Space Forum / Shuttle / March 2006

March 24, 2006

Joe Pally
Headquarters, Washington
(202) 358-7239

Jessica Rye
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(321) 867-2468

STATUS REPORT: S06-010

NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING STATUS REPORT: S06-010

NASA's space shuttle fleet is housed and processed at Kennedy Space
Center, Fla.

Mission: STS-121 - 18th International Space Station Flight (ULF1.1) -
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
Vehicle: Discovery (OV-103)
Location: Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3
Launch Date: Launch Planning Window July 1-19, 2006
Launch Pad: 39B
Crew: Lindsey, Kelly, Sellers, Fossum, Nowak, Wilson and Reiter
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles

Technicians continue to process Discovery and close out completed
areas for its launch to the International Space Station. The
seven-member STS-121 crew was at Kennedy on Monday for the station
crew equipment interface test. This standard test provides the crew
with hands-on experiences with equipment that will be used on orbit.

Final closeouts of the space shuttle main engines continue with
thermal protection system foaming operations around the engines.
Technicians removed and replaced windows No. 3 and 5. Work continues
in the payload bay in preparation for reinstallation of the remote
manipulator system, or shuttle arm. The repaired arm is scheduled to
return to Kennedy from the vendor in Canada in early April.

Mission: STS-115 - 19th International Space Station Flight (12A) -
P3/P4 Solar Arrays
Vehicle: Atlantis (OV-104)
Location: Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1
Launch Date: No earlier than Aug. 28, 2006

Launch Pad: 39B
Crew: Jett, Ferguson, Tanner, Burbank, MacLean and Stefanyshyn-Piper
Inclination/Orbit Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles

Technicians continue to perform powered-up system testing on Atlantis
for its mission to the International Space Station. The final space
shuttle main engine is scheduled to be installed in early April, and
then final main propulsion leak checks will be performed. Global
positioning system functional checks are scheduled to resume today.
Removal and replacement of the water coolant loop No. 2 pump package
was completed Wednesday. Following the installation of the pump
package, the system was retested, and leak checks were completed.

Endeavour (OV-105)

Work continues on Endeavour in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2,
following an extensive modification period. Technicians continued
implementing the new return-to-flight modifications that have been
added to the other two vehicles. Upgrades include the orbiter boom
sensor system, sensors in the wing leading edges, and the new digital
camera to view the external tank.

Fuel cell No. 2 installation is scheduled to begin as early as March
29. Endeavour's external airlock arrived at Kennedy Space Center on
Tuesday and is set to be installed into the payload bay in early
April.

External Tank

The external tank that will fly with Discovery on the STS-121 mission
is in the Vehicle Assembly Building checkout cell where work is
scheduled to begin on Monday. Technicians will remove and replace the
external tank's four liquid hydrogen engine cutoff sensors, which
indicate whether the tank still has fuel during its climb to orbit.

The replacement will be performed by the technicians from NASA's
Michoud Assembly Facility who are most familiar with this particular
work. This work will take approximately 22 days to complete. On
Monday, the technicians will begin removing the foam on the bottom of
the tank and then remove a cover, called the "manhole." This will
provide access to the area to begin the removal and replacement of
the sensors.

For previous space shuttle processing status reports on the Web,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

-end-