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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 1996 (10:12 AM EST)

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


MISSION: STS-76 -- 3rd MIR DOCKING & SPACEHAB

VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
LOCATION: Pad 39B
LAUNCH DATE/TIME: March 21 at about 3:35 a.m. EST
LAUNCH WINDOW: 6 to 10 minutes
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: March 30 at about 8:04 a.m. EST
MISSION DURATION: 9 days, 4 hours
CREW SIZE: 6 up -- 5 down
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 184 statute miles/51.6 degrees

NOTE: Payload interface verification tests are complete and the payload bay 
doors will be closed for flight early this afternoon. Today, aft engine 
compartment close-outs are in work and scheduled for completion on Saturday. 
The STS-76 Flight Readiness Review involving Shuttle managers from various 
spaceflight centers concluded yesterday afternoon. Following the meeting, 
managers selected March 21 as the official launch date for mission STS-76.

KEY STS-76 OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are target only):
* Ordnance installation (Wednesday)
* Pressurize hypergolic reactant storage tanks (Thursday)
* Crew arrival (12:01 a.m. Monday)
* Begin countdown for launch (2 a.m. Monday)


MISSION: STS-77 -- SPACEHAB-4 & SPARTAN 207

VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105
LOCATION: Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3
TARGET LAUNCH DATE/TIME: May 16 at 6:32 a.m.
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: May 26 at 7:09 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 10 days
CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 176 statute miles/39 degrees

NOTE: Installation of the Space Shuttle main engines will begin on 
Wednesday. The low pressure fuel turbo pumps were replaced on the engines 
last weekend. Solid rocket booster stacking operations continue in the 
Vehicle Assembly Building.

KEY STS-77 OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are target only):
* Payload premate tests (Tuesday)
* Install Space Shuttle main engines (Wednesday)


MISSION: STS-78 -- LIFE AND MICROGRAVITY SCIENCE (LMS)

VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 
LOCATION: Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2
TARGET LAUNCH DATE/TIME: June 27 at 10:49 a.m.
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: July 13 at 8:46 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 15 days, 22 hours
CREW SIZE: 7
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 173 statute miles/39 degrees

NOTE: Fuel cell inerting is complete as post-flight inspections continue. 
Impacts to the orbiter's thermal protection system during the 16-day flight 
totaled 96, 17 of which had a major dimension of 1-inch or larger. Compared 
to previous flights, this number is lower than average.

     The payload bay doors will be open early this afternoon and the 
Tethered Satellite System and United States Microgravity Payloads removed on 
Friday. Transport of the payloads to the Operations and Checkout Building 
will occur this weekend.

KEY STS-78 OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are target only):
* Remove STS-75 payloads (Friday)
* Hypergolic deservicing (Saturday)