• VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103
• LOCATION: OPF bay 1
• TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: early December (under review)
• TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: mid-December (under review)
• LAUNCH WINDOW: 42 minutes
• MISSION DURATION: 10 days
• CREW: Brown, Kelly, Smith, Foale, Grunsfeld, Nicollier, Clervoy
• ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 317 nautical miles/28.45 degrees

Work in progress: Orbiter Discovery is currently slated to roll from OPF bay 1 tomorrow at about 10 a.m. to be mated with its external tank and solid rocket boosters in the Vehicle Assembly Building. This delay, along with plans to replace main engine No. 3, have resulted in managers assessing the remainder of Discovery's processing schedule. Preliminary plans still support a launch date in early December, although a specific target won't be selected for several days.

Managers discussed an issue with engine No. 3 during their meeting. A broken drill bit measuring one-half inch in length and weighing less than one-half gram is located in a coolant cavity in the right engine, serial number 2045. The bit was broken during routine processing of the engine at KSC. KSC managers are developing a work schedule to replace engine No. 3 at the launch pad. Replacement efforts will take about 10 days with most of the work conducted in parallel with other launch processing activities.

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