KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
      MONDAY, APRIL 5, 1999 (3:08 PM EDT)
      MISSION: STS-96 -- 2nd U.S. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FLIGHT
      SPACEHAB DOUBLE MODULE
      • VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103
      • LOCATION: OPF bay 1
      • TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: May 24, 1999 at 7:58 a.m. EDT
      • TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: June 3, 1999 at 3:39 a.m. EDT
      • LAUNCH WINDOW: 5-10 minutes
      • MISSION DURATION: 9 days, 19 hours and 41 minutes
      • CREW: Rominger, Husband, Ochoa, Jernigan, Barry, Payette, Tokarev
      • ADDITIONAL PAYLOADS: ICC, STARSHINE, SVF AND IVHM
      • ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 173 nautical miles/51.6 degrees

      NOTE: Over the weekend, workers completed leak checks on Discovery's hydraulic power system and crew cabin. Water spray boiler servicing is under way and checks of the integrated vehicle health monitoring system continue. Orbiter aft and midbody compartment close-outs are in progress. External tank and solid rocket booster close-outs are ongoing in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Later this week, workers will vent the external fuel tank's thermal foam by drilling small holes in the foam. This effort will help reduce the amount of orbiter-damaging foam debris generated during ascent.

      STS-96 SCHEDULED OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are target only):

      • Orbiter rolls to Vehicle Assembly Building (April 14)
      • Shuttle rolls to Launch Pad 39B (April 21)
      • Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (April 29 and 30)
      MISSION: STS-93 -- Chandra X-ray Observatory (formerly AXAF)

      STS-93 images

      • VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102
      • LOCATION: Vehicle Assembly Building high bay 2
      • TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: July 9, 1999 at 1:19 a.m. EDT
      • TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: July 14, 1999 at 12:20 a.m. EDT
      • LAUNCH WINDOW: 46 minutes
      • MISSION DURATION: 4 days, 23 hours
      • CREW: Collins, Ashby, Hawley, Coleman, Tognini
      • ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 153 nautical miles/28.45 degrees

      NOTE: Columbia is jacked and leveled in Vehicle Assembly Building high bay 2 undergoing system observation during a temporary storage period. Columbia will remain in the VAB until mid-April, when Shuttle Discovery rolls out of Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1. Columbia will then be transferred to OPF bay 1 to complete STS-93's orbiter prelaunch preparations.

      MISSION: STS-99 -- SHUTTLE RADAR TOPOGRAPHY MISSION (SRTM)
      • VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105
      • LOCATION: OPF bay 2
      • TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Sept. 16, 1999 at 8:47 a.m. EDT
      • TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Sept. 27, 1999 at 12:52 p.m. EDT
      • LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hours and 30 minutes
      • MISSION DURATION: 11 days, 4 hours and 5 minutes
      • CREW: Kregel, Gorie, Kavandi, Voss, Mohri, Thiele
      • ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 126 nautical miles/57 degrees

      NOTE: Preparations to replace Endeavour's left orbital maneuvering system engine are complete and removal efforts begin today. Fuel cells No. 1 and No. 2 are being replaced this week as well. Valve modifications on freon coolant loop No. 1 continue and water spray boiler checks are under way.

      MISSION: STS-101 -- 3rd INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FLIGHT
      SPACEHAB DOUBLE MODULE/ICC
      • VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
      • LOCATION: OPF bay 3
      • TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: December 2, 1999
      • TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: December 13, 1999
      • LAUNCH WINDOW: 5-10 minutes
      • MISSION DURATION: 10 days and 19 hours
      • CREW: Halsell, Horowitz, Weber, Lu, Williams, Malenchenko, Morukov
      • ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 173 nautical miles/51.6 degrees

      NOTE: Atlantis' main propulsion system is undergoing leak and functional tests this week. The oxygen tank for the orbiter's power reactant storage and distribution system has been removed to accommodate the replacement of an attach bolt. The tank will be reinstalled tomorrow. Later this week, workers will remove the external airlock to gain additional orbiter access.

      --end--

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      Author: Joel Wells / NASA Public Affairs
      Curator: Kay Grinter (kay.grinter-1@ksc.nasa.gov) / Information Dynamics, Inc.
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