NASA Daily News Summary

For Release: July 22, 1999

Media Advisory m99-149

Summary:

Near Earth Objects Scale Helps Risk Communication

Video File for July 22

NEW LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Friday, July 23, 1999 at 12:24 a.m. EDT

NOTE: Launch managers postponed the launch of Space Shuttle

Columbia today for 24 hours due to unacceptable local
weather conditions.

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NEAR EARTH OBJECTS SCALE HELPS RISK COMMUNICATION

Planetary scientists have developed a new means of categorizing

and explaining the risks associated with asteroids and comets that
might collide with the Earth. A risk-assessment scale, similar to
the Richter scale used for earthquakes, assigns values to celestial
objects moving near Earth. The scale runs from zero to 10. An
object with a value of zero or one will have virtually no chance of
causing damage on Earth; a 10 means a certain global climatic
catastrophe. The scale takes into account the object's size and
speed, as well as the probability that it will collide with Earth.
The scale can be used at different levels of complexity by
scientists, science journalists and the public.

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Doug Isbell

202/358-1753.

Contact at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA:

Deborah Halber 617/258-9276.

For full text of release see:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-83

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If NASA issues any additional 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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Video File for July 22, 1999

NEW LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Friday, July 23, 1999 at 12:24 a.m. EDT

NOTE: Launch managers postponed the launch of Space Shuttle

Columbia today for 24 hours due to unacceptable local weather
conditions.

Video File for July 22, 1999:

Item 1 - Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins

with Her Family (replay) TRT 6:26
Item 2 - STS-93 Commander Eileen Collins
at White House (replay) TRT 2:13
Item 3 - STS-93 Training and Mission Animation (replay) TRT 13:18
Item 4 - Chandra B-Roll and Animation (replay) TRT 2:36

**************************************************

ITEM 1 - SHUTTLE COMMANDER EILEEN COLLINS WITH HER FAMILY

(REPLAY)

Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX: James

Hartsfield 281/483-5111.

ITEM 2 - STS-93 COMMANDER EILEEN COLLINS AT WHITE HOUSE

(REPLAY)

Astronaut Eileen Collins was named Commander of the STS-93 at a

White House press conference on March 5, 1998. This footage
includes highlights from that conference. Participants included
the President and Mrs. Clinton and NASA Administrator Daniel S.
Goldin.

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Ray Castillo

202/358-4555.

ITEM 3 - STS-93 MISSION ANIMATION (REPLAY)

Compilation of computer animation used during the STS-93 mission

overview briefing.

Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX: Kyle Herring

281/483-5111.

ITEM 4 - CHANDRA B-ROLL AND ANIMATION (REPLAY)

a - Astronauts at Telescope Assembly TRT - 3:28

Astronauts from the STS-93 crew visit the Chandra Telescope
assembly.

b - Chandra Readied for shipping TRT - 1:42

Chandra is bagged, put in a shipping container and readied for
shipping to NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

c - Chandra IUS arrival TRT - 1:11

Footage shows the Chandra X-ray telescope mating with the IUS.

d - Mirror Comparison TRT - :37

Animation shows the refraction properties of the Chandra X-ray
telescope. X-rays that strike a mirror head-on are absorbed. X-
rays that hit a mirror at grazing angles are reflected like a
pebble skipping across a pond. Thus, X-ray telescope mirrors are
shaped like barrels rather than dishes.

e - Deep Space Network TRT - :14

Animation shows the communication path between the satellite and
the AXAF Science Center in Cambridge, MA. This communication is
via NASA's Deep Space Network.

f - Light Path TRT - :25

X-ray photons entering the telescope are reflected at grazing
angles and focussed onto an electronic detector to make an image
of a cosmic source.

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Donald Savage

202/358-1727.
Contact at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville AL: Dave
Drachlis 256/544-6538.

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The NASA Video File normally airs at noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m.
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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, you can access the full NASA
TV schedule from:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/schedule.html

For general information about NASA TV see:

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

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end of daily news summary