yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (09/08/88)
[Due to the large demand, I'm posting the STS-26 Press
Release (in 4 parts), and the NASA Manifest -PEY]
[There are blanks for artwork in this document -- obviously you'll
have to use your imaginations and think of what goes in the
blanks. -PEY]
[The press release is available for anonymous ftp from ames.arc.nasa.gov
(128.102.18.3). File is pub/STS-26. The manifest is pub/Manifest.
Format is straight ASCII, no compression. -PEY]
special formatting is required for pages 53-58, crew meals.
Users should format their documents with a left margin of 5,
a line lenght of 110, a text length of 42 and use 12 pitch type.
jsc, ksc, mafc, dfrf, larc & gsfc will receive via pouch mail this
press kit and art read for printing. Other center will receive printed
copies of the press kit.
RELEASE: 88-121
STS-26 -- THE RETURN TO FLIGHT September, 1988
The Space Shuttle will return to flight when the orbiter
Discovery is launched on its seventh flight now scheduled for no
earlier than late September, 1988.
STS-26 will have as its primary payload the Tracking and
Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-C) that will complete the
constellation needed to communicate with spacecraft in low-Earth
orbit. TDRS-B was lost in the 51-L Challenger accident. A third
TDRS will be launched on a later Shuttle mission to replace the
first TDRS, which then will be used as an on-orbit spare in the
event that one of the two operational satellites fails.
Commander of the five-man crew is Frederick H. (Rick) Hauck,
captain, USN, a veteran of two Shuttle missions -- 51-A and STS-
7. Pilot for the mission is Richard O. (Dick) Covey, a colonel
in the USAF and veteran of the 51-I Shuttle mission.
Three mission specialists are assigned to the crew: John M.
(Mike) Lounge, David C. Hilmers, lt. colonel, USMC, and George D.
(Pinky) Nelson. STS-26 will be the second flight for Lounge and
Hilmers who previously flew on missions 51-I and 51-J,
respectively. Nelson has flown two previous Shuttle missions --
41-C and 61-C.
Discovery is scheduled to be launched from the Kennedy Space
Center, Fla., Launch Pad 39-B, into a 160-nautical-mile, 28.5
degree orbit. Liftoff is planned for (TBD) a.m. EDT. Nominal
mission duration is 4 days and 1 hour, with landing at Edwards
Air Force Base, Calif., on Sept. (TBD), 1988, at (TBD) a.m. EDT.
TDRS-C will be deployed 6 hours, 13 minutes into the mission
on flight day one. There are two additional deploy times
available on that day and one the following day. The 5,000-pound
satellite will join the first TDRS, deployed on STS-6 in April
1983, to provide communications and data links between Earth and
the Shuttle, as well as other spacecraft.
TDRS-A is now in geosynchronous orbit (22,300 mi.) over the
Atlantic Ocean east of Brazil (41 degrees west longitude).
Following deployment from Discovery, TDRS-C will undergo testing
and will be moved to its operational position over the Pacific
Ocean south of Hawaii (171 degrees W. longitude).
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An Air Force-developed inertial upper stage (IUS) will boost
the TDRS to geosynchronous orbit. The IUS is mated to the TDRS-C
and the combination spacecraft and upper stage will be spring
ejected from the orbiter payload bay.
Following deployment, Discovery will maneuver to a position
36 nautical mi. behind and 16 nautical mi. above the TDRS-C/IUS
before the two-stage motor ignites about 60 minutes after
deployment. The three-axis, stabilized upper stage will maneuver
the TDRS to the desired attitude. TDRS then will be configured
for operation by the White Sands Ground Terminal, N.M.
CONTEL, Atlanta, Ga., owns and operates the TDRS system for
NASA. TRW's Defense and Space Systems Group, Redondo Beach,
Calif., built the satellites.
The Orbiter Experiments Program Autonomous Supporting
Instrumentation System (OASIS) will be flown on STS-26 to record
environmental data in the orbiter payload bay during STS flight
phases. OASIS will measure TDRS vibration, strain, acoustics and
temperature during orbiter ascent, using transducers affixed
directly to the payload.
OASIS flight hardware consists of signal conditioning,
multiplexing and recording equipment mounted on a Shuttle
adaptive payload carrier behind the TDRS. Command and status
interface is achieved through the standard mixed cargo harness
and the general purpose computers.
In addition to TDRS-C and OASIS, Discovery will carry 11
secondary payloads, including two student experiments, involving
microgravity research, materials processing and electrical storm
studies.
