WASHINGTON - NASA is accepting media accreditation requests for the upcoming space shuttle mission, STS-120. Shuttle Discovery is targeted to launch Oct. 23 to begin a 13-day mission to the International Space Station.

All U.S. and international media must apply for credentials to attend the shuttle launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida or to cover the mission from other NASA centers. To be accredited, media must work for legitimate, verifiable news-gathering organizations. Reporters may need to submit requests for credentials at multiple NASA facilities.

Additional time may be required to process requests by journalists from certain countries. Designated countries include those with which the United States has no diplomatic relations, those on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, those under U.S. sanction or embargo or those which raise proliferation concerns. Please contact the accrediting NASA center for details. Journalists should confirm they have been accredited before they travel.

No substitutions of credentials are allowed at any NASA facility. If the STS-120 launch is delayed, the deadline for domestic media may be extended on a day-by-day basis.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

Media applying for credentials at Kennedy should submit requests via the Web at https://media.ksc.nasa.gov. Media must use work e-mail addresses, not personal accounts, when applying. Once accreditation is approved, applicants will receive confirmation via e-mail.

Accredited media with mission badges will have access from launch through the end of the mission. Application deadlines for mission badges for are Oct. 12 for U.S. media and Oct. 8 for foreign media. Access requests must be submitted separately for the Sept. 27 rollout to the launch pad and the launch dress rehearsal activities, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, on Oct. 7-10.

Media with special logistic requests for Kennedy Space Center, such as space for satellite trucks, trailers, electrical connections or work space, must contact Laurel Lichtenberger at laurel.a.lichtenberger@nasa.gov by Oct. 16.

Work space in the NASA News Center and the News Center Annex is provided on a first-come basis - one space per organization. To set up temporary telephone, fax, ISDN or network lines, media must make arrangements with BellSouth at 800-213-4988. Media must have an assigned seat in the Kennedy newsroom prior to setting up lines. To obtain an assigned seat, contact Patricia Christian at patricia.christian@nasa.gov. Media must have a public affairs escort to any other Kennedy area except the Launch Complex 39 cafeteria.

Kennedy credentials also will be honored during the STS-120 mission at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. Media must contact Dryden public affairs for access to Edwards Air Force Base.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

Media may obtain Johnson Space Flight Center credentials by calling the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or by presenting Kennedy STS-120 mission credentials. Media planning to cover the mission only from Johnson need to apply for credentials only at Johnson. Deadlines for submitting Johnson accreditation requests are Sept. 27 for non-U.S. media, regardless of citizenship, and Oct. 17 for U.S. media who are U.S. citizens.

Media covering the mission from Johnson using Kennedy credentials must contact the Johnson newsroom by Oct. 17 to arrange work space, phone lines and other logistics. Johnson is responsible for credentialing media if the shuttle lands at White Sands Space Harbor, N.M. If a landing is imminent at White Sands, Johnson will arrange credentials.

DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER

Notice for a Discovery landing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., could be short. Media should consider accrediting Los Angeles-based personnel who could travel quickly to Dryden. Deadlines for submitting are Sept. 27 for non-U.S. media, regardless of citizenship, and Oct. 30 for U.S. media who are U.S. citizens.

For Dryden media credentials, U.S. citizens representing domestic media must provide their full name, date of birth, place of birth, media organization, the last six digits of their social security number and driver's license number, including the name of the issuing state. Foreign media representatives, regardless of citizenship, must provide additional data including their citizenship, visa or passport number, expiration date, and alien registration number if applicable.

Media should fax requests for credentials on company letterhead to 661-276-3566. Requests to pao@dfrc.nasa.gov are acceptable for media who have been accredited at Dryden within the past year. Requests must include a phone number and business e-mail address for follow-up contact.

NASA PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS:

Kennedy Space Center: George Diller, 321-867-2468
Johnson Space Center: James Hartsfield, 281-483-5111
Dryden Flight Research Center: Leslie Williams, 661-276-3893