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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
(UPDATED) FRIDAY, JULY 12, 1996  (7:07 PM EDT)

KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham (fax 407-867-2692)
E-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov


MISSION: STS-79 -- 4th MIR DOCKING & SPACEHAB DM

VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
LOCATION:  Vehicle Assembly Building
TARGET LAUNCH DATE/TIME: mid-September
LAUNCH WINDOW: 7-10 minutes
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: TBD
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 20 hours
CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.6 degrees

NOTE: Mission managers decided late today to not roll Atlantis back
out to the pad in order to destack the vehicle from its current set
of solid rocket boosters and re-stack it to another set. Atlantis has
been in the Vehicle Assembly Building since Wednesday when it was
taken off Pad 39A due to threats from Hurricane Bertha.

	This decision will delay Atlantis' launch until mid-September.

	Atlantis' boosters are being replaced because of hot gas
seepage into the field joints of the Columbia STS-78 boosters, which
was launched on June 20.

	An investigation found that the most probable cause of the
seepage was related to the use of a new adhesive and cleaning fluid.

	The investigation also concluded that the risk of a field
joint failure was improbable and that the STS-79 boosters were safe
to fly. The decision to replace the STS-79 boosters, which utilized
the new adhesive used on STS-78, was made to provide an opportunity
to better understand the J-joint failure and to improve the safety
margin of the field joints.

	Additional information and timelines for destacking and
restacking Atlantis will be available next week.
-- end --
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