Newsgroups: sci.space.news Path: coplex.coplex.com!uunet!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!dont-send-mail-to-path-lines From: yee@atlas.arc.nasa.gov (Peter Yee) Subject: STS-57 countdown scheduled to begin June 17 [Release 66-93] (Forwarded) Message-ID: <1993Jun16.223537.26141@news.arc.nasa.gov> Apparently-To: sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov Followup-To: sci.space Originator: yee@atlas.arc.nasa.gov Sender: usenet@news.arc.nasa.gov Reply-To: yee@atlas.arc.nasa.gov (Peter Yee) Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 22:35:37 GMT Approved: sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov Lines: 380 Bruce Buckingham 407/867-2468 June 16, 1993 KSC Release No. 66 - 93 STS-57 COUNTDOWN SCHEDULED TO BEGIN JUNE 17 The countdown to launch Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-57 is scheduled to begin at 2:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, June 17, at the T-43 hour mark. This will be the fourth launch of the orbiter Endeavour and the 56th overall in the Space Shuttle program. The countdown includes 36 hours and 3 minutes of built-in hold time leading to the opening of the launch window at 9:38 a.m. (EDT) on Sunday, June 20. The launch window extends until 10:49 p.m. A primary objective of this mission is the retrieval of the European Space Agency's free-flying platform, EURECA. This spacecraft was deployed from the Shuttle on mission STS-46, launched on July 31, 1992. EURECA is primarily a microgravity mission specifically designed for material processing and life sciences payloads. Endeavour's crew will grapple the platform and return with it to Earth. Endeavour will carry into orbit the commercial spacelab facility called SPACEHAB, a small pressurized module situated in the forward section of Endeavour's payload bay. It was designed by the privately financed corporation, SPACEHAB, Inc. Also in the payload bay are several other experiments including the Super Fluid Helium on Orbit Transfer (SHOOT) Demonstration experiment and ten Get-Away Specials (GAS) experiments. Another of Endeavour's mission objectives is to allow two of the astronauts to perform a spacewalk for training and practice of deploy and retrieval techniques which will support Space Station assembly and the Hubble telescope servicing mission. At the beginning of the countdown, the KSC launch team in Firing Room 3 of the Launch Control Center will verify systems indicating the Shuttle is powered up and that the data processing and backup flight control systems are operating trouble free. Verifications will occur throughout the count to ensure reviews of the flight software stored in the orbiter's twin memory banks is being conducted, computer controlled display systems are being activated, and the backup flight system general purpose computer is being loaded. This week, final ordnance operations were conducted at the pad and the orbiter's aft engine compartment was closed for flight on Tuesday. Following countdown commencement at 2:30 a.m. Thursday, operations will begin to prepare the main propulsion system and the orbiter's main engines for cryogenic loading. Orbiter navigation aids will be turned on and tested and the inertial measurement units will be activated. Also on Thursday, ground crews will begin making the final storage of mid-deck and flight deck supplies and payloads. They will also perform microbial samplings of the flight crew's drinking water and check water levels in the crew waste management system. At T-27 hours, the countdown will enter its first built-in hold. This is an eight hour hold lasting from 6:30 p.m. Thursday to 2:30 a.m. Friday. When the countdown resumes, the launch pad will be cleared of all personnel in preparation for cryogenic fuel loading of the power reactant and storage distribution system tanks located under the payload bay lining. These tanks hold the super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen reactants used by the fuel cells to provide electricity to the orbiter and drinking water for the crew. Cryogenic flow is scheduled to start at about 2:30 a.m. and continue for about eight hours. As servicing of the cryogenic tanks concludes, the clock will enter another built-in hold at the T-19 hour mark. This hold will last for four hours from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Following cryogenic loading operations, the pad will be reopened for normal work and the orbiter mid-body umbilical unit used to load the super-cold reactants in the orbiter's fuel cell tanks will be demated and retracted into the launch structure. When the countdown resumes, technicians will complete final vehicle and facility closeouts and begin activating the orbiter's communications systems and configuring Endeavour's cockpit for flight. The orbiter's flight control system and navigation aids will be activated. The stowable crew seats will be installed in the flight and mid-decks. The countdown will enter a built-in hold at the T-11 hour mark at 10:30 p.m. Friday. This 20 hour, 43 minute hold will last until 7:13 p.m. Saturday. During this hold, time critical equipment will be installed in the orbiter's cockpit and the inertial measurement units will be activated and warmed up. Also, late stowage operations in the SPACEHAB module will be conducted. At about 11:00 a.m. Saturday, the Rotating Service Structure is scheduled to be moved away from the vehicle and placed in launch position. At T-9 hours, about 9:13 p.m. Saturday, the onboard fuel cells will be activated. At T-8 