Conference 7.286::space

From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA


          KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1991 - 10:30 AM

 
                    STS-49 - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - VAB High Bay 2

               Endeavour  was  transferred to the Vehicle Assembly Building
          high bay 2 this morning where work will be performed for the next
          few weeks. The orbiter will be jacked and leveled and access will
          be established.

               Next week,  the orbiter's weight and center of gravity  will
          be  determined.  Tail cone removal operations are planned the end
          of next week.

From: NASA Spacelink
Organization: NASA

           KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1991 - 10 AM


 
              STS-49 - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - VAB High Bay 2

    WORK IN PROGRESS:
    - Preparations to remove the tail cone by the end of this week.
    - Installing access to the forward,  mid and aft sections of  the
    orbiter.
    - Removal of ferry flight fixtures.
    -  Preparations  to  briefly  power up the vehicle using a ground
    power supply to allow repressurization  of  the  main  propulsion
    system.

From: NASA Spacelink
Organization: NASA

 KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 1991 - 11:30 AM

 
                 STS-49 - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - VAB HIGH BAY 2


 WORK IN PROGRESS:
 - Purges of the freon coolant loop.
 - Installation of platforms in the midbody and aft compartment.

 WORK COMPLETED:
 - Removal of the tail cone.

From: NASA Spacelink
Organization: NASA

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1991 - 10  AM

     
              STS-49 - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - VAB HIGH BAY 2

    WORK IN PROGRESS:
    - Purges of the freon coolant loop.

    WORK COMPLETED:
    - Access to the midbody and aft compartment.

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 1991 - 11  AM

 
          STS-49 - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - VAB HIGH BAY 2

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Main propulsion system leak checks.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Work in the environmental control life support system.
- Removal of the 2 and 4 inch lines in the liquid  hydrogen  main
propulsion system.

 
 
  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 1991  -- 10:00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________________
 
 
       STS-49  --  ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  VAB High Bay 2
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Main propulsion system leak checks
*  Thermal Protection System work
*  Environmental Control Life Support system checks
*  Partial removal of 2 and 4 inch liquid hydrogen lines
 

        KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  MONDAY, JUNE 10, 1991  -- 10:00 a.m.
    _________________________________________________________________


     
           STS-49  --  ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  VAB High Bay 2

    WORK IN PROGRESS:
    *  17 inch disconnect installation and checks
    *  Main propulsion system leak checks
    *  Thermal Protection System work
    *  Environmental Control Life Support system checks
    *  Removal of 2 inch liquid hydrogen line

    WORK COMPLETED:
    *  Removal of 4 inch liquid hydrogen line

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 1991  -- 10:00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________________


 
       STS-49  --  ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  VAB High Bay 2

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  17 inch disconnect installation and checks
*  Main propulsion system leak checks
*  Thermal Protection System work

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Removal of 2 inch and 4 inch liquid hydrogen lines

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 1991  -- 9:00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________________


 
       STS-49  --  ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  VAB High Bay 2

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  17 inch disconnect checks
*  Main propulsion system checks
*  Thermal Protection System work

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Removal of 2 inch and 4 inch liquid hydrogen lines
*  Installation of 17 inch disconnect

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER -  SHUTTLE STATUS - MONDAY, JUNE 17, 1991

 
       STS-49/Endeavour OV-105/Intelsat Reboost  VAB High Bay 2


WORK IN PROGRESS

     Thermal Protection System tile work

WORK SCHEDULED

     Flight instrumentation checkout

WORK COMPLETED
  
     Ammonia Boiler installation
     Flash Evaporator installation
 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1991 - 10 AM


 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - VAB HB 2

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of ammonia boiler tubes.
- Installation of snaps and buttons for thermal control blankets.
- Offloading  of  the right orbital maneuvering system pod which
  just arrived at KSC from the manufacturer.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR MONDAY, JULY 1, 1991 - 10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - VAB HB 2

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Leak checks of the main propulsion system.
- Installation of covers on the main propulsion system lines.
- Brazing water lines into the environmental control life support
  system.
- Mounting the external tank umbilical door drive mechanism.
- Brazing in lines for the ammonia boiler.




 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR FRIDAY, JULY 12, 1991 - 10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - VAB HB 2

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of panels in the crew cabin.
- Installation of lines for the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of freon coolant loop no. 2.
- Installation of covers on the main propulsion system lines.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Installation of insulation on the auxiliary power units.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Leak checks of freon coolant loop no. 1.

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR TUESDAY, JULY 23, 1991 - 11 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - VAB HB 2

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to roll to the OPF.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Drying of freon coolant loop no. 2.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Transfer to OPF bay 1 July 26.

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR FRIDAY, JULY 26, 1991 - 10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Establishing access to all areas of the vehicle.
- Preparations to remove  the  mock  orbital  maneuvering  system
(OMS) pods.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Transferred to the OPF at 11:40 p.m. last night.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Removal of the OMS pods this weekend.
- Power up testing of all systems.
- First flight processing operations.

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR MONDAY, JULY 29, 1991 - 11 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of panels and electronic components necessary  for
powering up the vehicle.
- Establishing access to all areas of the vehicle.
- Removal of the right mock orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removal of the left mock OMS pod.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Opening of the payload bay doors.
- Power up testing of all systems next Monday.
- First flight processing operations.

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR TUESDAY, JULY 30, 1991 - 10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Installation of panels and electronic components necessary for
powering up the vehicle.
- Establishing access to all areas of the vehicle.
- Preparations to service the vehicle with freon.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removal of the right mock orbital maneuvering system pod.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Opening of the payload bay doors.
- Power up testing of all systems next Monday.
- First flight processing operations.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR MONDAY, AUG. 5, 1991 - 10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1


WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of panels and electronic components necessary  for
powering up the vehicle.
- Preparations to service the vehicle with freon.
- Leak checks of the elevon cove seals.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Power up testing of all systems targeted Wednesday.
- First flight processing operations.

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 1991  -- 11:00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________________


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Freon coolant loop service
*  Inspections of drag chute modifications
*  Clean and inspect RTLS dump line
*  Main propulsion system inspections
WORK COMPLETED:
*  Electrical power up operations (First flow power up occurred
   at 10:41 a.m. yesterday)
*  Opened payload bay doors last night
WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Electrical system validations


 

 KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1991  -- 11:00 a.m.
________________________________________________________________

 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Inspections of drag chute modifications
*  Freon coolant loop service
*  Main propulsion system inspections
*  Electrical system validations

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Installation of water flex lines

 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR THURSDAY, AUG. 15, 1991 - 10 AM


 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Validations of the electrical system.
- Adjustment of payload bay door latches.
- Leak checks of the ammonia system.
- Checks of the main propulsion system.
- Verification of the instrumentation system.
- Checks of all orbiter systems for first flow processing.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Functional test of the payload bay doors.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Raised the nose landing gear for tile inspections.

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR THURSDAY, AUG. 22, 1991 - 11 AM
 
 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1
 
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Inspections of the radiators.
- Removal and replacement of the potable water lines.
- Preparing the freon coolant loop for servicing.
- Validations of the electrical system.
- Tests of the main propulsion system gaseous oxygen system.
- Verification of the instrumentation system.
- Checks of all orbiter systems for first flow processing.
-  Test  and repair of orbital maneuvering system pods at the Hy-
pergolic Maintenance Facility.
 
WORK COMPLETED:
- Functional test of the payload bay doors.
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
- Functional test of the orbiter's radiators next week.

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR FRIDAY, AUG. 23, 1991 - 11 AM
 
 
 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1
 
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Inspections of the radiators.
- Removal and replacement a few of the potable water lines. These
10 flexible metal lines are located  in  the  middeck  below  the
flooring.
- Preparations to remove the fuel cell simulators.
- Preparing the freon coolant loop for servicing.
- Validations of the electrical system.
- Tests of the main propulsion system gaseous oxygen system.
- Verification of the instrumentation system.
- Repair of the two orbital maneuvering system pods at the Hyper-
golic Maintenance Facility.
 
WORK COMPLETED:
- Functional test of the payload bay doors.
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
- Functional test of the orbiter's radiators next week.
- Removal of the fuel cell simulators next week.

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR MONDAY, AUG. 26, 1991 - 10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1


WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Inspections of the radiators.
- Removal and replacement of several flexible metal potable water
lines.
- Preparing the freon coolant loop for servicing.
- Validations of the electrical system.
- Tests of the main propulsion system gaseous oxygen system.
- Verification of the instrumentation system.
- Repair of the two orbital maneuvering system pods at the Hyper-
golic Maintenance Facility.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removed the fuel cell simulators.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Functional test of the orbiter's radiators this week.

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR FRIDAY, AUG. 30, 1991 -- 11 AM


 
     STS-49/ INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -OPF Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:

- Vehicle is powered down until 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3.
- Replacement of a few flexible potable water lines in middeck.
- Installation and rigging of righthand external  tank  umbilical
door.
- Validations of orbiter's electrical system.
- Verification of the instrumentation system.
- Installation of thermal control blankets in midbody.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Fuel cell simulators removed.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-Functional  testing of the orbiter's radiators will be done next
week when the vehicle is once again powered up.

 KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 4, 1991 - 10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1


WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to install the right hand external tank door.
- Replacement of an intercostal beam cap in the aft compartment.
- Installation of the new general purpose computers.
- Replacement of potable water lines in the middeck.
- Rigging the radiators.
- Preparing the freon coolant loop for servicing.
- Test and repair of the two orbital maneuvering system  pods  at
the Hypergolic Maintenance Facility.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Pressure test of the no. 1 freon coolant loop.
- Installed controller for auxiliary power unit. no. 2.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Functional test of the orbiter's radiators this week.

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1991  -- 10:00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________________
 
 
 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  OPF High Bay 1
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Shuttle main engine checks
*  Main propulsion system leak checks
*  Installation of thermal protection system blankets
*  Power Reactant and Storage Distribution tank checks
 
WORK COMPLETED:
*  External Tank leak checks
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
*  External tank pressurization

>WORK COMPLETED:
>*  External Tank leak checks
> 
>WORK SCHEDULED:
>*  External tank pressurization

  Isn't this about 6 months premature?

  George

       KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, SEPT. 16, 1991


 
       STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of thermal control blankets in the midbody.
- Stowing the radiators.
- Inspections of struts in the midbody.
- Main propulsion system work.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Inspections of the radiators.
- Servicing the orbiter's cooling system with freon this week.
- Installation of the robot arm next week.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed general purpose computer no. 4.
- Replaced a master events controller.
- Removed power reactant storage and distribution system tank set
no. 3.

       KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, SEPT. 20, 1991


 
       STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Rigging of the left hand external tank door.
- Preparations to install the remote manipulator system.
- Installation of the fuel cells.
- Leak and functional tests of the ammonia system.
- Installation of thermal control blankets in the midbody.
- Inspections of struts in the midbody.
- Main propulsion system work.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- A flush of the orbital maneuvering system crossfeed system this
weekend.
- Inspections of the radiators.
- Servicing the orbiter's cooling system with freon.
- Installation of the robot arm.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Main propulsion system helium tank leak checks.
- Installation of the left external tank door.

 KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, SEPT. 23, 1991 -   10 A.M.

 
         STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1


WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of the Ku-band drive assembly.
- Preparations for leak and functional  tests  of  the  auxiliary
power units.
- Rigging of the external tank doors.
- Preparations to install the remote manipulator system.
- Installation of the fuel cells.
- Installation of thermal control blankets in the midbody.
- Main propulsion system work.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  A  flush of the orbital maneuvering system fuel crossfeed sys-
tem.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the left hand external tank door.
- Flushing of the orbital maneuvering system  oxidizer  crossfeed
system.

 KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, SEPT. 24, 1991 -   10 A.M.

 
       STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of the Ku-band drive assembly.
-  Preparations  for  leak  and functional tests of the auxiliary
power units.
- Rigging of the external tank doors.
- Preparations to install the remote manipulator system.
- Installation of the fuel cells.
- Installation of thermal control blankets in the midbody.
- Main propulsion system work.
- A flush of the orbital maneuvering system fuel  crossfeed  sys-
tem.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of the robot arm tomorrow or Thursday.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the commander and pilot seats in the crew cabin.

 KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25, 1991 - 3:30 PM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Preparations  for  leak  and functional tests of the auxiliary
power units.
- Rigging of the left hand external tank door.
- Preparations to install the remote manipulator system.
- Installation of the fuel cell no. 2.
- Leak checks of the main propulsion system pneumatic system.
- A flush of the orbital maneuvering system fuel  crossfeed  sys-
tem.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of the robot arm Thursday.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed fuel cells no. 1 and 3.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER -  SHUTTLE STATUS - THURSDAY, SEP. 26, 1991


 
         STS-49/Endeavour OV-105/Intelsat Reboost/OPF Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS

- Thermal Protection System tile work
- Rigging of the left hand external tank door
- Main propulsion system pressure testing
- Pressure testing of the main propulsion system


WORK SCHEDULED

- Checkout of fuel cell #2
- Installation of remote manipulator system


WORK COMPLETED

- Contamination checks of OMS Crossfeed lines.
- Installation of fuel cell #2

 KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 1991 - 11:30 AM

 
         STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Flushing of the freon cooling system.
- Cycling of the left hand external tank door.
- Tests of the ammonia system.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Preparations to install the remote manipulator system.
- Connections of the three fuel cells.
- Leak checks of the main propulsion system pneumatic system.
-  A  flush of the orbital maneuvering system fuel crossfeed sys-
tem.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of the robot arm on Monday.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed fuel cell no. 2.

    It looks like the powers-that-be want to give Endeavour a first-class
    start - the 4" flight patch is already available!  I picked up one this
    weekend at the New England Air Museum and it's a real pretty one.
    
    The patch is round and predominantly a medium blue.  In the center is a
    three-quarter front view of an old sailing vessel; circling it is a
    vector trailed by the new orbiter.  The name Endeavour is on the
    vector; the seven crew names circle the perimeter of the emblem.  
    
    I'll bet even Captain Cook would have liked this one. ;^)
    
    						--Eric--

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, OCT. 1, 1991 - 10 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Elevon cove seal leak checks.
-  Leak  and functional tests of the liquid hydrogen main propul-
sion system.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Preparations to install the remote manipulator system.
- Electrical connections of the fuel cells.
- Blowdowns of the main propulsion system helium system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of fuel cell no. 2 tomorrow.
- Installation of the robot arm later this  week  or  early  next
week.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installation of the water dump nozzle.

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, OCT. 7, 1991 - 10 AM


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of wing struts.
- Filling and bleeding of the hydraulic system.
- Elevon cove seal leak checks.
- Leak and functional tests of the liquid hydrogen  main  propul-
sion system.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Preparations to install the remote manipulator system.
- Checks of the main propulsion system pneumatic system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of the robot arm.
-  Installation of the right orbital maneuvering system pod.  The
oxidizer tank primary and secondary seals are leaking and need to
be replaced.  This will delay the installation of the pod by  one
to two weeks.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installation of fuel cell no. 2.

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1991  -- 10:00 a.m.


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Main propulsion system checks for contamination
*  Installation of thermal protection system blankets
*  Hydraulic cycling of aerospace surfaces
*  Nose wheel checks and functional tests

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Inertial Measurement Units installed


 

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1991  -- 10:00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________________

 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Main propulsion system checks for contamination
*  Installation of thermal protection system blankets
*  Hydraulic cycling, checks and calibrations of aerosurfaces
*  Nose wheel checks and functional tests
*  Wing strut inspections

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Inertial Measurement Units installed
*  Hydraulic fill and bleed operations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Right hand OMS pod delivery to OPF Saturday
*  Left hand OMS pod delivery to OPF next Tuesday

 

    I saw a news report on CNN this weekend that said that there had been
    "hundreds of faults found" with Endeavour. Is this true? has there been
    major complications with Endeavour since its' hand over to NASA or is
    this another example of the press making a big deal over nothing? 
    
    The way it was reported you would think that Endeavour was ready to be
    put on the scrap heap. Very negative reporting!!
    
    Thanks in advance 
    
    Roger Yurkiw

  I don't know for sure but it may be a problem with the word "fault". When
ever a shuttle comes in to be processed, there is work to be done to get it up
to spec including cracked tiles, burned engine parts, broken wires, etc. Much
of this is expected and the work is done as a normal part of the turn around.
For example, when you have your car tuned up, you might have the plugs
replaced. Are the bad plugs a fault? Well yes they are. Does it mean your car
is a failure? No, it just means that you must replace the plugs.

  Part of the problem is that when it was 1st being sold to Congress, the
Shuttle was described as a space airline which would take 2 weeks to turn
around in the OPF and would fly 24 missions each per year. The reason they
can't do that it that there are too many things that have to be rebuilt or
refitted after each flight. It takes 2 months in the OPF instead of 2 weeks.

  So by the old outdated standard, yes there are too many things wrong. By
the new standards, no, it's just routine maintenance.

  At least that's what it sounds like,
  George

Re: .42

I think .41's point (or the CNN report's point) was that this a brand new
orbiter with lots of things wrong - your equivalent of getting a new car
from the factory needing the plugs changed.

- dave

p.s. I have no data to confirm or deny the CNN report - I'm just trying to
clarify .41's intentions (I hope!).

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1991  -- 10:00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________________

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Main propulsion system checks for contamination
*  Installation of thermal protection system blankets
*  Auxiliary Power Unit leak and functional tests
*  Wing strut inspections
*  Gaseous nitrogen system leak checks

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Hydraulic cycling, checks and calibrations of aerosurfaces
*  Nose wheel checks and functional tests
*  Helium system checkouts
*  Inertial Measurement Units installed
*  Hydraulic fill and bleed operations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Right hand OMS pod delivery to OPF Saturday
*  Left hand OMS pod delivery to OPF next Tuesday (following
   final leak checks).

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, OCT. 18, 1991 - 10 AM


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1


WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to install the power  reactant  storage  and  dis-
tribution system tank set No. 3.
- Inspections of the 17-inch disconnects.
-  Leak  and functional tests of the liquid hydrogen main propul-
sion system.
- Inspections of the main propulsion system pneumatic system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of the left orbital maneuvering  system  pod  next
week.  The  right  pod  is scheduled to be installed about a week
after the left pod.

WORK COMPLETE:
- Nose wheel steering tests.

Article         1475
Path: shodha.enet.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!uunet!lll-winken!looking!clarinews
From: [email protected] (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.military,clari.news.aviation,clari.news.top
Subject: Shuttle Endeavour plagued by problems
Keywords: space, science, air force, military, air transport,
	transportation
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 18 Oct 91 18:31:49 GMT
Lines: 76
Approved: [email protected]
Xref: shodha.enet.dec.com clari.tw.space:1475 clari.news.military:6393 clari.news.aviation:3009 clari.news.top:7229
ACategory: usa
Slugword: shuttle
Priority: major
Format: breaking
ANPA: Wc: 767; Id: a0821; Sel: na--a; Adate: 10-18-230ped; Ver: sked
Codes: ynssbxx., ynmfbxx., ybtabxx.
 
