Fri, May 19, 2006
NASA Reports Everything On Track For July Launch
NASA engineers worked
Thursday in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center
on last minute details in preparation for the space shuttle
Discovery's rollout to the launchpad. The combined launch vehicle
is scheduled to being the eight-hour, 4.2-mile trip to pad 39B at
0200 EDT Friday morning.
It's huge. Huge," KSC spokeswoman Tracy Young told Florida
Today. "Rolling the shuttle out to the launch pad is a major
milestone in returning the shuttle to flight."
Just one week ago, Discovery
was moved into the VAB to be mated to its redesigned external fuel
tank and two solid rocket boosters. That work was done over last
weekend, with the last few days spent checking systems interface
checks and inspections for leaks.
On Wednesday, the canister containing Discovery's
cargo for its scheduled July mission to the International
Space Station was moved to the launch pad (below.) The
pod contains over two tons of supplies bound for the ISS,
inside the Italian-made Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics module; as
well as spare parts for the orbiter and the station.
Also contained in the cargo pod are intentionally damaged sample
sections of the shuttle's ceramic-tile heat shield. NASA hopes
there will be enough time during the shuttle mission for a third
spacewalk to test repair techniques that could be used if portions
of the shuttle's heat shield are damaged during launch, as they
were during the 2002 launch of Columbia. That damage resulted in
the loss of the orbiter during reentry.
The window for Discovery's next launch runs from July 1-19. NASA
reports everything is on track for a July 1 launch, with several
"spare" days built into the schedule between now and then in the
event any unexpected issues crop up.
Even if all goes to plan, NASA engineers won't have very much
time to relax after Discovery moves to the launch pad. That's
because the external fuel tank for Atlantis will soon be on its way
to Florida, in anticipation of the August 28 launch of that
orbiter.
Repairs made to the ISS during Discovery's flight are expected
to allow the crew of Atlantis to resume construction on the
half-assembled station.
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