The crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-81 will be at Kennedy Space Center next week for the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT).
The TCDT is held prior to each Space Shuttle flight providing the crew of each mission opportunities to participate in simulated countdown activities at KSC. The TCDT ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a simulated main engine cutoff. The crew also spends time undergoing emergency egress training exercises at the pad and has an opportunity to view and inspect their mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay.
The seven-member crew of mission STS-82 is scheduled to arrive at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at about 2:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20. No media opportunity will be available for this event.
On Tuesday, news media representatives will have an opportunity to speak informally with and photograph the crew at Pad 39B. Media interested in participating in this question and answer session should be at the KSC Press Site by 10:30 a.m. Tuesday for transport to the pad.
On Thursday, the crew will take part in simulated launch day events, including entering the orbiter Discovery fully suited as a main engine ignition and cut-off is simulated. Following TCDT, the crew is scheduled to depart KSC for their homes in Houston for final flight preparations.
Discovery is now targeted for launch on Feb. 11 at 3:56 a.m. EST. Mission STS-82 will be the second servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. The mission is expected to last about 10 days.
Crew members for mission STS-82 are: Commander Ken Bowersox, Pilot Scott Horowitz and Mission Specialists Joe Tanner, Steven Hawley, Greg Harbaugh, Mark Lee and Steven Smith.