Space Shuttle Status Report: S05-007

Space Shuttle Processing Status Report: S05-007

The Shuttle fleet is housed and processed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla. The order Shuttles are listed may not reflect the chronological order of future missions.

Discovery (OV-103)

Mission: STS-114 - 17th ISS Flight (LF1) - Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
Vehicle: Discovery (OV-103)
Location: Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3
Launch Date: Launch Planning Window May 15 - June 3, 2005
Launch Pad: 39B
Crew: Collins, Kelly, Noguchi, Robinson, Thomas, Lawrence and Camarda
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles

NASA's Space Flight Leadership Council met today and refined the launch planning window for Discovery’s Return to Flight mission to May 15 to June 3, 2005. This is to accommodate daylight launch and to ensure detailed, clear photography of the External Tank. STS-114 will rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS).

Discovery's system testing is approximately 90 percent complete in the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3. Work continued on the Auxiliary Power Unit controller checkout and drain system checks. Orbiter Maneuvering System heat shields were installed and controller checkouts completed.

Thermal Protection System blanket bonding continues on the vertical stabilizer, which is the tail of the orbiter. Checkout work is progressing with the new Orbiter Boom Sensor System on the starboard side of Discovery's payload bay. Testing on one of the boom sensor packages is complete.

Manipulator Positioning Mechanism (MPM) adjustments were completed and closeouts continue. The MPMs are the pedestals that hold and latch the boom in the payload bay.

In the Vehicle Assembly Building, all final closeouts have been completed on the External Tank (ET) in the checkout cell prior to the tank being mated to the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). The SRBs for STS-114 are stacked on the Mobile Launcher Platform and closeouts and preps for ET mating continue. SRB alignment optics were completed this week in preparation for the ET mating. Repairs continue on the SRB aft inactive stub ring, an attach ring surrounding the booster located about 10 feet below the ET attach point. The paint replacement on the stub ring is complete, and pull tests are planned for this weekend. The ET is scheduled to be moved to the integration cell and mated with the SRBs no earlier than Feb. 25.

Feb. 18, 2005 RELEASE: S05-007

Allard Beutel, Headquarters, Washington, (Phone: 202/358-4769)

Jessica Rye, Kennedy Space Center, Fla., (Phone: 321/867-2468)

Previous Space Shuttle processing status reports and information about NASA's Return to Flight efforts are available on the Internet at: nasa.gov/returntoflight .