Douglas Isbell Headquarters, Washington, DC April 1, 1999 (Phone: 202/358-1547) Franklin O'Donnell Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA (Phone: 818/354-5011) NOTE TO EDITORS: N99-17 BRIEFING: PERFORMANCE OF DEEP SPACE 1 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES NASA's Deep Space 1 team will report next week on the mission's revolutionary technologies, including an exotic ion propulsion system and a robotic navigator that will guide the spacecraft to an asteroid rendezvous this summer. The team will brief reporters at NASA's first Space Technology Update at 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday, April 6, in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW, Washington, DC. Launched in October 1998, Deep Space 1 is the first mission in NASA's New Millennium Program, which tests advanced technologies in flight so they can be used with confidence on scientific spacecraft in the 21st century. Two of Deep Space 1's technologies are advanced science instruments that will be featured during the mission's close flyby of the asteroid 1992 KD in July. This encounter, which will be guided by an autonomous navigation system aboard Deep Space 1, will be previewed at the briefing. Briefing topics will include: * a program overview, by Dr. Peter Ulrich, director of the Advanced Technology and Mission Studies Division in the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters; * an overview of mission results, by Dr. Marc Rayman, the Deep Space 1 deputy mission manager and chief mission engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA; * testing of the ion engine, by Tom Bond, program manager at Hughes Electron Dynamics Division, Torrance, CA; * mission technologies designed to make spacecraft more autonomous, by Dr. Guy Man, chair of the New Millennium Program's integrated product development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; * potential uses of Deep Space 1 technologies on future science missions, by Dr. Faith Vilas, space scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX. Deep Space 1 project engineers will staff exhibits of hardware and technology related to the mission in the west lobby of NASA Headquarters. Extensive information on Deep Space 1, including a 37-page press kit, is available on the Internet at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ds1news/ The briefing will be carried live on NASA Television, which is available on transponder 9C of the GE-2 satellite at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, frequency 3880 MHz, audio of 6.8 MHz. Two-way question and answer capability will be available for news media at NASA centers.