Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1272)
Jessica Rye
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 321/867-2468)
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08.26.05
| STATUS REPORT:
S05-035
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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 ISS Flight (ULF1)
Payload: Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
Location: Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3
Launch Date: NET March 2006
Launch Pad: 39B
Crew: Lindsey, Kelly, Sellers, Fossum, Nowak, Wilson and Reiter
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Following Discovery's return from Edwards Air Force Base in California atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on Sunday, the vehicle was rolled into Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 to begin its processing for the second Space Shuttle Return to Flight test mission, STS-121.
The orbiter was placed on its jacks and work stands were installed around the vehicle. Obiter window inspections are complete and protective covers installed. The payload bay doors were opened on Wednesday.
Atlantis (OV-104)
Mission: STS-115 - 19th ISS Flight (12A)
Payload: P3/P4 Solar Arrays
Location: Vehicle Assembly Building
Launch Date: TBD
Launch Pad: 39B
Crew: Jett, Ferguson, Tanner, Burbank, MacLean, Stefanyshyn-Piper
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Orbiter Atlantis remains in the Vehicle Assembly Building attached to its External Tank (ET-120) and Solid Rocket Boosters. Preparations are under way to demate, or remove, Atlantis from its ET. Atlantis will be lowered next week into the transfer aisle and be rolled back to Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1 in early September. ET-120, the first redesigned ET to arrive at KSC, will eventually be sent back to the Michoud Assembly Facility for further testing.
In the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Solid Rocket Boosters will be destacked and sent back to ATK Thiokol in Utah for refurbishment. In December, the booster segments will have reached the end of the time allowable for segments to be stacked prior to a launch. A new booster stack will be built for Atlantis' launch.
Endeavour (OV-105)
Endeavour is in its Orbiter Major Modification period, which began in December 2003.
External Tank
External Tank 119, the third redesigned tank to arrive at Kennedy Space Center, was moved from the checkout cell in the Vehicle Assembly Building and loaded onto Pegasus, NASA's specially designed barge, on Tuesday for transport to the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The tank will be returned for further evaluation, inspection and redesign prior to the next Return to Flight mission, designated STS-121.
Previous Space Shuttle processing status reports are available on the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/
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