HOUSTON - NASA will discuss the next space shuttle mission during a daylong series of media briefings from the Johnson Space Center beginning at 8 a.m. CST Friday, Nov. 9. Space shuttle Atlantis' 11-day mission, designated STS-122, is targeted for launch Dec 6. The mission will deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station.

The schedule of briefings is (all times Central):

• 8 a.m. -- Space Shuttle and Space Station Program Overview
• 9 a.m. -- International Space Station Briefing to preview Expedition 16 spacewalks
• 10 a.m. -- STS-122 Mission Overview
• 11:30 a.m. -- NASA TV Video File
• 12 p.m. -- STS-122 Spacewalk Overview
• 1 p.m. -- STS-122 Crew News Conference
• 2 p.m. -- Crew Round-Robin Interviews
• 5 p.m. -- Hans Schlegel News Conference for German media

Media planning to attend or participate in the briefings or round-robin interviews must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111, by 5 p.m. on Nov. 7. Questions will be taken from participating NASA locations. Non-U.S. media planning to attend the briefings, regardless of citizenship, need to request credentials from Johnson by Friday, Oct. 26.

All briefings, except the round-robin crew interviews, will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the Web at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Steve Frick will command the seven-member crew, which includes Pilot Alan Poindexter, mission specialists Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Leland Melvin and European Space Agency astronauts Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts. Eyharts will replace Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel Tani and remain aboard the station as a member of the Expedition 16 crew. Tani will return to Earth with the STS-122 crew.

For the latest information about the STS-122 mission and its crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle