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This is an orbiter processing report and does not necessarily reflect the chronological order of upcoming Space Shuttle flights. Visit http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/schedule/schedule.htm for the latest schedule of future Shuttle missions. |
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MISSION: STS-98 -- 7th ISS Flight (5A) - U.S. Laboratory |
| Vehicle | Atlantis/OV-104 |
| Location | Launch Pad 39A |
| Target KSC Launch Date/Time | no earlier than Feb. 6, 2001 |
| Target KSC Landing Date/Time | Feb. 17, 2001 |
| Launch Window | less than 5 minutes |
| Mission Duration | 10 days, 19 hours, 40 minutes |
| Crew | Cockrell, Polansky, Curbeam, Jones, Ivins |
| Orbit Altitude and Inclination | 177 nautical miles/51.6 degrees |
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Shuttle Processing Note (mission processing summary) |
| Workers at Launch Pad 39A are preparing to roll Space Shuttle Atlantis back into the Vehicle Assembly Building to undergo additional solid rocket booster cable testing. This unplanned work leads to a launch date of no earlier than Feb. 6. At the pad, technicians will begin disconnecting Shuttle ordnance tomorrow. The U.S. Lab payload will be disconnected from the vehicle today and removed from the payload bay tomorrow. It will be stored in the payload changeout room at the launch pad. Atlantis is scheduled to begin its move back to the VAB Friday at 7 a.m. and should arrive in high bay 3 at about 1 p.m. While in the VAB, workers will conduct X-ray analysis and continuity or "wiggle" tests on a total of 36 cables located in the system tunnels of both solid rocket boosters (SRB). The tunnel, located on the booster's exterior, is a protective cover that runs the length of each booster from the aft skirt to the forward skirt. Eighteen cables will be evaluated on each SRB. These cables carry critical commands and data to support successful SRB operation not limited to booster separation. Though similar in construction, these cables serve a different function than the ordnance cables that were cleared for flight prior to Atlantis' rollout. The previous investigation lead to an extensive evaluation of NASA's SRB cable inventory. Engineers found conductor damage on only 4 out of more than 200 such cables on the shelf. As a precaution, Shuttle managers decided to prove the system tunnel cables integrity using the same scrutiny that was employed on the ordnance cables and inventory cables. Should the testing and analysis go as expected, Atlantis will be in a posture to return to the pad as early as Jan. 25. The impact to the downstream Shuttle manifest is being assessed. |
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Status reports and other NASA publications are available on the World Wide Web at: http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/kscpao.htm. Information about the countdown and mission can be accessed electronically via the Internet at: http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/shuttle/countdown/ and at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/ |
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Page Last Revised |
Page & Curator Information |
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01/16/2001 |
Curator: Kay Grinter (Kay.Grinter-1@ksc.nasa.gov)
-- InDyne, Inc./ |