Space Shuttle Status Report 12-03-1999

Friday, December 3, 1999 (6
p.m. EST)

MISSION: STS-103 – 3rd Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission

VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103

LOCATION: Pad 39B

TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: December 11 at 12:13 a.m. EST

TARGET LANDING DATE/TIME: December 20 at about 9:21 p.m. EST

LAUNCH WINDOW: 38 minutes

MISSION DURATION: about 9 days and 21 hours

CREW: Brown, Kelly, Smith, Foale, Grunsfeld, Nicollier, Clervoy

ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 317 nautical miles/28.45 degrees

Work in progress: Shuttle managers determined today that an additional
inspection of umbilical wiring is required on Shuttle Discovery. The
electrical wire being inspected supports the pyrotechnic initiator
controller for Discovery’s left-hand solid rocket booster and is part of the
Shuttle’s liquid oxygen umbilical assembly.

Recently, workers were tasked to inspect and repair minor insulation flaws
on the wires located in the orbiter umbilical harnesses. The unplanned work
concluded on Wednesday, Dec. 1. This latest inspection will determine if
additional work is required to ensure the flight readiness of the single
pyrotechnic wire.

MISSION: STS-99 – Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)

VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105

LOCATION: VAB

TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Jan. 13, 2000 at 1:11 p.m. EST

TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Jan. 24, 2000 at 5:16 p.m. EST

LAUNCH WINDOW: 54 minutes

MISSION DURATION: 11 days and 4 hours, 5 minutes

CREW: Kregel, Gorie, Kavandi, Voss, Mohri, Thiele

ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 126 nautical miles/57 degrees

Work in progress: Yesterday afternoon, orbiter Endeavour arrived in the
Vehicle Assembly Building and preparations began to mate the orbiter to the
external tank and solid rocket boosters in high bay 1. Today
orbiter/external tank mating activities began and the Shuttle Interface Test
begins early Monday morning.

Shuttle managers today decided to replace Endeavour’s main engine No. 3
while the Shuttle is in the VAB. This additional work will delay the
Shuttle’s roll out to Launch Pad 39A until Dec. 13. Analysis of a separate
test engine revealed delamination on the wall of the engine’s main
combustion chamber following routine testing procedures. Further data
gathering revealed that one of Endeavour’s engines had undergone similar
testing procedures and as a precaution managers opted to replace the suspect
engine.

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