Mark Hess/Ed Campion
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                                 
July 1, 1992
(Phone:  202/453-8536)


RELEASE:  92-101

Atlantis to Undergo Modifications in Palmdale

   The Space Shuttle Atlantis, OV-104, will be returned to the 
Rockwell facility in Palmdale, Calif., following the STS-46 
mission for modifications to conduct a joint docking mission 
with the Russian Mir space station.  

   Mission equipment associated with enabling Atlantis to dock 
with the Russian space station Mir will be made while Atlantis 
is in Palmdale.  The United States recently signed an agreement 
with the Russian government to conduct a space docking mission 
in the 1994 to 1995 timeframe.  Atlantis will be making its 
12th mission on STS-46, scheduled for late July.  

   While at Palmdale, Atlantis will undergo its planned Orbiter 
Maintenance Down Period (OMDP), a series of equipment upgrades 
and inspections performed on every orbiter vehicle about every 
3 years.  OV-103 Discovery currently is undergoing its OMDP at 
Kennedy Space Center in Florida (KSC).  Atlantis also will be 
modified with the same extended duration capability currently 
being demonstrated on the STS-50/USML mission.  

   Shuttle Program Manager Thomas Utsman said the decision to 
perform the work at Palmdale will permit the work force at 
Kennedy to focus on preparing Space Shuttles for flight.  

   "This means the KSC team can devote 100 percent of their 
efforts to safely and efficiently carrying out the manifest," 
said Utsman.  "We estimate it will require about a year to 
modify 104, and we won't have to tie up an orbiter processing 
facility for that time.  This results in a lot of flexibility 
in terms of processing the other orbiters.  

   "Performing the work at Palmdale gives us the added 
advantage of being able to maintain a skilled, highly effective 
work force in California which is essential for us to carry out 
our structural spares work," Utsman added.  
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   The structural spares program is designed to provide NASA 
with major hardware that would be needed in the event an 
orbiter is damaged.  
Utsman said the decision will not result in any jobs being lost 
at KSC.  Future OMDP inspections are planned to be performed at 
KSC.

                            - end -

EDITORS NOTE:  During the STS-50 mission, Mark Hess can be 
reached at the Marshall Space Flight Center at 205/544-6378, 
and Ed Campion can be reached at the Johnson Space Center at 
713/483-5111.