NASA will host a news conference for the
next crew launching to the International Space Station, featuring NASA
astronaut Jeff
Williams, on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center
in Houston. NASA Television will broadcast the news conference live at 2 p.m.
EST after airing b-roll video of crew training at 1:30 p.m. Both can be seen
online at:
This will be Williams’ third long-duration
stay on the space station. Joining him for Expedition 47 and 48 will be
cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos (Russian Federal
Space Agency). Williams will be the commander of Expedition 48.
Immediately after the news conference, all
three crew members will be available for individual media interviews in
person or by phone. To request credentials to attend, or to reserve an
interview opportunity, U.S. media must contact the Johnson newsroom at
281-483-5111 by 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5.
Reporters who wish to participate in the
news conference by telephone must contact the newsroom at least 10 minutes
prior to its start. Those following the briefing on social media may ask
questions using the hashtag #askNASA.
The trio will launch to the space station
aboard a Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft March 18, 2016, from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to join Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra of NASA,
astronaut Timothy Peake of ESA (European Space Agency), and cosmonaut Yuri
Malenchenko of Roscosmos.
During their six-month mission, the
expedition crew members will facilitate approximately 250 research
investigations and technology demonstrations not possible on Earth to advance
scientific knowledge of Earth, space, physical, and biological sciences and
benefit those on Earth. Science conducted also will enable future
long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space and on the
agency’s journey to Mars.
The crew members are expected to be at the
station for arrivals of American cargo spacecraft the SpaceX Dragon and
Orbital ATK Cygnus. Williams can expect to enter the deployed Bigelow
Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a demonstration of expandable habitat
technology that will be attached to the station for two years. During his
time in space, the first International
Docking Adapter to enable the arrival of future U.S. commercial crew
spacecraft will be installed.
This mission will be Williams’ fourth
spaceflight and third long-duration stay on the orbiting laboratory -- a
first for an American – and will be his first return to the station since its
completion in 2011. Williams served as the flight engineer and lead
spacewalker for the space shuttle Atlantis STS-101 mission in 2000. He was a
flight engineer for Expedition 13 in 2006, when the station only had two
modules and three crew members. In 2009 and 2010, he served as a flight
engineer on Expedition 21 and commanded Expedition 22, when the Tranquility
module and cupola were added to the station. During that mission, he also
conducted the first live interaction with the agency’s social media fans and
followers.
During his three flights, Williams spent 19
hours conducting three spacewalks and logged 362 days in space. By the
completion of this 172-day mission, Williams will become the American with
the most cumulative days in space, 534 overall, surpassing Expedition 46
Commander Scott Kelly, who is about three quarters of the way through a one-year mission that will culminate
in 520 total days in space.
Born in Superior, Wisconsin, Williams
considers Winter, Wisconsin, to be his hometown. He earned a Bachelor of
Science degree in Applied Science and Engineering from the U.S. Military
Academy (USMA) in 1980, a Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering and
the degree of Aeronautical Engineer from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School,
both in 1987, a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies
from the U.S. Naval War College in 1996, and an honorary Doctorate of
Business Administration from Johnson and Wales University in 2007.
The crew members will share their mission
experiences on Instagram at:
Follow Williams on Twitter at:
For more information about the
International Space Station and its crews, visit:
|