Space Shuttle Status Report 01-10-2000
KSC Contact: Joel Wells
(4 p.m. EST)
MISSION: STS-99 – Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)
VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105
LOCATION: Pad 39A
TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: No earlier than Jan. 31, 2000 at 12:47 p.m. EST
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 11, 2000 at 4:52 p.m. EST
LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hours and 2 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 11 days and 4 hours
CREW: Kregel, Gorie, Kavandi, Voss, Mohri, Thiele
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 126 nautical miles/57 degrees
Work in progress: At Launch Pad 39A processing continues on schedule. Last
week, Shuttle Endeavour was powered up and leak checks on main engine No. 3
were completed Thursday. The helium signature leak test concluded on Friday.
Over the weekend, workers complete preparations for prelaunch propellant
loading and oxidizer loading is slated to begin tomorrow. Fuel loading
operations will begin Saturday following this week’s Terminal Count
Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities with the flight crew.
The six-member flight crew arrives at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility
tomorrow at about 4 p.m. to participate in routine TCDT activities.
Throughout the week, the astronauts will familiarize themselves with the
orbiter and payload for this mission, take opportunities to fly in the
Shuttle Training Aircraft and practice emergency orbiter egress procedures.
A full launch day dress rehearsal begins at about 7 a.m. Friday morning and
concludes at about 11 a.m. with a simulated main engine cutoff just before
T-0 on the countdown clock.
Processing Milestones:
Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test concludes (Jan. 14)
Prelaunch propellant loading concludes (Jan.
15)
Flight Readiness Review (Jan. 18)
MISSION: STS-101 – 3rd ISS Flight (2A.2) – SPACEHAB DM
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
LOCATION: Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3
TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: No earlier than March 16, 2000 at 7:45 a.m. EST
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: March 27, 2000 at 2:40 a.m. EST
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5-10 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 10 days and 19 hours
CREW: Halsell, Horowitz, Weber, Lu, Williams, Malenchenko and Morukov
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 173 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
Work in progress: Wiring inspections and repairs continue to go very well in
Atlantis’ midbody and aft compartments. Today, functional testing of the
orbiter maneuvering system pod and robot arm is under way. Technicians will
begin servicing freon coolant loop No. 2 later today. Ammonia boiler
servicing and functional tests of the orbiter’s auxiliary power units are
also scheduled this week.
MISSION: STS-92 – 4th ISS Flight (3A) – Z-1 Truss, PMA-3
VEHICLE: Discovery /OV-103
LOCATION: OPF bay 1
TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: No earlier than June 14, 2000 at 8:42 p.m. EDT
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: June 24, 2000 at 5:10 p.m. EDT
LAUNCH WINDOW: 10 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 10 days
CREW: Duffy, Melroy, Wakata, Chiao, Wisoff, Lopez-Alegria and McArthur
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 173 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
Work in progress: Workers started testing Discovery’s forward reaction
control system today and will complete engine heat shield removal early
today. Main engine removal is now scheduled to begin at about 7:30 p.m.
tonight and all three engines should be demated by tomorrow morning.
Removal of the STS-103 payload from Discovery’s cargo bay concluded this
afternoon.
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