3/17/94:  COLUMBIA SCHEDULED TO LAND AT KSC

Bruce Buckingham

KSC RELEASE NO. 34 - 94

     The orbiter Columbia is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center on
Friday, March 18 at 8:09 a.m.  EST, at the conclusion of its current STS-62
mission, which was launched from KSC March 4.

     Landing of Columbia at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) is slated for
orbit 224 at mission elapsed time of 13 days, 23 hours and 16 minutes.  Deorbit
burn will occur on orbit 223 at about 7:16 a.m.  Friday, at 13 days, 22 hours
and 23 minutes.

     A second KSC landing opportunity for Friday occurs on orbit 225 at 9:42
a.m.  Two additional opportunities for landing at KSC exist on Saturday at
about 7:50 a.m. and 9:23 a.m.

     During descent for landing at KSC on Friday, Columbia will cross the
Florida/Alabama state line entering Florida airspace near Barrineau Park north
of Pensacola and travel east through the Florida panhandle.  Columbia will pass
through the center of the state over the Apalachicola National Forest near
Tallahassee, Gainesville and the Ocala National Forest before landing at KSC's
SLF.

     The orbiter will pass over Gainesville about 9 minutes before touchdown at
an altitude of about 115,000 feet, traveling at a speed of about Mach 5.  The
orbiter will pass over The Ocala National Forest about 7 minutes before
touchdown at an altitude of about 87,000 feet, traveling at a speed of about
Mach 3.

Shuttle Landing Facility

     Built in 1975, the SLF is 300 feet wide and 15,000 feet long with 1,000
foot overruns at each end.  The strip runs northwest to southeast and is
located about 3 miles northwest of the Vehicle Assembly Building.

     Tomorrow's landing of Columbia will mark the twentieth landing at KSC in
the history of Space Shuttle flight.  It is the second KSC landing scheduled
for this year.

 ______________________________________________________________
|                                                              |
|                PREVIOUS SHUTTLE LANDINGS AT KSC              |
|______________________________________________________________|

1)   41-B - Challenger, Feb. 11, 1984
2)   41-G - Challenger, Oct. 13, 1984
3)   51-A - Discovery, Nov. 16, 1984
4)   51-C - Discovery, Jan. 27, 1985
5)   51-D - Discovery, April 19, 1985
6)   STS-38 - Atlantis, Nov. 20, 1990
7)   STS-39 - Discovery, May 6, 1991
8)   STS-43 - Atlantis, Aug. 11, 1991
9)   STS-45 - Atlantis, April 2, 1992
10)  STS-50 - Columbia, July 9, 1992
11)  STS-46 - Atlantis, Aug. 8, 1992
12)  STS-47 - Endeavour, Sept. 18, 1992
13)  STS-52 - Columbia, Nov. 1, 1992
14)  STS-54 - Endeavour, Jan. 19, 1993
15)  STS-56 - Discovery, April 17, 1993
16)  STS-57 - Endeavour, July 1, 1993
17)  STS-51 - Discovery, Sept. 22, 1993
18)  STS-61 - Endeavour, Dec. 13, 1993
19)  STS-60 - Discovery, Feb. 11, 1994

KSC End Of Mission Landing Weather Constraints

     At decision time for the deorbit burn (about 90 minutes before landing),
general weather restrictions for a KSC landing are specified in part as:

* Visibility must be five miles or greater;

* Peak surface winds must be less than 20 knots in any direction;

* The peak crosswind must not exceed 15 knots, 12 knots at night.  If the
  mission duration is greater than nine days the limit is 12 knots, day or
  night;

* The cloud ceiling must be greater than 10,000 feet. For
  scattered clouds below 10,000 feet, cloud cover must be
  observed to be less than 20 percent;

* There can be no precipitation at the surface or aloft in the proximity of the
  orbiter's glide path;

* Thunderstorms, rain or the potential for lightning cannot exist within 30
  nautical miles of the landing site;

* Vertical cloud clearance at the 30 nautical mile range must be greater than 2
  nautical miles;

KSC Ground Operations

     Once the orbiter is on the ground, safing operations will commence and the
flight crew will prepare the vehicle for post-landing operations.  The Crew
Transport Vehicle (CTV) will be used to assist the crew, allowing them to
egress the vehicle and doff their launch and re-entry suits easier and quicker.

     The CTV and other KSC landing convoy operations have been in an "on-call"
status since the launch of Columbia March 4.  The primary functions of the
Space Shuttle recovery convoy are to provide immediate service to the orbiter
after landing, prepare the orbiter for towing to the Orbiter Processing
Facility and assist crew egress.

     Convoy vehicles are stationed at the SLF's mid-point.  About two hours
prior to landing, convoy personnel don SCAPE suits, or Self Contained
Atmospheric Protective Ensemble, and communi- cations checks are made.

     A warming up of coolant and purge equipment is conducted and nearly two
dozen convoy vehicles are positioned to move onto the runway as quickly and as
safely as possible once the orbiter coasts to a stop.  When the vehicle is
deemed safe of all potential explosive hazards and toxic gases, the purge and
coolant umbilical access vehicles move into position at the rear of the
orbiter.

     Following purge and coolant operations, flight crew egress preparations
will begin and the CTV will be moved into position at the crew access hatch
located on the orbiter's port side.

     Once access to the vehicle is gained, a physician will board the shuttle
and conduct a brief preliminary examination of the astronauts.  The crew will
then make preparations to leave the vehicle.

     About 2 hours, 40 minutes after landing, the orbiter will be towed to
Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2 for post-flight deservicing and preparations
will begin for its next scheduled mission, STS-65, in July 1994.

     Following departure from the SLF, the crew will be taken to their quarters
in the O&C Building, meet with their families, undergo a physical examination
and depart for the skid strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for their
flight back to JSC.

     The crew is planning to depart for JSC roughly 5 to 6 hours after landing.
The exact time of departure will be determined following touchdown.

     In the event a landing at KSC is not feasible and Columbia lands at
Edwards, an augmented KSC convoy team will be on-site to safe the vehicle,
disembark the crew and move the orbiter to the Mate/Demate Device. The turn
around team will be deployed to Edwards by charter aircraft on landing day.

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