 
	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- The new shuttle Endeavour's maiden
voyage next year faces a significant delay because of hundreds of
problems discovered after the ship was delivered to the Kennedy Space
Center, officials said Friday.
	Endeavour's launch on a daring satellite repair mission is
tentatively scheduled for April 9, 1992, but the flight could be delayed
more than a month depending on progress to complete unfinished -- and in
many cases, unexpected -- work transferred to Florida from builder
Rockwell International.
	``We're probably at worst four to six weeks down,'' said Dan Germany,
a shuttle manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. ``There's no
doubt we're down some from where everybody hoped to be at this point. At
least some of it is recoverable. How much, I think, is what the real
question is.''
	The $1.8 billion Endeavour, built to replace Challenger, was shipped
to Florida from Rockwell's Palmdale, Calif., asssembly plant on schedule
in May. But for a variety of reasons -- including modifications and
changes required by NASA -- Endeavour was not yet complete.
	For example, major components were cannibalized from Endeavour in
recent months and installed in NASA's other orbiters because of problems
that would have caused major launch delays. Such cannibalization
prevented Rockwell from conducting tests of many major systems that
would have identified other problems.
	In any case, those shortcomings alone posed a major challenge to
Endeavour's launch schedule. But after the ship's arrival in Florida,
engineers and technicians discovered hundreds of unexpected problems
ranging from faulty cables and connectors to trash -- part of an Oreo
cookie was found in the ship's fuselage at one point.
	Far more important, more than 1,400 problem reports, or ``PRs,'' have
been generated on Endeavour and sources say 60 to 70 are being filed
each week as engineers and technicians carefully inspect and begin
testing the shuttle and its myriad electronic, hydraulic and mechanical
systems.
	PRs are generated whenever an inspector discovers a possible problem
and many are later dismissed with no action required. But officials say
most of the PRs written up on Endeavour will require work to fix and in
every case, paperwork must be completed that also puts a drain on
manpower.
	``But I don't see that as a reflection on Rockwell or on the quality
of the product,'' KSC shuttle operations director Jay Honeycutt said in
an interview. ``How many functions, actions, do you have to generate to
build an orbiter? It must be three or four million.
	``If a couple of hundred of them weren't done precisely right, is
that so bad? It seems to me to be a pretty good record. I've got no
issue with the condition the vehicle was in or with the quality of the
work that was done by Rockwell.''
	But several engineers who asked not to be named said they were
dismayed at the problems that have been discovered. Among them:
	--Insulation blankets in Endeavour's payload bay were improperly
installed.
	--Main propulsion system propellant lines were contaminated with small
bits of debris. Some contamination was known about ahead of time, but
additional problems were found at KSC.
	--Scores of electrical connectors or cables have been identified that
do not work properly.
	While none of the problems are show stoppers, they all require work
to fix or close out for flight. Kennedy Space Center director Forrest
McCartney said he is optimistic Endeavour can be launched close 4j its
riginal tarwet datE despite the prnblems.bk%  ``They haven't given us a load on the wheelbarrow that we've never
seen before or can't do,'' he said. ``There's nothing of (any major)
significance. It's just a lot of little things that you want to fix
before you fly.''
	Shuttle program director Robert Crippen ordered delivery of Endeavour
from Rockwell on its scheduled completion date, knowing that several
major systems were incomplete because of parts cannibalization.
	Among the parts that were missing when Endeavour was shipped:
	--A 17-inch-wide fuel line ``disconnect'' fitting used to join
propellant lines from the shuttle's external tank and those leading to
the ship's three main engines.
	--Hinges needed by doors that close over the disconnect fittings after
the tank is jettisoned in orbit.
	--One of two ``flash evaporators'' that make up part of the shuttle's
cooling system.
	--Carbon brakes.
	--Gaseous oxygen flow control valves in Endeavour's engine room.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER -  SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, OCT. 23, 1991

 
        STS-49/Endeavour OV-105/Intelsat Reboost/OPF Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS

- Inertial Measurement Unit calibrations on the flight deck

- Communications systems checks

- Liquid oxygen pneumatic system checks

- Drag chute fit checks

- Carrier panel installation


WORK SCHEDULED

- Installation of PRSD Tank Set 3 oxygen tank

- Installation of remote manipulator system next week

- Main propulsion system leak checks

- Arrival of right-hand OMS pod from HMF next week


WORK COMPLETED

- Installation of PRSD Tank Set #3 hydrogen tank

- Auxilary Power Unit leak and functional checks

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, OCT. 25, 1991 - 10 AM


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1


WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Connections of the right orbital maneuvering system pod.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
-  Preparations  to  install  the power reactant storage and dis-
tribution system tank set No. 3.
- Preparations for an end-to-end test of the flight control  sys-
tem.
- Tests of the main propulsion system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Installation  of  the left orbital maneuvering system pod this
weekend.
- Tests of the flight controls planned next week.
- Installation of the star tracker.

WORK COMPELTED:
- Ku-band antenna was installed.

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, OCT. 28,1991  10 AM
 
 
 
       STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Electrical  connections  between  the left orbital maneuvering
system pod and the orbiter.
- Installation of the star trackers.
- Installation of the power  reactant  storage  and  distribution
system.
 
WORK COMPLETED:
- Installation of the right orbital maneuvering system pod.
- Attached the right hand external tank door to the vehicle.
 
 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, OCT. 29, 1991  10 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1


WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Electrical  connections  between  the left orbital maneuvering
system pod and the orbiter.
- Installation of a power reactant storage and distribution  sys-
tem oxygen tank.
- Rigging of the right hand external tank umbilical door.
-  Preparation  for  a complete end-to-end test of the hydraulics
system.
- Elevon cove seal installation.
- Preparations for a leak and functional test  of  the  auxiliary
power units.


WORK COMPLETED:
- Installation of the star trackers.
 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, OCT. 31, 1991  11 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- End-to-end test of the hydraulic system.
- Elevon cove seal installation.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- End-to-end tests will continue through the weekend.   The  con-
figuration  of  the orbiter and the software required to run this
test will prevent a lot of other work  from  being  conducted  in
parallel.
- Checks of the orbital maneuvering system pods next week.
-  Leak  and  functional  test  of the auxiliary power units next
week.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Closed payload bay doors for the end-to-end test.
 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, NOV. 4, 1991  10 AM


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1


WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Testing of the orbital maneuvering system pods.
- Elevon cove seal installation.
- Opening of the payload bay doors.
-  Installation  of an oxygen tank for the power reactant storage
and distribution system.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Thermal blanket work around the star tracker doors.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Leak and functional test of  the  auxiliary  power  units  this
week.

WORK COMPLETED:
- End-to-end testing of the hydraulics systems.

      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, NOV. 5, 1991  10 AM


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1


WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Electrical testing of the orbital maneuvering system pods.
- Elevon cove seal installation.
- Installation of an oxygen tank for the power  reactant  storage
and distribution system.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Thermal blanket work around the star tracker doors.
- Checkout of the main propulsion system.
- Welding lines in the gaseous oxygen system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Leak  and  functional  tests of the auxiliary power units this
week.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Opened the payload bay doors.

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, NOV. 6, 1991  10 AM

 
        STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Electrical testing of the orbital maneuvering system pods.
- Elevon cove seal installation.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Checkout of the main propulsion system.
- Welding lines in the gaseous oxygen system.
-  Preparations  for  leak  and functional tests of the auxiliary
power units.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the oxygen tank for the power  reactant  storage  and
distribution system.
- Deployed the Ku-band antenna.
 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, NOV. 15, 1991  10 AM


 
       STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1


WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to check out the robot arm.
- Testing of the orbital maneuvering system pods.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Checkout of the main propulsion system.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
-  Testing  of  the  electrical  interfaces in the power reactant
storage and distribution system.
- Ku-band systems test.
- Environmental control system testing.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the robot arm in the payload bay.
- Leak checks of the elevon cove seals.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of the three shuttle main engines  beginning  Mon-
day.

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, NOV. 26, 1991  10 AM


 
        STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Electrical redundancy test of the  orbital  maneuvering  system
and reaction control system.
- Tests of the Ku-band antenna.
- Functional test of the freon coolant loop.
- Closeouts of the orbiter's midbody.
- Installation of struts.
- Tests of the fuel cells.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Environmental control system testing.
- Testing of the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of the potable water system.

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, DEC. 2, 1991  10 AM

 
        STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Flight readiness test of the three main engines.
- Tests of the main engine regulators.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Electrical redundancy test of the  orbital  maneuvering  system
and reaction control system.
- Functional test of the freon coolant loop.
- Closeouts of the orbiter's midbody.
- Installation of struts.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Environmental control system testing.
- Testing of the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of the potable water system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Fuel cell tests.
- Functional tests of the crew hatch.
- Closed payload bay doors for tile work.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Anti-skid test of the orbiter's brakes.

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, DEC. 4, 1991  10:30 AM

 
        STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Electrical redundancy test of the  orbital  maneuvering  system
and reaction control system.
- Functional test of the freon coolant loop.
- Closeouts of the orbiter's midbody.
- Installation of struts.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Environmental control system testing.
- Testing of the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of the potable water system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Flight readiness test of the three main engines.
- Anti-skid test of the orbiter's brakes.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of the forward reaction control system next week.

 KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, DEC. 11, 1991  10:30 AM

 
        STS-49/INTELSAT REBOOST - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Connections of the forward reaction control system.
- Installation of heat shields around the three main engines.
- Tests of the power reactant storage and distribution system.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Functional tests of the freon coolant loop.
- Closeouts of the orbiter's midbody.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Environmental control system testing.
- Testing of the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of the potable water system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the forward reaction control system.
 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, DEC. 12, 1991  10 AM

 
        STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Electrical connections of the forward reaction control system.
- Functional tests of the star tracker door.
- Leak and functional tests of the water spray boilers.
- Tests of the power reactant storage and distribution system.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Environmental control system testing.
- Testing of the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of the potable water system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed heat shields around the three main engines.

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, DEC. 16, 1991  10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Interface verification tests of the  forward  reaction  control
system.
- Leak and functional tests of the water spray boilers.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Leak checks of the potable water system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Tests of the forward reaction control system.

 KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1991  -- 10:00 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Thermal protection system operations
*  APU leak and functional tests
*  Main propulsion system leak checks and testing

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Water spray boiler leak and functional tests
*  Potable water leak checks
*  KU-band power amplifier tests
*  Brake anti-skid tests

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Work is scheduled to continue on the Shuttle Endeavour through
the holiday period with the exception of the holidays themselves.
Much of the work will center on closeouts of the mid-body.

PAYLOAD STATUS:
   The INTELSAT booster is scheduled to arrive at the Astrotech,
Titusville, Fla., facility for flight processing at the end of
January.



 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 1992  -- 10:00 A.M.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------

 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Thermal protection system operations
*  Insulation of main propulsion system lines in aft compartment
*  Midbody closeouts

WORK COMPLETED:
*  KU-band power amplifier tests
*  Brake anti-skid tests

PAYLOAD STATUS:
   The INTELSAT rebooster perigee kick motor is scheduled to
arrive at the Astrotech, Titusville, Fla., facility for flight
processing at the end of January.


 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1992  -- 10:00 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Electrical power up
*  Electrical verifications
*  Flash evaporator checks and water spray boiler servicing
*  Main engine controller tests
*  Thermal protection system operations
*  Insulation of main propulsion system lines in aft compartment
*  Midbody closeouts
*  Main engine heat shield seal leak tests

WORK COMPLETED:
*  KU-band power amplifier tests
*  Brake anti-skid tests

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  KU-band system checks
*  Auxiliary Power Unit leak and functional test

PAYLOAD STATUS:
   The INTELSAT reboost perigee kick motor is scheduled to arrive
at the Astrotech, Titusville, Fla., facility for flight
processing at the end of January.



 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JAN. 6, 1992  11:30 AM


 
        STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

 WORK IN PROGRESS:
 -  Inspections  of the liquid hydrogen 17-inch disconnect umbili-
 cal.
 - Leak and functional tests of the flash evaporator system.
 - Closeouts of the midbody.
 - Installation of tiles around the nose landing gear.
 - Preparations to service the orbiter with potable water.
 - Thermal protection system operations.

 WORK SCHEDULED:
 - Systems testing of the microwave scanning beam landing system.
 - Structural leak checks of the drag chute pod.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT -- THURSDAY, JAN. 9 -- 11 A.M.
    --------------------------------------------------------

 
        STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:

-Midbody closeouts.

-Thermal protection system operations.

-Leak checks of the environmental control life support system.

WORK COMPLETED:

-Air lock hatch seal replaced and initial fit check completed.

 KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 1992  -- 10:00 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (0V 105)  --  OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Electrical verifications
*  Flash evaporator checks and water spray boiler servicing
*  Fuel cell checks
*  Thermal protection system operations
*  Insulation of main propulsion system lines in aft compartment
*  Midbody closeouts and blanket installation
*  Left hand external tank door checks and inspections

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Gaseous oxygen flow control valve installed

PAYLOAD STATUS:
   The INTELSAT reboost perigee kick motor is scheduled to arrive
at the Astrotech, Titusville, Fla., facility for flight
processing at the end of this month.



 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JAN. 13, 1992  11 AM


 
        STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

 WORK IN PROGRESS:
 - Pull test of the external tank latches.
 - Functional test of the crew module side hatch.
 - Leak tests of the crew cabin.
 - Leak checks of the environmental control life support system.
 - Leak and functional tests of the flash evaporator system.
 - Closeouts of the midbody.
 - Installation of tiles.
 - Thermal protection system operations.

 WORK COMPLETED:
 - Leak checks of the potable water system.


 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JAN. 14, 1992  10 AM


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Sampling and adjusting the water loops.
- Installation of the last reinforced carbon carbon panel on  the
left wing leading edge.
- Structural leak checks of the drag chute pod.
- Functional test of the crew module side hatch.
- Leak tests of the crew cabin.
- Leak checks of the environmental control life support system.
- Leak and functional tests of the flash evaporator system.
- Closeouts of the midbody.
- Installation of tiles.
- Thermal protection system operations.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Tested the external tank door latches.


 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, JAN. 15, 1992  10:30 AM


 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Tests of the main propulsion gaseous oxygen system.
- Sampling and adjusting the water loops.
- Structural leak checks of the drag chute pod.
- Leak tests of the crew cabin.
- Leak checks of the environmental control life support system.
- Leak and functional tests of the flash evaporator system.
- Closeouts of the midbody.
- Installation of tiles.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Fit checks of the orbiter's potty.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Tested the external tank door latches.


 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, JAN. 16, 1992  11 AM


 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Removal of the main landing gear roll around tires and  instal-
lation of flight tires.
- Tests of the main propulsion gaseous oxygen system.
- Sampling and adjusting the water loops.
- Structural leak checks of the drag chute pod.
- Leak tests of the crew cabin.
- Leak checks of the environmental control life support system.
- Leak and functional tests of the flash evaporator system.
- Closeouts of the midbody.
- Installation of tiles.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Fit checks of the orbiter's potty.

    **   STS-45 and STS-49 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - VAB

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Stacking of the first booster segment for the STS-49 flight.
- Measurements of the STS-45 boosters alignment.
- Final work to close out the STS-45 boosters.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, JAN. 24, 1992  11 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to test the flight control aerosurfaces.
- Installation of the potty.
- Preparing the hydraulics system for the flight control test.
- Preparations for structural leak tests.
- Stowing the Ku-band antenna.
- Closure of the payload bay doors.
- Tests of the main propulsion system.
- Leak tests of the crew cabin.
- Leak checks of the environmental control life support system.
- Closeouts of the midbody.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Test of the nose wheel steering system.

    ***  STS-49 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - VAB

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Stacking  of  the  left forward center booster segment for the
STS-49 flight.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Stacked the left aft center segment for the STS-49 booster.



 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, JAN. 29, 1992  10 AM


 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Tests of the radar altimeter.
- Fit checks and installation of the potty.
- Structural leak tests of all areas of the orbiter.
- Tests of the main propulsion system.
- Leak tests of the crew cabin.
- Leak checks of the environmental control life support system.
- Closeouts of the midbody.
- Thermal protection system operations.

       **  STS-49 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - VAB


WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Stacking  of  the  left forward booster segment for the STS-49
flight.
- Transfer of the right aft booster to the VAB this afternoon.


 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, JAN. 30, 1992  11:30 AM


 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Tests of the radar altimeter.
- Fit checks of the middeck lockers.
- Installation of panels in the middeck.
- Structural leak tests of all areas of the orbiter.
- Tests of the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of the environmental control life support system.
- Closeouts of the midbody.
- Thermal protection system operations.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Leak checks of the main propulsion system.


 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, FEB. 3, 1992  10:30 AM


 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of window No. 6.
- Electrical redundancy tests of the orbital maneuvering system.
- Fit checks of the middeck lockers.
- Installation of panels in the middeck.
- Structural leak tests of all areas of the orbiter.
- Tests of the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of the environmental control life support system.
- Closeouts of the midbody.
- Thermal protection system operations.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Successfully leak tested the crew module.
- Installed auxiliary power unit No. 1.
- Tested the radar altimeter.



 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, FEB. 4, 1992  10:30 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of window No. 6.
- Configuring the aft flight deck for the STS-49 mission.
- Structural leak tests of all areas of the orbiter.
- Tests of the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of the environmental control life support system.
- Installation of the waste containment system.
- Closeouts of the midbody.
- Thermal protection system operations.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the text and graphics system.

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, FEB. 7, 1992  10 AM

 
        STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of the drag chute.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Configuring the aft flight deck for the STS-49 mission.
- Tests of the main propulsion system.
- Tests of the environmental control life support system.
- Structural leak tests.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Tested the external tank doors.

      ##     STS-49 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - VAB

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Mating the right forward segment to the right booster.
- Preparations to mate the right forward assembly to the booster.
- Close outs of the field joints.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Mated the right forward center segment.
 

 

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS  -  TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1992  -- 10:00 A.M.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE  --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) --OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Installations of the drag chute
*  Potable water system checks
*  External tank door functional tests

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Stray voltage checks
*  Nose landing gear tire installation
*  Flipper door closeouts


 

 KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1992 -- 11:00 A.M.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE  --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) --OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Installation of the drag chute
*  Potable water system checks
*  External tank door functional tests
*  Midbody camera installation

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Stray voltage checks
*  Nose landing gear tire installation

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Landing gear functions tests

 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1992 -- 10:00 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE  --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) --OPF High Bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Potable water system checks
*  External tank door functional tests
*  TACAN installations
*  Flight deck work and checkouts
*  Midbody and wing closeouts
*  Installation of drag chute door
*  Thermal barrier work
*  Auxiliary power unit heater checks

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Installation of the drag chute
*  Midbody camera installation

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Landing gear functions tests


 

       KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, FEB. 18, 1992  10 AM


 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Tests of the Tacan system.
- Leak and functional tests of the waste containment system.
- Checks of the system for the extravehicular mobility units.
- Configuring the aft flight deck for the STS-49 mission.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Hook up of the fuel cells.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Crew Equipment Interface Test with the  flight  crew  scheduled
this weekend.


   ##   STS-49 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/EXTERNAL TANK - VAB

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Verification of the cables between the boosters and tank.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Mated the external tank to the solid rocket boosters yesterday.


 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, FEB. 20, 1992  10 AM


 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Tests of the Tacan system.
- Preparations for the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT).
- Leak and functional tests of the waste containment system.
- Configuring the aft flight deck for the STS-49 mission.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Functional tests of the system for the extravehicular  mobility
units.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- CEIT with the flight crew scheduled this weekend.

   ###     STS-49 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/EXTERNAL TANK - VAB

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of cables between the boosters and tank.
- Making electrical connections.


 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26, 1992  11 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Measurements of the rudder speed brake.
- Tests of the external tank doors.
- Closeouts of the midbody.
- Inspections of the radiators.
- Configuring the aft flight deck for the STS-49 mission.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Transfer of the vehicle to the Vehicle  Assembly  Building  for
mate with the external tank and solid rocket boosters.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, MAR. 3, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Closeouts of the crew cabin and aft compartment.
- Final inspections and cleaning.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Final power down occurred at 1:45 p.m. yesterday.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Transfer of Endeavour to the Vehicle Assembly Building for mate
with the external tank and solid rocket boosters now targeted for
shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday, Mar. 5.

