yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (10/05/90)
KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, OCT. 4, 1990 5 p.m. STS-41 - DISCOVERY (OV 103) - PAD 39-B The launch minus 2 day briefing was held today and no major issues were identified. The Mission Management Team stated their readiness to launch Discovery and the Ulysses spacecraft at 7:30 a.m. EDT Saturday. Due to the incident to Atlantis, the shuttle team is con- ducting an extensive review of the paper work, photos, and inven- tory, by part number, all equipment and platforms used in the aft compartment to make sure nothing was overlooked. Brewster Shaw, Deputy Director of Space Shuttle Operations, said, "We're confident there will not be any concerns with Dis- covery and don't expect to have to go back into the aft compart- ment for any reason." Loading of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen reactants into Discovery's power reactant storage and distribution (PRSD) system supply tanks was completed earlier today. The countdown entered the second built-in hold at the T-19 hour mark at 11:30 a.m. today. The countdown will resume at 7:30 p.m. tonight and the orbiter's communications systems will be ac- tivated and the navigation aids will be tested. Overnight, the tail service masts on the mobile launcher platform will be closed out for flight. Payload launch team members are re-loading fault-protection software into the Ulysses spacecraft. They expect to complete this operation by early evening. Routine state-of-health checks were conducted on the Ulysses spacecraft this afternoon. The payload bay doors were closed for flight yesterday morning. Weather predictions for launch time on Saturday indicate there is a 60 percent chance of meeting the criteria to launch. There is a possibility of rainshowers in the area and predicted cloud cover in the area will be closely monitored. The launch team will begin loading the external tank with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants at 11:15 p.m. EDT Friday. The process takes about 3 hours and should be complete by 2:15 a.m. Saturday. Discovery and the Ulysses spacecraft are being prepared for liftoff at 7:35 a.m. EDT, Saturday, Oct. 6.