yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (09/29/88)
KSC SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING REPORT FOR - Tues., Sept. 27, 1988
AFTERNOON STATUS
STS-26 - DISCOVERY (OV 103) - PAD 39-B
Loading liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into Discovery's
onboard fuel cell storage tanks began at 1:30 p.m. today. The
operation was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. but was held up for
lightning advisories in the area, and to allow a technician into
the pad to examine a valve in ground equipment used in the
loading process. There is no problem with the valve.
Activities involved in initiating the flow of propellant
require the absence of lightning in the area, but once the
propellant is flowing into the tanks the restriction does not
apply. Loading the storage tanks takes about five hours after
which the pad will be reopened for normal work.
When the pad reopens, the orbiter's communications systems
will be activated, the flight control system and navigation aids
will be turned on, and switches in the cockpit will be configured
for loading the external tank.
Any time lost in the propellant loading operation, including
the delay in starting the process, will be made up during the
next built-in hold at the T-11 mark. That hold, which begins at
midnight tonight, will last for 19 hours and 39 minutes. When the
clock resumes, at 7:39 p.m. tomorrow night, the Rotating Service
Structure will be moved back away from the vehicle in the launch
configuration.
NASA Shuttle managers are meeting here, at KSC, today in the
"L-2" day review to discuss the status of the STS-26 vehicle and
any open issues prior to launch. The meeting is being chaired by
Robert Crippen, deputy director for National Space Transportation
System Operations.
STS-26 commander Rick Hauck and pilot Dick Covey practiced
flying in the Shuttle Training Aircraft earlier today while
wearing their new partial pressure suits. The three mission
specialists performed fit checks of the equipment they will wear
during ascent. The crew also met with members of their families
today.
The crew will be briefed on the topics discussed at the L-2
day review and later today a brief pre-flight medical exam is
planned. Tomorrow, the flight crew will be briefed by members of
KSC's shuttle test team on the status of the shuttle and payload.
The weather forecast at the time of launch calls or widely
scattered showers in the area.