[Endeavour, in preparation for its satellite retrieval mission set to
 follow the Atlas-1 mission, will be moved from the Orbiter
 Processing Facility this Thursday, March 5, to the Vehicle
 Assembly Building for stacking.  The current schedule calls for it to be
 mated to its stack and then moved to launch pad 39-B by the middle of
 next week.  This will be the first use of Pad B since its refurbishment
 this past summer and fall.]


 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, MAR. 5, 1992  11:30 AM

 
        STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Closeouts of the crew cabin.
- Taking measurements and sanding the liquid oxygen socket  where
the  external  tank  connects  to the orbiter.  Engineers found a
slight bulge in the titanium socket that needs to be sanded for a
correct fit. The socket's aluminum liner is also being sanded.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Determining the orbiter's weight and center of gravity.
- Bolting the orbiter atop the transporter.
- Inspections of the main landing gear doors.
- Transfer of Endeavour to the Vehicle Assembly Building for mate
with the external tank and solid rocket boosters now targeted for
tomorrow evening.

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, MAR. 6, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Determining the orbiter's weight and center of gravity.
- Bolting the orbiter to the transporter.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Closed out the crew cabin.
-  Sanded  the  liquid oxygen socket where the external tank con-
nects to the orbiter.  Engineers found  a  slight  bulge  in  the
titanium  socket that would have interfered in connecting the or-
biter to the tank.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Inspections of tiles on the main landing gear doors.
- Transfer of Endeavour to the Vehicle Assembly Building for mate
with the external tank and solid rocket  boosters  planned  at  8
a.m. tomorrow.

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, MAR. 9, 1992  11 AM


 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - VAB BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Making connections between the orbiter and external tank.

WORK COMPLETED:
-  Transferred  the  orbiter  from the OPF to the VAB Saturday at
8:29 a.m.
- Vehicle elements were mated on Sunday.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Shuttle Interface Test tomorrow.
- Transfer of Endeavour to Launch Pad  39-B  targeted  for  early
Friday morning.


 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, MAR. 10, 1992  11 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - VAB BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to begin the Shuttle Interface Test.
- Attaching  thermal  protection  material  to  the  main  engine
nozzles.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Completed mechanically and electrically mating the vehicle ele-
ments.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Transfer  of  Endeavour  to Launch Pad 39-B targeted for early
Friday morning.


 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, MAR. 16, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Cleaning of the payload bay.
- Preparations for the flight readiness firing.
- Preparations for the helium signature leak test of the main en-
gines and main propulsion system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Helium signature leak test tomorrow.
- End-to-end test of the solid rocket boosters Wednesday.
- Engine flight readiness test Thursday.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Replaced two auxiliary power units.
- Completed connecting the launch pad hookups to the orbiter ele-
ments.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, MAR. 17, 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Cleaning of the payload bay.
- Preparations for the flight readiness firing.
- Helium signature leak test of the main engines and main propul-
sion system.
- Work to ready the crew cabin for flight.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- End-to-end test of the solid rocket boosters this week.
- Engine flight readiness test Thursday.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, MAR. 18, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- End-to-end test of the solid rocket boosters.
- Cleaning of the payload bay.
- Installing instrumentation for the flight readiness firing.
- Work to ready the crew cabin for flight.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Engine flight readiness test on Thursday.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Helium signature leak test of the main engines and main propul-
sion system.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, MAR. 19, 1992  10 AM
 
 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Flight readiness test of the main engines.
- Preparations to load hypergolic propellants into the orbiter.
- Frequency response test of the solid rocket boosters  hydrauli-
cally operated systems.
- Cleaning of the payload bay.
- Installing instrumentation for the flight readiness firing.
- Work to ready the crew cabin for flight.
 
WORK COMPLETED:
- End-to-end test of the solid rocket boosters.
 
 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, MAR. 26, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Loading  hypergolic  propellants into the orbiter.  Hypergolic
fuel and oxidizer propellants are being loaded into the orbiter's
storage tanks for the orbital maneuvering system engines and  the
reaction control system thrusters. In addition, hydrazine will be
loaded  onboard  for  the orbiter's auxiliary power units and the
boosters' hydraulic power units.  The launch pad is closed to all
non-essential personnel during this operation.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Closure of the payload bay doors.
- Leak checks of the auxiliary power units.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Installation  of  instrumentation  for  the  Flight  Readiness
Firing.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, MAR. 27, 1992  10 AM


 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Loading  hypergolic  fuel into the orbiter's storage tanks for
the orbital maneuvering system engines and the  reaction  control
system thrusters.  In addition,  hydrazine will be loaded onboard
for  the  orbiter's  auxiliary  power  units  and  the  boosters'
hydraulic power units.  The launch pad will be closed to all non-
essential personnel through tonight when this operation  is  com-
plete.

WORK COMPLETED:
-  Loaded  nitrogen  tetroxide  into the  orbiter's storage tanks
yesterday.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Installation  of  instrumentation  for  the  Flight  Readiness
Firing.
- Flight Readiness Firing targeted for Apr. 6 at 11 a.m.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, MAR. 30, 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Installation  of  instrumentation  for  the  Flight  Readiness
Firing.
- Preparations for the flight readiness firing simulation.
- Close outs of the avionics bays and the aft compartment.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Loaded hypergolic fuel into the orbiter's storage tanks for the
orbital maneuvering system engines and the reaction control  sys-
tem thrusters.  In addition, hydrazine was loaded onboard for the
orbiter's auxiliary power units and the boosters' hydraulic power
units.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Firing room simulation of the flight readiness firing tomorrow.
- Flight readiness firing targeted for Apr. 6 at 11 a.m.

 

Jim Cast
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                      March 30, 1992

Lisa Malone
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

EDITORS NOTE:  N92-26


     A 22-second Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) of the new Space
Shuttle Endeavour's three main engines is currently scheduled for
11:00 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 6, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center,
Fla. (KSC).  A successful main engine test firing is required of
all new Space Shuttle Orbiters prior to actual launch.

     Endeavour's maiden flight, STS-49, is scheduled for May,
1992.  A primary objective of the mission is to capture, retrieve,
repair and redeploy an INTELSAT-VI communications satellite which
has been stranded in an incorrect orbit since March 1990.  Another
major goal will be to demonstrate and verify Space Station Freedom
EVA maintenance and assembly capablilities.

     A post-test news conference will be held following the FRF.
Both the firing, including commentary, and the post-test news
conference will be carried live on NASA Select television, SATCOM
F2R, transponder 13, at 72-degrees West longitude.

     Also being arranged for the afternoon of  April 6 is an STS-
49 payload viewing/photo opportunity for the press.

     News media wishing to be accredited for the firing, news
conference and payload viewing should contact the KSC News Center
as soon as possible.

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, APR. 1, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Purges of the external tank.
-  Installing  thermal  curtains  in  the right hand solid rocket
booster aft skirt.
- Installation of instrumentation for the FRF.
- Close outs of the avionics bays and the aft compartment.
- Preparations to install the "blast doors" on the  aft  compart-
ment.
- Installation of thermal blankets in the aft compartment.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Firing room simulation of the Flight Readiness Firing.
- Installation of thermal blankets for the water spray boilers.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- FRF countdown begins at 2 p.m. Friday.
-  FRF 22-second main engine firing is targeted for Apr.  6 at 11
a.m. EDT.

 

	Here is the crew list for STS 49, scheduled for launch for 1 May 92.

	- Commander: Dan Brandenstein 
	- Pilot: Kevin Chilton
	- MS1: Pierre Thuot 
	- MS2: Kathryn Thornton 
	- MS3: Richard Hieb 
	- MS4: Thomas Akers 
	- MS5: Bruce Melnick

	Brandenstein is making his fourth spaceflight. Chilton is the only
	rookie on this flight, with the other all making their second flight.


	Susan

    What happened with endeavours engine test today?? Has it happened or is
    it scheduled for later today?? Any update would be appreciated.
    
    Roger

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, APR. 3, 1992  11 AM


 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to start the Flight Readiness Firing countdown  at
2 p.m. EST at the T-43 hour mark.
- Setting up measuring devices on the tail service masts.
- Final walkdowns and inspections.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Aft compartment is closed for the test.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Loading of the fuel cell storage tanks with cryogenic reactants
tomorrow.
- Rotation of the rotating service structure at 1 p.m. Sunday.
- Tanking begins at 3:40 a.m. EDT Monday.
- FRF 22-second main engine firing is targeted for Monday,  April
6, at 11 a.m. EDT.

 

    I heard on the news that the test firing went the full 22 seconds
    and all first indicators look good. The picture they showed looked
    good, too! :)

Article: 1931
From: [email protected] (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space
Subject: Shuttle Endeavour's engines fired
Date: 6 Apr 92 15:44:35 GMT
 
	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- The new shuttle Endeavour's three main
engines were fired for 22 seconds Monday in a dramatic unmanned test to
prove the new spaceplane will be ready for its maiden launch next month
on a satellite rescue mission.

	``All appears to have gone well with today's flight readiness firing
of Endeavour's three main engines and main propulsion system,'' said
NASA commentator Lisa Malone. ``Engineers, however, will be analyzing
data to determine the characteristics of the new shuttle and if there
are any anomalies.''

	With Endeavour anchored atop pad 39-B, computers issued commands to
start the spaceplane's engines on time at 11:12 a.m. Engine No. 3
cranked up first, followed at 120 millisecond intervals by engines No. 2
and No. 1. The test was delayed 12 minutes by a blown fuse in the ship's
mobile launch platform.

	Gulping 1,042 pounds of liquid oxygen and explosive liquid hydrogen
per second and generating some 37 million horsepower, the engines fired
up with a quick bursts of orange flame that rapidly turned into three
cones of transparent blue-white exhaust as they throttled up to full power.

	The 1.1 million pounds of push from the offset powerplants caused
Endeavour to sway back and forth on its launch pad while the heat from
the exhaust instantly turned torrents of cooling water into billowing
clouds of steam that rose high into the morning sky.

	In a real launch, commands to fire the shuttle's solid-fuel boosters
are issued after the ship's flight computers verify the liquid-fueled
engines are running properly at a predetermined power level.

	For Monday's test, however, this check was delayed until about 19
seconds after ignition when the flight software tried to verify the engines 
were running at 150 percent power, an impossible condition to satisfy.

	When they found the engines were running at 100 percent power - far
lower than they had been programmed to expect - shutdown commands were
issued and the main engines stopped firing in reverse order as planned.

	As the exhaust cloud dissipated, fire extinguishers at the launch pad
began spraying water on the engines and the belly of the orbiter to
prevent the ignition of any free hydrogen that might be in the area. No
fires were present and the water was quickly turned off

	Complete results of the flight readiness firing were not expected to
be available for several hours, but no major problems were apparent.

	Endeavour was built by Rockwell International to replace the shuttle
Challenger, which was destroyed by a booster failure 73 seconds after
blastoff Jan. 28, 1986. NASA accepted delivery of Challenger's $2
billion replacement last May.

	If no major problems develop, Endeavour's six-man, one-woman crew
plans to take off around May 7 to kick off the 47th shuttle flight, the
third of eight missions planned for 1992.

	The primary goal of the flight is to rendezvous with a crippled
communications satellite so two spacewalkers can bolt on a new rocket
motor needed to fire the relay station into the proper orbit. Two other
spacewalks are planned to test space station construction techniques.

	All new shuttles are subjected to flight readiness firings to make
sure main propulsion, hydraulic, electrical and mechanical systems will
operate properly under actual launch conditions. Endeavour's marked the
eighth such test in program history.

	``The main purpose is to test the main propulsion system on the
new orbiter, all the piping in the aft of the orbiter, the engines
themselves, to test the pad (fuel) loading sequence,'' said NASA test
director Michael Leinbach. ``It also tests ... all the hydraulc power on
board the orbiter (and) all the ground software. So really, it's a test
of the vehicle.''

	In the movie ``Space Camp,'' a shuttle was accidentally launched
during an engine test firing. But in reality, Endeavour's boosters were
rigged with dummy arming devices so that even if an ignition command was
mistakenly sent, the signal could not physically reach the 14-story rockets.

	Despite the cost and obvious risk involved with staging a flight
readiness firing, Robert Crippen, a former astronaut who now serves as
director of the Kennedy Space Center, said an FRF is the best way to
test a new shuttle's systems.

	``There are a lot of people who feel if you get as far as lighting
the engines you ought to go ahead and take off,'' Crippen said. ``I also
feel that we ought to have tested this vehicle as well as we can before
we commit it to flight.

	``It turns out that an FRF is the best integrated, total systems
check that you can do. It's not an engine test ... it's the whole thing,
it puts it all together in an integrated fashion. And I believe it's
worth the extra cost and time to go do it.''

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, APR. 6, 1992  2:30 PM


 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Post flight readiness firing operations at the launch pad.
- Gaseous hydrogen injection test in the aft compartment.

WORK COMPLETE:
- Flight Readiness Firing at 11:12 a.m.  EDT for 22 seconds.  The
initial look indicates the test went well.  Engineers are analyz-
ing the data.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Deconfigure the launch pad from the test.
- STS-49 payloads transfer to the launch pad this weekend.
- Post-FRF inspections of the main propulsion system and main en-
gines.
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration  Test  with  the  flight  crew
planned April 17.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, APR. 7, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Post flight readiness firing operations at the launch pad.
- Gaining access to the aft compartment.
- Connecting the orbiter midbody umbilical unit to the orbiter.
- Preparations to offload reactants from the  fuel  cell  storage
tanks.
- Raising engine service platforms on the launch platform.

WORK COMPLETE:
-  Flight  Readiness  Firing  at 11:12 a.m.  EDT yesterday for 22
seconds. The initial look indicates the test went well. Engineers
are analyzing the data.
- Gaseous hydrogen injection test in the aft compartment.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- STS-49 payloads transfer to the launch pad this weekend.
- Post-FRF inspections of the main propulsion system and main en-
gines.
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration  Test  with  the  flight  crew
planned April 17.

 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, APR. 8, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Post flight readiness firing operations at the launch pad.
- Gaining access to the aft compartment.
- Raising engine service platforms on the launch platform.
- Circulating hydraulic fluid.
- Analysis of FRF data from the main engines and main  propulsion
system.
-  Analysis  of  the  performance  of high pressure oxidizer tur-
bopumps on main engines No. 1 and 2.

WORK COMPLETE:
- Offloaded reactants from the fuel cell storage tanks.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Transfer of the STS-49 payloads to the launch pad this weekend.
- Post-FRF inspections of the main propulsion system and main en-
gines.
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration  Test  with  the  flight  crew
planned April 17.

 

Article: 1935
From: [email protected] (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.urgent
Subject: Engineers debate shuttle engine replacement
Date: 8 Apr 92 18:30:12 GMT 
 
	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- Engineers are debating whether to
replace one or more main engines aboard the shuttle Endeavour because of
problems with powerful oxygen pumps that came to light after an engine
test firing Monday, officials said Wednesday.

	NASA managers initially believed Endeavour sailed through its flight
readiness firing,`` or FRF, in good condition, with no signs of any
major problems in the ship's propulsion system.

	But detailed analysis of data from the 22-second flight readiness
firing indicates the liquid oxygen high pressure turbopump bolted to
main engine No. 2 experienced high vibration levels during engine operation.

 	And NASA spokeswoman Lisa Malone said the oxygen pump on engine No. 1
made a ``popping'' noise after shutdown.

	The oxygen pumps, each about the size of a small car engine, generate
some 21,300 horsepower during engine operation and a failure in flight
could prove catastrophic. For that reason, any signs of pump trouble are
matters of concern to NASA engineers.

	While space agency managers could elect to replace one or both of the
pumps, they also could decide to simply replace both engines -- or all
three -- a job that would have less impact on Endeavour's launch
processing schedule.

	``It looks like at least one pump has got to come out,'' Malone said.
``It might be more prudent to replace all three main engines.''

	By replacing the entire set, engineers would not have to conduct any
of the time-consuming post-firing checks and inspections that otherwise
would be required because of the flight readiness firing Monday.

	Endeavour, built to replace the shuttle Challenger, is scheduled to
blast off on its maiden flight around May 5. Malone said engineers did
not yet know what impact, if any, an engine replacement would have on
the eventual launch date.

	But spare engines are available at the Kennedy Space Center should a
swap-out be ordered and given past experience replacing engines at the
launch pad, NASA managers did not believe Endeavour's launch would be
significantly delayed by such work.

	Endeavour was rigged with more than 50 special instruments and
sensors to monitor pressures, temperatures and other variables during
the shuttle's engine firing Monday.

	The unmanned engine firing is a standard test required before any
shuttle's first flight to make sure its propulsion, hydraulic and
electrical systems work together properly under actual launch conditions.

	The shuttle's main engines, built by Rocketdyne of Canoga Park,
Calif., burn liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to produce about 375,000
pounds of push each at sea level. Altogether, the powerplants generate
about 37 million horsepower when running at full throttle, the energy
equivalent of 23 Hoover Dams.

	The $35 million powerplants are the most sophisticated liquid-fueled
rocket engines ever built, but they have had problems in the past with
the powerful turbopumps, which gulp 1,042 pounds of oxygen and hydrogen
per second when the engines are operating at 100 percent power.

	The oxygen pump generates 21,300 horsepower feeding propellant to the
main combustion chamber at pressures up to 6,970 pounds per square inch.

Article: 1937
From: [email protected] (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.aviation,clari.news.military
Subject: Shuttle engine replacement ordered
Date: 9 Apr 92 01:32:45 GMT
 
	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- NASA managers decided Wednesday to
replace all three main engines aboard the new shuttle Endeavour because
of problems with powerful oxygen pumps that came to light after an
engine test firing Monday.

	While NASA engineers still hope to launch Endeavour on its maiden
flight around May 5, officials said the target date likely will slip a
few days because of the engine replacement and additional inspections of
the shuttle's propulsion system.

	``The bottom line is they're not ready to give up on the fifth yet,
but it's likely somewhere between the fifth and the eighth (of May),''
said NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham.

	Rocket engineers initially believed Endeavour sailed through its 
``flight readiness firing,'' or FRF, Monday in good condition, with no
signs of any major problems in the ship's propulsion system.

	But detailed analysis of data from the 22-second test indicates 
the liquid oxygen high pressure turbopump bolted to main engine No. 2
experienced high vibration levels during engine operation, apparently
due to abnormal bearing wear.

	And NASA spokeswoman Lisa Malone said the oxygen pump on engine No. 1
made a ``popping'' noise after shutdown. That problem is believed to
have been caused by an unwanted ``ingestion'' of explosive hydrogen that
may have damaged the engine's fuel injector.

	The oxygen pumps, each about the size of a small car engine, generate
some 21,300 horsepower during engine operation and a failure in flight
could prove catastrophic. For that reason, any signs of pump trouble or
improper performance are matters of concern to NASA engineers.

	Following a late afternoon teleconference Wednesday to discuss the
issue, NASA managers decided to replace all three of Endeavour's main
engines to minimize the impact on the shuttle's launch processing.

	By replacing the entire set, engineers will not have to conduct any
of the time-consuming post-firing checks and inspections that otherwise
would be required because of the flight readiness firing Monday.

	Along with installing fresh engines, technicians also plan to examine
filter screens in the fuel lines to make sure no debris got sucked
through the main propulsion system.

	Spare engines are available at the Kennedy Space Center and
Buckingham said work to disconnect the original set would begin early
next week.

	Endeavour was rigged with more than 50 special instruments and
sensors to monitor pressures, temperatures and other variables during
the shuttle's engine firing Monday.

