50TH ANNIVERSARY GALA EVENT CARRIED LIVE ON NASA TV AND INTERNET

NASA Television and www.nasa.gov will broadcast a gala event commemorating the agency's Golden Anniversary on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 8 p.m. EDT.

The invitation-only celebration, organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), is being held at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

The program honors NASA's 50th Anniversary and celebrates the power of innovation and discovery, and recognizes the agency's challenges and achievements over the past five decades. Award-winning journalist and WJLA-TV news anchor Leon Harris will serve as master of ceremonies. Event participants include:

- George Muellner, AIAA president
- U.S. Sen. John Glenn, former Mercury and space shuttle astronaut
- Neil Armstrong, former Gemini and Apollo astronaut
- Michael Griffin, NASA administrator

The event also will feature a video presentation hosted by Gemini and Apollo veteran Jim Lovell and a message from the Expedition 17 crew aboard the International Space Station. The televised program will end with a special performance of "Fly Me to the Moon," directed by
music impresario Quincy Jones and the Space Philharmonic, and performed by Frank Sinatra, Jr.

NASA TV will serve as the video distributor and pool source for the media and general public. For technical information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the 50th anniversary gala and the AIAA, visit:

http://www.aiaa.org/nasa50

For more information on NASA's Golden Anniversary, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/50th