hours, the launch team will begin evacuating the blast danger area and clear the pad for loading the external tank with the super-cold cryogenic fuels. At T-7 hours, 30 minutes, conditioned air that is flowing through the orbiter's payload bay and other areas on the orbiter will be switched to gaseous nitrogen in preparation for fueling the external tank. The inertial measurement units will transition from the warm up stage to the operate/attitude determination mode at T-6 hours, 45 minutes. The countdown will enter another planned built-in hold at the T-6 hour mark at 12:13 a.m. Sunday. During this one-hour hold, final preparations for loading the external tank will be completed and a pre-tanking weather briefing will be conducted. Chilldown of the lines that carry the cryogenic propellants to the external tank begins when the clock starts counting again at 1:13 a.m. Filling and topping off the external tank should be complete at the beginning of the next planned hold at T-3 hours, or 4:13 a.m. Sunday. During the two-hour hold at T-3 hours, an ice inspection team will conduct a survey of the external tank's outer insulation and other Shuttle components. Also, the closeout crew will be dispatched to the pad and begin configuring the crew module and white room for the flight crew's arrival. Liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen will be in a stable replenish mode during this time to replace any propellant that "boils" off. Prior to entering the hold at T-3 hours, the six-member STS-57 crew will be awakened at about 3:03 a.m. Sunday. Following breakfast, the crew will receive a briefing on weather conditions both at KSC and around the world via satellite from Mission Control, Houston. The flight crew will suit-up in their partial-pressure suits, then leave the Operations and Checkout Building during the T-3 hour hold, or at about 6:08 a.m. They will arrive at the pad's white room at about 6:38 a.m. where they will be assisted by white room personnel in getting into the crew cabin. Just prior to the T-1 hour mark, the test team and the flight crew will get another weather update, including observations from an astronaut flying in a Shuttle Training Aircraft in the KSC area. They will also be briefed as to the exact location of the EURECA spacecraft and the specific launch time may be adjusted by as much as a few minutes. Any additional hold time necessary to compensate for this change will be added to the final hold at T-9 minutes. The last two built-in holds will be 10 minutes in duration (with the exception that the hold at T-9 minutes could be adjusted to compensate for the location of EURECA) and will occur at the T-20 minute mark, or at 8:53 a.m. and at the T-9 minutes mark at 9:14 a.m. During the final hold, the flight crew and ground team receive the NASA launch director's and the mission management team's final "go" for launch. Milestones after the T-9 minute mark include start of the ground launch sequencer; retraction of the orbiter access arm at T-7 minutes, 30 seconds; start of the orbiter's auxiliary power units at T-5 minutes; pressurization of the liquid oxygen tank inside the external tank at T-2 minutes, 55 seconds; pressurization of the liquid hydrogen tank at T-1 minute, 57 seconds; and the electronic "go" to Endeavour's onboard computers to start their own terminal countdown sequence at T-31 seconds. The orbiter's three main engines will start at T-6.6 seconds. ZDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD? 3 COUNTDOWN MILESTONES 3 @DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDY Launch - 3 Days (Thursday, June 17) Prepare for the start of the STS-57 launch countdown and perform the call-to-stations at the T-43 hour mark. Countdown will begin at 2:30 a.m. All members of the launch team will report to their respective consoles in Firing Room 3 in the Launch Control Center for the start of the countdown. Enter the first planned built-in hold at T-27 hours for a duration of eight hours. Check out back-up flight system and review flight software stored in mass memory units and display systems. Load backup flight system software into Endeavour's general purpose computers. Begin stowage of flight crew equipment. Inspect the orbiter's mid-deck and flight-deck and remove crew module platforms. Start external tank loading preparations and prepare the Shuttle's main engines for main propellant tanking and flight. Launch - 2 Days (Friday, June 18) Resume countdown. Start preparations for servicing fuel cell storage tanks and begin final vehicle and facility closeouts for launch. Clear launch pad of all personnel and begin loading liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen reactants into Endeavour's fuel cell storage tanks. After loading operations, the pad will be reopened for normal work. Orbiter and ground support equipment closeouts will resume. Enter planned built-in hold at T-19 hours for a duration of 4 hours. Demate orbiter mid-body umbilical unit. Resume countdown. Activate orbiter communications systems, flight control and navigation systems. Install mission specialists' seats in crew cabin. The tail service masts on the mobile launcher platform will be closed out for launch. Enter planned hold at T-11 hours for a duration of 20 hours, 43 minutes. Launch - 1 Day (Saturday, June 19) Perform orbiter ascent switch list in crew cabin. During this hold at T-11 hours, the orbiter's inertial measurement units will be activated and kept in the "warm up" mode and film will be installed in the numerous cameras on