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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 1996 (2:45 PM EDT) KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham (fax 407-867-2692) E-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov MISSION: STS-78 -- LIFE AND MICROGRAVITY SPACELAB (LMS) VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 LOCATION: Pad 39B TARGET LAUNCH DATE/TIME: June 20 at 10:49 a.m. (EDT) LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hours, 30 minutes TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: July 7 at about 8:39 a.m. MISSION DURATION: 15 days, 22 hours (+1 day) CREW SIZE: 7 ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 173 statute miles/39 degrees NOTE: The STS-78 Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test was successfully completed today at Pad 39B. The test ended at about 11:30 a.m. with a simulated main engine shut down at the pad. The TCDT is a countdown rehearsal for the STS-78 crew and the KSC launch team and is conducted at the launch site prior to each flight. The STS-78 crew are: Commander Tom Henricks; Pilot Kevin Kregel; Mission Specialists Susan Helms, Richard Linnehan and Charles Brady; and Payload Specialists Jean-Jacques Favier (French Space Agency) and Robert Brent Thirsk (Canadian Space Agency). Tomorrow, mission managers will be at KSC for the Flight Readiness Review. This review is held prior to each Space Shuttle launch and is designed to identify any outstanding problems or concerns surrounding the launch and mission of STS-78. Following the review, a firm launch date is expected to be announced. KEY STS-78 OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are target only): Flight Readiness Review (Thursday) Begin countdown at the T-43 hour mark (June 17) MISSION: STS-79 -- 4th MIR DOCKING & SPACEHAB DM VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 LOCATION: Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 TARGET LAUNCH DATE: July 31 at about 11:42 p.m. (EDT) LAUNCH WINDOW: 7-10 minutes TARGET KSC LANDING DATE: August 9 at about 8:17 p.m. MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 20 hours, 35 minutes CREW SIZE: 6 ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.6 degrees NOTE: The tunnel adapter is scheduled to be installed into the payload bay tonight. Tomorrow in the Vehicle Assembly Building, the external tank will be mated to the twin solid rocket boosters. KEY STS-79 OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are target only): Mate external tank with solid rocket boosters in VAB (Thursday) Crew equipment interface test (Saturday) Close payload bay doors for flight (June 19) Roll Atlantis to Vehicle Assembly Building (June 24) PREPARATIONS FOR ORBITER MAINTENANCE DOWN PERIOD VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105 LOCATION: Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 NOTE: Post-mission servicing continues in the Orbiter Processing Facility. The Spacehab payload and the tunnel adapter have been removed. The tunnel adapter was delivered to OPF bay 1 and will be installed into the orbiter Atlantis tonight. Endeavour is being prepared for its first Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP) which involves sending the orbiter to Palmdale, CA, for about eight months of major modifications and structural inspections. Delivery to Palmdale will occur during the first week of August. Endeavour's next mission will be the first International Space Station assembly Space Shuttle flight, scheduled for launch from KSC in late 1997. KEY PRE-OMDP OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are target only): Remove Space Shuttle main engines (June 18) Remove right hand orbital maneuvering system pod (June 26) Remove forward reaction control system (June 29) Remove left hand orbital maneuvering system pod (July 2) NOTE on DISCOVERY: The orbiter Discovery, currently undergoing a series of modifications and thorough inspections in Palmdale, CA, is scheduled to be delivered back to KSC later this month. The vehicle is targeted to be rolled out of the Palmdale facility on June 25, begin the ferry flight on June 26 and arrive back at KSC June 27 or 28. The Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP) is a routinely scheduled operation that periodically removes all orbiters from flight operations. Once Discovery is back at KSC, preparations will begin for its next flight, mission STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, set for launch in February 1997.-- end -- 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. To remove your name from the list at any time, send an e-mail address to domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov. In the body of the message (not the subject line), type (no quotes) "unsubscribe shuttle-status", or "unsubscribe ksc-press-release."