Space Shuttle Status Report 13 Dec 2000
NOTE: This is an orbiter processing report and does not necessarily reflect
the chronological order of upcoming Space Shuttle flights. Visit
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/schedule/schedule.htm on the KSC Home
Page for the latest schedule of future Shuttle missions.
MISSION: STS-98 – 7th ISS Flight (5A) – U.S. Laboratory
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
LOCATION: Vehicle Assembly Building high bay 3
TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Jan. 18, 2001 at 2:44 a.m. EST
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Jan. 28, 2001 at 11:15 p.m.
LAUNCH WINDOW: less than 5 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 11 days
CREW: Cockrell, Polansky, Curbeam, Jones, Ivins
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 177 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: Space Shuttle Atlantis remains in VAB high bay 3
while Shuttle engineers continue to evaluate the flight readiness of
ordnance related electrical cable connectors on both solid rocket boosters.
X-rays of the cable connectors located in both solid rocket booster external
tank attachment (ETA) rings will conclude today. The X-ray results will be
included in the ongoing engineering evaluation and discussed at a Shuttle
program status meeting tomorrow afternoon. Depending upon evaluation
results, KSC managers may be ready to roll Space Shuttle Atlantis out to
Launch Pad 39A as early as Saturday. Should additional analysis become
necessary, KSC managers will assess the impact on the remainder of the
processing flow at that time. The STS-98 launch date remains targeted for
Jan. 18.
MISSION: STS-102 – 8th ISS Flight (5A.1) – Leonardo MPLM
VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103
LOCATION: Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) bay 1
TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Mar. 1, 2001
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Mar. 12, 2001
LAUNCH WINDOW: less than 5 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 11 days
CREW: Wetherbee, Kelly, Thomas, Richards; (up) Voss, Helms, Usachev; (down)
Shepherd, Gidzenko, Krikalev
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 177 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: Shuttle program managers today announced a
two-week slip to the STS-102 launch date. The STS-92 landing in California
compressed an already tight processing flow, and the unexpected requirement
to replace 10 orbital maneuvering system thrusters further constricted the
schedule. After a thorough review of the orbiter processing schedule,
payload processing flow, crew training and International Space Station
requirements, managers opted for a new target launch date of Mar. 1.
MISSION: STS-100 – 9th ISS Flight (6A) -Raffaello MPLM, SSRMS
VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105
LOCATION: Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2
TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Apr. 19, 2001
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Apr. 30, 2001
MISSION DURATION: 11 days
CREW: Rominger, Ashby, Hadfield, Parazynski, Phillips, Guidoni, Lonchakov
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 177 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: Post flight inspections of orbiter Endeavour’s
thermal protection system revealed a total of 84 debris hits of which 10 had
a major dimension of 1-inch or larger. Of those hits 78 were located on the
orbiter’s underside. Endeavour’s tires are reported to be in good condition
following a flawless touchdown on Shuttle Landing Facility runway 15 Monday
night. No abnormal damage was reported.
