yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (01/14/89)
Payload Status
Kennedy Space Center
January 13, 1989
TDRS-D/IUS-9 (Discovery/STS-29)
The Mission Sequence Test was completed at 12:30 a.m. on
Saturday, Jan. 7. Astronauts Robert Springer and James Bagian
participated in the simulated deployment sequence. There were no
payload problems identified during the test itself.
The IUS/TDRS payload will be placed in the payload canister
on Saturday in preparation for its transportation to the launch
pad on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
During an IUS-9 power-down sequence of the two redundant
avionics computers in last week's integrated testing, engineers
received a fault signal from Computer A. The anomaly was
observed each time Computer B was powered down before Computer A.
Though Computer B would not normally be powered down before
Computer A during an actual mission, an investigation is in
progress to determine the cause of the problem. A replacement
computer is available and a changeout can be made at the launch
pad if deemed necessary. There is no significant impact to the
payload processing schedule and no change in the launch date.
Magellan/IUS-18 (Atlantis/STS-30)
The Magellan Mission Operations Compatability Test has been
underway this week and concludes today. This test simulates the
first 15 days of flight, including the launch, deployment, and
configuration for cruise. Star calibration, attitude and
trajectory corrections are also part of the exercise. Data flows
between the spacecraft and the project control center at Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. are transmitted via
satellite through the MIL-71 Deep Space Network ground facility
located at the MILA tracking station at KSC.
During the IUS-18 Vehicle Functional Test on Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station, a memory error was detected in one of the
onboard computers. It is being changed out with a replacement
unit and there is no impact to the KSC delivery date of Feb. 9.