yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (12/01/89)
Lisa Malone
November 30, 1989
KSC Release No. 124-89
STS-32 COUNTDOWN DEMONSTRATION TEST SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 1
A full dress rehearsal for the STS-32 launch countdown is
planned this week at Kennedy Space Center. The Terminal Countdown
Demonstration Test (TCDT), involving the STS-32 astronaut crew,
will culminate with a simulated "T zero" at 11 a.m., Friday,
Dec. 1.
The five-member flight crew arrived at KSC's Shuttle Landing
Facility on Monday for Columbia's roll to the pad and to
participate in the practice countdown. The STS-32 crew is
comprised of Commander Dan Brandenstein, Pilot James Wetherbee,
and Mission Specialists Bonnie Dunbar, Marsha Ivins and G. David
Low.
While at KSC, the flight crew will receive instructions for
emergency egress procedures at Launch Pad 39-A and at the Shuttle
Landing Facility, including a practice drive in the M113 tracked
vehicle. At the pad, they will become familiar with the location
of breathing apparatus, other emergency equipment and the
slidewire basket system.
One of the routine activities for the crew while here for
the TCDT is a briefing by Shuttle engineers. The briefings,
scheduled the day before the test, are designed to bring the
flight crew up to speed on the status of the vehicle, payload,
processing operations and any significant issues.
While here, members of the crew will inspect the payload bay
for any sharp edges that could snag their environmentally
controlled spacesuits in case an unplanned space walk becomes
necessary during the mission.
Objectives of the test include establishing timelines and
validating sequences involved in the flight crew suit up and
entry into the orbiter's cockpit. The test also offers an
occasion for the flight crew and the KSC launch team to work
together in a launch day configuration. Inter-agency interfaces
required to support the terminal countdown will be evaluated.
The simulated countdown is set to begin at the T-24 hour
mark on Thursday at 8 a.m. Columbia will be powered up for the
test and its onboard systems will be activated. Events in the
countdown will be condensed or simulated to represent activities
that occur during the actual launch countdown and/or to configure
the orbiter for the test.
The countdown will proceed to the T-3 hour mark and hold for
two hours, 40 minutes. During the hold, the flight crew will be
awakened and have breakfast. Also, the orbiter closeout crew will
be assembled and begin preparing Columbia's cabin for the flight
crew's entry.
After a weather briefing, the flight crew will get into
their flight suits and depart for the launch pad. The closeout
crew will assist the astronauts in getting into the cockpit. Each
crew member will establish communications with the orbiter test
conductor in Firing Room 1.
Two 10-minute built-in holds are planned: at the T-20 minute
and T-9 minute marks. For the purposes of the test, the countdown
will be halted at about the T-5 second mark at 11 a.m.
After a short debriefing, the flight crew will exit the
cockpit quickly to practice an emergency escape while wearing the
space suits. This training will take place on the 195-foot level
of the Fixed Service Structure where the orbiter crew access
hatch and the slidewire baskets are located.
Later that day, the flight crew will return to Houston for
final mission preparations. They will return to KSC a few days
prior to launch.
Columbia is scheduled to be launched on its ninth mission on
Dec. 18. The official launch date will be set at the Flight
Readiness Review held at KSC early next week. The primary
objectives of the 10 day mission are to deploy the Syncom
satellite and to retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility.