Allard Beutel
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
allard.beutel@nasa.gov
MEDIA ADVISORY: M51-09
NASA ADJUSTS SHUTTLE ATLANTIS' LAUNCH PAD MOVE TO OCT. 14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA now is targeting Wednesday, Oct. 14, to
move space shuttle Atlantis to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space
Center in Florida.
First motion of Atlantis from Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building to
the pad is targeted for 12:01 a.m. EDT. The move is known as
"rollout." The 3.4 mile journey is expected to take approximately six
hours. Activities include a 6:30 a.m. photo opportunity of the
shuttle's move and an interview availability with Atlantis Flow
Director Angie Brewer at 7:45 a.m. Reporters must arrive at Kennedy's
news center by 6 a.m. for transportation to the viewing area.
Live video coverage of the move will be shown on NASA Television
starting at 6:30 a.m. Video highlights of the move will air on NASA
TV Video File.
Atlantis' original rollout date was Oct. 13. The shuttle was towed
Tuesday from its hangar, Orbiter Processing Facility 1, to the
Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, in preparation for its STS-129
mission to the International Space Station. However, an issue with a
crane that was being used to transfer Atlantis for attachment to its
external fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters caused a delay in
operations. That in turn caused additional workload on teams in the
VAB who also are working on preparing NASA's Ares I-X rocket for
rollout to Kennedy's Launch Pad 39B on Oct. 19. Ares I-X is targeted
to launch on its flight test on Oct. 27. Shuttle managers added a day
to Atlantis' rollout preparations to provide relief to the work
force.
The one-day change to the rollout still will allow managers to target
Atlantis' launch for Nov. 12. It also does not affect the practice
countdown, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, and
associated training for Atlantis' six astronauts and ground teams,
which is set to begin Oct. 19.
Media accreditation for Atlantis' Oct. 14 rollout now is closed.
Journalists who already have applied for badges must pick them up
before 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Kennedy Space Center Badging
Office on State Road 405.
Recorded updates for rollout will be available at 321-867-2525.
For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming
video, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntvFor more information about the STS-129 mission and crew, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