	The unmanned engine firing is a standard test required before any
shuttle's first flight to make sure its propulsion, hydraulic and
electrical systems work together properly under actual launch conditions.

	The shuttle's main engines, built by Rocketdyne of Canoga Park,
Calif., burn liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to produce about 375,000
pounds of push each at sea level. Altogether, the powerplants generate
about 37 million horsepower when running at full throttle, the energy
equivalent of 23 Hoover Dams.

	The $35 million powerplants are the most sophisticated liquid-fueled
rocket engines ever built, but they have had problems in the past with
the powerful turbopumps, which gulp 1,042 pounds of oxygen and hydrogen
per second when the engines are operating at 100 percent power.

	The oxygen pump generates 21,300 horsepower feeding propellant to the
main combustion chamber at pressures up to 6,970 pounds per square inch.

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, APR. 9, 1992  10 AM


 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Removing foam from the joints between the main propulsion  sys-
tem  and the three main engines and from other areas to allow in-
spections.
- Removing instrumentation used in the flight readiness firing.
- Removing heat shields from the main engines.
- Preparations to install the STS-49 payloads.

WORK COMPLETE:
- Workers gained access to the aft compartment yesterday.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Move the rotating service structure away from the orbiter over-
night in preparation for payload installation.
- Transfer of the STS-49 payloads to the launch pad tonight.
- Shuttle managers decided last night to replace the  three  main
engines  following  review  of  irregularities in two of the high
pressure oxidizer turbopumps.  The engine one pump saw a build up
of  pressure in the preburner just after it was shut down and en-
gine two saw a slightly elevated frequency in  vibration  in  the
ball bearing cage.   This work, scheduled to begin Sunday, is ex-
pected to have little impact to the processing schedule.
- Removal of the radiation blast shield tomorrow.
- Post-FRF inspections of the main propulsion system.
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration  Test  with  the  flight  crew
planned April 17.


 

Ed Campion                                              April 8, 1992
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                          7:30 p.m. EDT

James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston

Lisa Malone
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.


     Following a final review of information from Endeavour's flight
readiness firing, two irregularities were identified in two engines and
Shuttle managers have decided to remove and replace Endeavour's
three main engines prior to STS-49

     Replacing the main engines adds, at most, one or two days of
work to the launch preparations already under way, and launch of
STS-49 in the first week of May is still anticipated.  An official launch
date will be announced by managers following the STS-49 flight
readiness review now scheduled for April 21.

     The irregularities would not have been a safety concern had
Endeavour's engine test been an actual launch, and it is believed all
three engines would have performed well under such circumstances.
The decision to replace the engines is dictated by prudence and the
fact that the work will have little impact on the launch preparation
schedule.

     The irregular items included a build up of pressure in the liquid
oxygen preburner seen just after shut off of engine number one.
Such pressure build-ups have been seen before and usually occur
only after an engine shut down at sea-level altitude.  However, the
build up requires that the engine's oxidizer preburner face plate be
inspected for any deflections it may have caused.

     On engine number two, a slightly elevated frequency in the
vibrations of ball bearings in the high pressure oxidizer turbopump
indicated the possible beginnings of wear in the bearings.  However,
the indications of wear are not sufficiently great to cause a concern
that the engine would not have operated well for the eight and half
minutes required during launch.
 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, APR. 10, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Removing foam from the joints between the main propulsion  sys-
tem  and the three main engines and from other areas to allow in-
spections.
- Removing instrumentation used in the flight readiness firing.
- Removing heat shields from the main engines.
- Removal of the radiation blast shield.

WORK COMPLETE:
- STS-49 payloads were transferred to the launch pad overnight.
- Moved the rotating service structure away from the  orbiter  in
preparation for payload installation.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of the payloads Tuesday.
- Post-FRF inspections of the main propulsion system.
- KSC Launch Readiness Review scheduled April 16.
-  Terminal  Countdown  Demonstration  Test  with the flight crew
planned April 17.
- Flight Readiness Review planned April 21.

 

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1992 -- 11:00 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - Pad 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Main engine removal and replacement (SSME #1 is out. The
replacement will be installed today.)

*  Open payload bay doors

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Main propulsion system interface inspections
*  Payload secured in the payload changeout room at 2:30 p.m.
   Saturday.
*  Blast shield and rail removal at pad

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Continue replacement of shuttle main engines
*  Installation of payload into orbiter payload bay tomorrow
*  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) this week. Crew
is scheduled to arrive at KSC late Tuesday night.
*  Launch Readiness Review scheduled for Thursday afternoon

 

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 1992 -- 11:00 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- Pad 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Main engine removal and replacement (SSME #1 has been
   replaced. SSME #2 is in progress.)
*  Install payload in orbiter payload bay

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Open payload bay doors
*  Main propulsion system interface inspections

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Continue replacement of shuttle main engines
*  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) this week. Crew
   is scheduled to arrive at KSC late tonight. T-0 scheduled for
   11:00 a.m. Friday.
*  Launch Readiness Review scheduled for Thursday afternoon
*  Flight Readiness Review rescheduled for April 22 at KSC

 

This KSC Status Report was prepared at 11 a.m., Wednesday, April 15.

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE -- ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- Pad 39-B


     At Pad 39-B, the installation of the Intelsat booster and ASEM
payloads into the Space Shuttle Endeavour was completed at 5:50 p.m.
Tuesday evening.  All of the electrical connections with the orbiter
had been completely established by 10:55 p.m.  At 10 a.m. this
morning the Interface Verifcation Test, or IVT, began which verifies
those connections, and the test is forecast to be finished about 4
p.m. today.


     The STS-49 astronauts arrived last night from Houston by T-38
jets at 11:10 p.m.  They are scheduled to conduct a payload
inspection at 1 o'clock on Thursday afternoon.

     Over the next two days, the crew will have emergency egress
training at the launch pad, and have fit checks of their helmets,
gloves and launch and entry suits.  The crew will be aboard Endeavour
for the last three hours of the countdown dress rehearsal on Friday
as is customary, and will interface with the launch team located in
Firing Room 1.  The clock will begin counting for the test at 8:30
a.m. on Thursday.

     The main engine replacement on the Space Shuttle Endeavour which
began Sunday is continuing and is on schedule.  The No. 2 engine was
removed yesterday and the replacement is undergoing installation
today.  The last engine will be removed tomorrow with the replacment
installed on Friday.

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1992 -- 10:00 A.M.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------
 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE  --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- Pad 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Main engine removal and replacement (SSMEs 1,2 and 3 have been
   removed. Replacement SSMEs 1 and 2 have been installed.
   Replacement SSME 3 will be delivered to the pad today and
   installed tonight.)
*  Solid rocket booster closeout work
*  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) (The countdown
   began at 8:30 a.m. today for a scheduled T-0 at 11:00 a.m.
   tomorrow.)
*  Launch Readiness Review scheduled for 1:00 p.m. today

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Install payload in orbiter payload bay
*  Payload integration verification tests

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Continue replacement of shuttle main engines
*  Flight Readiness Review scheduled for April 22 at KSC
*  Inertial measurement unit calibrations
*  Auxiliary power unit leak checks

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 1992 -- 12:00 NOON
  -----------------------------------------------------------------
 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE  --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- Pad 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (T-0 occurred on
   scheduled at 11:00 a.m.)
*  Solid rocket booster closeout work
*  Solid rocket booster accumulator installation
*  Main engine service platform installation
*  Main engine heat shield installation

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Main engine removal and replacement (Replacement SSME #3 was
   installed last night.)
*  Launch Readiness Review
*  Payload installation
*  Payload integration verification tests

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Flight Readiness Review scheduled for April 22 at KSC
*  Inertial measurement unit calibrations
*  Auxiliary power unit leak checks
*  Flight readiness test for main engines and main propulsion
   system

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, APR. 20, 1992  11 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installing heat shields around the three main engines.
- Preparations for the main engine flight readiness test.
- Post-FRF inspections of the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of the liquid oxygen and hydrogen systems.

WORK COMPLETE:
- Replaced the three main engines last week.
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration  Test  was  successfully  held
last Friday with the simulated T-0 at 11 a.m.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Flight Readiness Review on Wednesday.
- Helium signature leak test the end of the week.

 

The first edition (no graphics yet) of the STS-49 press kit is available:

  pragma::public:[nasa]sts-49.ps


13 pages.

- dave

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, APR. 21, 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Smoothing  the  interference  fit  between  the  heat   shield
"eyelids" for the No. 3 main engine.
- Preparations for the main engine flight readiness test.
- Post-FRF inspections of the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of the liquid oxygen and hydrogen systems.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Flight Readiness Review tomorrow.
- Helium signature leak test of the main engines and main propul-
sion system this weekend.

 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1992 -- 12:00 NOON
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE  --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- Pad 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Flight Readiness Review
*  Main Propulsion System flight readiness test and leak checks
*  Post Flight Readiness Firing processing operations

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Main engine heat shield installation

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Auxiliary power unit leak checks
*  Ordnance operations

 

Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.             April 22, 1992

Lisa Malone
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.


        NASA today concluded the Flight Readiness Review for STS-
49, selecting May 4 as the launch date for the maiden flight of
the Space Shuttle Endeavour.  Shuttle mission STS-49 will be
launched from Complex 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.,
during a window that extends from 8:34 to 9:27 p.m. EDT.  The
6-day 23-hour mission will end with a landing on May 11 at
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

        A 7-member crew will guide Endeavour on her maiden
flight.  The Commander is Daniel Brandenstein and the Pilot is
Kevin Chilton.  Mission specialists are Bruce Melnick, Pierre
Thuot, Richard Hieb, Kathryn Thornton and Thomas Akers.

        The primary mission objective for STS-49 is to
rendezvous, repair and reboost an INTELSAT communications
satellite stranded in a low Earth orbit after launch aboard an
expendable launch vehicle.  Another mission goal is to conduct
extravehicular activities (spacewalks) to evaluate equipment
and techniques for constructing Space Station Freedom.  Three
consecutive space walks  will be performed, a first for the
Shuttle program.

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, APR. 23 1992  11 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Tests of the four space suits tucked inside the airlock.
- Cycling of the orbiter's aerosurfaces.
- Preparations for the helium signature leak test of the main en-
gines and main propulsion system.
- Post-FRF inspections of the main propulsion system.
- Leak checks of the gasous oxygen system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Successfully conducted the main engine flight readiness test of
the three main engines.
- Flight Readiness Review concluded yesterday with  the  official
launch date set for May 4.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Helium signature leak test tomorrow.

 

      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, APR. 24 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations for the helium signature leak test of the main en-
gines and main propulsion system.
- Post-FRF inspections of the main propulsion system.
- First portion of ordnance installation.
- Preparations to pressurize the  hypergolic propellant tanks for
flight.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Tested the four space suits tucked inside the airlock.
- Cycling of the orbiter's aerosurfaces.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Close payload bay doors for flight on Tuesday.
- Aft closeouts.
- Launch scheduled for May 4 at 8:34 p.m. EDT.

 

Rev B is here.  As always, I'll try to keep up with the revisions....

  pragma::public:[nasa]sts-49.nasa_select

      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, APR. 27 1992  10 AM


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- First portion of ordnance installation.
- Preparations to pressurize the  hypergolic propellant tanks for
flight.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Successfully conducted the helium signature leak  test  of  the
main engines and main propulsion system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Close payload bay doors for flight on Tuesday.
- Aft closeouts.
- Launch scheduled for May 4 at 8:34 p.m. EDT.


 

From: [email protected] (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Subject: Shuttle launch moved to May 7
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 92 17:50:30 PDT
 
	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- NASA managers reversed themselves Monday
and delayed the new shuttle Endeavour's maiden launch from May 4 to May
7 to allow a daylight liftoff in case anything goes wrong that might be
missed in darkness, officials said.
	A daylight liftoff also would allow Endeavour's seven-member crew to
make a daylight landing back at the Kennedy Space Center in case of an
engine failure early in flight. As it was, a ``return-to-launch-site''
abort would have occurred in darkness.
	Endeavour's liftoff on a daring satellite rescue mission had been
scheduled for 8:34 p.m. EDT next Monday.
	But new NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin ordered shuttle managers to
reassess the launch date after former astronaut John Young raised
questions about the wisdom of launching a new shuttle in darkness.
	Should a major problem develop, the argument went, cameras used to
track all shuttle launches from a variety of angles might not be able to
detect the cause of a malfunction or properly track the aftermath of an
accident.
	While that applies to all night launches -- seven of the 46 shuttle
flights to date have taken off after dark -- Young apparently felt a new
shuttle should make its debut in daylight.
	``We reviewed the criteria for the first flight of Endeavour and
determined it would be prudent to delay the date from May 4 so that we
could obtain the normal photographic documenation that a daylight launch
affords,'' said Thomas Utsman, NASA's acting chief of space flight.
	Left unsaid was why NASA managers approved the original May 4 launch
date in the first place.
	In any case, Goldin ordered a review and while the details were not
immediately available, the results were: Endeavour's launch was delayed
to 7:06 p.m. May 7.
	The goal of the flight, the 42nd in shuttle history and the second of
eight planned for 1992, is to capture a stranded communications
satellite so two spacewalking astronauts can bolt on a new rocket
booster. The satellite then can be boosted into the proper orbit 22,300
miles above the Equator.
	Aboard Endeavour will be commander Daniel Brandenstein, 49, co-pilot
Kevin Chilton, 37, Bruce Melnick, 42, and spacewalkers Pierre Thuot and
Richard Hieb, both 36, Kathryn Thornton, 39, and Thomas Akers, 40.
	Along with salvaging the crippled Intelsat 6 satellite, two
additional spacewalks are planned on successive days to test space
station construction techniques.
	Endeavour's original May 4 launch date was set last week after a
formal flight readiness review attended by top shuttle managers. At that
time, an unmanned Delta 2 rocket was scheduled for launch May 7 and
Endeavour only had two shots at liftoff, on May 4 and May 5, before
ground crews would be forced to stand down for the Delta flight.
	But the Delta launch was delayed to May 9 because of technical
problems. As a result, Endeavour's crew will only have one chance to get
off the pad before standing down for the unmanned rocket. Why the
shuttle launch was scheduled for May 7 and not May 6, which would have
given the crew two chances to make it into orbit before the Delta
launch, was not immediately clear.
	But Young's argument was booted up to Goldin, who surprised many
observers by ordering a review of the launch date-decision process.
	After a meeting at NASA headquarters Monday, space agency officials,
presumably at Goldin's request, reversed the flight readiness review
decision and delayed Endeavour's liftoff.

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, APR. 28 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Closing out the payload bay for flight.
- Closing out the aft compartment.
- Preparations to begin the launch countdown next week.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installation of ordnance devices  on  the  vehicle  and  launch
platform.
- Pressurization of the  hypergolic propellant tanks for flight.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Close payload bay doors for flight tonight.
- Purges of the external tank tomorrow.
- Aft closeouts.
- Final ordnance operations on Friday.
- Launch rescheduled for May 7 at 7:06 p.m. EDT.


[for completeness... -dg]

4/27/92: STS-49 SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH ADVISORY


        NASA today rescheduled the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle
Endeavour to May 7.  The launch window for that date extends from 7:06 to
7:55 p.m. EDT.

        "We reviewed the criteria for the first flight of Endeavour and
determined it would be prudent to delay the date from May 4 so that we
could obtain the normal photographic documentation that a daylight launch
affords," said NASA's Acting Associate Administrator for Space Flight Tom
Utsman.

- end -

 

    re: .125 + .126
         Correct decision.  It's reassuring that John Young still has
    contacts in the right places.  I'm surprised that Crippen didn't 
    advocate this.  Even so, the launch window on 05/07 is very tight,
    given that this is a new vehicle.
         My .02.

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, APR. 29 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Purges of the external tank.
- Closing out the aft compartment including final inspections  of
the  auxiliary  power  units,  foaming  of main propulsion system
lines, and close outs of the avionics bays.
- Preparations to begin the launch countdown next week.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Closed the payload bay doors for flight at 5:50 p.m. yesterday.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Close out the aft compartment for flight Thursday night.
- Final ordnance operations on Friday.
- Launch scheduled for May 7 at 7:06 p.m. EDT. Window extends un-
til 7:55 p.m.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, APR. 30 1992  10 AM
 
 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Purges of the power reactant storage and distribution system.
- Closing out the aft compartment including final inspections and
close outs of the avionics bays.
- Preparations to begin the launch countdown next week.
 
WORK COMPLETED:
- Purged the external tank.
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
- Close out the aft compartment for flight tomorrow.
- Final ordnance operations on Friday.
- Launch scheduled for May 7 at 7:06 p.m. EDT. Window extends un-
til 7:55 p.m.
 
 

 
      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, MAY 1 1992  10 AM
 
 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Closing out the aft compartment  including  final  inspections,
close outs of the avionics bays and removing work platforms.
- Install the flight doors on the aft compartment later today.
- Preparations to begin the launch countdown next week.
 
WORK COMPLETED:
- Purged the power reactant storage and distribution system.
- Final ordnance operations and checks of the firing circuits.
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
- STS-49 flight crew is scheduled to arrive at 7 p.m. Monday.
-  Launch  countdown  begins  at 11 p.m.  Monday at the T-43 hour
mark.
- Launch scheduled for May 7 at 7:06 p.m. EDT. Window extends un-
til 7:55 p.m.
 
 

       KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, MAY 4 1992  10 AM


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B

                     LAUNCH MINUS THREE DAYS

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to begin the launch countdown at 11  p.m.  tonight
at the T minus 43 hour mark.
- Removing platforms from the middeck.
- Removing covers from the reaction control system thrusters.
- Washing down the mobile launcher platform and the flame trench.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Closed out the aft compartment Friday night.
- Closed out the two boosters and external tank.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- STS-49 flight crew is scheduled to arrive at 7 p.m. tonight.
-  Rotate the rotating service structure away from the vehicle at
6 p.m. Wednesday.
- Loading the external tank with its flight load  of  propellants
begins at 10:16 a.m. Thursday.
- Launch is scheduled for May 7 at 7:06 p.m.  EDT. Window extends
until 7:55 p.m.

WEATHER FORECAST:
- There is a 60 percent chance of acceptable  weather  conditions
on  Thursday  at launch time.  The concern is for thick low level
clouds in the area.


 

       KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, MAY 5 1992  10 AM
 
 
 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - PAD 39-B/MLP-2
                        LAUNCH MINUS TWO DAYS
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
- The STS-49 launch countdown is in progress.
- Preparations to load the fuel cell storage tanks with cryogenic
reactants.
- Final set ups of the hazardous gas detection system.
- Activation of the navigation aids.
- Preparing the main engines for flight.
 
WORK COMPLETED:
- Began the launch countdown on time at 11 p.m.  yesterday at the
T-43 hour mark.
- STS-49 flight crew arrived shortly after 7 p.m. last night.
 
FLIGHT CREW:
-  The  crew  will have a brief medical exam,  review flight data
files, perform fit checks with crew equipment and will be briefed
by the vehicle integrated test team.
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
- Loading the fuel cell storage tanks with reactants tonight.
- Rotate the rotating service structure away from the vehicle  at
6 p.m. Wednesday.
-  Loading  the external tank with its flight load of propellants
begins at 10:16 a.m. Thursday.
- Launch is scheduled for May 7 at 7:06 p.m. EDT.  Window extends
until 7:55 p.m.
 
WEATHER FORECAST:
-  There  is a 30 percent chance of acceptable weather conditions
on Thursday at launch time.  The concern is for showers or  thun-
derstorms and thick low level clouds in the area.  Conditions im-
prove on Friday to a  40  percent  chance  of  having  acceptable
weather.
 
 

      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 1992 -- 12:00 NOON
  -----------------------------------------------------------------
 
     STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE  --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- Pad 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  The STS-49 launch countdown continues on time and without
   incident. The clock will hold today at 3:00 p.m. for a
   scheduled 13 hour, 16 minute built in hold.
*  Rotating service structure move preparations

WORK COMPLETED:
*  L-2 day review
*  Cryogenic fuel cell load operations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Rotation of the service structure from the vehicle is
   scheduled for tonight.
*  Loading of the external tank with cryogenic fuels is scheduled
   to begin at 10:16 a.m. Thursday.
*  Launch is scheduled for May 7, at 7:06 p.m. EDT. The window
   extends until 7:55 p.m.

 

                L-2 Day Weather Forecast for STS-49
                Forecast prepared Tuesday, 5/5/92

Synopsis: An upper level low over the southeastern United States
with an associated offshore cold front is expected to generate
clouds and showers in the Cape Canaveral vicinity.  Thick layered
clouds, low ceilings, with showers or thunderstorms are the
concerns.

During the launch window from 7:06 - 7:55 p.m. on Thursday,
5/7/92, the conditions are forecast to be:

Clouds:

2,500-7,000 feet scattered to broken stratocumulus
55% sky coverage

10,000-15,000 broken altocumulus
75% sky coverage

22,000-28,000 scattered cirrus
45% sky coverage


Visibility: 7+ miles

Wind - Pad 39B:  North 14 knots, gusts to 20 knots

Temperature:  67 degrees

Dewpoint:     57 degrees

Humidity:     83%

Precipitation: showers and thunderstorms in the vicinity


Probability of launch weather criteria violation: 70%
Probability of tanking constraint violation: 10%

Chance of violation at launch time on Friday:  60%
                                      tanking: 10%

Chance of violation at launch time on Saturday: 40%
                                      tanking:   5%

Developed by Cape Canaveral Forecast Facility, USAF

---------------------------------------------
SPACELINK NOTE: STS-49 Keplerian Elements

Pre-launch Keplerian elements will not be available for STS-49.  Due to the
nature of the mission (rendezvous and capture of the INTELSAT VI satellite)
extensive orbital maneuvers will be conducted by the crew early in the
flight.  Any predicted element set would be out of date shortly after launch.
We expect to post actual element sets once the mission is well under way and
the initial maneuvers are completed.  Because some maneuvers are followed
shortly by others, we will not provide updated element sets after each
engine burn.  Rather, element sets will be provided when these activities wind
down and element sets will be more useful.

    The mooring lines have been cut, and Endeavour is on its way...
    
    
    "The maiden voyage of the Space Shuttle Endeavour began successfully
    with liftoff at 6:40 p.m. CDT.  The spacecraft and crew reached orbit 9
    minutes and 27 seconds later."
    
    The launch was delayed about 30-40 minutes due to both weather and
    technical difficulties (a problem in one of the two master event
    controllers).  Weather opened up at KSC, but they bounced the TAL sites
    and almost had a scrub because of weather across the Atlantic (the
    MEC problem was cleared about 10 minutes after the original KSC weather
    delay of 15 minutes).
    
    I realize that a fair percentage of this launch vehicle isn't "new"
    (e.g., the engines, ET, SRBs, launch pad, etc.) -- but it was pretty
    impressive to see it run through an entire countdown on the first try
    and then light up only 30 minutes or so off schedule.
    
    - dave

                    MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                       STATUS REPORT #1

STS-49, Friday May 8, 1992, 12 a.m. CDT

Endeavour and the INTELSAT-IV communications satellite, with
all systems working well on both spacecraft, have begun
closing in on one another in preparation for a spacewalking
repair planned to begin Sunday afternoon.

Endeavour lifted off at 6:40 p.m. CDT Thursday and made a
trouble-free climb to orbit to begin shuttle mission STS-49.
A normal engine firing to circularize Endeavour's orbit
ensued, putting the spacecraft into the planned 182 by 140
nautical mile orbit.

INTELSAT flight controllers in Washington D.C. ordered the
stranded satellite to fire its thrusters for a maneuver at
10:44 p.m. that successfully dropped the low point of
the 300 nautical mile orbit INTELSAT has occupied for almost
two years by about 110 nautical miles.  The communications
satellite is now in an approximately 300 by 190 nautical mile
high elliptical orbit.  Two more thruster firings are planned
by INTELSAT controllers as they continue to drop within reach
of Endeavour and circularize the lower orbit.

Endeavour fired its orbital maneuvering system engines
briefly at 11:52 p.m. to begin its preparations for an
encounter with INTELSAT, raising the shuttle's orbit to 182
by 147 nautical miles with the 13-second long burn.

The crew is scheduled to go to sleep for their first night in
space at 2:10 a.m. CDT today and awaken at 10:10 a.m. CDT to
begin their second day. Their second day's activities aboard
Endeavour will center on equipment checks of the spacesuits
and the shuttle's mechanical arm.

Rev H (post-launch) is here.

  pragma::public:[nasa]sts-49.nasa_select


- dave

STS-49 Mission Control Status Report #2
8 a.m. CDT Friday May 8, 1992

Endeavour and the Intelsat-VI communications satellite are
set to continue their orbital rendezvous dance later this
morning when Intelsat flight controllers perform the second
of three planned burns to lower the satellite's orbit to an
altitude that the shuttle can reach.

The first maneuver took place at 10:44 p.m. CDT Thursday and
successfully lowered the low point of the 300 nautical mile
orbit to 191 nautical miles.  The second burn will lower the
high point of the orbit to 223 nautical miles about 8:56 a.m.
CDT.

Endeavour fired its orbital maneuvering system engines
briefly at 11:52 p.m. Thursday to begin its preparations for
an encounter with Intelsat. That burn raised Endeavour's
orbit to 182 by 145 nautical miles.

Endeavour's next burn is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. CDT today,
and is intended to raise its apogee or highest point to 189
nautical miles.

Meanwhile, flight controllers on the ground continued their
overnight planning. Endeavour's crew is scheduled to
depressurize the cabin to 10.2 psi and check out the
space suits in anticipation of the flight day 4 space walk to
grapple Intelsat. The crew also is scheduled to power up the
remote manipulator system robot arm and perform a survey of
the payload bay with the arm's cameras.

All systems aboard the new orbiter are working well, with the
exception of a few minor anomalies.  Controllers are checking
the status of one of the avionics bay fans because of a
pressure change reading that is slightly high.  The crew
already has performed one in-flight maintenance activity to
check filters, but found no lint that might be clogging the
avionics bay's airways.

The crew was unable to activate one of its onboard personal
computers before going to sleep, but flight controllers have
been working to solve the malfunction and will suggest a
possible solution when the crew awakens.

Endeavour is currently in a 183 by 147 nautical mile orbit,
and Intelsat is in a 304 by 189 nautical mile orbit.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                            Status Report #3

STS-49, May 8, 1992, 6 p.m. CDT Friday

Flight day 2 has proven busy for Endeavour's crew as it prepares
for Sunday's rendezvous, retrieve, repair and reboost of the Intelsat
VI satellite stranded in a useless orbit two years ago.

The final orbit lowering burn of the satellite occurred on time at
about 1:35 CDT this afternoon.  The burn put the satellite in an orbit
196 x 191 nautical mile orbit on track to reaching its imaginary
rendezvous control box.  One final burn is scheduled for about 3:30
tomorrow morning to refine and circularize the satellite's orbit at
about 197 nm.

While Intelsat headquarters in Washington, D.C., maneuvered its
spacecraft, flight controllers in Houston's Mission Control Center and
the crew aboard Endeavour continued maneuvering of the orbiter to
close the distance between the two spacecraft.  The orbiter performed a
14 feet per second burn to raise the high point of its orbit to 189
from 183 nm.  The current orbit is 189 x 148 nm.  Endeavour's next burn
will slightly lower the low side of the orbit by about one nautical
mile.  That burn is scheduled for midnight.

The crew depressurized the cabin atmosphere to 10.2 pounds per square
inch from 14.7 psi in preparation for the spacewalks on Sunday,
Monday and Tuesday.  The crew also began unstowing equipment that will
be used for the spacewalks including the four spacesuits tucked in the
airlock.  Complete checkout of the suits to make sure they are in
proper working order will take place later this evening.

Endeavour's robot arm was put through a complete checkout to make sure
it is working properly.  The arm plays a significant role in all three
planned spacewalks as it will be used to transport astronauts and
payload equipment in and out of the payload bay.

Other activities today including removing a buildup of lint on a mesh
filter screen on one of the tactical air navigation units in the
avionics bay that experienced the higher than normal fan speed.  After
clearing the lint, the fan speed appeared to slow down.

Prior to start of the sleep period tonight, Commander Dan Brandenstein
will become the astronaut with the most time in space aboard the Space
Shuttle.  Norm Thagard holds the current Shuttle record with 604 hours
45 minutes 6 seconds.  Brandenstein began the mission with 575:49:18.

A special visit to the Mission Control Center by His Excellency Leonid
Kravchuk, President of the Ukraine, occurred early this morning.  He
spoke briefly with Brandenstein wishing the crew luck on the mission
and a safe return home.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                            Status Report #4

STS-49, May 8, 1992, 11:30 p.m. CDT

Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour spent their first full
day in space conducting key preparations for their feature performance
on Sunday - the capture and repair of the Intelsat VI satellite.

While Intelsat controllers in Washington, D.C. have had great success
in lowering their stranded satellite to the final capture altitude,
Endeavour's relative position and closing rate was also tweaked with a
height adjust maneuver this afternoon.  The remainder of the
rendezvous maneuvers prior to the close encounter on Sunday, will
involve small precision burns to enhance lighting condition and
approach angle at the time of capture.

Early in the day the crew depressurized the cabin atmosphere to 10.2
pounds per square inch from 14.7 psi in preparation for the three
spacewalks on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  This lower cabin pressure
will serve to allow nitrogen in the crew's bloodstream to outgas,
lowering the overall content of nitrogen in their blood.  This will
eliminate the need for a lengthy prebreathe of pure oxygen prior to
beginning the space walks.  The intent is to eliminate nitrogen which
can expand in bloodstream when the crew is exposed to the decreased
pressure of the suits - about 4.5 ppsi - which could cause the bends.
Using this protocol, each space walker will need to prebreathe in
their suits for only 30-40 minutes.

A complete and thorough checkout of the space walkers' suits was
conducted to make sure they are in proper working order.  All four
suits checked out and appear to be in excellent condition.

Endeavour's robot arm was also flexed as mission specialist Bruce
Melnick put it through a complete checkout also.  The arm plays a
significant role in all three planned spacewalks as it will be used to
transport astronauts and payload equipment in and out of the payload
bay.  The robot arm checked out and is in good shape.

Just prior to sleep tonight, the crew will trim Endeavour's orbital
perigee from 147 to 148 nautical miles to further refine the closing
rate between Endeavour and the Intelsat.  Just about the same time,
Brandenstein becomes the astronaut with the most time in space aboard
the Space Shuttle.  Norm Thagard held the previous Shuttle record with
604 hours 45 minutes 6 seconds.  Brandenstein began the mission with
575:49:18.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

                      MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                      STS-49 Status Report #5


Saturday, May 9, 1992, 7 a.m. CDT

Planning shift flight controllers continued to review the
activities for Endeavour's third day in orbit, but the team's
duties were light as the newest shuttle in the fleet continues
to perform almost flawlessly.

The crew is scheduled to be awakened about 9:40 a.m. CDT Saturday.

After the crew completes its post-sleep activities, Mission
Specialist Bruce Melnick will power up the robot arm and move it
into position to shoot video of a simultaneous waste and supply
water dump.  That activity is scheduled for about 1:25 p.m. CDT.

About 3:12 p.m. CDT, Endeavour's orbital maneuvering engines will
fire to put Endeavour in an orbit proportionally equivalent but
just below that of Intelsat, which is in a 198 by 196 nautical
mile orbit.  Endeavour will converge with Intelsat at noon Houston
time Sunday.  A plane change maneuver, intended to coordinate the
arrival of both spacecraft at their orbital apogees one hour
before capture, is scheduled for 11:17 p.m. Saturday.

Intelsat flight controllers reported earlier this morning that the
spacecraft's spin had been reduced from 9 to 5 rotations per
minute.  A rotation of 0.6 rpm is required for Astronaut Pierre
Thuot to latch onto the Intelsat using a JSC-developed and built
capture bar.

Just before 9 p.m. CDT Saturday, the crew will talk with
Congressman Jim Bacchus and four of the original 7 Mercury
astronauts Sen. John Glenn, Wally Shirra, Scott Carpenter and Alan
Shepard.  The Mercury astronauts will be honored at the "Give Kids
the World" annual gala at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                            Status Report #6

STS-49, Saturday, May 9, 1992, 5 p.m. CDT

The Intelsat VI satellite officially reached the center of its
imaginary rendezvous box right on schedule at 4:45 p.m. CDT setting the
stage for tomorrow's rendezvous with Endeavour and crew for the repair
and reboost portion of the mission.

Endeavour performed two burns today to fine tune its orbit to 190 x 187
nautical miles.  Following those burns, Endeavour was closing in on
the satellite at about 75 nautical miles per orbit.

The crew documented a simultaneous supply and waste water dump using
the camera mounted on the robot arm.  The water dump was viewed to
verify the performance of the new nozzles.

Just before 9 p.m. CDT, the crew will talk with  Congressman Jim
Bacchus and four of the original 7 Mercury astronauts Sen. John Glenn,
Wally Shirra, Scott Carpenter and Alan Shepard. The Mercury astronauts
will be honored at the "Give Kids the World" annual gala at the Peabody
Hotel in Orlando.

Intelsat Headquarters in Washington, D.C., continues to monitor the
health of its satellite reporting all systems remain very stable and
ready to support tomorrow's rendezvous.

STS-49 Keplerian Elements

SPACELINK NOTE:  Due to the nature of the mission (rendezvous and capture of
the INTELSAT VI satellite) extensive orbital maneuvers will be conducted by
the crew early in the flight.  Because some maneuvers are followed shortly by
others, we will not provide updated element sets after each engine burn.
Rather, element sets will be provided when these activities wind down and
element sets will be more useful.


STS-49 element set JSC-003 (orbit 12)

STS-49
1 21963U 92 26  A 92129.66513576  .00081235  00000-0  25599-3 0    30
2 21963  28.3323  49.1447 0042948  57.6876 302.7846 15.88163932   128

Satellite: STS-49
Catalog number: 21963
Epoch time:      92129.66513576 =====> (08 MAY 92   15:57:47.72 UTC)
Element set:     JSC-003
Inclination:       28.3323 deg
RA of node:        49.1447 deg          Space Shuttle Flight STS-49
Eccentricity:     .0042948                SGP4 Keplerian Elements
Arg of perigee:    57.6876 deg         from NASA flight Day 1 vector
Mean anomaly:     302.7846 deg
Mean motion:   15.88163932 rev/day                 W5RRR
Decay rate:     8.1235e-04 rev/day~2      NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev:              12

G.L.CARMAN


INTELSAT-6 element set #861 (8-May-92)

INTELSAT-6
1 20523U 90 21  A 92129.58409668  .01687506  00000-0  14671-1 0  8614
2 20523  28.3137  49.4538 0040423 339.6429  20.2344 15.62072968    90

Satellite: INTELSAT-6
Catalog number: 20523
Epoch time:      92129.58409668
Element set:     861
Inclination:       28.3137 deg
RA of node:        49.4538 deg          Semi-major axis:  3649.9808 n.mi.
Eccentricity:    0.0040423              Apogee altitude:   220.8010 n.mi.
Arg of perigee:   339.6429 deg          Perigee altitude:  191.2924 n.mi.
Mean anomaly:      20.2344 deg          Altitude decay:      2.6240 n.mi./day
Mean motion:   15.62072968 rev/day      Apsidal rotation:   11.6721 deg/day
Decay rate:   1.687506E-02 rev/day~2    Nodal regression:   -7.1478 deg/day
Epoch rev:               9              Nodal period:       91.9942 min

G.L.CARMAN

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                            Status Report #7
 
STS-49, Saturday, May 9, 1992, 11:30 p.m. CDT
 
The Intelsat VI satellite reached its rendezvous target right on
schedule today at 4:45 p.m.  CDT setting the stage for tomorrow's
rendezvous and repair.  Intelsat's rate of rotation has been
slowed to 2.33 rpm and satellite nutation (or wobbling) has been
reduced from 2 degrees to .3 degrees - an extremely stable state.
 
Endeavour's crew performed three adjustment maneuvers today to
fine- tune their closing rate on the stranded satellite.
Circling Earth in a nearly identical but lower orbit than that of
the Intelsat, Endeavour is gradually closing the gap by about 80
nautical miles each orbit.
 
The objective of all remaining maneuvers will be to assure that
the terminal phase maneuver, set for about 2:33 pm central time
tomorrow, will occur at orbital apogee and coincident with
orbital noon.  This will be critical in providing Endeavour
commander Dan Brandenstein with the proper lighting conditions
for manually flying his ship into position below the satellite.
 
Flight controllers in Houston are continually refining their
calculations for the remaining burns, and the start of terminal
phase tomorrow may be slightly adjusted based on those
refinements.  But at this point, the burn is set for 2:33, and
changes should not be substantial.
 
Just before 9 pm central time tonight, the crew spoke with
Congressman Jim Bacchus and five of the original 7 Mercury
astronauts.  Sen. John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper,
Deke Slayton, and Alan Shepard all spoke with the crew from the
Peabody Hotel in Orlando during the annual "Give Kids the World"
gala.
 
Major activities will begin Sunday morning at 8 am with the final
Intelsat spindown from 2.33 rpm to .65 rpm.  At 8:40, the crew
will be awakened.  After a couple of small adjustment maneuvers,
and Intelsat systems safing, the final phase will get underway.
Spacewalkers Pierre Thuot and Rick Hieb will emerge from
Endeavour's airlock at about 3:33 pm and, if all goes well,
Intelsat should be in the grasp of the robot arm by 5:00.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

                       MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                      STS-49 Status Report #8
 
 
Sunday, May 10, 1992, 8 a.m.
 
Planning shift flight controllers spent a quiet night reviewing
plans for today's rendezvous, capture, repair and reboost of the
Intelsat IV satellite.
 
With virtually no problems on board the space shuttle fleet's
newest orbiter attention focused on Intelsat and its position near
the center of the control box, or target area.  The second
spindown maneuver of the spacecraft was successfully performed at
7:53 p.m. CDT Saturday, reducing Intelsat's spin from 5 to 2.33
revolutions per minute.  A trim maneuver was performed about 1:45
a.m. Sunday to put the spacecraft in the capture attitude.
The third spindown maneuver at 8:21 a.m. will decrease the spin to
0.65 rpm.
 
Endeavour, now in a 191 by 188 nm orbit, will maneuver at 10:43
a.m. to decrease the distance between the two spacecraft.  Then,
at 11:29 a.m., Endeavour will begin a phase adjustment maneuver to
refine the distance between the two spacecraft at the start of the
capture phase.  The final rendezvous phase will begin at 2:33 p.m.
with the terminal phase initiation burn.
 
The earlier maneuvers are designed to assure that the terminal
phase maneuver will occur at orbital apogee and coincide with
orbital noon.  This will be critical in providing Commander Dan
Brandenstein with the lighting he needs to be able to see Intelsat
as he manually flies his ship into position below the satellite.
 
Flight controllers in Houston continue to refine their
calculations for the remaining burns, and the start of final
rendezvous phase may change slightly based on those refinements.
 
Spacewalkers Pierre Thuot and Rick Hieb will emerge from
Endeavour's airlock about 3:33 p.m. and, if all goes well,
Intelsat should be in the grasp of the robot arm by 5 p.m.

