04.28.06
Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
(202) 358-7239
Jessica Rye
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(321) 867-2468
STATUS REPORT: S-042806
NASA’S SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING STATUS REPORT
NASA’s space shuttle fleet is housed and processed at Kennedy Space
Center, Fla.
Mission: STS-121 - 18th International Space Station Flight (ULF1.1) -
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
Vehicle: Discovery (OV-103)
Location: Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3
Launch Date: Launch Processing Window July 1-19, 2006
Launch Pad: 39B
Crew: Lindsey, Kelly, Sellers, Fossum, Nowak, Wilson and Reiter
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Technicians continue closing out areas of Discovery before it is moved
to the Vehicle Assembly Building on May 12. The payload bay doors
were closed on Wednesday for the final time prior to flight.
Last week, technicians removed the space shuttle main engine in
position No. 2 and replaced it with a new one. Engine leak checks
were successfully completed on Tuesday. Interface verification tests
were completed for sensors No. 1 and 2 on the new orbiter boom sensor
system.
Mission: STS-115 - 19th International Space Station Flight (12A) -
P3/P4 Solar Arrays
Vehicle: Atlantis (OV-104)
Location: Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1
Launch Date: No earlier than Aug. 28, 2006
Launch Pad: 39B
Crew: Jett, Ferguson, Tanner, Burbank, MacLean and Stefanyshyn-Piper
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Technicians are performing powered-up system testing on Atlantis for
its mission to the International Space Station. Technicians continue
installing tires on the shuttle’s main landing gear.
Work continues on the alignment of the manipulator positioning
mechanisms. The positioning mechanisms are the pedestals that hold
the orbiter boom sensor system in place in the payload bay while the
boom is not in use. Thermal protection system tile, blanket and gap
filler work is ongoing.
Endeavour (OV-105)
Powered-up system testing continues on Endeavour in Orbiter Processing
Facility Bay 2 following an extensive modification period.
Technicians completed ammonia system leak and functional testing on
Wednesday and Thursday.
Technicians worked on external airlock fluid line connections late
last week and will begin leak checks today.
External Tank
In the Vehicle Assembly Building, final thermal protection system foam
application was completed last week on the aft end of the tank
following the change-out of the four liquid hydrogen engine cut-off
sensors. On Monday, crane operators lifted the tank from a horizontal
position on the transporter and placed it between the twin solid
rocket boosters already stacked in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly
Building.
The Space Shuttle Program management decided Thursday to fly the
ice/frost ramps in their current configuration. The rationale for
doing so was based on several factors. The past ramp performance,
although not desirable, was acceptable. Proposed ramp design changes
could introduce more uncertainty instead of reducing the known risk.
New cameras will allow us better insight into the current ramps
performance which will help in the redesign effort. Flying the
current ice/frost ramps limits the design changes on the tank, which
has already undergone a significant redesign with the removal of the
protuberance air load (PAL) ramp. Shuttle engineers will have a
better environment to gather data by flying with only one aerodynamic
change to the tank.
For previous space shuttle processing status reports on the Web,
visit: