NASA Daily News Summary
For Release: Dec. 17, 1998
Media Advisory 98-97

TODAY'S SUMMARY:

DOT, FAA and NASA Commemorate Wright Brothers' 95th Anniversary 

NASA Video File for Dec. 17, 1998
	See note about today's video file schedule

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DOT, FAA AND NASA COMMEMORATE WRIGHT BROTHERS' 95TH ANNIVERSARY 

     The Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) and NASA commemorated the 95th anniversary 
of the Wright brothers' first flight with an aviation education 
event for nearly 200 area students.  The event was held on 
Thursday, Dec. 17, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST in the FAA 
auditorium, third floor, 800 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC.

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Michael Braukus 
202/358-1979.
Contact at Department of Transportation, Washington, DC: Lorie 
Dankers 202/366-5565.
Contact at Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC: Marcia 
Adams 202/267-8521.

Full text available at: 
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1998/98-224.txt

^^^^^

If additional news releases are issued later today, summaries 
and Internet URLs will be e-mailed to this list.

Index of NASA News Releases:
http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1998/index.html

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NASA VIDEO FILE FOR DEC. 17, 1998

ITEM 1:  1998 Global Temperature Smashes Record
     In 1998, global surface temperatures set a new record, report 
researchers at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS).  
For the first time, scientists released data visualizations showing 
global temperature anomalies since 1950.

Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD:  Lynn 
Chandler 301/614-5562.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  David Steitz  
202/358-1730.

ITEM 2:  Hubble Space Telescope Heritage Picture for December
     Shown is NGC 253, a large, almost edge-on spiral galaxy, and 
one of the nearest galaxies beyond our local neighborhood of 
galaxies.  This dramatic galaxy shows complex structures such as 
clumpy gas clouds, darkened dust lanes, and young, luminous central 
star clusters.  These elements are typical of spiral galaxies.  
Caroline Herschel discovered NGC 253 while looking for 
comets. The galaxy's closeness to Earth makes it an ideal target for 
amateur astronomers who can see the southern sky and for astronomers 
interested in learning more about the makeup of these stunning 
cities of stars.

Contact at Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD:  Ray 
Villard 410/338-4514.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Don Savage:  202/358-
1727. 

ITEM 2:  NASA'S Top 10 Video Files of 1998 (replay)

 1:  JOHN GLENN RETURNS TO SPACE

Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX:  Eileen Hawley 
281/483-5111.

 2:  BUILDING THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION 

Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX:  James Hartsfield 
281/483-5111.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Dwayne Brown 202/358-
1726.

 3:  HUBBLE VIEWS POSSIBLE PLANET OUTSIDE MILKY WAY

Contact at Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD:  Ray 
Villard 410/338-4514.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Don Savage:  202/358-
1727. 

 4:  GAMMA RAY BLAST RIVALS BIG BANG

Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD:  Bill 
Steigerwald 301/286-5017.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Don Savage 202/358-
1727.

 5:  LUNAR PROSPECTOR FINDS ICE ON MOON 

Contact at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA:  David 
Morse 650/604-4724.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Doug Isbell 202/358-
1753.

 6:  EL NINO/LA NINA CAUSE SEVERE WEATHER

Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA:  Mary 
Hardin 818/354-0344.
Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD:  Wade 
Sisler 301/286-6256.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Dave Steitz 202/358-
1730.

 7:  ANTARCTIC OZONE HOLE BIGGEST YET

Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD:  Wade 
Sisler 301/286-6256.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Dave Steitz 202/358-
1730.

 8:  SCIENTISTS DISCOVER MAGNETAR 

Contact at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL:  Tim 
Tyson 256/544-0994.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Don Savage 202/358-
1727.

 9:  SOLAR POWERED AIRPLANE REACHES ALTITUDE RECORD

Contact at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA:  Fred 
Brown 805/258-2663.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Mike Braukus 202/358-
1979.

10:  EILEEN COLLINS NAMED FIRST FEMALE SHUTTLE COMMANDER

Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX:  Eileen Hawley 
281/483-5111.

ITEM 4:  Animation of Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) 
spacecraft's upcoming encounter with the asteroid Eros.

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Doug Isbell/Don 
Savage 202/358-1547.
Contact at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 
Laurel, MD:  Helen Worth 240/228-5113.

ITEM 5:  Launch (on Dec. 11) of Mars Climate Orbiter (replay)

Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA:  Diane 
Ainsworth 818/354-5011.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Doug Isbell 202/358-
1753.

^^^^^

SPECIAL NOTE: CHANGE TO VIDEO FILE SCHEDULE TODAY

Today, the noon and 3:00 p.m. video file will NOT run so NASA TV can 
bring you live video of the STS-88 crew, just returned from the 
successful first International Space Station assembly mission, as 
follows.

At 11:00 a.m. the press will had the opportunity to ask questions of 
the crew at the Skid Strip at Patrick Air Force Base.  Questions 
were limited to media onsite.  The crew then departed for Houston.

At approximately 3:30 p.m., NASA TV will cover the crew's arrival at 
Ellington Field in Houston. 

All times are Eastern.

^^^^^

The NASA Video File normally airs at noon, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00 
p.m. and midnight Eastern time.  NASA Television is available 
on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with 
vertical polarization.  Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, 
with audio on 6.8 megahertz.

Ray Castillo
NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  202/358-4555.

The most recent NASA Video File Advisory can be found at:
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt

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CONTRACT AWARDS

NASA contract awards are posted to:
http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html

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The NASA Daily News Summary is issued at approximately 2:00 
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Video File material or live events are scheduled.  Members of 
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END OF DAILY NEWS SUMMARY