12.02.05 J.D. Harrington Headquarters, Washington Phone: (202) 358-5241 Jessica Rye Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Phone: (321) 867-2468 STATUS REPORT: S-120205 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING STATUS REPORT Note: NASA's Kennedy Space Center issues Space Shuttle Processing Status Reports each week, and is the source for information regarding processing activities associated with the vehicles and payloads. This report does not necessarily reflect the chronological order of future Space Shuttle missions. If you are a member of the media and would like further information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/index.html. Discovery (OV-103) Mission: STS-121 - 18th International Space Station Flight (ULF1.1) Payload: Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Location: Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 Launch Date: TBD - No earlier than May 2006 Launch Pad: 39B Crew: Lindsey, Kelly, Sellers, Fossum, Nowak, Wilson and Reiter Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles Technicians continue to process Discovery for NASA's second shuttle return-to-flight test mission, STS-121. Powered-up system testing and drag chute door installation continue. Once the cure on the door is complete, it will be opened to verify proper cure, and the flight pins will be installed. The orbiter boom sensor system is in the transfer aisle of the processing facility awaiting installation. Final work will be completed soon on the manipulator positioning mechanism, the pedestals that hold the boom in place in the payload bay, and the boom will be installed next week. Atlantis (OV-104) Mission: STS-115 - 19th International Space Station Flight (12A) Payload: P3/P4 Solar Arrays Location: Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1 Launch Date: TBD Launch Pad: 39B Crew: Jett, Ferguson, Tanner, Burbank, MacLean and Stefanyshyn-Piper Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles Atlantis processing continues on schedule. Thermal protection system gap-filler pull tests are complete. Work will begin soon to replace selected gap fillers identified during pull tests and analysis. This work is being performed due to two gap fillers that protruded from the underside of Discovery during STS-114. New installation procedures are being developed to ensure the gap fillers stay in place and do not pose a hazard during re-entry. Preparations to install the forward reaction control system continue. The cavity closeout photos were completed Thursday, and the installation of the system is scheduled for early next week. This control system provides the thrust for attitude maneuvers, pitch, yaw and roll, and for small velocity changes along the orbiter axis. Endeavour (OV-105) Body-flap power drive-unit installation continues in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2, with work focused on safety wire and insulation. The main landing gear was cycled this week to support environmental seal compression testing on compartment doors. The vehicle will remain powered down for work on the new modification, called the "station to shuttle power transfer system." The system will allow the shuttle to remain docked to the station longer. External Tank At NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, engineers continue evaluating the causes of the foam loss during Discovery's launch in July. Detailed inspections of the Protuberance Air Load ramp of external tank #120 show at least one crack that extends all the way to the tank's base foam layer. Evaluation continues on the cracks, their cause and the possibility of flying STS-121 without the ramp. Preliminary analysis indicates it is aerodynamically feasible, but additional wind-tunnel testing will be scheduled to ensure flight integrity. Work continues to meet a May launch window. If additional testing shows the ramp is needed, external tank processing will be stopped until requirements are assessed. Previous Space Shuttle processing status reports are available on the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ -end- To subscribe to the list, send a message to: ksc-subscribe@newsletters.nasa.gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: ksc-unsubscribe@newsletters.nasa.gov
