorate in physical chemistry, will 
explain the relevance of space-based experiments and provide 
personal reflections on research and scientific 
investigations in space. 
 
Shepherd will discuss a typical day in the life of a 
crewmember on the International Space Station, as well as the 
challenges involved in constructing, living and working in a 
permanently inhabited space-based facility.

The hearing will be held in Room 2318 of the Rayburn House 
Office Building on Capitol Hill and is open to the public on 
a first-come, first-served basis.

Testimony from the Expedition Two Crew will be carried live 
on NASA Television and webcast on NASA's Internet homepage. 
The hearing will also be taped and replayed on NASA TV. 

NASA TV is available on GE-2, Transponder 9C, at 85 degrees 
West longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 
3880 MHz, and audio of 6.8 MHz.

NASA TV is transmitted on the World Wide Web at:

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

Additional information about the International Space Station, 
upcoming missions, crews and their activities is available on 
the Internet at: 

        http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/

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