WASHINGTON - NASA will host a media teleconference no earlier than 5 p.m. EDT Wednesday, March 21 to discuss the status of space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming mission, STS-117. The teleconference follows a meeting to review options to repair the shuttle's external fuel tank, which was damaged Feb. 26 during a hail storm at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

The briefing participants are:

• Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator, Space Operations
• Wayne Hale, manager, Space Shuttle Program
• John Honeycutt, deputy manager, External Tank Project
• Mike Leinbach, NASA launch director

To participate, reporters must R.S.V.P. to Katherine Trinidad at 202-358-3749 by 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday. Live audio of the event will be streamed at:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

For STS-117 crew and mission information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle