yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (10/09/88)
STS-26 DISCOVERY STATUS REPORT -- FRIDAY, OCT. 7, 1988
DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH FACILITY, CALIF.
The protective tail cone was installed early this morning in
preparation for the ferry flight from Dryden to Kennedy Space
Center. Later today, the body flap will be positioned for the
flight and final closeouts for the tail cone are underway.
Discovery is scheduled to be hoisted up in the Mate/Demate
Device by early afternoon and the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
will be towed in underneath for the mate.
A one-day cross country ferry flight is planned for tomorrow
with a refueling stop at Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
before continuing to the Kennedy Shuttle Landing Facility.
A pathfinder aircraft, KC-135, will depart Dryden with a
small crew, about 20 minutes ahead of the 747 or at 6:20 a.m.
(PDT).
The 747/orbiter is scheduled for departure from Dryden at
approximately 6:40 a.m. (PDT) and arrival at Kelly is planned for
12:10 p.m.(CDT). It will take approximately two hours to refuel
the 747 and KC-135 prior to finishing the journey to Florida. The
747/orbiter are scheduled to depart from Kelly at approximately
2:10 p.m. (CDT) and estimated time of arrival at Kennedy is 6:30
p.m. (EDT). The total time the 747/orbiter will be airborne for
the ferry flight is approximately five hours and 50 minutes.
Pilots of the 747 for the first leg of the flight, from
Dryden to Kelly, are Joe Algranti and Ken Haugen. Flight
engineers are Louis Guidry and Steve Feaster. For the second leg
of the journey, from Kelly to Kennedy, the 747 pilots are A.J.
Roy and Arthur Beall, and the flight engineers are David Hill and
Glenn Pingry.
Weather forecasts are favorable for tomorrow's ferry flight
from Dryden to Kelly and from Kelly to Kennedy.
If a one-day ferry flight is not accomplished for some
reason, an assessment would be made in real time on options for
completing the ferry flight. In any case, the time of departure
from Kelly would be as soon as possible, hopefully the next day,
depending on weather conditions and any other operational
constraints.