yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (06/12/89)
KSC SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING REPORT - MONDAY, JUNE 12, 1989
STS-28 - COLUMBIA (OV 102) - OPF BAY 1
This past weekend, workers repaired a piece of ground
support equipment, called a Thompson rail, necessary for removing
and replacing the main engine number one liquid hydrogen turbo
pump. The rail's shaft and gear failed during proof testing last
week. Spare pieces were located at the Rockwell facility in
Downey, Calif. Schedulers estimate that the fuel pump turbo pump
replacement activity will take the whole week to complete.
Technicians are cleaning the payload bay and installing
thermal blankets in the orbiter's midbody as part of orbiter
closeout operations. Thermal protection system operations are
also underway.
A functional test of the external tank doors and a leak
check of the crew cabin were completed over the weekend.
Functional tests of the landing gears is planned for
Wednesday. Technicians are adjusting tiles on the landing gear
doors for a tight fit and smooth closure.
Columbia's target date of June 23 for tow to the Vehicle
Assembly Building in preparation for mating with its external
tank and solid rocket boosters is being evaluated.
STS-30 - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 2
This past weekend tecnhnicians removed the right orbital
maneuvering system pod for inspections. Operations scheduled this
week include checkout of the power reactant storage and
distribution system, testing of the communications system, leak
and functional tests of the auxiliary power units (APUs) and APU
lube oil servicing.
STS-33 - DISCOVERY (OV 103) - OMRF
Power down work scheduled this week includes wiring and
instrumentation improvements and modification of the crew seats
to allow more room for the crew when they wear the partial
pressure suits. Discovery will be transferred to bay 1 when
Columbia is moved to the VAB in June.
STS-28 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - VAB
Closeouts of the boosters and tank are underway. Workers are
installing closeout covers over cables.
STS-34 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - RPSF
Workers are scheduled to begin stacking the STS-34 solid
rocket motor segments Tuesday in the VAB.vince@tc.fluke.COM (Craig Johnson) (06/14/89)
Watching the shuttle status reports which show considerable rework of this, that, and the other, I've begun to wonder about the following. As I recall, prior to the Challenger accident there was quite a bit of sharing of components and subsystems between the shuttles to make up for shortages of parts. Many people felt that this exchanging of parts contributed to safety and reliability problems. Can anyone share with us to what extent shuttle components and subsystems are being swapped back and forth between the different shuttles today? Is the situation improving? Craig V. Johnson ...!fluke!vince John Fluke Mfg. Co. Everett, WA
henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (06/20/89)
In article <9031@fluke.COM> vince@tc.fluke.COM (Craig Johnson) writes: >Can anyone share with us to what extent shuttle components and >subsystems are being swapped back and forth between the different >shuttles today? Is the situation improving? My understanding is that it still happens a little bit, but not nearly to the same extent as before Challenger. NASA has not really allocated enough funding to the problem to eliminate it completely -- we'll see what happens when there are four orbiters in operation and they're trying to get the space station up too -- but they have made some effort. -- You *can* understand sendmail, | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology but it's not worth it. -Collyer| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu