[sci.space.shuttle] Shuttle Status for 05/24/90

yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (05/25/90)

               KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1990 - 10:30 AM

                        STS-35 - COLUMBIA (OV 102) - PAD 39-A

                Closeouts of the payload bay and Astro-1 will begin  today.
          Workers have removed platforms that were used in the freon system
          repair job. Today, a purge of the power reactant storage and dis-
          tribution system is scheduled.  This will dry moisture out of the
          system and prepare  it  for  loading  liquid  oxygen  and  liquid
          hydrogen reactants during the countdown.

               Closeouts of the aft compartment are expected to be complete
          today.  The  flight  doors  are  scheduled  to be attached to the
          vehicle today.   Launch countdown preparations are underway  this
          week. Final ordnance installation is planned for Friday evening.

               The Shuttle management team will meet at KSC today at 1 p.m.
          for  the  delta Flight Readiness Review,  to review the readiness
          to launch and to set an official launch date.

                       STS-38 - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 2

               Payload bay cleaning operations are  continuing  today.  The
          doors  are  scheduled  to  be closed overnight.  Closeouts of the
          mid-body are underway.   Thermal protection system operations are
          continuing this week.  Connections of the right orbital maneuver-
          ing system pod are on hold while engineers evaluate and repair  a
          bent pin at a thermal switch.

               Rollover  to  the  Vehicle  Assembly Building is planned for
          early next month.

                       STS-41 - DISCOVERY (OV 103) - OPF BAY 1

                Rocketdyne technicians are removing the number 2  main  en-
          gine today. All three main engines will be transferred to the VAB
          engine  shop  for post-flight inspections and for the replacement
          of several components.  Preparations are underway for removal  of
          the orbital maneuvering system pods  this week.  The nose cap has
          been extended to allow access for tile  work.  Post-flight  tests
          and inspections of Discovery's systems are continuing.

                         STS-38 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - VAB

               Technicians  are  continuing  with closeouts of the boosters
          and external tank.


                         STS-40 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - VAB

               Booster stacking operations are continuing  for  the  STS-40
          Spacelab  Life  Sciences  mission.  The  left  center segment was
          pinned to the stack today.  The right aft booster was transferred
          to  the  VAB  and  is  being  bolted to the launch platform.  The
          boosters are being stacked together on mobile  launcher  platform
          2.