NASA Digest, Vol 51, Issue 14

	August 29, 2017  MEDIA ADVISORY M17-101 NASA Cancels Planned Media Availabilities with Astronauts As Tropical Storm Harvey continues along the Gulf Coast, NASA has canceled a planned Aug. 30 question and answer session with astronaut Peggy Whitson aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik took this photo of the storm Aug. 28 from the orbiting laboratory. Credits: NASA Due to the ongoing effects of Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, NASA has canceled an in-flight question and answer session with astronaut Peggy Whitson aboard the International Space Station. Additionally, due to a change in the crew training schedule, live satellite interviews with NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba in Russia also have been canceled.   NASA previously planned a 30-minute news conference with Whitson on Wednesday, Aug. 30 – her final media event before returning to Earth after spending more than nine months aboard the space station. NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the space station mission control is located, has been closed to all but mission essential personnel since Aug. 25, and staff will not be able to support the in-flight event.   Whitson launched to the space station on Nov. 17, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and is set to return Saturday, Sept. 2. She will land in Kazakhstan at 9:22 p.m. (7:22 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Sept. 3) along with NASA's Jack Fischer and cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. Fischer and Yurchikhin have been Whitson's crewmates since they arrived at the station in April.   Live satellite interviews with Vande Hei and Acaba from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, where the pair will make final preparations for launch, were previously planned for Friday, Sept. 1. The astronauts, along with cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos, will launch on a Russian Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft at 5:17 p.m. on Sept. 12. They are scheduled to return to Earth in February.   Learn more about the International Space Station and its crew members at: http://www.nasa.gov/station
	Press Contacts Cheryl Warner Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov Brandi Dean Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 brandi.k.dean@nasa.gov

	August 30, 2017  MEDIA ADVISORY M17-102 NASA's Johnson Space Center Closes Through Labor Day for Tropical Storm Harvey Aerial view of the Johnson Space Center NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will remain closed to all but mission essential personnel through Labor Day due to the effects of now-Tropical Storm Harvey. The center originally closed Aug. 25 and will reopen Tuesday, Sept. 5. The center's leadership team continues to closely monitor weather conditions and the overall situation in Houston, and is preparing a full assessment of the center's status once the storm abates. "Our primary concern is the safety of our employees and all our fellow Houstonians," said Johnson Director Ellen Ochoa. "We're taking these measures to ensure the members of our team and their families can take care of themselves and their neighbors." The closing allows employees to avoid treacherous road conditions, and to attend to the needs of their families. It also allows the center to focus on the highest priority mission activities, including the landing of three International Space Station crew members this weekend in Kazakhstan. Flight control for the International Space Station continues in Johnson's Mission Control Center in Houston. Mission control is expected to remain in operation throughout this period. All backup systems required to maintain the James Webb Space Telescope, which is at Johnson for testing, were checked prior to the arrival of the storm, and are ready for use, if necessary. Space Center Houston, the official visitor center for Johnson, has announced it will extend its closure through Friday, Sept. 1. The visitor center's leadership is monitoring conditions and will announce Saturday's operating hours on Friday.  For more about Space Center Houston, go to: http://spacecenter.org For information about NASA's Johnson Space Center, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/johnson
	Press Contacts Allard Beutel Headquarters, Washington 202-358-2191 allard.beutel@nasa.gov Kelly Humphries Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 kelly.o.humpries@nasa.gov