yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (10/27/90)
Friday October 26, 1990 11:00 a.m. EDT KSC SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING STATUS REPORT ----------------------------------------------------------------- STS-38 -- Atlantis (OV-104) - Pad 39-A Operations were briefly halted at the pad this morning as SCAPE operations were instituted to repair minor leaks at the hypergolic oxidizer and fuel farms. The pad was re-opened for operations at 10:30 a.m. The leaks were thought to be as a result of cooler weather experienced overnight. No impact in the schedule is expected. Purge operations of the external tank have been completed following the successful tanking test Wednesday. Access was gained to the aft compartment and work continues to ready the vehicle for flight. At the pad today, fuel cell voltage adjustments will be made. This weekend, the mass memory unit on the orbiter will be changed out and the Shuttle main engine flight readiness test will be conducted. Monday, liquid oxygen tankers will arrive at the pad to replenish the on-site storage tanks. The Flight Readiness Review is scheduled for next Monday and Tuesday, following which an announcement is expected setting the launch date and launch period for Atlantis' Department of Defense mission. STS-35 -- Columbia (OV 102) - Pad 39-B Foaming operations in the aft compartment have been completed as workers make last minute preparations to ready the Shuttle for the special tanking test early next week. The schedule indicates the test of the liquid hydrogen lines on Columbia will occur Tuesday, Oct. 30, with a slight possibility that the test may slip a day, depending on work to be performed this weekend. Today crews will install special cameras in the aft compartment for the tanking test. The cameras will allow engineers an opportunity to view the compartment where the liquid hydrogen lines are located and hopefully help isolate the exact location of the leaks. The two special aft compartment doors made of Lexan, a clear plexiglass-like material, have been installed. Final baggy leak checks will take place Monday. Payload servicing has been completed and the payload bay doors will be closed late this afternoon. STS-39 -- Discovery (OV 103) - OPF Bay 1 Power-on testing is scheduled to begin today, followed by hypergolic offload preparations. Hypergols are scheduled to be removed from the orbiter's OMS/RCS systems this weekend. The Forward Reaction Control System has been re-scheduled to be moved to the Hypergolic Maintenance Facility early next week.