yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (05/01/91)
MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #7
5:30 a.m. CDT April 30, 1991
Discovery's crew continued getting good auroral and airglow
data using the CIRRIS instrument mounted on the AFP-675
payload during the last eight hours after planners delayed
for 24 hours the start of mission activities related to the
Infrared Background Signature Survey.
The change in plans was a result of higher than expected
usage of cryogenic fuel used by the CIRRIS.
Under the new plan, Discovery's manipulator arm will grapple
and unberth the Shuttle Pallet Satellite carrying the IBSS
during the Red Team's shift on Flight Day Four. Actual
release of the IBSS will occur at approximately 3:24 a.m. CDT
Wednesday -- 2 days 20 hours and 51 minutes into the mission.
The 36-hour deployed operations will conclude with Discovery
closing in and retrieving the SPAS. IBSS will begin RMS
operations immediately threafter.
In the interim, activities with AFP-675 will continue,
maximizing CIRRIS data colletion.
Flight controllers currently are in the process of finalizing
the plan.
Also, payload controllers developed a software patch for the
Arizona Imager/Spectrometer to compensate for previous
difficulities in gimballing the instrument on SPAS. The
success of that software patch has not yet been determined.
An additional troubleshooting procedure for the ESS recorders
mounted on the AFP-675 secondary experiments was performed
with no success in recovering the use of those recorders.
Mission Specialist Guy Bluford did, however, report that the
light on the Command Monitor Panel did flicker several times
giving the payload community a data point to go off and work
with.
The major activities associated with the ESS recorders do not
occur until after the IBSS operations are completed.