November 21, 2000
Joel Wells
Kennedy Space Center, FL
(Phone: 321/867-2468)
KSC Release No. 100-00
LAUNCH COUNTDOWN FOR SHUTTLE MISSION STS-97 BEGINS 1 A.M. NOV. 28
NASA will begin the countdown for launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-97 Nov. 28 at 1 a.m. EST at the T-43 hour mark. This mission marks the 6th Shuttle flight to the International Space Station and the 5th Shuttle mission this year. The KSC launch team will conduct the countdown from Firing Room 1 of the Launch Control Center.
The countdown includes 28 hours of built-in hold time leading to a preferred launch time at about 10:06 p.m. on Nov. 30 with a launch window not to exceed 5 minutes. The exact location of the orbiting International Space Station (ISS) will be determined during the T-9 minute built-in hold. The launch director will at that time determine the exact time of launch.
Mission STS-97 is the 15th flight of the orbiter Endeavour and the 101st flight overall in NASA’s Space Shuttle program. STS-97 is scheduled to last 10 days, 19 hours and 52 minutes with a planned KSC landing at about 5:58 p.m. on Dec. 11.
Endeavour rolled into KSC’s Orbiter Processing Facility on Feb. 23, after completing mission STS-99, to undergo processing for this flight. The orbiter rolled out of OPF bay 2 and into the Vehicle Assembly Building on Oct. 25. While in VAB high bay 1, Endeavour was mated to the external tank and solid rocket boosters. The entire Space Shuttle stack was transferred to Launch Pad 39B Oct. 31.
On mission STS-97, the five-member crew will be the first to visit the occupied International Space Station. During the flight, the crew of Endeavour will deliver the P6 Integrated Truss Segment and two of the eight solar arrays that will eventually provide 105 kilowatts of power to ISS. The mission objectives include a total of three space walks to be completed by Carlos Noriega and Joe Tanner.
The STS-97 crew includes: Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Mike Bloomfield, and Mission Specialists Joe Tanner, Marc Garneau and Carlos Noriega.
(end of general release)
COUNTDOWN MILESTONES
*all times are Eastern
Launch- 2 Days (Tuesday, Nov. 28)
¨ Prepare for the start of the STS-97 launch countdown
¨ Perform the call-to-stations (12:30 a.m.)
¨ Countdown begins at the T-43 hour mark (1 a.m.)
¨ Begin final vehicle and facility close-outs for launch
¨ Check out back-up flight systems
¨ Review flight software stored in mass memory units and display systems
¨ Load backup flight system software into Endeavour’s general purpose computers
¨ Remove mid-deck and flight-deck platforms (9 a.m.)
¨ Activate and test navigational systems (2 p.m.)
¨ Complete preparation to load power reactant storage and distribution system (4 p.m.)
¨ Flight deck preliminary inspections complete (5 p.m.)
Enter first built-in hold at T-27 hours for duration of 4 hours (5 p.m.)
¨ Clear launch pad of all non-essential personnel
¨ Perform test of the vehicle's pyrotechnic initiator controllers (6 p.m.)
Resume countdown (9 p.m.)
¨ Begin operations to load cryogenic reactants into Endeavour’s fuel cell storage tanks
(9 p.m. – 5 a.m.)
Launch-1 Day (Wednesday, Nov. 29)
Enter 4-hour built-in hold at T-19 hours (5 a.m.)
¨ Begin filling pad sound suppression system water tank (5 a.m.)
¨ Demate orbiter mid-body umbilical unit (5:30 a.m.)
¨ Resume orbiter and ground support equipment close-outs
¨ Pad sound suppression system water tank filling complete (8:30 a.m.)
Resume countdown (9 a.m.)
¨ Final preparations of the Shuttle's three main engines for main propellant tanking
and
flight (9 a.m.)
¨ Close out the tail service masts on the mobile launcher platform
Enter planned hold at T-11 hours for 13 hours, 10 minutes (5 p.m.)
¨ Begin star tracker functional checks (6 p.m.)
¨ Activate orbiter's inertial measurement units
¨ Activate the orbiter's communications systems
¨ Install film in numerous cameras on the launch pad (9 p.m.)