the launch pad. In addition, safety personnel will conduct a debris walkdown and the pad sound suppression system water tank will be filled. The Rotating Service Structure will be moved to the park position during this hold at about 11:00 a.m. Final stowage of experiments into the SPACEHAB module will be conducted and flight crew equipment stowage will commence. Resume countdown. Install time critical flight crew equipment and perform the pre-ingress switch list. Start fuel cell flow-through purge. Activate the orbiter's fuel cells. Configure communications at Mission Control, Houston, for launch. Clear the blast danger area of all non-essential personnel and switch Endeavour's purge air to gaseous nitrogen. Launch Day (Sunday, June 20) Enter planned one-hour built-in hold at the T-6 hour mark. Launch team verifies there are no violations of launch commit criteria prior to cryogenic loading of the external tank. Clear pad of all personnel. Resume countdown. Loading the external tank with cryogenic propellants is scheduled to begin at 1:13 a.m. Complete filling the external tank with its flight load of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. Perform open loop test with Eastern Space and Missile Center and conduct gimbal profile checks of orbital maneuvering system engines. Perform inertial measurement unit preflight calibration and align Merritt Island Launch Area tracking antennas. Wake flight crew at 3:03 a.m. Enter two-hour hold at T-3 hours. Closeout crew and ice inspection team proceeds to Launch Pad 39-B. Crew departs Operations and Checkout Building for the pad at 6:08 a.m. Resume countdown at T-3 hours. Complete closeout preparations in the white room and cockpit switch configurations. Flight crew enters orbiter. Astronauts perform air-to-ground voice checks with Mission Control, Houston. Close Endeavour's crew hatch. Begin Eastern Space and Missile Center final network open loop command checks. Perform hatch seal and cabin leak checks. The white room is closed out and the closeout crew moves to fallback area. Primary ascent guidance data is transferred to the backup flight system. Enter planned 10-minute hold at T-20 minutes. NASA Shuttle Test Director conducts final briefing. Resume countdown. Transition orbiter onboard computers to launch configuration and start fuel cell thermal conditioning. Close orbiter cabin vent valves. Backup flight system transitions to launch configuration. Enter last planned hold at T-9 minutes. Launch Director and Mission Management Team complete final polls for launch. Make any necessary adjustments to hold and final count to account for last evaluations of EURECA spacecraft location. Resume countdown. Start automatic ground launch sequencer (T-9:00 minutes) Retract orbiter crew access arm (T-7:30) Start mission recorders (T-5:30) Start Auxiliary Power Units (T-5:00) Arm SRB and ET range safety safe and arm devices (T-5:00) Start liquid oxygen drainback (T-4:55) Start orbiter aerosurface profile test (T-3:55) Orbiter transfers to internal power (T-3:30) Start MPS gimbal profile test (T-3:30) Pressurize liquid oxygen tank (T-2:55) Begin retraction of the gaseous oxygen vent arm (T-2:55) Fuel cells to internal reactants (T-2:35) Pressurize liquid hydrogen tank (T-1:57) Deactivate SRB joint heaters (T-1:00) LPS go for start of orbiter automatic sequence (T-0:31 seconds) Ignition of Shuttle's three main engines (T-6.6 seconds) SRB ignition and liftoff (T-0) ZDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD? 3 SUMMARY OF HOLDS AND HOLD TIMES FOR STS-57 3 @DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDY NOTE: The countdown reflects a target T-0 about 5 minutes prior to the assessed actual liftoff time. A rendezvous calibration period will be allowed for final determinations of the location of the EURECA spacecraft. Any necessary adjustments to the count will be made in the final built-in hold at T-9 minutes. T-TIME ------- LENGTH OF HOLD ---- HOLD BEGINS ---- HOLD ENDS T-27 hours --- 8 hours ---------- Thurs., 6:30 pm - Fri., 2:30 am T-19 hours --- 4 hours ----------- Fri., 10:30 am - Fri., 2:30 pm T-11 hours --- 20 hrs., 43 mins. - Fri., 10:30 pm - Sat., 7:13 pm T-6 hours ---- 1 hour ------------ Sun., 12:13 am - Sun., 1:13 am T-3 hours ---- 2 hours ----------- Sun., 4:13 am -- Sun., 6:13 am T-20 minutes - 10 minutes -------- Sun., 8:53 am -- Sun., 9:03 am *T-9 minutes - 10 minutes -------- Sun., 9:14 am -- Sun., 9:24 am ** This hold likely will be extended beyond the normal 10 minutes to reflect the exact launch time based on the latest assessments of the location of the EURECA spacecraft. ZDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD? 3 CREW FOR MISSION STS-57 3 @DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDY Commander (CDR) Ron Grabe Pilot (PLT) Brian Duffy Payload Commander (MS1) David Low Mission Specialist (MS2) Nancy Sherlock Mission Specialist (MS3) Jeff Wisoff Mission Specialist (MS4) Janice Voss ZDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD? 3 SUMMARY OF STS-57 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES 3 @DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDY (Sunday) 3:03 a.m. Wake up 3:33 a.m. Breakfast 4:03 a.m. Free Time 5:28 a.m. Weather briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2) 5:28 a.m. Don flight equipment (MS1, MS3, MS4) 5:38 a.m. Don flight equipment (CDR, PLT, MS2) 6:08 a.m. Depart for launch pad 39-B 6:38 a.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress 7:53 a.m. Close crew hatch 9:38 a.m. Launch (June 20, 1993)