Conference 7.286::space

	The following is the crew list, of interest, this will be the first
	flight for a women pilot astronaut. She is still the only one.

	STS 63	- Discovery (20) February 2-10 1995
		- SPACEHAB-3; SPTN 204; MIR Flybye
		- Commander: James Wetherbee (3)
		- Pilot: Eileen Collins
		- MS1: Bernard Harris (2)
		- FE/MS2: Michael Foale (3)
		- MS3: Janice Voss Ford (2)
		- MS4: Vladimir Titov (4) (RSA) 
			[backup Sergei Krikalev (4) (RSA)]

              KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1994 (11:30 AM EDT)
     
              MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3
    
    VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103               ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 196 sm
    LOCATION: OPF bay 2                     INCLINATION: 51.60 degrees
    TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: early February    CREW SIZE: 6
    APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: very early morning KSC
    LANDING DATE/TIME: TBD
    LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes                MISSION DURATION: 8 days/4
    hours
    
    IN WORK TODAY:
      Preparations to remove forward reaction control system
      Preparations to off-load hypergolic fuels
    
    WORK SCHEDULED:
      Remove forward reaction control system
      Install drag chute
    
    WORK COMPLETED:
      Remove space shuttle main engines
      Remove main engine heatshields
      Remove LITE and Spartan 201 payloads
      TACAN activation and test
      Structural checks and tests
      Tire and wheel assembly removal
    
    
    NOTE: This Space Shuttle Status Report is available from a data
    repository known as an anonymous FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
    server at ftp.pao.hq.nasa.gov under the directory
    /pub/pao/statrpt/ksc.  Users should log on with the user name
    anonymous , then enter their E-mail address as the password.
    Within the /pub/pao directory there will be a readme.txt file
    explaining the directory structure.

    Downloaded from NASA Spacelink]
    
            KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1994 (11:24 AM EDT)
    
    KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham    407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
    
               MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3
    
    VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103                ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 196 sm
    LOCATION: OPF bay 2                      INCLINATION: 51.60 degrees
    TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: early February     CREW SIZE: 6
    APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: very early morning  KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: TBD
    LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes                 MISSION DURATION: 8 days/4
    hours
    
    IN WORK TODAY:
    o Preparations to off-load hypergolic fuels
    
    WORK COMPLETED:
    o Remove forward reaction control system
    o Hydraulic operations
    o Remove space shuttle main engines and heatshields
    
    WORK SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK:
    o Install drag chute
    o Ammonia servicing
    o Functional checks of the orbital maneuvering system
    o Off-load residual hypergolic fuels
    

			  SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
			   Monday, December 19, 1994
 
George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center
407/867-2468
							
																							
Vehicle: OV-103/Discovery                   Mission number: STS-63
Location: OPF Bay 2                         Orbital altitude: 247 sm
Primary payload: Spacehab-3/Spartan         Inclination: 51.6 degrees
Launch date: Feb. 2  12:49 a.m.             Landing: Feb. 10 
Mission duration:  8 days, 6 hrs. 13 min.   Crew Size: 6
						
 
STS-63 IN WORK:
-  checkout of replacement auxiliary power unit No. 2
-  orbiter mid-body electrical testing and closeouts
-  checkout of orbital maneuvering system flight controls
-  orbital maneuvering system pod interface verification testing
-  orbital maneuvering system pod leak checks
-  main engine No. 1 nozzle x-rays and borescoping/test analysis
-  aft compartment closeouts
 
STS-63 WORK SCHEDULED:
-  closeouts of crew compartment
-  structural leak check of aft main engine compartment
-  preparations to conclude work for the 10-day holiday period
-  rollover to the VAB on or about Jan. 4
-  rollout to Pad 39-B on or about Jan. 11
 
STS-63 WORK COMPLETED:
-  closure of payload bay doors for flight
 
 

 
             KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                 TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1995 (12:10 PM EST)
 
KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(e-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)
 
 
         MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3
 
VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103		LOCATION: Vehicle Assembly Building
TARGET LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:51 a.m. EST
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 7:05 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 6 hours, 13 minutes		CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees
 
NOTE: Managers decided last night to roll out the Shuttle 
Discovery to pad 39 B a day early. 
First motion is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today.  The decision to 
roll early was made when the pressure in a right hand orbital 
maneuvering system pod oxidizer manifold dropped from 150 psi to 
about 15 psi.  The manifold serves 4 of the orbital maneuvering 
system thrusters on the right hand pod.  One of these thrusters 
(R3A) has a documented very minor leak which was managed and 
controlled during the past two flights.  However, from the time 
the orbiter left the Orbiter Processing Facility (Jan. 5) to the 
time it was first powered up in the Vehicle Assembly Building, 
the manifold pressure dropped significantly.  Engineers think this 
radical drop was caused by cold weather effects on the thruster's 
seal this past weekend.  Last night, the manifold pressure was 
brought up to about 65 psi in the Vehicle Assembly Building, the 
maximum available with equipment in the Vehicle Assembly 
Building.  Once at the pad, the manifold pressure can be returned 
to the standard 150 psi.  Low pressure in the manifold over a 
period of time may cause other thruster seals to dry-out and 
leak.  Later this week, engineers will decide if thruster R3A must 
be replaced.
 