The status reports are a few hours behind "real-time", so if CNN can be
trusted... things did *not* go well on Intelsat-6 capture.

Apparently the capture bar did not work as planned, and after a second try
the satellite began to wobble out of control.  Apparently Thuot said that he
had applied a similar amount of pressure as in simulations, but the
satellite did not respond the same.

After the 2nd attempt they called it a day and backed away (nine miles
or so), I assume so the Intelsat people could re-activate the satellite and
re-stablize it.

Flight controllers are debriefing the crew on the attempt and another will
be scheduled tomorrow.   The affect of this failed attempt on the rest of
the EVAs is unspecified, but considering the rather ambitious schedule they
had to start with, it is unlikely that all of them will remain intact.

- dave

    I was watching yesterday as the capture went awry. Things looked good,
    and Thuot started "leaning" toward Intelsat. He backed off at least
    once. It seemed he wasn't quite matched with the rotation.

    He then repositioned the capture bar, matched motion, and leaned in 
    again. He made contact, the bar appeared to rotate with Intelsat,
    but then it appeared that the bar did not "take" with the capture
    points. The force Thuot had applied was transferred to Intelsat,
    and it skewed away from the arm, to the the right (as viewed) from
    my TV and slightly up. 
    
    It also appeared that Intelsat's rate of rotation had slowed,
    which indicated to me that contact had been made, but the bar didn't
    catch completely.

    Better luck today!

    John B.

                    MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                       Status Report #9

STS-49, Sunday, May 10, 1992, 8:30 p.m. CDT

Endeavour rendezvoused with the INTELSAT VI communications
satellite early this afternoon, but an attempt by the crew to
capture the free-floating satellite was unsuccessful.

After attempts by spacewalker Pierre Thuot to attach a capture bar
mechanism to the craft, Endeavour backed away to avoid the
spacecraft. The capture attempts had imparted a large wobble to
the INTELSAT that made further attempts unproductive.

After Endeavour reached a safe distance from INTELSAT, the
satellite's controllers in Washington D.C. stabilized the
spacecraft. Endeavour is now continuing to back away from the
INTELSAT at about 5 nautical miles per orbit, and flight
controllers and mission control are comparing notes as they plan a
second attempt to grasp the stranded INTELSAT tomorrow.

A description of the day's activities by the Endeavour crew is
expected later this evening as they show videotape of the attempts
to flight controllers.

Endeavour and INTELSAT remain in good health, with all systems
working well aboard both spacecraft.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                           Status Report #10

STS-49, Sunday, May 10, 1992, 11:30 p.m.  CDT

After a perfect high-speed rendezvous in orbit and a valiant but
unsuccessful attempt to grab the Intelsat VI satellite, the crew of
Endeavour will retire for the night with high hopes for a second
chance tomorrow.

The crew of Endeavour narrated some video they recorded of today's
capture attempts during a conference with the ground to discuss
factors which contributed to the unsuccessful attempt to lock a
capture bar to the base of the satellite.  Prime contributors included
poor visibility on the dark side of the Earth, inadequate positioning
on the end of the robot arm, and the unexpected susceptability of the
Intelsat to tipoffs.  Several attempts to attach the capture bar sent
the satellite tumbling, making further efforts impossible.

Since then, Endeavour and crew have begun a 5-mile per orbit drift
away from the satellite to reach the right distance to retry the
rendezvous tomorrow, while Intelsat controllers have been successful
in their early efforts to re-stabilize their spacecraft.

Flight engineers here in Houston will be working throughout the night
to develop detailed plans for tomorrow's attempt.  Unless there are
new developments overnight, the final approach should begin around 3
pm central time tomorrow.  Rick Hieb and Pierre Thuot should make
their exit from Endeavour's airlock at about 4.

The crew will head for bed tonight at 12:40 am central time and will
start their day Monday morning at 8:40.

    From NASA Select this morning, it looks like they will be trying again
    around 6pm EDT. Watching them replay the tapes last night and listening
    to the discussion about what went wrong was interesting. It sounds like
    lighting was a major part of the problem, along the lack of a real 3
    axis simulator for this kind of activity.
    
    They were talking this morning about 'bounce testing' the capture
    device against some of the ASEM hardware before venturing out to
    Intelsat.
    
    gary

                      MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                     STS-49 Status Report #11


Monday, May 11, 1992, 7 a.m. CDT

After a perfect high-speed rendezvous in orbit, but an
unsuccessful attempt to grab the Intelsat VI satellite, the crew
of Endeavour will try again today.

At 5:49 a.m.CDT  today, flight controllers at Intelsat's
Headquarters in Washington, DC made a retrograde burn of their
spacecraft's large thrusters after conferring with the space
shuttle flight control team.  The burn was made to improve the
spacing between the two spacecraft.

Endeavour and Intelsat are now about 12 nautical miles apart and
separating at a rate of about 8 nautical miles per orbit.

Planning shift flight controllers have been working diligently
through the night reviewing plans for today's capture attempts.
The mission management team will review those plans at 8 a.m. CDT
today.  Based on the planning shift's work, the crew will begin
its maneuvers to rendezvous with Intelsat again at noon CDT.
Initiation of the final rendezvous phase is expected at 3:01 p.m.,
with the robot arm being powered up immediately thereafter.

Pierre Thuot and Rick Hieb are scheduled to exit the airlock at
4:05 p.m. A new, optional wrinkle is being added to the space walk
timeline.  That would be for a capture bar bump test to help Thuot
get a better feel for the capture bar before he attempts to
capture the satellite.  That bump test would take place about 5:10
p.m. CDT.

If all goes well, capture bar installation would be at 5:50 p.m.
and grapple by the robot arm at 6:10 p.m.

The crew has high hopes of a successful capture if it is able to
successfully utilize yesterday's learning experience.  Mission
Specialist Thuot, who made the attempt while mounted on
Endeavour's robot arm portable foot restraint, reported that the
satellite was much more sensitive to contact than ground
simulations had predicted.  Poor visibility on the dark side of
the Earth and inadequate positioning on the end of the robot arm
also contributed to the lack of success.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                       STS-49 Status Report # 12

Monday, May 11, 1992 11:30 p.m. CDT


Space walking astronauts Pierre Thuot and Rick Hieb will get a day of
rest on Tuesday as the Mission Control Center works on plans for a
third attempt to grapple the errant INTELSAT 6 satellite on Wednesday.

The two astronauts were unable to capture the satellite during a second
spacewalk Monday afternoon and evening, and now flight controllers are
assessing alternate methods for accomplishing the INTELSAT retrieval
and repair.  Mission Control now anticipates extending the flight by
one day to allow for another rendezvous and retrieval attempt on
Wednesday, followed by a fourth spacewalk on Thursday to investigate
various Space Station assembly techniques.  Under the current plan,
reentry and landing would take place on Friday afternoon, May 15, one
day later than originally planned.

During the 5-hour, 30-minute spacewalk on Monday, astronaut Pierre
Thuot made five unsuccessful attempts to use a spring loaded capture
bar device to grapple the INTELSAT satellite.  The EVA, or
Extravehicular Activity, began at 4:01 p.m. CDT.  Thuot and Hieb have
now logged approximately 9 hours of EVA time so far on this flight.
The crew wakeup Tuesday morning will be at 9:40 a.m. CDT.

It was pretty exciting yesterday.   Cheers went up all around when it looked
like a capture was successful, but apparently the capture bar is not performing
up to spec (it's rather hard to figure out what isn't working -- I believe that
the spring-loaded latches are firing, but they are not achieving the needed
clamping action on whatever it's supposed to grab on to).


Reports on NPR this morning state that they are going to wait a full day before
the final attempt, and the attempt will probably *not* use the capture bar.
Instead, both astronauts are going to attempt a manual capture of the 2.5
ton satellite.

They have also extended the mission one day, so the astronauts can perform the
other EVAs planned for this mission.


- dave


p.s. A friend of mine at NASA said it was rumored that a capture pin
on the Intelsat's would have cost 27 lbs. --  an interesting tradeoff right
about now.

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, MAY 11 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - ON ORBIT

     The solid rocket booster retrieval ships arrived  at  Hangar
AF at 12:30 p.m.  Saturday and both boosters were in their stands
by 4 p.m. The boosters are being prepared for disassembly.

     Landing of Endeavour is planned at Edwards Air  Force  Base,
Calif. at 7:38 p.m. EDT on Thursday, May 14.

[Now set for May 15th...  -dg]

 

    
    I am suprised the astronauts don't try to lasso the satellite in good
    old American tradition. But of course grabing the cow by the horns is 
    very American too   (-;
    
    The satellite is currently rotation at 2.53 rotations per minute !!!
    Can't they stop it all together, it would help the capture, right ?
    
    The previous capture NASA did was petty hairy too, there MUST be some
    inexpensive, easy, and reliable way to capture satellites ? 
    
    Using a "27 pounds capture pin" ???   
    What about a doggy, a detached capture remote ?
    
    Gil

    For those with cable but not NASA Select, CSPAN-2 carried the NASA
    Select coverage live last night. I guess "channel surfing" pays off
    every once in a while 8^)

Re stopping the spin:  It appeared that when they made the capture attempt it
was actually spinning at less than 1 RPM.  I inferred that the small spin was
actually what triggered the capture latches (by hitting some release lever?).
But I did also wonder why they did not kill the spin altogether.  Is it dangerous
to the health of the spacecraft to have no stabilization at all until it is
firmly captured?

It will be interesting so see how the hope to do this without using the capture
bar.  Isn't it the bar which contains the grapple for the arm to grab?

Burns

I believe that the Intelsat is normally spin-stabilized, so it is best to have
*some* spin on it so that it doesn't start tumbling and can somewhat handle
being touched.   Even at .6 RPM, something with 2.5 tons of mass will tend
to behave a bit better than a dead-drifting lump of aluminum and glass.

After the first (or second attempt), Thuot had succeeded in slowing the rotation
down from .6 to .3 RPM (or so), which prompted a small joke from the ground:
(paraphrased) "The folks at Intelsat report that Pierre has stablized 
Intelsat-6 better than they have -- he can go it and get it now."  Even with
it spinning a bit, the satellite was "coning" (wobbling) a bit - something
Thuot made better initially, but after the 3rd try it became impossible to
safely approach (actually, I was running the tape in fast forward on the last
attempt and was *really* surprised they even tried it -- in FF, that satellite
was *tumbling*  -- period.

I'm not sure if the spin triggers the latches or if it is caused by the latch
mechanism being tripped by whatever surface feature it was designed to grab
on to.  Thuot mention that the latches were firing, but not "drawing" -- which
I took to mean they were either slipping off the attach surface or incorrectly
aligned to do the job.

The capture bar does indeed have the grapple -- that was the whole point of
of the capture bar.   Without the bar, they will have to stop the rotation
(which will take two people because you have to apply the damping force
180 degrees from each other or you'll get lots of wobble, and one person can't
reach across the width of the satellite (11 feet).   Watching the attempts
yesterday, the thought of "why doesn't he just grab it!" probably passed through
a number of people's minds.

I don't think the capture bar was part of the reboost assembly, so it is not
critical to get it working if they can "take it by the horns".


- dave

    re: -.1  The capture bar is part of the reboost assy.  It fits into
    a groove on the boost motor and has two "hard points" that reqire 
    bolting the satellite to the motor (using power drivers).  FYI
          Should be a spectacular EVA.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

    Re: .152 -- Yup, I reread the capture description last night -- I was
    working from memory yesterday -- sorry about that.
    
    It'll be even more spectacular than we thought ...  (see upcoming
    reply)..  THREE astronauts will be spacewalking at once -- a first!
    
    - dave

                      MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                     STS-49 Status Report #13
 
 
Tuesday, May 12, 1992, 9 a.m.
 
Planning shift flight controllers continue to work out the
schedule for the Endeavour's crew.  A light day is planned.
 
Wake-up is scheduled for about 9:40 a.m. CDT Tuesday.  About an
hour after being awakened, the crew will be asked to perform a
water dump using the flash evaporator system.  Use of the FES
prevents the water dump from imparting unwanted motion on the
orbiter.
 
The crew will perform some scheduled maintenance, some
troubleshooting of earlier difficulty in focusing the Hasselblad
camera, and reconnection and tightening of a small threaded
electrical connector on Rick Hieb's space suit that caused some
minor drop outs of biomedical data.
 
The light day is designed to rest the crew for a third attempt to
capture the Intelsat satellite on Wednesday, this time
using methods other than the capture bar.  Mission Specialist
Pierre Thuot made five unsuccessful attempts Monday to use a
spring-loaded capture bar to grapple Intelsat.
 
Intelsat was never designed to be retrieved from on orbit, and has
no grapple fixtures or appendages.  The "Team 4" tiger team will
reconvene later this morning to resume its consideration of other
capture methods.
 
The latest tracking data on Intelsat indicates that it is about 49
nautical miles in front of Endeavour, separating by about 11
nautical miles an orbit.  By the time of today's first phasing
maneuver, it should be over 90 nautical miles away.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
                        MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                           Status Report #14
 
Tuesday, May 12, 1992, 5 p.m.  CDT
 
Endeavour's crew spent the first half of its day practicing putting on
spacewalking suits and putting three crewmembers in the airlock at
once to test the capability of doing a spacewalk with three
astronauts.
 
Commander Dan Brandenstein and Pilot Kevin Chilton performed two burns
of the onboard reaction control system to begin closing in on the
Intelsat VI satellite for a third attempt at capturing and repairing
the stranded spacecraft.
 
The spacewalk this time will involve manually grabbing the satellite
at strategic locations, attaching the capture bar and then proceeding
with the preflight plan of using the orbiter's robot arm to grapple
the capture bar and maneuvering the satellite into position for
attachment to its boost motor.
 
During the day, astronauts Story Musgrave, Jim Voss and Rich Clifford
practiced techniques for capturing the Intelsat, including climbing
into the airlock in the water tank at the Johnson Space Center.  No
apparent problems were identified in placing three astronauts in the
airlock at one time.
 
The mission management team will meet later to make a decision on
whether to send two or three astronauts into the payload bay for the
capture attempt.

A few more details (as they come in):

  o  Spacewalk is scheduled to start around 16:30 EDT, and could last 6
     to 8 hours.   [Set those VCRs to "EP"!]

  o  The astronauts are using some of the materials from the ASEM experiment
     to build a "bridge" on which the three will be standing to perform the
     capture.  [A rather lucky break that they brought along some building
     materials, eh?]

  o  All 3 will be used to stop the spin of the satellite and then two of
     them will hold the satellite while Thuot attaches the capture bar.  The
     RMS arm will then be used to berth Intelsat.

- dave

  On the radio this morning I heard another one of those reports by a non space
literate reporter struggling with this story. I don't remember the exact words
but it was something like: "the 3 astronauts using only the strength of their
hands and arms will try to stop the satellite from spinning. If that succeeds
they will push it into a higher orbit".

  Imagine "tossing" a 4 ton object up 22,000 miles. If only the Patriots could
get guys like that to play line backer ...

  George

Does anyone know what the expect the astronauts to push against to stop the
satellite spinning?  Seems like there would not be room on the arm, and if they
have their feet against the shuttle, that's some awfully fine maneuving by
the shuttle to get that close!

Of course, I'm still not sure I understand why, if the satellite's thrusters
can bring it from 2-3 rpm to .6 rpm, that they can't be used to bring it to
0 rpm.

Anyway, it will be exciting.  I hope some channel on Nashua's cable system
deigns to carry it.  I think we only have CSPAN-1.

Burns

    I think they were planning on making a staging area out of some of the
    space station assembly materials. This would probably allow the three
    of them to be anchored to the arm. I believe they can slow the rotation
    right down and only left the .6rpm to activate the latches. They'll
    probably slow it right down before the guys get there.
    
    If three guy's can push it into GEO, why'd they take the booster? 8^)
    And what happens to the opposite reaction on the three guys/shuttle?
    Sounds like a Vogon/Colemanball to me.

    I caught the end of the news conference on NASA Select last night.  I
    may not have the details right but from what I gathered they will have
    three astronauts in the payload bay and will maneuver the shuttle so
    that the Intelstat is almost touching the bottom of the bay and with
    its spin axis parallel to the astronauts.
    
    The three astronauts are tied down, one with foot restraints, one to
    some equipment they brought along to test space station construction
    techniques, and the third to the arm.  They are spaced 120 degrees
    apart and leaning back as the Intelstat enters the payload bay.
    When everything is stable one of them will synchronize a simultaneous
    grap by all three of the satellite.  The three of them together should
    be able to stop it and hold it down.  Then the astronaut on the arm
    will be moved so he is 180 degrees from one of his companions, and the
    two opposite astronauts will attach the clamp.  At all times after the
    grab each astronaut will be holding the satellite with at least one
    hand.
    
    This sounds awfully chancy to me.  A small error could ram the
    satellite into the payload bay, making a safe return to Earth unlikely.
    Another scenario involves an astronaut caught between the satellite and
    the shuttle---could be quite messy, since they don't have the Manned
    Maneuvering Units.  I have to suppose that they've thought about all of
    these problems and decided they can handle them.
    
    Because I have a home dish I'll get to watch this attempt live, as I've
    watched the others.  For a space enthusiast a home dish is a good
    investment!  I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.
        John Sauter
                   

    They will be grabbing structures that are involved in supporting the
    solar array, which is currently in its stowed position. It is a
    cylindrical array currently telescoped against the main body of the
    satellite (which is also covered with solar cells).
    
    As for the spin, I expect that having the stability from a small amount
    of spin makes the operation a little safer. Without the spin, any slight
    nudge will set the satellite tumbling (as happened on the last attempt)
    while a spinning satellite would precess.
    
    gary

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                           Status Report #15

Tuesday, May 12, 1992, 11:30 p.m.  CDT

The Endeavour astronauts enjoyed a break from the intense pace of
their previous two days in space, while flight controllers on the
ground worked in training and evaluation facilities here to develop a
plan for the third and final attempt to capture the elusive Intelsat
VI satellite, tomorrow.

Rick Hieb, Pierre Thuot, and Tom Akers will make an historic spacewalk
tomorrow just after 2:30 pm central time to take one more try at
nabbing the satellite.  It will be the first three-person spacewalk
ever attempted.  After building a bridge structure across the payload
bay using ASEM struts, the astronauts will position themselves - one on
the end of the robot arm, one on the edge of the payload bay, and one
on the bridge structure - to reach out and snare the Intelsat with
their hands.

Crew commander Dan Brandenstein will be called upon to maneuver his
ship into position - perpendicular to and below the satellite - and
then carefully close in for the grab.

Once the satellite is in hand and stabilized, the crew will attach the
capture bar and then procede with the preflight plan to grapple the
bar with the robot arm and maneuver the satellite into position over
its boost motor.

The terminal phase of rendezvous will begin at 2:25 pm central time.
For the next 90 minutes, the spacewalkers will prepare the assembly
and foot restraints in Endeavour's payload bay.  Just after orbital
sunrise on orbit 94, the attempt will be made - just after 5 pm
central time.  Assuming all goes well with the motor installation, the
deployment of the Intelsat could occur around 9:30.

The crew will head for bed tonight at 12:40 am and will be awakened in
the morning at 8:40 to begin preparations.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                     STS-49 Status Report #16


Wednesday, May 13, 1992, 8 a.m.

While the crew of Endeavour slept 198 nautical miles above, flight
controllers in the Mission Control Center worked busily overnight
to put together a detailed plan for Wednesday's unprecedented
three-person space walk to capture Intelsat VI.

