Release No.93-002

FLIGHT CONTROL RELEASE OF STS-54 AND TRAJECTORY SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

Flight control for STS-54, the 3rd voyage of Endeavour, will follow the procedures and traditioins common to U.S. manned space flights since 1965, when the Mission Control Center was first used.

Responsiblity for conducting Shuttle operations will revert to the Mission Control Center (MCC) in Houston once Columbia's two solid rocket boosters ignite. Mission support in the MCC will begin five hours prior to launch and continue through landing. A Trajectory Sequence of Events, descrivint the shuttle's planned altitude and speed from liftoff through achieving orbit, is attached.

The primary objectives of Mission STS-54 are to deploy NASA's Tracking and Date Relay Satellite-F (TDRS-F), perform observations with the Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer, and perform a variety of in-cabin experiments. A Spacewalk test is also planned for the fith day of the flight.

Orbiter operations will be conducted from Flight Control Room Two (FCR-w) on the third floor of the MCC located in Bldg. 30 at the Johnson Space Center. The teams of flight controllers will alternate shifts in the control center and in enarby analysis and support facilities. The handover between each team takes about an hour and allows each flight controller to brief his or her replacement on developments during the previous two hisfts.

The flight control teams for this mission will be referred to as the Ascent/Entry, Orbit 1, Orbit 2, and Planning teams. The ascent and entry phases will be conducted by flight director Jeff Bantle and Rich Jackson, respectively. The Orbit 1 team will be directed by flight director Chuck Shaw. The Orbit 2 team will be lead by flight director Phil Engelauf. the Planning team will be led by John Muratroe.

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