WASHINGTON - Starting Oct. 1, NASA Television and the agency's Internet homepage will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Space Age, which began with the launch of Sputnik I on Oct. 4, 1957.

NASA TV news feeds and a special interactive web presentation on www.nasa.gov will feature interview excerpts with former astronauts, engineers, scientists, flight directors and other NASA employees who offer historical perspectives on the Sputnik launch. Also provided will be file footage of Explorer I, the first satellite launched by the United States on Jan. 31, 1958, 3-D spacecraft models, and the subsequent announcement by NASA's first administrator T. Keith Glennan on the establishment of the agency on Oct. 1, 1958.

The NASA TV Video File is seen on the Media Channel, #103, at 6 and 9 a.m., noon, 4 and 10 p.m. EDT. It airs on the Public Channel, #101, at 9 a.m., 6 and 10 p.m.

In the continental United States, NASA TV's Public, Education and Media channels are carried by MPEG-2 digital C-band signal on AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, Transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. They are available in Alaska and Hawaii on an MPEG-2 digital C-band signal accessed via satellite AMC-7, transponder 18C, 137 degrees west longitude, 4060 MHz, vertical polarization. A Digital Video Broadcast compliant Integrated Receiver Decoder is required for reception.

Beginning Monday, learn more about the 50th anniversary of the Space Age at:

http://www.nasa.gov

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/sputnik/index.html

To find additional information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv