Space Shuttle Processing Status 12 Aug 2002
MISSION STS-112 — 15TH ISS FLIGHT (9A) – BA, ITS S1
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
TARGET LAUNCH DATE: Sept. 28, 2002 NET
TARGET LANDING DATE: Oct. 9, 2002
MISSION DURATION: 11 days
CREW: Ashby, Melroy, Wolf, Sellers, Magnus, Yurchikhin
ORBITAL ALTITUDE AND INCLINATION: 122 nautical miles, 51.6 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: Processing continues for Atlantis’ launch to the International Space Station. Welding has been successfully completed on the cracks in the orbiter’s Main Propulsion System (MPS) liquid hydrogen flow liners. Technicians continue to polish the microscopic rough edges of the holes on the upstream flow liners. Engine installation is scheduled for late this week.
During inspections, technicians removed two of the 16 JEL (jacking, equalization and leveling) cylinders on Crawler Transporter No. 2 to gain access to the bearings for routine maintenance and found three of the four bearings had cracks. Of the three bearings, two had extensive damage. Further eddy current inspections indicate that cracks are present on 15 of the bearings. There are 16 cylinders and 32 bearings per crawler.
After locating the cracks on Crawler No.2, technicians used eddy current to inspect Crawler No. 1 and found that 13 bearings also had cracks. Although no cause is known at this time, engineers are currently evaluating the situation to determine the most appropriate solution.
MISSION: STS-113 – 16th ISS Flight (11A) – ITS, P1
VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105
TARGET LAUNCH DATE: Nov. 2, 2002 NET
TARGET LANDING DATE: Nov. 13, 2002
MISSION DURATION: 11 days
CREW: Wetherbee, Loria, Lopez-Alegria, Herrington; (ISS up) Bowersox, Budarin, Thomas; (ISS down) Korzun, Whitson, Treschev
ORBITAL INSERTION ALTITUDE AND INCLINATION: 122 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: Processing continues for Endeavour’s launch to the International Space Station. Now that repairs are completed on Atlantis’ flow liners, the welder will begin to turn his attention to beginning similar repairs on Endeavour. Fuel cell water line servicing and replacement of window No. 6 is in work.
MISSION STS-107 -SPACEHAB/ FREESTAR MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH MISSION
VEHICLE – Columbia/OV-102
TARGET LAUNCH DATE: Nov. 29, 2002 NET
TARGET LANDING DATE: Dec. 15, 2002
MISSION DURATION: 16 days
CREW: Husband, McCool, Anderson, Chawla, Brown, Clark, Ramon
ORBITAL INSERTION ALTITUDE AND INCLINATION: 150 nautical miles/39 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: Nominal processing has been completed in preparation for Columbia’s research mission now scheduled for no earlier than November 29. Due to the difference in material and number of slots on Columbia’s flow liners, more engineering investigation is needed before a final repair option is selected. This morning, Columbia was moved to a storage facility to await flow liner repairs prior to its next mission.
ORBITER MAJOR MODIFICATION PERIOD
VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103
Shuttle Processing Note: Discovery is awaiting the start of its Orbiter Major Modification (OMM) period that is scheduled to begin at the Kennedy Space Center late this summer.
