April 7, 2006<br /><br />Joe Pally<br />Headquarters, Washington<br />(202) 358-7239<br /><br />Jessica Rye<br />Kennedy Space Center, Fla.<br />(321) 867-2468 <br /><br />STATUS REPORT: S06-012<br /><br />NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING STATUS REPORT: S06-012<br /><br />NASA's space shuttle fleet is housed and processed at Kennedy Space <br />Center, Fla. <br /><br />Mission: STS-121 - 18th ISS Flight (ULF1.1) - Multi-Purpose Logistics <br />Module <br />Vehicle: Discovery (OV-103) <br />Location: Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 <br />Launch Date: Launch Planning Window July 1-19, 2006 <br />Launch Pad: 39B<br />Crew: Lindsey, Kelly, Sellers, Fossum, Nowak, Wilson and Reiter <br />Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles<br /><br />Final area closeouts continue in preparation for Discovery's move to <br />the Vehicle Assembly Building and then to the launch pad for its <br />mission to the International Space Station. Technicians plan to power <br />up Discovery on Saturday to support the aft area structural leak test <br />and orbiter compartment positive pressure test. <br /><br />Final cleaning operations of the environmental control and life <br />support system bay continue in preparation for closeout prior to <br />flight. Work continues on the nose and main landing gear prior to the <br />final functional test. <br /><br />Mission: STS-115 - 19th ISS Flight (12A) - P3/P4 Solar Arrays <br />Vehicle: Atlantis (OV-104) <br />Location: Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1 <br />Launch Date: No earlier than Aug. 28, 2006<br />Launch Pad: 39B<br />Crew: Jett, Ferguson, Tanner, Burbank, MacLean and Stefanyshyn-Piper <br />Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles<br /><br />Technicians continue performing powered-up system testing on Atlantis <br />for its mission to the International Space Station. Water coolant <br />loop servicing is complete following the replacement of the water <br />coolant loop No. 2 pump package. Technicians also successfully <br />performed compression testing on the water coolant pump. <br /><br />The orbiter boom sensor system was installed in the payload bay of <br />Atlantis on Monday. The 50-foot-long boom attaches to the remote <br />manipulator system, or shuttle arm, and is one of the new safety <br />measures added prior to the Return to Flight. It equips the orbiter <br />with cameras and laser systems to inspect the space shuttle's heat <br />shield while in space.<br /><br />Endeavour (OV-105) <br /><br />Powered-up system testing continues on Endeavour in Orbiter Processing <br />Facility Bay 2 following an extensive modification period. On <br />Wednesday, technicians installed Endeavour's reinforced carbon-carbon <br />nose cap. <br /><br />Endeavour's external airlock was installed in the payload bay on <br />Thursday. The airlock is located in the shuttle's middeck and permits <br />flight crew members to transfer from the middeck crew compartment <br />into the payload bay for extravehicular activities in their space <br />suits without depressurizing the orbiter crew cabin. <br /><br />External Tank <br /><br />Work is under way in the Vehicle Assembly Building checkout cell on <br />the external tank that will fly with Discovery on mission STS-121. <br />Last weekend, technicians removed and replaced the tank's four liquid <br />hydrogen engine cutoff sensors, which indicate whether the tank still <br />has fuel during its climb to orbit. They also installed a new gaseous <br />oxygen vent valve under the nose cap of the tank. <br /><br />With the change out of the sensors complete, the access cover on the <br />bottom of the tank called the "manhole" was reinstalled. On April 11, <br />the tank will be lifted from the checkout cell and placed <br />horizontally on the transporter in the transfer aisle. Once in the <br />transfer aisle, technicians will reapply the thermal protection <br />system foam that had to be removed in order to perform the sensor <br />change out. <br /><br />For previous space shuttle processing status reports visit: <br /><br />www.nasa.gov/shuttle