¨ Flight crew equipment late stow (10:50 p.m.)
Launch Day (Thursday, Nov. 30)
¨ Move Rotating Service Structure (RSS) to the park position (2 a.m.)
¨ Perform ascent switch list
¨ Fuel cell flow-through purge complete
Resume countdown at T-11 hours (6:10 a.m.)
¨ Activate the orbiter's fuel cells (7:20 a.m.)
¨ Clear the blast danger area of all non-essential personnel
¨ Switch Endeavour’s purge air to gaseous nitrogen (8:25 a.m.)
Enter planned 2-hour built-in hold at the T-6 hour mark (11:10 a.m.)
¨ Launch team verifies no violations of launch commit criteria prior to cryogenic loading of
the external tank
¨ Clear pad of all personnel
¨ Chilldown of propellant transfer lines (12:40 p.m.)
¨ Begin loading the external tank with about 500,000 gallons of cryogenic
propellants (about 1:10 p.m.)
Resume countdown (1:10 p.m.)
¨ Complete filling the external tank with its flight load of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen
propellants (about 4:10 p.m.)
¨ Final Inspection Team proceed to launch pad
Enter planned 2-hour built-in hold at T-3 hours (4:10 p.m.)
¨ Perform inertial measurement unit preflight calibration
¨ Align Merritt Island Launch Area (MILA) tracking antennas
¨ Perform open loop test with Eastern Range
Resume countdown at T-3 hours (6:10 p.m.)
¨ Crew departs Operations and Checkout Building for the pad (at 6:20 p.m.)
¨ Complete close-out preparations in the white room
¨ Check cockpit switch configurations
¨ Flight crew begins entry into the orbiter (about 6:50 p.m.)
¨ Astronauts perform air-to-ground voice checks with Launch and Mission Control
¨ Close Endeavour’s crew hatch (about 8:05 p.m.)
¨ Begin Eastern Range final network open loop command checks
¨ Perform hatch seal and cabin leak checks
¨ Complete white room close-out
¨ Close-out crew moves to fallback area
¨ Primary ascent guidance data is transferred to the backup flight system
Enter planned 10-minute hold at T-20 minutes (8:50 p.m.)
¨ NASA Test Director conducts final launch team briefings
¨ Complete inertial measurement unit preflight alignments
Resume countdown at T-20 minutes (9 p.m.)
¨ Transition the orbiter's onboard computers to launch configuration
¨ Start fuel cell thermal conditioning
¨ Close orbiter cabin vent valves
¨ Transition backup flight system to launch configuration
Enter estimated 45-minute hold at T-9 minutes (9:11 p.m.)
¨ Launch Director, Mission Management Team and NASA Test Director conduct final polls
for go/no go to launch
Resume countdown at T-9 minutes (about 9:56 p.m.)
¨ Start automatic ground launch sequencer (T-9:00 minutes)
¨ Retract orbiter crew access arm (T-7:30)
¨ Start mission recorders (T-6:15)
¨ Start Auxiliary Power Units (T-5:00)
¨ Arm SRB and ET range safety safe and arm devices (T-5:00)
¨ Start liquid oxygen drainback (T-4:55)
¨ Start orbiter aerosurface profile test (T-3:55)
¨ Start main engine gimbal profile test (T-3:30)
¨ Pressurize liquid oxygen tank (T-2:55)
¨ Begin retraction of the gaseous oxygen vent arm (T-2:55)
¨ Fuel cells to internal reactants (T-2:35)
¨ Pressurize liquid hydrogen tank (T-1:57)
¨ Deactivate SRB joint heaters (T-1:00)
¨ Orbiter transfers from ground to internal power (T-0:50 seconds)
¨ Ground Launch Sequencer go for auto sequence start (T-0:31 seconds)
¨ SRB gimbal profile (T-0:21 seconds)
¨ Ignition of three Space Shuttle main engines (T-6.6 seconds)
¨ SRB ignition and liftoff (T-0)
For automatic e-mail subscriptions to this daily Shuttle status report or KSC-originated press releases, send an Internet electronic mail message to domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov. In the body of the message (not the subject line) type the words "subscribe shuttle-status", or "subscribe ksc-press-release" (do not use quotation marks). The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription.