March 10, 2006
Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
(202) 358-3749
Jessica Rye
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(321) 867-2468
STATUS REPORT: S06-008
NASA’S SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING STATUS REPORT: S06-008
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: No earlier than May 10, 2006
Launch Pad: 39B
Crew: Lindsey, Kelly, Sellers, Fossum, Nowak, Wilson and Reiter
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Final closeouts continue on Discovery in preparation for its roll over
from Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 to the Vehicle Assembly
Building (VAB). Leak checks of the liquid oxygen system on space
shuttle main engines No. 2 and 3 were successfully completed.
On March 4, space shuttle technicians inside a work platform device,
called a bridge bucket, accidentally bumped into Discovery’s remote
manipulator system, or shuttle arm. The bridge bucket was being used
in the payload bay to clean up pieces of glass from a broken heat
lamp. That accident caused pieces of glass to fall into the payload
bay.
Initial inspections showed two indentations in the arm’s outer bumper,
a honeycombed structure made of epoxy designed to protect it. One of
the indentations is 0.115 inches deep and 1 inch long. The second
indentation is 0.035 inches deep and 0.5 inches long. Inspections of
the forward indentation were completed Thursday night, and no issues
were found. The second indentation will be inspected today.
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 continue processing Atlantis for its mission to the
International Space Station. The vehicle remains in a scheduled
powered-down period, with the next power-up as early as today. Power
up will follow servicing of the water coolant loop. On Thursday,
liquid oxygen leak checks began on the space shuttle main engines.
Endeavour (OV-105)
In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2, work continues on Endeavour
following an extensive modification period. The vehicle was powered
up on Wednesday following a planned powered-down period. Power-up
system testing is resuming.
On Tuesday, a technician preparing to perform X-rays on the rudder
speed brake dropped a film processor on the left-hand side of the
body flap, causing minimal tile damage. One tile was removed and will
be replaced. Ultrasound inspections were performed, and there is no
structural damage to the body flap.
External Tank
Final closeouts continue in the checkout cell of the VAB on the
external tank that will fly with Discovery. The tank is designated
ET-119. An “all systems” electrical checkout was conducted on the
tank approximately one week prior to shipment from NASA’s Michoud
Assembly Facility in New Orleans to Kennedy.
Technicians noted a minimal difference from the expected reading on
liquid hydrogen engine cutoff sensor No. 3. The sensors indicate
whether the tank still has fuel during liftoff. While the reading was
within acceptable limits, additional data evaluation is needed before
the Space Shuttle Program makes any decisions regarding flight
rationale.
A series of external tank wind tunnel tests began this week and will
continue for several weeks. Analysis of the testing will be ongoing.
For previous space shuttle processing status reports on the Web,
visit:
-end-
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