Status Report

Space Shuttle Processing Status 9 Jan 2003

By SpaceRef Editor
January 9, 2003
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MISSION STS-107 -SPACEHAB/ FREESTAR MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH MISSION

  • VEHICLE – Columbia/OV-102
  • TARGET LAUNCH DATE: Jan. 16, 2003
  • TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  • TARGET LANDING DATE: Feb. 1, 2003
  • 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: Prelaunch preparations continue at Pad 39-A for
Shuttle Columbia’s Jan. 16 launch on the Spacehab microgravity research
mission. Orbiter Maneuvering System/Reaction Control System flight
pressurization is complete. Orbiter aft closeout is in work, with the doors
scheduled to be closed Friday morning. Mission managers are currently
meeting for the pre-launch STS-107 Flight Readiness Review. No inspections
are planned on Columbia related to the BSTRA ball crack evaluation.

MISSION STS-114 — 17TH ISS FLIGHT (ULF1) – CREW ROTATION/MULTI-PURPOSE LOGISTICS MODULE

  • VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
  • TARGET LAUNCH DATE: March 1, 2003
  • TARGET LANDING DATE: March 13, 2003
  • MISSION DURATION: 12 days
  • SHUTTLE CREW: Collins, Kelly, Noguchi, Robinson
  • ISS EXPEDITION CREW 7: Malenchenko, Kaleri, Lu
  • ORBITAL ALTITUDE AND INCLINATION: 122 nautical miles, 51.6 degrees

Shuttle Processing Note: Processing continues for Atlantis’ March launch to
the International Space Station. Water Spray Boiler checkout, and heat
shield and Forward Reaction Control System installation is in work. As part
of the analysis under way of the crack found in the BSTRA on Discovery,
technicians completed the inspection of Atlantis’s lines and did not find
any cracks.

MISSION STS-115 — 18th ISS FLIGHT (12A) ? P3/P4 SOLAR ARRAYS

  • VEHICLE – Endeavour/OV-105
  • TARGET LAUNCH DATE: May 23, 2003
  • TARGET LANDING DATE: June 3, 2003
  • MISSION DURATION: 10 days
  • CREW: Jett, Ferguson, Tanner, Burbank, MacLean, Stefanyshyn-Piper
  • ORBITAL INSERTION ALTITUDE AND INCLINATION: 122 nautical miles/51.6 degrees

Shuttle Processing Note: Endeavour’s deservicing and processing continues
for the STS-115 mission to the International Space Station scheduled in May
2003. Removal of all three Space Shuttle Main Engines is complete. Orbiter
Maneuvering System pod checkout is in work. Inspections are complete of the
12-inch and 17-inch BSTRAs on Endeavour and no cracks were found.

ORBITER MAJOR MODIFICATION PERIOD VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103

Shuttle Processing Note: An engineering evaluation continues following the
discovery of a surface crack found during standard Orbiter Maintenance and
Modification (OMM) inspections. The crack, located on a 2.25-inch diameter
metal ball, is associated with the Ball Strut Tie Rod Assembly (BSTRA)
inside Discovery’s 17-inch liquid oxygen line. OMM work continues with Main
Propulsion System flow liner polishing and ongoing wire inspections and
repairs.

SpaceRef staff editor.