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KSC Public Affairs Contact:
George Diller (fax 407-867-2692)
E-mail: George.Diller-1@ksc.nasa.gov
RUSSIAN DOCKING MODULE TO ARRIVE
WEDNESDAY AT KSC ABOARD AEROFLOT AIR CARGO PLANE
The primary payload for Space Shuttle
mission STS-74, the Russian Docking Module, is scheduled to arrive at
the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 7 at 11 a.m. The Russian
Docking Module will be attached to the MIR Space Station as an orbiter
interface for the remaining six Space Shuttle rendezvous flights after
STS-71. This will be the first payload to be prepared for launch in
Kennedy Space Center’s new Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF).
The Russian Docking Module and a pair of
solar arrays for the MIR space station will arrive at the KSC Shuttle
Landing Facility aboard an Aeroflot Antonov-124 aircraft, a Russian air
cargo plane. It is approximately equivalent in size to an Air Force C-5.
News media wishing to observe the arrival of the AN-124 aircraft at the
SLF should be at the KSC News Center at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Approximately 50 Russian personnel will
be at KSC over the next several months for the final assembly and
testing of the Russian Docking Module. In late August the module will be
turned over to the STS-74 payload test team at Kennedy Space Center and
transferred to the Operations and Checkout Building. There it will
undergo a series of tests verifying its readiness and compatibility with
the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The Russian Docking Module will be installed
into the payload bay of Atlantis at the orbiter processing facility the
first week of September and integrated orbiter/payload testing will
follow.
Launch of STS-74 with Atlantis and the
Russian Docking Module is currently scheduled for late October.
News media representatives covering the
arrival of the Russian Docking Module aboard the AN-124 aircraft may
wish to call the KSC News Center early Wednesday morning to assure that
the arrival time has not changed. |
