NASA Space Shuttle Processing Status Report 7 July 2005

Discovery (OV-103)

Mission: STS-114 – 17th ISS Flight (LF1)
Payload: Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
Location: Launch Pad 39B
Launch Date: July 13, 3:51 p.m. EDT
Launch Pad: 39B
Crew: Collins, Kelly, Noguchi, Robinson, Thomas, Lawrence and Camarda
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles

At Launch Pad 39B, final preparations for the launch of Discovery’s Return to Flight mission to the International Space Station continue. Launch countdown preparations have begun in firing room 3 of the Launch Control Center in anticipation of the countdown beginning on Sunday at 6 p.m. at the T-43 hour mark.

Stowing of the flight crew equipment lockers into the orbiter mid-deck is underway and will continue tomorrow. Mid-deck flight seats will be installed on Monday. Ordnance installation is complete. Aft closeouts continue and are scheduled to be complete tomorrow. Drag chute instrumentation checkout is complete.

Loading of hypergolic propellants is complete. This process includes loading the propellants monomethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide into the Orbiter Maneuvering System and the Forward Reaction Control System. Today, the hypergolic pressurization of the propellant systems was completed.

Friday, the pad structure and surface will be washed down in preparation for flight. Also tomorrow, the new wing leading edge sensors that will monitor impacts or temperature changes will be programmed for flight.

NASA weather officers are tracking Hurricane Dennis and its possible impact at Kennedy Space Center. The current forecast shows only a slight chance of more than 40 knot winds effecting KSC on Saturday. A decision will be made this evening if preparations should begin for a possible rollback of Space Shuttle Discovery. A decision on rollback would not be made until tomorrow. At this point, none of the preparations will impact the July 13 launch date.