03.03.06 Katherine Trinidad Headquarters, Washington Phone: (202) 358-3749 Jessica Rye Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Phone: (321) 867-2468 STATUS REPORT: S-030306 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: 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 On Thursday, Space Shuttle Program management set a launch date of no earlier than May 10 for Discovery's launch to the International Space Station. Technicians continue preparing Discovery for its rollover from Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Work is under way to close out various areas of the vehicle for flight. Following the installation of the space shuttle main engines, technicians have added a dome-mounted heat shield around each engine. The heat shields are composed of two, semicircle-shaped sections of heat shield tiles that surround the engines. The external fuel tank for the STS-121 mission arrived by barge at the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, five days after leaving the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The tank, designated ET-119, was towed into the Vehicle Assembly Building and on Thursday was lifted into a checkout area for final processing before being attached to the solid rocket boosters. 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: No earlier than Aug. 28, 2006 Launch Pad: 39B Crew: Jett, Ferguson, Tanner, Burbank, MacLean and Stefanyshyn-Piper Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles Technicians continue processing Atlantis in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 for its mission to the International Space Station, scheduled for no earlier than Aug. 28. The vehicle remains in a scheduled powered-down period, with the next power-up to occur as early as next week. Leak checks of water coolant loop No. 1 were successfully completed. Servicing of that loop is scheduled for the middle of next week. Work on the shuttle's thermal protection system, or heat shield, continues with gap filler removal and replacements. Endeavour (OV-105) In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2, work continues on Endeavour following an extensive modification period. The vehicle remains in a powered-down period, and technicians continue to implement the new Return-to-Flight modifications to Endeavour. Rigging of both the elbow and shoulder for the remote manipulator system, or shuttle arm, continues. Final work continues on the reinforced carbon-carbon nose cap. It is scheduled to be installed into the vehicle next week. For previous space shuttle processing status reports on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/home -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