IN WORK TODAY:
  Rollout to pad 39B scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today
 
WORK COMPLETED:
  Shuttle interface verification tests
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
  Launch pad validations
  Main engine preparations and frequency response test
 
KEY OPERATIONAL MILESTONES SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY (dates are targeted only):
  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (Jan. 17-19)
  Flight Readiness Review (Jan. 18)
  Hot fire auxiliary power unit no. 2 (Jan. 22)
  Countdown begins (4 p.m. Jan. 29)
 
 

 
		KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
		   THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 1995 (11:55 AM EST)
 
KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)
 
 
	   MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3
 
VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103                        LOCATION: Pad 39B       
TARGET LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:49 a.m. EST 
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 7:05 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 6 hours, 13 minutes    CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees
 
IN WORK TODAY:
  Solid rocket booster portion of the flight readiness test
  Shuttle interface verification test
 
WORK COMPLETED:
  Securing of auxiliary power unit no. 2
  Launch pad validations
  Power up Shuttle vehicle
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
  Main engine frequency response test (Friday)
  Launch readiness review (Friday)
 
KEY OPERATIONAL MILESTONES SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY (dates are targeted only):
  Remove leaking thruster R3A (Jan. 17)
  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (Jan. 17-19)
  Flight Readiness Review (Jan. 18)
  Hot fire auxiliary power unit no. 2 (Jan. 22)
  Countdown begins (4:30 p.m. Jan. 29)
 
 

 
                KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                     FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 1995 (11:34 AM EST)
 
KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)
 
 
           MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3
 
VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103                        LOCATION: Pad 39B   
TARGET LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:49 a.m. EST     
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 7:05 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 6 hours, 13 minutes    CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees
 
IN WORK TODAY:
o Main engine frequency response test
o Launch readiness review
o Securing auxiliary power unit no. 2
 
WORK COMPLETED:
o Solid rocket booster portion of the flight readiness test
o Shuttle interface verification test
 
WORK SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK:
o Helium signature test (Monday)
o Remove leaking thruster R3A (Tuesday)
o Flight Readiness Review (Wednesday)
o Crew arrives for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (9:30 a.m. Tuesday) 
 
o Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (Wednesday-Thursday)
o Pre-launch hypergolic propellant load (Friday)
 
KEY OPERATIONAL MILESTONES SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY (dates are targeted only):
o Hot fire auxiliary power unit no. 2 (Jan. 22)
o Countdown begins (4:30 p.m. Jan. 29)
o Crew arrival for launch (12 midnight Jan. 29)
 

 
               KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1995 (11:36 AM EST)
 
KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)
 
 
           MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3
 
VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103                       LOCATION: Pad 39B
TARGET LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:49 a.m. EST
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 7:05 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 6 hours, 13 minutes   CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees
 
IN WORK TODAY:
o Securing and leak checks on auxiliary power unit no. 2 (Yesterday, a leak 
  was found on APU no. 2 in the area of the fuel pump assembly. Workers plan 
  to pinpoint and seal the leak today.)
o Remove and replace leaking thruster R3A
 
WORK COMPLETED:
o Crew arrival for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (9:30 a.m. today)
o Main engine flight readiness test
o Helium signature test
o Launch readiness review
 
WORK SCHEDULED THIS WEEK:
o Flight Readiness Review (Wednesday)
o Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (Wednesday-Thursday)
o Pre-launch hypergolic propellant load (Friday)
 
KEY OPERATIONAL MILESTONES SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY (dates are targeted only):
o Hot fire auxiliary power unit no. 2 (Jan. 22)
o Countdown begins (4:30 p.m. Jan. 29)
o Crew arrival for launch (12 midnight Jan. 29)
 

>> LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes

This just caught my eye.  Kinda tight, wouldn't you say?  One stiff breeze or
cloud passing through and they're recycling this one.

...Roger...

Yep.  It doesn't bode well for the space station either which will be in the
same high-inclination orbit.  (I assume that a high-i orbit gives them less
margin than a lower-i one...does anyone know for sure?).

Burns

Interesting observation...

I wonder that if this becomes a more regular occurrance that we might
see some DTOs appear that monkey with the powered ascent software so
they could "catch it" on the next orbit (or is it that far away?  probably,
huh...)


So if they try 24 hours later, how many days do they have before it
precesses out of reach?


- dave

    Launch windows for a reason that escapes me for the moment, are
    supposedly always shorter in the winter (for US launches), than
    in the summer, in addition to the fact that it is a high-inc launch.
    One could probably determine roughly how many days it would have 
    before MIR precesses westward, by using a tracking program and 
    running a prediction during the first week of February for MIR passes
    over the cape area. I may try this over the weekend. I don know when
    I ran MIR up to the launch date with an element set back in the first
    week of January, that there were roughly 2-3 days when MIR was making
    passes right up the east coast, which would suggest that these passes 
    were going through the STS-63 launch path. Of course there are other
    factors like when they wanted to have the rendezvous relative to
    where the shuttle & MIR would be flying over.
    
