yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (09/03/88)
Sarah Keegan
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. September 2, 1988
Cindy Buck
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
EDITORS NOTE: SPACE SHUTTLE COUNTDOWN TEST SET FOR SEPT. 8
On Sept. 8, STS-26 astronauts will participate in a Space
Shuttle launch countdown simulation at the Kennedy Space Center,
Fla. The simulation - which will culminate in a scheduled T-zero
at 10 a.m. EDT - is a dress rehearsal for both the launch team
and the five-member astronaut crew.
The STS-26 crew will arrive at KSC on Sept. 6 for 2 days of
Shuttle emergency evacuation practice prior to the terminal
countdown demonstration test (TCDT). The crew also will practice
landing procedures in the Shuttle training aircraft.
Press contact with the crew during the 3-day period will
include photo opportunities of the astronauts' arrival at the
Shuttle Landing Facility at 2 p.m. on Sept. 6, emergency training
and a brief photo opportunity and question and answer session at
Complex 39's Pad B from about 2 - 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 7 and the
crew's departure from the Shuttle Landing Facility at about 1:10
p.m. on Sept. 8.
Activities to be covered by NASA Select television (carried
on Satcom F-2R, transponder 3, at 72 degrees west longitude)
include the crew's arrival and departure. On Sept. 8, NASA
Select television, beginning at 5:30 a.m., will cover the crew
breakfast at 6:10 a.m., suiting-up activities at 6:50 a.m., crew
departure from the Operations and Checkout Building in the KSC
industrial area at 7:10 a.m., their arrival at Pad B at about
7:35 a.m. and subsequent activities in the white room during
entry into Discovery's crew compartment.
Public Affairs commentary on TCDT activities will begin at
6:10 a.m. and continue through the T-zero scheduled for 10 a.m.
Commentary will be carried on NASA Select and on KSC's V-2
circuits which may be accessed by dialing XXX/YYY-ZZZZ(XXXX or
XXXX). [This is a Note To Editors (for the press), so I have removed the
dial-up numbers, since they are really for press coverage and are insufficient
to handle general public use. -PEY]