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MISSION:
STS-107
-- SPACEHAB/FREESTAR
Microgravity Research Mission |
| Vehicle |
Columbia/OV-102 |
| Target Launch Date |
January 16, 2003 |
| Target Launch
Period |
10 a.m. - 2 p.m. EST |
| Target Landing Date |
February 1, 2003 |
| Mission Duration |
16 days |
| Crew |
Husband, McCool,
Anderson, Chawla, Brown, Clark, Ramon |
| Orbital Insertion
Altitude/ Inclination |
150
nautical miles/39 degrees |
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Shuttle
Processing Note (previous
notes) |
The launch countdown began late last night for Shuttle Columbia’s Spacehab microgravity research mission scheduled to launch this Thursday, Jan. 16. Work continues at Pad 39-A with preparations in work for loading the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the Power Reactant Storage and Distribution System. Due to the quantity and nature of research to be performed on this mission, technicians have begun preparations to load late stow payloads. Tomorrow will begin the 16-hour task of loading the late stow payloads and experiments into the
SPACEHAB module.
Mission managers met last night to discuss the status of the ongoing engineering analysis of a surface crack that was found on a 2.25-inch diameter metal ball associated with the Ball Strut Tie Rod Assembly (BSTRA) inside Discovery's 17-inch liquid oxygen line. No inspections were performed on Columbia. The results of the testing have given the Space Shuttle program enough confidence to begin the countdown, with the final launch rationale to be presented at the standard meeting held two days prior to launch.
The STS-107 crew members arrived last night at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in preparations for their launch on Thursday.
Weather forecasters predict a favorable outlook for a launch attempt on Thursday, with only a 5 percent chance of weather prohibiting launch.
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