After landing at Edwards, Discovery will be towed to the
NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, hoisted atop the
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and ferried back to the Kennedy Space
Center to begin processing for its next flight.
(END OF GENERAL RELEASE; BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS.)
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GENERAL INFORMATION
NASA Select Television Transmission
The schedule for television transmissions from the orbiter
and for the change-of-shift briefings from Johnson Space Center,
Houston, will be available during the mission at Kennedy Space
Center, Fla.; Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.;
Johnson Space Center; and NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
The television schedule will be updated daily to reflect changes
dictated by mission operations. NASA Select television is
available on RCA Satcom F-2R, Transponder 13, located at 72
degrees west longitude.
Special Note to Broadcasters
Beginning in September and continuing throughout the
mission, approximately 7 minutes of audio interview material with
the crew of STS-26 will be available to broadcasters by calling
202/269-6572.
Status Reports
Status reports on countdown and mission progress, on-orbit
activities and landing operations will be produced by the
appropriate NASA news center.
Briefings
An STS-26 mission press briefing schedule will be issued
prior to launch. During the mission, flight control personnel
will be on 8-hour shifts. Change-of-shift briefings by the off-
going flight director will occur at approximately 8-hour
intervals.
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STS-26 -- QUICK LOOK
Crew: Frederick H. (Rick) Hauck, commander
Richard O. Covey, pilot
John M. (Mike) Lounge, mission specialist (MS-1)
David C. Hilmers, mission specialist (MS-2)
George D. (Pinky) Nelson, mission specialist (MS-3)
Orbiter: Discovery (OV-103)
Launch Site: Pad 39-B, Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Launch Date/Time: Late September, 1988, (TBD) a.m. EDT
Launch Window: 3 hours
Orbital Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Altitude: 160 nautical miles
Mission Duration: 4 days, 1 hour
Landing Date/Time: Sept. (TBD), 1988, (TBD) a.m. EDT
Primary Landing Site: Edwards AFB, Calif.
Weather Alternate: White Sands Space Harbor, N.M.
Trans-Atlantic Abort: Ben Guerir, Morocco
Abort-Once-Around: Edwards AFB
Primary Payload: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-C)
Secondary Payloads:
Automatic Directional Solidification Furnace (ADSF)
Physical Vapor Transport of Organic Solids (PVTOS)
Infrared Communications Flight Experiment (IRCFE)
Protein Crystal Growth Experiment (PCG)
Isoelectric Focusing Experiment (IEF)
Phase Partitioning Experiment (PPE)
Aggregation of Red Blood Cells (ARC)
Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE)
Earth-Limb Radiance Experiment (ELRAD)
2 Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) Experiments
STS-26 MISSION OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of STS-26 is to deliver NASA's second
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite to orbit. The TDRS-C
deployment will occur 6 hours, 6 minutes into the flight on Orbit
5. Day 2 is reserved for backup deployment opportunities.
Experiments will be activated and performed throughout the
flight.
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LAUNCH PREPARATIONS, COUNTDOWN AND LIFTOFF
Discovery was selected as the Space Shuttle for the STS-26
mission in 1986. At the time of the 51-L accident, Discovery was
in temporary storage in the KSC Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)
awaiting transfer to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) for
preparation for the first Shuttle flight from Vandenberg Air
Force Base, Calif., scheduled for later that year. Discovery
last flew in August 1985 on Shuttle mission 51-I, the orbiter's
sixth flight since it joined the fleet in November 1983.
In January 1986, the Shuttle Atlantis was in the OPF,
prepared for the Galileo mission and ready to be mated to the
boosters and tank in the VAB. The orbiter Columbia had just
completed the 61-C mission a few weeks prior to the accident and
was also in the OPF undergoing post-flight deconfiguration.
Various Shuttle manifest options were being considered, and
it was determined that Atlantis would be rolled out to Launch Pad
39-B for fit checks of new weather protection modifications and
for an emergency egress exercise and a countdown demonstration
test. During that year it also was decided that Columbia would
be flown to Vandenberg for fit checks. Discovery was then
selected for the STS-26 mission.
Discovery was moved from the VAB High Bay 2, where it was in
temporary storage, into the OPF the last week of June 1986.
Power up modifications were active on the orbiter's systems until
mid-September 1986 when Discovery was transferred to the VAB
while facility modifications were performed in Bay 1 of the OPF.
Discovery was moved back into the OPF bay 1 on Oct. 30,
1987, a milestone that initiated an extensive modification and
processing flow to ready the vehicle for flight. The hiatus in
launching offered an opportunity to "tune-up" and fully check out
all of the orbiter's systems and treat the orbiter as if it was a
new vehicle. Most of the orbiter's major systems and components
were removed and sent to the respective vendors for modifications
or to be rebuilt.
After an extensive powered-down period of 6 months, which
began in February 1987, Discovery's systems were awakened when
power surged through its electrical systems on Aug. 3, 1987.
Discovery remained in the OPF while workers implemented over
200 modifications and outfitted the payload bay for the Tracking
and Data Relay Satellite.
Flight processing began in mid-September during which the
major components of the vehicle were reinstalled and checked out,
including the main engines, the right and left hand orbital
maneuvering system pods and the forward reaction control system.
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In January 1988, Discovery's three main engines arrived at
KSC and were installed. Engine 2019 arrived Jan. 6, 1988, and
was installed in the number one position Jan. 10. Engine 2022
arrived Jan. 15 and was installed in the number 2 position Jan.
24. Engine 2028 arrived Jan. 21 and was installed in the number
3 position also on Jan. 24.
The redesigned solid rocket motor segments began arriving at
KSC March 1, and the first segment, the left aft booster, was
stacked on Mobile Launcher 2 in VAB High Bay 3 on March 29.
Technicians started with the left aft booster and continued
stacking the four left hand segments before beginning the right
hand segments on May 5. The forward assemblies/nose cones were
attached May 27 and 28. The SRB field joints were closed out
prior to mating the external tank to the boosters on June 10. An
interface test between the boosters and tank was conducted a few
days later to verify the connections.
The OASIS payload was installed in Discovery's payload bay
on April 19.
The TDRS arrived at the Vertical Processing Facility on May
16, and its Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) arrived May 24. The
TDRS/IUS mechanical mating was accomplished on May 31.
Discovery was moved from the OPF to the VAB June 21, where
it was mated to the external tank and solid rocket boosters. A
Shuttle Interface Test was conducted shortly after the mate to
check out the mechanical and electrial connections between the
various elements of the Shuttle vehicle and the function of the
onboard flight systems.
The assembled Space Shuttle vehicle aboard its mobile
launcher platform was rolled out of the VAB on July 4, 4.2 miles
to Launch Pad 39-B for a few major tests and final launch
preparations.
A few days after Discovery's orbital manuevering system pods
were loaded with hypergolic propellants, a tiny leak was detected
in the left pod (June 14). Through the use of a small, snake-
like, fiber optics television camera, called a Cobra borescope,
workers pinpointed the leak to a dynatube fitting in the vent
line for the reaction control system nitrogen tetroxide storage
tank, located in the top of the OMS pod.
The tiny leak was stabilized and controlled by "pulse-
purging" the tank with helium - an inert gas. Pulse-purge is an
automatic method of maintaining a certain amount of helium in the
tank. In addition, console operators in the Launch Control Center
firing room monitored the tank for any change that may have
required immediate attention. It was determined that the leak
would not affect the scheduled Wet Countdown Demonstration Test
(WCDDT) and the Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) and repair was
delayed until after these important tests.
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The WCDDT, in which the external tank was loaded with liquid
oxygen and liquid hydrogen, was conducted August 1. A few
problems with ground support equipment resulted in unplanned
holds during the course of the countdown.
A leak in the hydrogen umbilical connection at the Shuttle
tail service mast developed while liquid hydrogen was being
loaded into the external tank. Engineers traced the leak to a
pressure monitoring connector. During the WCDDT, the leak
developed again. The test was completed with the liquid hydrogen
tank partially full and the special tanking tests were deleted.
Seals in the 8-inch fill line in the tail service mast were
replaced and leak checked prior to the FRF.
In addition, the loading pumps in the liquid oxygen storage
farm were not functioning properly. The pumps and their
associated motors were repaired.
After an aborted first attempt, the 22-second flight
readiness firing of Discovery's main engines was conducted Aug.
10. The first FRF attempt was halted inside the T-10 second mark
due to a sluggish fuel bleed valve on the number 2 main engine.
This valve was replaced prior to the FRF. This firing verified
that the entire Shuttle system - including launch equipment,
flight hardware and the launch team - were ready for flight.
With over 700 pieces of instrumentation installed on the vehicle
elements and launch pad, the test provided engineers with
valuable data, including characteristics of the redesigned solid
rocket boosters.
After the test, a team of Rockwell technicians began repairs
to the OMS pod leak. Four holes were cut into two bulkheads with
an air powered router on Aug. 17. A metal "clamshell" device was
bolted around the leaking dynatube fitting. The clamshell was
filled with Furmanite - a dark thick material which consists of
graphite, silicon and heavy grease and glass fiber. After an
initial leak check was successfully performed, covers were bolted
over the holes Aug. 19, and the tank was pressurized to monitor
any decay. No leakage or decay in pressure was noted and the fix
was deemed a success.
TDRS-C and its IUS upper stage were transferred from the VPF
to Launch Pad 39-B on August 15. The payload was installed into
Discovery's payload bay August 29.
A Countdown Demonstration Test, a dress rehearsal for the
STS-26 flight crew and KSC launch team, is designed as a practice
countdown for the launch. At press time, it was planned for
September 8.
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Launch preparations scheduled the last two weeks prior to
launch countdown include final vehicle ordnance activities, such
as power-on stray-voltage checks and resistance checks of firing
circuits; loading the fuel cell storage tanks; pressurizing the
hypergolic propellant tanks aboard the vehicle; final payload
closeouts; and a final functional check of the range safety and
SRB ignition, safe and arm devices.
The launch countdown is scheduled to pick up at the T-minus-
43 hour mark, leading up to the first Shuttle liftoff since Jan.
28, 1986. The STS-26 launch will be conducted by a joint
NASA/industry team from Firing Room 1 in the Launch Control
Center.
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MAJOR COUNTDOWN MILESTONES
Count Event Event
T-43 Hrs Power up the Space Shuttle
T-34 Hrs Begin orbiter and ground support
equipment closeouts for launch
T-30 Hrs Activate Discovery's navigation aids
T-25 Hrs Load the power reactant storage and
distribution system with liquid oxygen
T-22 Hrs Load liquid hydrogen into the power
reactant storage and distribution system
T-20 Hrs Activate and warm up the three inertial
measurement units (IMU)
T-19 Hrs Perform interface check between Houston-
Mission Control and the Merritt Island
Launch Area (MILA) tracking station
T-13 Hrs Perform pre-ingress switch list in the
flight and middecks
T-11 Hrs Start 8 hour, 40 minute built-in hold
(This time could be adjusted based on day
of launch)
T-11 Hrs (counting) Retract Rotating Service Structure away
from vehicle to launch position
T-9 Hrs Activate orbiter's fuel cells
T-8 Hrs Configure Mission Control communications
for launch; clear blast danger area
T-7 Hrs Perform Eastern Test Range open loop
command test
T-6 Hrs Start external tank chilldown and
propellant loading
T-5 Hrs Start IMU pre-flight calibration
T-4 Hrs Perform MILA antenna alignment
T-3 Hrs Begin 2-hour built-in hold; external tank
loading complete; ice team goes to pad
for inspections; wake flight crew (launch
minus 4 hours, 20 minutes)
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T-3 Hrs (counting) Weather briefing; closeout crew has "go"
to proceed to the White Room to begin
preparing Discovery's cockpit for the
flight crew's entry
T-2 Hrs, 30 Min Flight crew departs O&C Building for
Launch Pad 39-B (launch minus 2 hours, 50
minutes)
T-2 Hrs Crew enters orbiter vehicle (launch minus
2 hours, 20 minutes)
T-61 Min Start pre-flight alignment of IMUs
T-20 Min Begin 10-minute, built-in hold
T-20 Min (counting) Configure orbiter computers for launch
T-9 Min Begin 10-minute, built-in hold; perform
status check and receive launch director
"go"
T-9 Min (counting) Start ground launch sequencer
T-7 Min, 30 Sec Retract orbiter access arm
T-5 Min Pilot starts auxiliary power units; arm
range safety, SRB ignition systems
T-3 Min, 30 Sec Orbiter goes on internal power
T-2 Min, 55 Sec Pressurize liquid oxygen tank for flight
and retract gaseous oxygen vent hood
T-1 Min, 57 Sec Pressurize liquid hydrogen tank
T-31 Sec "Go" from ground computer for orbiter
computers to start the automatic launch
sequence
T-6.6 Sec "Go" for main engine start
T-3 Sec Main engines at 90 percent thrust
T-0 SRB ignition, holddown post release and
liftoff
T+7 Sec Shuttle clears launch tower and control
switches to Johnson Space Center
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SUMMARY OF MAJOR ACTIVITIES
DAY 1
Ascent
Post-insertion checkout
TDRS-C/IUS deploy
ADSF, PCG, PVTOS, ARC activation
DAY2
Backup TDRS-C/IUS deploy opportunity
PPE
DAY 3
ELRAD
SSIP
Deorbit prep rehearsal
DAY 4
PPE
Flight control systems checkout
Cabin stowage
Landing preparations
