ADVISORY/Drexel Graduate Paul Richards to Walk in Space On NASA Mission STS-102 to International Space Station.

Assignment/News Editors

ADVISORY...for Thursday (March 8)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

What:          Mission Specialist Paul Richards, a 1987 Drexel
               University mechanical engineering graduate, will
               walk in space as a member of Space Shuttle
               Discovery's Mission STS-102, the eighth shuttle
               flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
               Richards and fellow mission specialist Andy Thomas
               will perform the second of the mission's two space
               walks.

                 Mission STS-102 is a crew rotation flight,
               delivering the Expedition Two crew and supplies to
               the ISS and returning the Expedition One crew to
               Earth. Richards, serving as Discovery's navigator,
               will be accompanied on the voyage by a stuffed toy
               Drexel Dragon mascot -- Mario the Magnificent,
               which Richards received from Drexel University
               President Constantine Papadakis.

Mission Specs: -- Members of Expedition One space walk to install
                  Discovery's primary cargo, the Leonardo Multipurpose
                  Logistics Module (MPLM) onto the ISS;

                 -- Offload the Leonardo MPLM cargo-- six racks of
                  equipment, experiments and supplies-- onto the ISS's
                  U.S. Destiny Laboratory Module;

                 -- Richards space walks with Thomas to detach the
                  Leonardo MPLM and return it to Discovery's cargo
                  bay;

                 -- Return to Earth with Expedition One crew and the
                  Leonardo MPLM.

When:          Launch -- Thursday, March 8, 2001, at 6:42 a.m.
                 EST
               Richards' Space Walk -- Tuesday, March 13, 2001,
                 12:47 - 4:47 a.m.
               (Can actually begin up to 30 minutes early at the
                 discretion of the astronauts.)

Mission Facts: The Leonardo MPLM is a pressurized module
               serving as the ISS's "moving van"... The U.S.
               Destiny Laboratory Module was installed onto the
               ISS during Mission STS-98... Crew commander James
               Wetherbee and pilot James Kelly comprise the rest
               of the Discovery crew...Orbit altitude is 122
               nautical miles...Duration is 11 days, 19 hours.

A/V Feeds:     Transponder service operates 24 hours a day. A full
               schedule can be found online at http:
               //spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/schedule.html.
               Mission video: GE2, transponder 9C. The frequency
               is 3880 MHz with an orbital position of 85 degrees
               West Longitude, with audio at 6.8 MHz. Mission
               audio: GE2, transponder 13 with a frequency of
               3960 MHz, vertical polarization.