NASA News National Aeronautics and Space Administration John F. Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899 AC 321-867-2468 ____________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________ For Release: Nov. 21, 2002 (7 p.m. EST) KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham (321) 867-2468 KSC Release No. 113 - 02 SHUTTLE MISSION STS-113 LAUNCH TIME ANNOUNCED FOR LAUNCH ON NOV. 22 Following a review of processing activities including the repair of an oxygen leak in the orbiter's midbody and the evaluation of the condition of the orbiter's robotic arm, mission managers today confirmed the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour for Friday, Nov. 22, at the preferred launch time of 8:15:30 p.m. EST. The planar launch window on Friday extends from 8:10:30 - 8:20:30 p.m. EST with the preferred launch time reflecting a flight day three rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station. The launch window will be updated to coincide with the latest orbital position of the Space Station and will be announced at the T-9 minute hold. STS-113 is a scheduled 11-day mission with a planned KSC landing at about 3:07 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 3. This mission marks the sixteenth Shuttle flight to the International Space Station and the fifth Shuttle mission this year. Mission STS-113 is the 19th flight of the orbiter Endeavour and the 112th flight overall in NASA's Space Shuttle program. On mission STS-113, astronauts will deliver the Expedition Six crew and the Port 1 (P1) Integrated Truss Structure to the International Space Station. During the seven days Endeavour will be docked to the Station, three spacewalks will be performed dedicated to connecting the P1 truss to the port side of the S0 truss, already in place on the Station. The STS-113 crew includes Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Paul Lockhart, and Mission Specialists Michael Lopez-Alegria and John Herrington, and Expedition Six crew members Commander Kenneth Bowersox, Donald Pettit, and Nikolai Budarin, a cosmonaut with the Russian Space Agency. (end of general release) REMAINING COUNTDOWN MILESTONES *all times are Eastern Launch-1 Day (Thursday, Nov. 21) (As of 7 p.m. EST, the countdown clock is in a scheduled built-in hold at the T-11 hour mark) * Flight crew equipment late stow activities continue Launch Day (Friday, Nov. 22) * Move Rotating Service Structure (RSS) to the park position (about 12:00 a.m.) * Perform ascent switch list * Fuel cell flow-through purge complete Resume countdown at T-11 hours (4:20 a.m.) * Activate the orbiter's fuel cells (5:30 a.m.) * Clear the blast danger area of all nonessential personnel * Switch Endeavour's purge air to gaseous nitrogen (6:35 a.m.) Enter planned 2-hour built-in hold at the T-6 hour mark (9:20 a.m.) * Launch team verifies no violations of launch commit criteria prior to cryogenic loading of the external tank * Clear pad of all personnel * Begin loading the external tank with about 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants (as early as 10:50 a.m.) Resume countdown at T-6 hours (11:20 a.m.) * Complete filling the external tank with its flight load of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants (about 1:55 p.m.) * Final Inspection Team proceed to launch pad Enter planned 2-hour built-in hold at T-3 hours (2:20 p.m.) * Perform inertial measurement unit preflight calibration * Align Merritt Island Launch Area (MILA) tracking antennas * Perform open loop test with Eastern Range Resume countdown at T-3 hours (4:20 p.m.) * Complete close-out preparations in the white room * Check cockpit switch configurations * Begin Eastern Range final network open loop command checks * Primary ascent guidance data is transferred to the backup flight system * Complete inertial measurement unit preflight alignments Enter planned 10-minute hold at T-20 minutes (7:00 p.m.) * NASA Test Director conducts final launch team briefings * Transition the orbiter's onboard computers to launch configuration * Start fuel cell thermal conditioning * Close orbiter cabin vent valves * Transition backup flight system to launch configuration Resume countdown at T-20 minutes (7:10 p.m.) Enter estimated 45-minute hold at T-9 minutes (7:21 p.m.) * Launch Director, Mission Management Team and NASA Test Director conduct final polls for go/no go to launch Resume countdown at T-9 minutes (about 8:09 p.m.) * Start automatic ground launch sequencer (T-9:00 minutes) * Retract orbiter crew access arm (T-7:30) * Start mission recorders (T-6:15) * Start Auxiliary Power Units (T-5:00) * Arm SRB and ET range safety safe and arm devices (T-5:00) * Start liquid oxygen drainback (T-4:55) * Start orbiter aerosurface profile test (T-3:55) * Start main engine gimbal profile test (T-3:30) * Pressurize liquid oxygen tank (T-2:55) * Begin retraction of the gaseous oxygen vent arm (T-2:55) * Fuel cells to internal reactants (T-2:35) * Pressurize liquid hydrogen tank (T-1:57) * Deactivate SRB joint heaters (T-1:00) * Orbiter transfers from ground to internal power (T-0:50 seconds) * Ground Launch Sequencer go for auto sequence start (T-0:31 seconds) * SRB gimbal profile (T-0:21 seconds) * Ignition of three Space Shuttle main engines (T-6.6 seconds) * SRB ignition and liftoff (T-0) -- end-- ------------------------------------------------------------- For automatic email subscriptions to this KSC originated press releases, send an Internet electronic mail message to mailto:ksc-news_release-subscribe@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov. 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