04.07.06
Joe Pally
Headquarters, Washington
(202) 358-7239
Jessica Rye
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(321) 867-2468
STATUS REPORT: S-040706
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
Final area closeouts continue in preparation for Discovery’s move to
the Vehicle Assembly Building and then to the launch pad for its
mission to the International Space Station. Technicians plan to power
up Discovery on Saturday to support the aft area structural leak test
and orbiter compartment positive pressure test.
Final cleaning operations of the environmental control and life
support system bay continue in preparation for closeout prior to
flight. Work continues on the nose and main landing gear prior to the
final functional test.
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 performing powered-up system testing on Atlantis
for its mission to the International Space Station. Water coolant
loop servicing is complete following the replacement of the water
coolant loop No. 2 pump package. Technicians also successfully
performed compression testing on the water coolant pump.
The orbiter boom sensor system was installed in the payload bay of
Atlantis on Monday. The 50-foot-long boom attaches to the remote
manipulator system, or shuttle arm, and is one of the new safety
measures added prior to the Return to Flight. It equips the orbiter
with cameras and laser systems to inspect the space shuttle’s heat
shield while in space.
Endeavour (OV-105)
Powered-up system testing continues on Endeavour in Orbiter Processing
Facility Bay 2 following an extensive modification period. On
Wednesday, technicians installed Endeavour’s reinforced carbon-carbon
nose cap.
Endeavour’s external airlock was installed in the payload bay on
Thursday. The airlock is located in the shuttle’s middeck and permits
flight crew members to transfer from the middeck crew compartment
into the payload bay for extravehicular activities in their space
suits without depressurizing the orbiter crew cabin.
External Tank
Work is under way in the Vehicle Assembly Building checkout cell on
the external tank that will fly with Discovery on mission STS-121.
Last weekend, technicians removed and replaced the tank’s four liquid
hydrogen engine cutoff sensors, which indicate whether the tank still
has fuel during its climb to orbit. They also installed a new gaseous
oxygen vent valve under the nose cap of the tank.
With the change out of the sensors complete, the access cover on the
bottom of the tank called the “manhole” was reinstalled. On April 11,
the tank will be lifted from the checkout cell and placed
horizontally on the transporter in the transfer aisle. Once in the
transfer aisle, technicians will reapply the thermal protection
system foam that had to be removed in order to perform the sensor
change out.
For previous space shuttle processing status reports on the Web,
visit:
-end-
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