The orbiter Atlantis, veteran of 20 Space Shuttle flights and seven Mir docking missions, will depart Kennedy Space Center, FL, on Tuesday, Nov. 11, for Palmdale, CA, for extensive inspections and modifications as part of the scheduled orbiter maintenance down period (OMDP).
This is Atlantis' second OMDP, an action that periodically removes all four of NASA's orbiters from flight operations. The orbiter's first OMDP extended from October 1992 through May 1994 with major work required to support missions to Mir.
Atlantis will spend more than nine months at the Orbiter Assembly Facility in Palmdale where about 120 modifications will be performed on the vehicle. Among the major modifications, an enhanced Global Positioning Satellite system will be installed to more accurately pinpoint the orbiter's location in flight. This improvement provides state of the art technology to both flight crew and mission controllers. Final preparations for future International Space Station (ISS) missions are also planned during Atlantis' down time. For example, the orbiter's docking system will be configured for ISS docking operations instead of the current Mir configuration.
Atlantis rolled out of KSC's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 today, bound for the Shuttle Landing Facility's Mate-Demate Device. Later tonight, Atlantis will be mated, in "piggy-back" fashion, to the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). Ferry flight departure may occur as early as 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11.
The coupled orbiter and SCA are expected to make a one-day cross-country flight to California, with a planned refueling stop in Texas. All ferry flight plans are subject to weather restrictions and alternate landing sites may be selected en route if necessary.
Ferry flight rules state the orbiter/SCA cannot fly through precipitation, thick clouds or high turbulence. There are also wind and temperature restrictions. Following this modification period, Atlantis is expected to return to KSC in late August of 1998. The orbiter's next flight, targeted for Jan. 14, 1999, will be the third ISS assembly flight.
News media interested in viewing the orbiter/SCA departure from KSC must be at the KSC press site by 6 a.m. Tuesday for transport to the Shuttle Landing Facility. Media should call the KSC Press Site before close of business today to confirm the departure time.