DAY 5
Deorbit preparations
Deorbit burn
Landing at EAFB
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STS-26 TRAJECTORY SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
EVENT MET INERTIAL
(d:h:m:s) VELOCITY
(fps)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Launch 00:00:00:00
Begin roll maneuver 00:00:00:07 1,346
End roll maneuver 00:00:00:14 1,418
Begin SSME throttle down to 65% 00:00:00:27 1,728
Begin SSME throttle up to 104% 00:00:00:59 2,404
Maximum dynamic pressure (Max Q) 00:00:01:04 2,551
SRB staging 00:00:02:04 5,326
Negative return 00:00:04:04 8,275
Main engine cutoff (MECO)* 00:00:08:31 25,783
Zero thrust 00:00:08:38 25,871
OMS 2 burn** 00:00:39:55
TDRS/IUS deploy 00:06:13:00
Deorbit burn 03:23:56:00
Landing 04:00:56:00
* Apogee, perigee at MECO: 156 x 35 nautical miles
** Direct insertion ascent: no OMS 1 required
Apogee, perigee post-OMS 2: 161 x 160 nm
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SPACE SHUTTLE ABORT MODES
Space Shuttle launch abort philosophy aims toward safe and
intact recovery of the flight crew, orbiter and its payload.
Abort modes include:
* Abort-to-Orbit (ATO) -- Partial loss of main engine thrust
late enough to permit reaching a minimal 105-nautical-mile
orbit with orbital maneuvering system engines.
* Abort-Once-Around (AOA) -- Earlier main engine shutdown
with the capability to allow one orbit around before
landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; White Sands
Space Harbor, N.M.; or the Shuttle Landing Facility at
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
* Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (TAL) -- Loss of two main
engines midway through powered flight would force a
landing at Ben Guerir, Morocco; Moron, Spain; or Banjul,
The Gambia.
* Return to Launch Site (RTLS) -- Early shutdown of one or
more engines and without enough energy to reach Ben
Guerir, would result in a pitch around and thrust back
towards KSC until within gliding distance of the KSC
Shuttle Landing Facility.
STS-26 contingency landing sites are Edwards AFB, White
Sands Space Harbor, Kennedy Space Center, Ben Guerir, Moron and
Banjul.
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LANDING AND POST-LANDING OPERATIONS
Kennedy Space Center is responsible for ground operations of
the orbiter once it has rolled to a stop on the runway at Edwards
Air Force Base. Those operations include preparing the Shuttle
for the return trip to Kennedy.
After landing, the flight crew aboard Discovery begins
"safing" vehicle systems. Immediately after wheel stop,
specially garbed technicians will determine that any residual
hazardous vapors around the orbiter are below significant levels,
before proceeding to other safing operations.
Once the initial safety assessment is made, access vehicles
are positioned around the rear of the orbiter so that lines from
the ground purge and cooling vehicles can be connected to the
umbilical panels on the aft end of Discovery.
Freon line connections are completed and coolant begins
circulating through the umbilicials to aid in heat rejection and
protect the orbiter's electronic equipment. Other lines provide
cooled, humidified air to the payload bay and other cavities to
remove any residual fumes and provide a safe environment inside
Discovery.
A mobile white room is moved around the crew hatch once it
is verified that there are no concentrations of toxic gases
around the forward part of the vehicle. The crew is expected to
leave Discovery about 30 to 40 minutes after landing. As the
crew exits, technicians enter the orbiter to complete the vehicle
safing activity.
A tow tractor will be connected to Discovery to pull it off
the runway at Edwards and position it inside the Mate/Demate
Device (MDD) at the nearby Dryden Flight Research Facility.
After the Shuttle has been jacked and leveled, residual fuel cell
cryogenics are drained and unused pyrotechnic devices are
disconnected prior to returning the orbiter to Kennedy.
The aerodynamic tail cone is installed over the three main
engines, and the orbiter is bolted on top of the 747 Shuttle
Carrier Aircraft for the ferry flight back to Florida. The 747
is scheduled to leave California about 6 days after landing. An
overnight stop is scheduled for refueling and the ferry flight
continues the next day.
Once back at Kennedy, Discovery will be pulled inside the
hangar-like facility for post-flight inspections and in-flight
anomaly trouble shooting. These operations are conducted in
parallel with the start of routine systems reverification to
prepare Discovery for its next mission.
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