Working from broad-brush plans developed the day before by the
Endeavour crew and a tiger team on the ground, the shuttle support
team put together a plan that starts with a maneuver at 10:36 a.m.
CDT to adjust the height of the shuttle's orbit.

At 11:10 a.m., Pierre Thuot, Rick Hieb and Tom Akers will begin
preparing for their space walk.

At 11:22 a.m., Commander Dan Brandenstein will maneuver the
shuttle again, this time to adjust the phasing of the orbits of
the two spacecraft.  At 1:46 p.m., Brandenstein wil make the first
on-board target burn of the rendezvous.  At 2:10 p.m., with three
crew members squeezed inside, airlock depressurization will begin.

The final phase of the rendezvous will begin at 2:25 p.m., about
the same time the astronauts step out into the payload bay and
begin building the base triangle of the Assembly of Station by EVA
Methods payload, attaching it to three payload retention latches
on the payload bay longerons.  Portable foot restraints will be
attached to two of the three ASEM trusses and a third to the robot
arm.  Standing about 120 degrees apart, the space walkers will
wait as Brandenstein manually maneuvers the shuttle until Intelsat
is floating just above them in the payload bay.  About 5:10 p.m.,
they will grab Intelsat, first slowing and then stopping its
rotation.

At 5:20 p.m., two of the space walkers will move the pre-
positioned capture bar under the satellite until its automatic
latches engage.  Mission Specialist Bruce Melnick will then move
the arm so that Thuot is under the satellite and can use an EVA
power tool to tighten the latches and hard dock the satellite to
the capture bar.  After grappling the capture bar/satellite
combination and attaching the satellite to its new perigee kick
motor, the EVA crew members will clean up the payload bay and
return to Endeavour's crew cabin.

Deployment of Intelsat is scheduled for 10:09 p.m.

Endeavour currently is in a 198 by 190 nautical mile orbit, with
all systems performing well. The crew is expected to review the
plans and discuss any suggested changes once they are awakened
about 8:40 a.m.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-49 set JSC-006 (13-May-92)

STS-49
1 21963U 92 26  A 92134.73993700  .00028000  00000-0  25600-3 0    62
2 21963  28.3083  12.1363 0010921 223.0529 136.9209 15.68824050   929

Satellite: STS-49
Catalog number: 21963
Epoch time:      92134.73993700 =====> (13 MAY 92   17:45:30.55 UTC)
Element set:     JSC-006
Inclination:       28.3083 deg
RA of node:        12.1363 deg          Space Shuttle Flight STS-49
Eccentricity:     .0010921                SGP4 Keplerian Elements
Arg of perigee:   223.0529 deg         from NASA flight Day 6 vector
Mean anomaly:     136.9209 deg
Mean motion:   15.68824050 rev/day                 W5RRR
Decay rate:     2.8000e-04 rev/day~2      NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev:              92

G.L.CARMAN



INTELSAT-6 element set #883 (12-May-92)

INTELSAT-6
1 20523U 90 21  A 92133.49927082  .00294831  00000-0  24018-2 0  8839
2 20523  28.3136  21.1100 0010444 204.5114 334.5154 15.68546443   700

Satellite: INTELSAT-6
Catalog number: 20523
Epoch time:      92133.49927082
Element set:     883
Inclination:       28.3136 deg
RA of node:        21.1100 deg          Semi-major axis:  3639.9314 n.mi.
Eccentricity:    0.0010444              Apogee altitude:   199.7989 n.mi.
Arg of perigee:   204.5114 deg          Perigee altitude:  192.1958 n.mi.
Mean anomaly:     334.5154 deg          Altitude decay:      0.4560 n.mi./day
Mean motion:   15.68546443 rev/day      Apsidal rotation:   11.7850 deg/day
Decay rate:    2.94831E-03 rev/day~2    Nodal regression:   -7.2169 deg/day
Epoch rev:              70              Nodal period:       91.6135 min

G.L.CARMAN

    It was VERY IMPRESSIVE to watch this event....
    
    The astronauts grabbed Intelsat-IV at 18:59:45 CDT.  They achieved a
    soft dock with the capture bar at 20:23 CDT, with a hard dock at
    20:33.  The satellite was attached to the RMS at 20:47 CDT, and
    berthed at 22:00.
    
    They expect to have a deploy about 90 minutes from now.
    
    - dave

  The Intelsat-IV was just deployed about 5 minutes ago. There were delays
because some internal control system in Endeavor was cross wired and an
alternate bus had to be used. 

  It was really impressive seeing Intelstat with it's booster move off and float
away with the horizon of the Earth in the background. 

  The burn to put it into the transfer orbit is scheduled to take place at
12:09 in the afternoon Central time. 

  George 

    The Intelsat-VI satellite was successfully deployed at about 23:53 CDT
    -- and it didn't leave easily.
    
    A possible cross-wiring of the deploy firing circuits caused a few
    minutes of concern as both the A and B-sides of the deploy failed, but
    reconfiguring the circuits set it on it's way.   Intelsat control
    expects the perigee kick motor to light up at about 12:30 CDT tomorrow.
    
    In addition to the (U.S.?) record set earlier (3 simultaneous
    spacewalkers), all three astronauts now co-share the record for longest
    orbital EVA.
    
    - dave

    I hope people did  some channel surfing last night. The grab was
    covered on CSPAN-2 and about 9pm EST they switched to CSPAN-1 right
    through the deploy.
    
    Re: the deploy problem(s)
    
    To me it  sounded as though "KT" suggested that they might try it with
    the circuit breaker in the second  time. I wonder  if they forgot
    something  so simple in their checklist? The lines I picked up were
    that she felt that the  procedure required the A bus breaker to be in
    and Houston concurred. At that point, it  deployed  first try. I was a
    little  worried when neither the A or B sequencers  fired.

    Thank goodness for C-SPAN.  (I'll have to write my cable co.)
    After the grapple, there was a suit status check requested of 2 of
    the 3 EVA astros that I've heard before on other previous EVAs.
    The list of items is pretty impressive, battery, O2, cooling, 
    pressure, fan RPM, etc. which prompts this question:  Where is
    all this data displayed in or on the EMU?  Do they have a display
    in the helmet assembly?  Is it a selectable display or are all these
    variables constantly monitored?
    Thanks  

    It's great to have so much attention devoted to the shuttle program
    because of this.  Coincidentally(!), it's budget time.  :^)

    Was there any propellant (besides for the maneuvering thrusters), on the
    satellite?

    I was surprised to see them fire the booster in the cargo bay. 
    Wouldn't it have been safer to let the satellite drift and fire the
    booster when Endeavour was well clear?

    Jamie

The data is displayed on an alphanumeric LED device (12 digit) which is located
on the front of the upper torso of the EVA suit -- the device is called the
DCM (Display Control Module).   There is a microprocessor there for controlling
the suit and the MMU (if attached -- by a fiber optic cable, BTW), and
a few mechanical controls (O2 settings, cooling controls, etc.).

The microprocessor does a lot of work maintaining the environment and keeping
its occupant aware of what is going on.

- dave

>    Was there any propellant (besides for the maneuvering thrusters), on the
>    satellite?

No, but there was plenty of it for maneuvering.   Apparently they could
feel it sloshing around as they worked the satellite around by hand.


>    I was surprised to see them fire the booster in the cargo bay. 
>    Wouldn't it have been safer to let the satellite drift and fire the
>    booster when Endeavour was well clear?

They didn't fire the booster in the cargo bay -- as a matter of fact, the
kick motor hasn't fired yet (later this afternoon).   The satellite and
PKM were pushed out of the bay on springs, with a small pyrotechnic to give
it a bit of spin (if I heard correctly about the spin part).


- dave

                      MISSION CONTROL STATUS
                     STS-49 Status Report #17

                     May 14, 1992, 1 a.m. CDT


Intelsat 6 is on its way.

Following the longest spacewalk in the history of the U.S. space
program--and the 100th EVA in the history of manned space flight-
-Endeavour astronauts and flight controllers on Earth were able
to celebrate the successful retrieval, repair and deploy of the
wayward communications satellite.

The EVA, which lasted 8 hours and 29 minutes, eclipsed the
previous all time record, set on the Apollo 17 flight back in
1972.  That EVA record, held by Eugene Cernan and Harrison
Schmitt, was 7 hours 37 minutes.

The deploy of Intelsat now sets the stage for the firing of its
new perigee kick motor tomorrow and its eventual arrival at
geosynchronous Earth orbit--almost two years late but by all
indications none the worse for wear.

Meanwhile, mission managers decided to extend the mission by one
extra day to allow for a fourth spacewalk on Thursday to practice
space station assembly techniques, followed by a leisurely day on
Friday in preparation for a landing Saturday afternoon.
 

I heard on TV that Dan Brandenstein also set a record for the most number of
rendezvous' flown in space.

Burns

    re .169
    
    There is a LOT of propellant on board HS-601 satellites (such as the
    Intelsat VI series). It uses it's two main thrusters (the ones they
    were being careful to avoid on the first attempts with the grapple bar)
    for it's apogee burn. There is at least as much propellant as in, say,
    the upper stage of the IUS (yes, I know the IUS uses solid
    propellants).
    
    Probably more, I think the Intelsat will perform a perigee burn using
    them (the Orbus 21 doesn't place it directly into GTO).
    
    One of the reasons for waiting after they had grabbed the satellite was
    to let the propellant settle in the tanks.
    
    gary

From: [email protected]
Newsgroups:
clari.tw.space,clari.news.aviation,clari.news.military,clari.news.top
Date: Wed, 13 May 92 22:48:05 PDT

	WASHINGTON (UPI) - The $157 million Intelsat 6 satellite that the
crew of the shuttle Endeavour successfully re-boosted into space
Thursday spent two years in the wrong orbit, 230 miles above Earth.
	Once in its intended 22,300-mile orbit and after about a month of
checkout and activation, the satellite will finally go into service.
Among its first assignements: relaying coverage of the Summer Olympics
from Barcelona, Spain.
	A malfunction in the satellite's original launch rocket kept Intelsat
6 from reaching its proper orbit after its original March 14, 1990
launch.
	Owned by a 122-nation consortium, the International
Telecommunications Satellite Organization -- Intelsat -- the 8,960-pound
satellite has a capacity of three television channels and 120,000
simultaneous telephone conversations.
	The orbital rendezvous and repair took take six days, three
spacewalks and multiple rocket firings by both spacecraft to complete.
Once the crippled spacecraft was pulled into Endeavour's cargo bay, the
astronauts bolted on a new rocket motor to replace one that was
jettisoned shortly after the 1990 launch.
	``It's an important mission for both NASA and for Intelsat,'' said
Pierre Madon, a manager with the consortium.
	Intelsat paid NASA $93 million to attempt the orbital repair job. It
also paid $46 million for the new booster and about $10 million to set
up a ground station in Africa to help control the satellite.
	Intelsat 6 originally cost $157 million. Another $120 million went to
buy the commercial Titan 3 rocket from Martin Marietta. Madon said
buying and launching a new satellite to replace Intelsat 6 would have
cost the consortium about $120 million more than the cost of repairing
the spacecraft already in orbit.
--
This, and all articles in this news hierarchy are Copyright 1992 by the wire 
service or information provider and licenced to Clarinet Communications 
Corp.  for distribution.  Except for free samples, only paid subscribers 
may access these articles.  Any unauthorized access, reproduction or 
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always provided for reports on that, since's it's usually obvious.)

STS-49 Status Report #18
 
Thursday, May 14, 1992,  8 a.m. CDT
 
The third time was the charm Wednesday as Endeavour astronauts making the first
three-person space walk in history successfully captured the wayward Intelsat
satellite by hand and mated it to a new booster that will take it to a useful
orbit.
 
Astronauts Pierre Thuot, Rick Hieb and Tom Akers stood atop a truss triangle in
Endeavour's payload bay as Commander Dan Brandenstein gingerly maneuvered the
shuttle to a position where the trio could grab the satellite, stop its
rotation and attach a grapple fixture.
 
Robot arm driver Bruce Melnick then grappled the satellite and moved it into
position over the perigee kick motor in the rear of the payload bay.  The
spacewalkers mated the satellite to the booster, and following one false start
astronauts in the crew cabin fired the super zip release mechanism that sent
Intelsat back into its own orbit.
 
This morning, Intelsat is in a 194 by 202 nautical mile orbit.  Flight
controllers at Intelsat's Washington, DC headquarters are scheduled to fire the
kick motor about 12:15 p.m. CDT and send it on its way toward a 22,000-mile
high geosynchronous orbit.
 
The eight-hour, 29 minute space walk was the longest in the history of the U.S.
Space Program and the 100th space walk in the history of manned space flight.
Mission specialists Kathy Thornton and Tom Akers will perform a spacewalk
beginning at 4:10 p.m. today to finish constructing the ASEM truss that was
partially built Wednesday to support the Intelsat capture.  They also will test
mass-handling techniques with the Multipurpose Experiment Support Structure in
the payload bay and over the nose of the orbiter, where Space Station Freedom
assembly will take place in the future.
 
Endeavour currently is in a 195 by 183 nautical mile orbit, with all systems
functioning well.  The crew was awakened briefly by an overnight alarm.  The
alarm was triggered by a dip in the cabin pressure, which occurred when an
oxygen bleed valve that maintains the 10.2 psi atmosphere was not opened before
the crew went to sleep.  There was no threat to the safety of the crew.
 
Mission managers have decided to extend the mission another day to give the
crew ample time to make landing preparations.  Landing is scheduled for 5:34
p.m. Saturday at Edwards Air Force Base.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                        MISSION CONTROL STATUS
                       STS-49 Status Report #19
 
5 p.m. Thursday, May 14, 1992 CST
 
Spacewalking astronauts Kathy Thornton and Tom Akers stepped outside
the orbiter's airlock shortly after 4 p.m. CDT to conduct a series of
tests and evaluations to aid in the verification and planning of
procedures that may be required during the Space Station Freedom era
later this decade.
 
The two astronautss will finish constructing the ASEM truss that was
partially built Wednesday to support the Intelsat capture and also
will test mass-handling techniques with the Multi Purpose Experiment
Support Structure in the payload bay and over the nose of the orbiter
where Space Station Freedom assembly will take place.
 
Later today during the spacewalk, Thornton and Akers will test three
of the five crew self rescue systems planned for evaluation on the
mission: the crew propulsive device, the bistem pole and the
inflatable pole.
 
The spacewalk began at 4:10 p.m., but an alarm on Thornton's suit
required her returning to the airlock for attachment to the service
and cooling umbilical until flight controllers in Mission Control
could evaluate the problem.
 
Once all were satisfied that the suit was working properly, she was
allowed to disconnect from the umbilical and continue with the tasks
assigned.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                         MISSION CONTROL STATUS
                        STS-49 Status Report #20
 
May 14, 1992, 11 p.m. Thursday CDT
 
Endeavour astronaut Kathy Thornton set a new standard for space walking
women today as she and Tom Akers worked outside their space ship to
test and evaluate procedures that could apply to the assembly of the
Space Station Freedom within the next five years.  The unprecedented
fourth "EVA" of the mission lasted 7 hours and 45 minutes - the second
longest American space walk and more than twice as long as the 1984
walks of U.S. astronaut Kathy Sullivan and Russian cosmonaut Svetlana
Savitskaya - the only other women to have ever walked in space.
 
Akers and Thornton completed a pyramid-shaped structure intended to
emulate a Space Station truss and then docked it to a pallet on the end
of Endeavour's robot arm - simulating the installation of crew module
nodes to station truss structures.
 
One of the key elements of the evaluations was to quantify the
logistics, workload, and timing of specific assembly sequences.  The
progress of the demonstrations was slower than the timelines developed
on the ground and based on underwater training, pointing to the real
need for the evaluation of assembly concepts in orbit before Space
Station Freedom construction begins.
 
Earlier today, the Intelsat control team fired the perigee kick motor
which was installed on their satellite by Endeavour spacewalkers Pierre
Thuot and Rick Hieb.  The firing was successful, and the Intelsat VI
satellite in excellent health.
 
The Endeavour crew will start their sleep shift tonight at 1:40 am
central time and will be awakened at 9:40 am Friday morning.  Friday's
activities will consist, primarily, of preparations for a landing at
Edwards Air Force Base in California on Saturday at 3:57 pm central
time.  In addition, a crew press conference is planned for Friday
afternoon at 3:17 pm central time.

I was popping in and out last nite, but I thought I heard them say
that the KU band antenna that is used for TV is now out of service
(for the rest of the mission?).

Earlier in the week I enjoyed watching the astronauts floating around
in the cabin.  This was the first time I've seen them just doing that;
usually they're busy with an experiment or something.  Well, they were
doing an experiment: one fellow was trying to do a space type jump
rope, looked silly.  Anyway, it looked like fun.

With reference to an earlier note on INTELSAT's propellant, they
mentioned that all the maneuvering would cost the satellite about a
month's worth of service on its lifespan.  That sucker sure is big!

  I heard several vague references that the 1st burn went ok which would
imply that INTELSAT was put into a geosyncronous transfer orbit. Is that
correct? Any word on the 2nd burn and other maneuvers?

  George

	Well, they are back home safe and sound. Landing at Edwards on the
concrete runway at 1:57 PDT time. The landing was the first to deploy the 
drag chute. This was done once the nosewheel touched down and the chute released
after the shuttle slowed to less that 70 mph. The ship looks good after its
flight.

Susan

                      MISSION CONTROL STATUS
                     STS-49 Status Report #21


Friday, May 15, 1992, 7 a.m.

Flight controllers overnight drew up plans for a light day of pre-
landing preparations for the STS-49 crew.

Friday's activities will consist mainly of preparations
for a landing at 3:57 p.m. CDT Saturday at Edwards Air Force Base
in California.  One Friday highlight is a planned crew news
conference at 3:17 p.m. CDT.

Endeavour astronaut Kathy Thornton capped the record-setting first
flight of Endeavour by setting a new standard for space walking
women Thursday. She and Tom Akers stepped outside the orbiter to
test techniques similar to those that will be used during the
upcoming assembly of Space Station Freedom.  The unprecedented
fourth "EVA" of the mission lasted 7 hours and 45 minutes - the
second longest American space walk after Akers and Mission
Specialists Pierre Thuot and Rick Hieb had set the record at 8
hours 29 minutes the day before.

The four space walks brought the STS-49 total EVA time to 25 hours
and 27 minutes, or 59:23 person hours. The four space walks
comprised a 38 percent increase in total shuttle EVA person hours,
which now has reached 212:17. Commander Dan Brandenstein took the
lead in the number of rendezvous performed, with three Intelsat
rendezvous bringing his total to five.

Also Thursday, the Intelsat control team fired the perigee kick
motor that had been installed on the satellite by Thuot and Hieb.
The firing was successful, and the Intelsat VI satellite in
excellent health on its way to geosynchronous orbit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

                         MISSION CONTROL STATUS
                        STS-49 Status Report #22

May 15, 1992, 3:30 p.m. Friday, CDT

Endeavour and its crew of seven sailed into the ninth day of the
mission by preparing orbiter systems for the trip home Saturday
afternoon.

The checkout of the flight control surfaces for entry and landing went
well with no problems identified.  Checkout of the redundant nosewheel
steering system also was performed without incident.

One of the reaction control system jets failed because of a small leak
in its oxidizer system during the hotfire checkout of the thrusters,
but poses no impact to the entry phase of landing.

While the orbiter systems were checked out, crew members on the middeck
stowed the four spacesuits back in the airlock for the trip home.

In Mission Control, entry flight controllers worked any changes
necessary for Saturday's landing and received a complete weather
briefing from the Spaceflight Meteorology Group at the Johnson Space
Center.

The weather forecast for a landing at Edwards AFB on orbit 141 at 1:57
p.m. PDT remains favorable, but winds are expected to increase for the
two later landing opportunities.

Weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida are marginal
for the first landing opportunity at that site, but are expected to
improve for the second at 6:43 p.m. EDT on orbit 142.

The weather conditions for Sunday and Monday at both Edwards and KSC
currently are expected to be unstable due to a cold front moving into
the southern California area increasing the possibility of high winds
and a tropical wave in the KSC area that could bring rain to the
vicinity.

Later today cabin stowage will be completed before going to bed at
11:40 CDT tonight.

Intelsat headquarters in Washington, D.C., reports that the Intelsat VI
satellite is in a 40,600 x 195 nautical mile orbit following the first
burn of its onboard liquid apogee motor.  Sunday and Wednesday the
satellite will commanded to fire the motor again to raise the low end
of the orbit up to 22,000 miles.

Thursday the motor will fire once again to lower the apogee or high
point of the orbit to circularize the orbit at 22,300 miles.  Friday
the antenna will be deployed putting the satellite in the proper
operating configuration.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------


                         MISSION CONTROL STATUS
                        STS-49 Status Report #23

May 15, 1992, 10:00 p.m. Friday CDT

The crew of Endeavour spent their last full day in orbit preparing
their spacecraft for the hour-long journey back to Earth tomorrow.

The key activities of the day included a detailed checkout of
Endeavour's flight control surfaces, checkout of a new backup nosewheel
steering system, and a brief firing of the attitude control thrusters.
All went smoothly with the exception that one of those thrusters
developed a small leak after firing.  After the system thermally
restabilized, the leak cleared up and is not considered a factor for
entry and landing.

Weather predictions for landing at Edwards AFB tomorrow are currently
favorable for the first opportunity at 3:57 p.m. central time.  Winds
are expected to pick up there later in the day which could hinder two
later landing opportunities.  Weather at the Kennedy Space Center
landing site in Florida is expected to be marginal tomorrow afternoon
but could improve for a later landing opportunity there at 5:43 p.m.
CDT, should California winds not cooperate.

Weather for Sunday and Monday at both sites is expected to be less
favorable.  Edwards could be effected by a cold front moving into the
southern California area, and KSC by a tropical wave that could bring
rain to the area.

At Intelsat headquarters in Washington, D.C., work to position the
Intelsat VI satellite in it's operational orbit continues to go well.
Early next week, the satellite's orbit will be circularized at
geostationary altitude - 22,300 miles.

The Endeavour crew will head for bed at 11:40 pm tonight and will be
awakened to prepare for the journey home at 7:40 am tomorrow.  Assuming
a landing at Edwards at 3:58 pm central time, the crew is expected to
arrive home in Houston, at Ellington Field, at about 3 pm Sunday.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      MISSION CONTROL STATUS
                     STS-49 Status Report #24


Saturday, May 16, 1992, 8 a.m. CDT

The crew of Endeavour will end a full eight-hour sleep shift at
7:40 a.m. CDT and begin making final preparations for the journey
back to Earth today.

Weather predictions for landing at Edwards AFB are favorable for
the first opportunity at 3:57 p.m. CDT.  Winds are expected to
pick up there later in the day, which could hinder two later
landing opportunities. Edwards runway 22 is prime. The crew is
scheduled to begin preparations for deorbit at 10:52 a.m. CDT.

There are two Kennedy Space Center landing opportunities today,
and weather is more favorable for the latter, about 5:43 p.m. CDT.

Weather for Sunday and Monday at both sites is expected to be less
favorable.

A detailed checkout of Endeavour's flight control surfaces, a new
backup nosewheel steering system, and a brief firing of the
attitude control thrusters that will be used during landing all
went smoothly Friday. The only exception was one thruster that
developed a small leak after firing.  After the system thermally
restabilized, the leak cleared up and is not considered a factor
for entry and landing.

At Intelsat headquarters in Washington, DC, work to position the
Intelsat VI satellite in it's operational orbit continues to go
well.  Sunday through Wednesday maneuvering burns will circularize
the satellite's orbit at geostationary altitude - 22,300 miles.

Assuming a landing at Edwards at 3:57 p.m. CDT, the crew is
expected to arrive home in Houston, at Ellington Field, about
3 p.m. Sunday.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-49 Landing

The orbiter Endeavour landed on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California
at approximately 3:58 p.m. Central Time.  More detailed information about the
landing will be posted when it becomes available.

Jeez, I hope they lubricated the Intelsat antenna (which has not been deployed
yet)!  :-()

Burns

    Question:
    
    I was watching the landing on CNN and the reporter ended up talking
    right through the landing so I could not hear the Houston spokesperson
    talk. I noticed that just before the shuttle stopped the drag chute
    disconnected. The one thing I am curious about is - was this planned to
    release or did it break? If it was on purpose then why do they have to
    release the chute - Why can't it stay attached until the shuttle comes
    to a complete stop?
    
    
    Regards.
    
    Roger

It's supposed to be released.   (ref: STS-49 press kit)

I can think of a bunch of reasons why you wouldn't want the chute hanging
around the orbiter when it comes to a stop, but I have yet to see an official
explanation.

- dave

After it landed (beautiful!) I went away for a while, then came back
to find a close-up shot of some hatch area that was open. The camera
was surveying what looked like some kind of damage to the inside of
the hatch.  Anybody know about this?

re .182:  Where was the hatch?  Maybe the chute compartment?  Maybe you were
seeing the results of the pyrotechnics which release it?

re .180:  This is not an official explanation, but I would guess that when
the shuttle's speed get low enough, they would be afraid of wind dragging
it around in unplanned ways.

Burns

STS-49 LANDING INFORMATION

Mission STS-49 ended with a landing on Saturday, May 16, at Edwards Air
Force Base, Calif. at 4:57 p.m.  EDT. Total mission elapsed time was 8 days, 21
hours, 17 minutes and 38 seconds.

Main gear touchdown came at 4:57.38 p.m., nose gear touchdown was at
4:57.50 p.m., the drag chute was deployed at 4:57.51 p.m. and the wheels
stopped at 4:58.36 p.m.  EDT. The total distance Endeavour traveled on its
maiden voyage was 3,696,019 statute miles (based on an average altitude of 186
nautical miles).

Endeavour was towed to the Mate Demate Device Saturday evening.  KSC
recovery crews are preparing the vehicle for the ferry flight back to Florida.
Today, residual cryogenics will be off-loaded from the orbiter's fuel cell
storage tanks.  Overall preliminary inspections indicate the vehicle is in good
condition.

If all goes as planned, Endeavour could be ready for departure from
California by Thursday. A one-day ferry flight is possible if weather
conditions are acceptable.

There were no significant problems during the entry of Endeavour and the new
parachute braking system is reported to have worked fine.  The unprecedented
four space walks brought the total shuttle spacewalk time up to 212 hours -- a
38 percent increase.  Mission commander Dan Brandenstein also now holds the
satellite rendezvous record of five, including the three he performed on this
mission with Endeavour and the Intelsat 6 spacecraft.

Meanwhile, Intelsat flight controllers in Washington performed another interim
orbital maneuver yesterday to adjust the Intelsat 6 satellite's orbit from
40,600-by-195 miles to its planned geostationary circular orbit of 22,300
miles.  By the end of the week, Intelsat expects the satellite to be on station
with its antennas deployed and in proper operating configuration.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5/18/92: ENDEAVOUR OV-105 STATUS REPORT

NASA DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH FACILITY
EDWARDS, CALIFORNIA

MONDAY, MAY 18, 1992


TURNAROUND ACTIVITIES FOR THE ORBITER ENDEAVOUR ARE ON SCHEDULE FOR A THURSDAY
DEPARTUARE FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE.  A ONE DAY FERRY FLIGHT IS PLANNED IF
THE WEATHER PERMITS.

ENDEAVOUR WAS TOWED FROM RUNWAY 22 LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND  ARRIVED BENEATH
THE MATE-DEMATE DEVICE AT DRYDEN AT 6:43 P.M.  PDT.

THE PRELIMINARY TILE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT SHOWS TWO TO THREE TILES WILL REQUIRE
REPLACEMENT ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE NOSE, THE RESULT OF AN IMPACT OF AS
YET UNDETERMINED ORIGIN. THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 8 OTHER TILES  HAVING IMPACTS
GREATER THAN 1 INCH WHICH CAN BE REPAIRED.

THE PARACHUTE DEPLOYMENT WAS NOMINAL WITH NO UNDESIRABLE EFFECTS ON ENDEAVOUR.
THE CHUTE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE IN DECREASING TIRE AND BREAK WEAR.

OVER THE WEEKEND THE ORBITER WAS TRANSITIONED TO GROUND POWER, PURGES WERE
ESTABLISHED, AND THROAT PLUGS WERE INSTALLED IN THE RCS THRUSTERS.  ON THE
FLIGHT DECK, THE ORBITER'S COMMUNICATIONS AND NAVIGATION SYSTEMS WERE POWERED
DOWN. COVERS WERE INSTALLED OVER ENDEAVOUR'S WINDOWS AND THE MDD LIFTING SLING
WAS ATTACHED.  YESTERDAY THE MID DECK EXPERIMENT DESTOWAGE WAS PERFORMED.  TODAY
A POTABLE WATER SAMPLING WAS PERFORMED AND THE STAR TRACKER COVERS WERE
INSTALLED.  THE EVA SPACESUITS ARE BEING REMOVED FROM THE ORBITER'S AIRLOCK AND
INSPECTED AND THE REMAINING CRYOGENIC REACTANTS ARE BEING OFFLOADED.   A DATA
DUMP OF THE FLIGHT DATA RECORDERS IS ALSO UNDERWAY.

TOMORROW HYPERGOLIC SAFING IS SCHEDULED,  AND WORK WILL  CONTINUE TO INSTALL THE
ORBITER/SCA ATTACH FITTINGS.  THE FERRY FLIGHT TAIL CONE WILL BE FASTENED OVER
THE MAIN ENGINES ON WEDNESDAY.  THOSE ATTACH FITTINGS ARE BEING INSTALLED TODAY.
ON WEDNESDAY EVENING THE LANDING GEAR WILL BE RETRACTED AND OVERNIGHT ENDEAVOUR
WILL BE HOISTED ATOP NASA 911, THE 747 SHUTTLE CARRIER AIRCRAFT.

THE WEATHER AT EDWARDS HAS CONTINUED EXCELLENT SINCE THE LANDING WITH CLEAR
SKIES, LIGHT TO MODERATE WINDS, AND MILD TEMPERATURES.

GIVEN A NOMINAL FERRY FLIGHT, DEPARTURE OF ENDEAVOUR FROM CALIFORNIA IS
SCHEDULED FOR  THURSDAY AT 6 A.M. PDT WITH ARRIVAL AT KSC AT APPROXIMATELY 6
P.M. EDT.

A REFUELING STOP IS PLANNED FOR KELLY AIR FORCE BASE IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.
THE FLIGHT TIME FROM EDWARDS TO KELLY IS 3 HR 30 MIN, THE REFUELING STOP IS
PLANNED TO LAST 2 HRS 15 MIN,  AND THE FLIGHT TIME TO KSC IS 3 HRS 15 MIN.

ONCE AT KSC AND DEMATED FROM THE SCA, ENDEAVOUR WILL BE TOWED TO THE VAB
TRANSFER AISLE.  IT WILL BE MOVED TO OPF BAY 3 UPON COLUMBIA'S ROLLOVER TO THE
VAB FOR STS-50.

PREPARED BY GEORGE DILLER
NASA-KSC AT DFRF
 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, MAY 19 1992  12:30 PM


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - DRYDEN

     KSC recovery crews are preparing the vehicle for  the  ferry
flight  back  to  Florida.  Ferry  plugs  are being installed and
preparations  are  underway  to  mate  the  747  Shuttle  Carrier
Aircraft to the orbiter tomorrow.  Yesterday, residual cryogenics
were offloaded from the orbiter's fuel cell storage tanks.

     If all goes as planned,  Endeavour will be ready for  depar-
ture from California by Thursday.  A one-day ferry flight is pos-
sible if weather conditions are acceptable.  A refueling stop  is
planned at Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, Tex.

 

RE: <<< Note 727.184 by PRAGMA::GRIFFIN "Dave Griffin" >>>

>...AND THROAT PLUGS WERE INSTALLED IN THE RCS THRUSTERS.

This reminds me of a question I've wondered about for a while. During lift-off,
the RCS thrusters are plugged. At what point during ascent are the plugs
ejected?
						-- Tom

I don't know where the hatch was.  In typical NASA SELECT fashion, it
was shown on the screen interspersed with a static shot of the shuttle
sitting on the runway.  I think it was in the nose, and I think it was
overhead.  

    Frequently you can see the other camera operator in the static shots,
    and thus get an idea of where the other images are coming from.
        John Sauter

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, MAY 21 1992  10 AM


 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - DRYDEN

     Endeavour was bolted atop the 747 Shuttle  Carrier  Aircraft
early  this morning and is ready to begin the cross-country ferry
flight back to Florida.

     Weather conditions are unacceptable between  California  and
Texas for the ferry flight today. Officials will reassess weather
conditions tomorrow morning.  If weather is acceptable, Endeavour
could depart Edwards at 9 a.m.  EDT and  make  a  refueling  stop
along the way.   A one-day ferry flight is possible,  however the
forecast indicates there will be a 50 percent  chance  of  having
acceptable conditions tomorrow.

 

Aren't all the engine throat plugs removed by KSC workers before the launch?

Burns

RE: <<< Note 727.190 by DECWIN::FISHER "I *hate* questionnaires--Worf" >>>

>Aren't all the engine throat plugs removed by KSC workers before the launch?

Definitely not. They are prominently visible on launch photos. I assume they
are there so ice doesn't get caught.
						-- Tom

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, MAY 26 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - DRYDEN

     Endeavour  remained  at  the Dryden Flight Research Facility
through the weekend bolted atop the 747 Shuttle Carrier  Aircraft
while  waiting  for  acceptable  weather  conditions to begin the
cross-country ferry flight back to Florida.

     Weather conditions have been unacceptable between California
and Texas for the ferry flight.  Officials are assessing  weather
conditions for a possible departure today.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-49/INTELSAT RESCUE - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - DRYDEN

     Endeavour  departed the Dryden Flight Research Facility this
morning at 9 a.m.  EDT  enroute  for  Sheppard  Air  Force  Base,
Witchita Falls,  Tex. where the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft will
be refueled.  If weather permits,  the ferry flight will continue
to Columbus,  Miss. where the vehicles will remain overnight. The
estimated time of arrival at KSC is 1 p.m. EDT tomorrow.

     Weather conditions have been unacceptable between California
and Texas for the ferry flight  since  last  Thursday.  Officials
will  be  assessing weather conditions during the ferry flight to
determine the best flight path.


 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1992  11 AM

 
     STS-49 - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - FERRY FLIGHT IN PROGRESS

     Endeavour  departed  this morning from Biggs Army Air Field,
El Paso,  Tex.  and landed at 10:48 a.m.  EDT at Kelly Air  Force
Base,  San Antonio, Tex. to refuel and assess weather conditions.
The forecast will determine the next leg of the ferry flight. Un-
acceptable weather conditions in the flight path and at KSC later
today could prevent the orbiter's return home today.

 

The long-overdue updated press kit for STS-49 is finally available.  This
includes the mission patch and some other graphics (as promised).

  pragma::public:[nasa]sts-49.ps

- dave

From:	DECWRL::"[email protected]" "VOLCANO"  6-DEC-1992 11:00:44.38
To:	Multiple recipients of list VOLCANO <[email protected]>
CC:	
Subj:	Space Shuttle photographs of volcanoes

Here is a listing of significant photographs of volcanoes taken from
the Space Shuttle this summer.  I am about 5 missions behind, but more
listings will be posted soon. 

STS-49 flew in early May (it was the mission which rescued Intelsat).
STS-50 flew June 25 through July 9. 

The astronauts photograph interesting features as they see them. The
photographs are generally taken with a 70mm film format, although
there are some with 120mm by 200mm format.  Most of the film is
Ektachrome 64, but there are some color infrared (CIR) photographs as
well.  I have marked the CIR shots. 

The photograph identifications may not be exact (and uncertain ids are
marked with question marks) -- they are taken from my quick-look
notes.  It will be a few months before they are properly cataloged and
added to our database. 

As always, the photographs are provisioned through the EROS Data
Center (605) 594-6151 or Technology Applications Center (505) 277-3622.
They need to know the mission-roll-frame number. The cheapest way to
go is to order a slide -- it can be reproduced. The highest caliber
product is a contact transparency. 

If you wish to inventory other photography, The Space Shuttle Earth
Observations Office maintains a free database (of some 140,000 images)
which you can query, with an account which holds about 200 digitial
images available for downloading. The database can be queried by
lat-long coordinates or by country, or by mission. 

The database is accessed through Internet enter: TELNET SSEOP.JSC.NASA.GOV.

The searchable database has PHOTOS for both the username and password.
The digital images account has a username ANONYMOUS and a password GUEST. 

The photos are listed below.

Cindy Evans
Space Shuttle Earth Observations Office
[email protected]

STS-49 volcanoes and other good shots

MISSION ROLL    FRAME   DESCRIPTION

S49     75      77      Adonara, Indonesia
S49     79      25      Pinatubo
S49     79      27      Pinatubo
S49     79      28      Pinatubo
S49     79      29      Pinatubo
S49     85      33      Lombok, Indonesia
S49     85      34      Sumbawa, Indonesia
S49     92      37      East end of Java
S49     92      39      Bali w. Agung and Batur
S49     92      40      Tambora
S49     94      23      Reunion
S49     94      81      Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor
S49     94      83      S. edge of Pinatubo lahars
S49     87      15      S. end of L. Turkana (E. Africa rift), CIR
S49     89      10      Pinatubo, CIR
S49     89      11      Manila Bay, CIR
S49     89      12      Pinatubo, CIR
S49     89      27      Galapagos, CIR
S49     89      32      El Salvedor, CIR
S49     89      38      S. end of El Salvedor, CIR
S49     89      40      S. end of El Salvedor, CIR
S49     96      65      Pinatubo, w. some cloud, CIR
S49     96      66      S. lahars, Pinatubo, CIR
S49     96      67      W. lahars, Pinatubo, CIR
S49     97      50      Merapi, Java, CIR
S49     97      51      Lombok, CIR
S49     97      54      Tambora, CIR
S49     151     208     Reunion
S49     151     209     Reunion
S49     151     220     Corregidor and Bataan, Luzon
S49     151     221     Manila and Laguna de Bay
S49     151     223     Pinatubo under clouds

SSTS-50 volcano shots

MISSION ROLL    FRAME   DESCRIPTION

STS50   72      33      maar field, E. Africa rift
STS50   73      18      Hawaii
STS50   73      43      Andes
STS50   73      44      Andes
STS50   74      55      Manam
STS50   74      68      island in Vanuatu
STS50   98      55      S. Isabella, galapgos
STS50   101     41      wide angle shot of central Andes
STS50   101     95      Easter I
STS50   101     99      Taal, Philippines
STS50   88      10      manam
STS50   89      21      Tenerife, CIR
STS50   89      23      Gran Canaria
STS50   89      25      another Canary I
STS50   102     12      Tambora
STS50   107     61      EL Salvedor volcanoes
STS50   108     38      Mt kenya??
STS50   110     12      N. Mexico volcanoes
STS50   110     94      cloudy Pinatubo
STS50   110     95      cloudy Pinatubo
STS50   110     96      cloudy Pinatubo
STS50   110     98      Manila and Laguna de Bay
STS50   110     99      Taal
STS50   110     102     Mayon
STS50   110     103     S. Luzon

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