NASA will preview the next space shuttle mission in a series of media briefings Friday, Aug. 11. Space Shuttle Atlantis' mission, designated STS- 115, is targeted for late August and will resume construction of the International Space Station. The mission will begin a series of flights as complex and challenging as any in history to complete assembly of the station.

The briefings will originate from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and carried live on NASA TV beginning at 9 a.m. EDT. Questions will be taken from media at participating NASA locations and from Canadian Space Agency headquarters in St. Hubert, Quebec, Canada.

Round-robin interview opportunities with Atlantis crew members will be available to media in person or by phone from 3 to 6 p.m. EDT at Johnson. Those interviews will not be broadcast on NASA TV.

Media planning to attend the briefings or participate in the round-robins must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 to arrange credentials and interview time. U.S. media should contact Johnson by Aug. 9 to make arrangements. Foreign national media, regardless of citizenship, that plan to attend the briefings must contact Johnson by Friday, July 28, to arrange credentials.

Atlantis' crew is Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and mission specialists Daniel Burbank, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper, Joe Tanner and Steve MacLean, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut.

The Aug. 11 briefings are (all times Eastern):

• 9 a.m. -- Program and International Space Station Assembly Overview Briefing
• 10:30 a.m. -- STS-115 Mission Overview Briefing
• noon -- STS-115 Spacewalk Overview Briefing
• 1 p.m. -- NASA TV Video File
• 2 p.m. -- STS-115 Crew News Conference
• 6 p.m. -- STS-115 Canadian Space Agency Briefing with Mission Specialist Steve MacLean (for Canadian media)

The STS-115 mission, set for 11 to 12 days, will install a new 17-ton segment of the space station's truss backbone that will add a new set of giant solar panels and associated batteries to the complex.

For NASA TV schedules, downlink information and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For the latest information about the STS-115 mission and its crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

CONTACT: Allard Beutel, Headquarters, Washington, +1-202-358-4769, or James Hartsfield, Johnson Space Center, Houston, +1-281-483-5111, both of NASA.