In Brief:

August 9, 1999
Web posted at: 3:02 p.m. EDT (1902 GMT)

• NASA balloon will attempt to catch Perseid meteorites
• NASA to brief congressman on proposed budget cuts

(CNN) -- NASA will execute its third attempt to catch bits of a falling star with the Perseids Live! balloon flight later this week.

Marshall Space Flight Center's balloon will fly to about 33.5 km (110,000 ft) altitude on Thursday and Friday to capture materials of cosmic origin before they are incinerated by entry into Earth's atmosphere or contact with the ground if they survive entry.

Marshall's first two flights were in November 1998 during the Leonids meteor shower and April 1999 during a meteor minimum to provide a proper comparison. On Perseids Live!, NASA/Marshall will continue experimenting with several types of capture media to see how they fare at high altitude and will use new equipment for tracking and imagery.

The payload also will include a sensitive camera to transmit images of falling meteors to Web viewers.

(CNN) -- In the wake of a funding debate to restore $1.4 billion in funding to NASA, cut by a House subcommittee, Congressman James E. Rogan, R-California, will visit NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Rogan will meet with JPL Director Dr. Ed Stone and will attend a briefing with mission managers and scientists to discuss the impact of potential funding cuts at the facility and on the local economy.

Presentations will include overviews of planned Mars sample return missions and of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), launching in 2001 to study emerging planetary systems around nearby stars.

Late last month, the House Veterans Administration, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee recommended a $1.4 billion funding cut for NASA -- almost $400 million in cuts for JPL alone. Rogan worked to restore much of this before the legislation left the full committee; a floor vote by the full House on NASA funds is expected at the conclusion of the August congressional recess.

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