MISSION: STS-99 -- SHUTTLE RADAR TOPOGRAPHY MISSION (SRTM)

• VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105
• LOCATION: OPF bay 2
• TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: October 1999 (date TBD)
• TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: October 1999 (date TBD)
• 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: Yesterday, workers removed the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission payload from Endeavour's payload bay and today technicians are establishing access to the orbiter's midbody for planned wiring inspections. Inspections are expected to begin this weekend. With wiring inspection and maintenance plans now in place, implementation efforts are in progress across the Shuttle fleet.

Shuttle managers are reviewing several manifest options this week and could establish the new target launch dates for 1999 as early as next week. Engineers must first define the time that will be needed to complete the fleet-wide wiring maintenance effort. Shuttle Endeavour currently remains slated for launch in early October.

MISSION: STS-103 -- 3rd HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SERVICING MISSION (HST-3)

• VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103
• LOCATION: OPF bay 1
• TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: October 1999 (date TBD)
• TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: October 1999
• LAUNCH WINDOW: 42 minutes
• MISSION DURATION: 9 days, 21 hours and 38 minutes
• CREW: Brown, Kelly, Smith, Foale, Grunsfeld, Nicollier, Clervoy
• ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 317 nautical miles/28.45 degrees

NOTE: Wiring inspections are about 25 percent complete aboard Shuttle Discovery. Earlier access allowed workers to begin inspections on Discovery this week. Technicians have completed installation of Discovery's external airlock hatch. Electrical connections are complete for the orbiter's forward reaction control system. Main engine heatshield installation is in work.

MISSION: STS-101 -- 3rd INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FLIGHT - SPACEHAB DOUBLE MODULE/ICC

• VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
• LOCATION: VAB bay 2
• 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: Orbiter Atlantis is currently being stored inside Vehicle Assembly Building high bay 2, awaiting the departure of Shuttle Endeavour from OPF bay 2. Wiring inspections in Atlantis' payload bay are complete and wireless video modifications have resumed. Atlantis will be moved to the VAB transfer aisle next week to accommodate external tank transfer activities.

NOTE: Orbiter Columbia is undergoing routine post-flight deservicing in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3. Also, workers are preparing the spacecraft for its upcoming Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP) in Palmdale, CA. Columbia is scheduled to be mounted atop NASA's modified Boeing 747 on Sept. 22. The ferry flight is scheduled to begin on Sept. 23 with an overnight stop at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Current plans have Columbia arriving in Palmdale, CA on Sept. 24. Because the orbiter can not be flown through precipitation of any kind, ferry flight plans are contingent upon weather conditions in the flight path.

Information about the countdown and mission can be accessed electronically via the Internet at: http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/ and at http://shuttle.nasa.gov/