yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (05/18/89)
This is the Kennedy Space Center Broadcast News Service prepared at
9:00 a.m. Thursday, May 18th.
In the SAEF-2 planetary spacecraft checkout facility, Galileo
will be removed from its environmentally controlled transportation
container today. Meanwhile, Atlantis which will carry Galileo into
low earth orbit, is being deserviced and deconfigured from the
Magellan mission. The ferry flight tail cone was rescheduled for
removal today. Preparations are underway for powering up Atlantis,
and hydraulic systems have been raised for lifting the landing gear.
The payload bay doors will be opened this afternoon, and the airborne
support equipment, or the IUS tilt table, is scheduled for removal
from the payload bay on Friday.
Meanwhile, on Columbia power up testing continues. Leak checks
of the orbital maneuvering system pods and the reaction control
systems are underway. The orbiter's tires were installed yesterday.
Checks are being done today on the pressure seals around the crew
access hatch. Functional tests of the systems in the orbiter's
bathroom are being performed. Preparations for the flight readiness
test of the orbiter's movable flight control surfaces continues and
will begin early next week. In the Vehicle Assembly Building,
closeouts of the solid rocket booster field joints continues,
including installation of the instrumentation sensors and the cork
insulation. The mating of the external tank with the solid rocket
boosters is scheduled for Monday.
From the NASA Kennedy Space Center, this is George Diller.