Space Shuttle Status Report 19 Jan 2001

MISSION: STS-98 – 7th ISS Flight (5A) – U.S. Laboratory

VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104

LOCATION: Vehicle Assembly Building

TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: No earlier than Feb. 6, 2001 at 6:37 p.m. EST

TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 17, 2001 at 2:05 p.m. EST

LAUNCH WINDOW: less than 5 minutes

MISSION DURATION: 10 days, 19 hours and 28 minutes

CREW: Cockrell, Polansky, Curbeam, Jones, Ivins

ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 177 nautical miles/51.6 degrees

Shuttle Processing Note: At about 8:18 a.m. today, Space Shuttle Atlantis
departed Launch Pad 39A headed back into the Vehicle Assembly Building atop
the crawler transporter. Atlantis was hard down in VAB high bay 3 at about
2:25 p.m. today. Tonight, workers will establish access to both solid
rocket boosters’ systems tunnels.

Technicians will remove the systems tunnel covers early Saturday and begin
continuity or “wiggle” tests by about midday. X-ray analysis begins early
Sunday and concludes later that evening. Engineers will review the X-ray
results on Monday. If no additional work is required, the systems tunnels
will be closed-out Tuesday, while engineers conduct the Shuttle Interface
Test. On Wednesday, workers will prepare to roll Atlantis back out to
Launch Pad 39A. First motion is scheduled to occur as early as 7 a.m. on
Thursday, Jan. 25.