    Bob

Article: 25938
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
From: j414@woodlawn.uchicago.edu (mary-frances  jagod)
Subject: STS-63 launch date set for February 2
Sender: news@uchinews.uchicago.edu (News System)
Organization: University of Chicago
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 1995 13:53:55 GMT
 
[From the NASA mailing list]
 
Ed Campion
Headquarters, Washington, DC                                          
January 18, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1778)
 
NOTE TO EDITORS:  N95-4
 
FIRST SHUTTLE LAUNCH OF 1995 SET FOR FEBRUARY 2
 
     NASA managers today set February 2, 1995, as the 
official launch date for Space Shuttle Discovery on Mission 
STS-63.  The Feb. 2 launch date assumes successful 
completion of thruster changeout work scheduled to be 
finished later this week.
 
     The flight will feature a rendezvous with the Russian 
Space Station Mir in a dress rehearsal of missions that will 
follow later in 1995.  In addition, the mission will see the 
third flight of the commercial SPACEHAB facility in which a 
number of microgravity research experiments will be 
conducted.  Discovery's crew also will deploy and retrieve a 
free-flyer astronomy payload and two crewmembers will 
perform a five-hour spacewalk.
 
     Launch of Discovery on Feb. 2 is currently planned for 
approximately 12:49 a.m. EST from Kennedy Space Center's 
Launch Complex 39-B.  The actual launch time is expected to 
vary by several minutes based on new Mir state vectors for 
Shuttle rendezvous phasing requirements which will be 
updated closer to launch.  The available window to launch 
Discovery is approximately 5 minutes each day.  The STS-63 
mission is scheduled to last just over 8 days.  A 12:49 a.m. 
launch on Feb. 2 would produce a landing at Kennedy Space 
Center's Shuttle Landing Facility on Feb. 10 at 
approximately 6:15 a.m. EST.
 
     The STS-63 crew will be commanded by James D. Wetherbee 
who will be making his third Shuttle flight.  Eileen M. 
Collins will serve as pilot.  She will be making her first 
spaceflight, becoming the first woman to pilot a Space 
Shuttle.  The four STS-63 mission specialists aboard 
Discovery will include Bernard A. Harris Jr., the STS-63 
Payload Commander and Mission Specialist-1 who will be 
making his second flight; Michael C. Foale, Mission 
Specialist-2 who will be making his third flight; Janice 
Voss, Mission Specialist-3 who will be making her second 
flight; and Cosmonaut Vladimir Georgievich Titov, Mission 
Specialist-4, who will be making his first flight aboard the 
Space Shuttle and fourth flight into space.
 

    re:-1 Launch window.  No tighter than some of the military flights. 
    The ASTP (Apollo 18) docking mission had a window of only a couple of 
    minutes.  Didn't one of the Gemini flights (GT11) have a window of 90
    secs?

 
               KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                  WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 1995 (10:40 AM EST)
 
KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)
 
 
           MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3
 
VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103                       LOCATION: Pad 39B   
TARGET LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:48 a.m. EST     
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 6:10 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 5 hours, 22 minutes   CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees
 
NOTE: Workers replaced thruster R3A yesterday.  During operations to 
repressurize the manifold, another thruster on that same manifold, R3R, was 
determined to be leaking, also.  Managers today will determine if R3R needs 
to be replaced.
 
IN WORK TODAY:
o Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test
o Flight Readiness Review
o Securing and leak checks on auxiliary power unit no. 2 (A leaking seal on 
  the fuel inlet filter quick disconnect on auxiliary power unit no. 2 will be 
  replaced tonight.)
 
WORK COMPLETED:
o Remove and replace leaking thruster R3A
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
o Pre-launch hypergolic propellant load
 
KEY OPERATIONAL MILESTONES SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY (dates are targeted only):
o Hot fire auxiliary power unit no. 2 (Jan. 22)
o Countdown begins (4:30 p.m. Jan. 29)
o Crew arrival for launch (12 midnight Jan. 29)
 

 
             KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                    FRIDAY,  JAN. 20, 1995 (11 AM EST)
 
KSC Public Affairs Contact: Lisa Malone - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Lisa.Malone-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)
 
 
         MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3
 
VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103                            LOCATION: Pad 39B
LAUNCH DATE/APPROX. TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:48 a.m. EST
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 6:10 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 5 hours, 22 minutes        CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees
 
IN WORK TODAY:
  Preparations to load hypergolic propellants onboard Discovery
  Closeouts of the solid rocket boosters 
 
WORK COMPLETED:
  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test
  Remove, replace and leak check thrusters R3A and R3R
 
KEY OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are targeted only):
  Pre-launch hypergolic propellant load (Jan. 21)
  Hot fire auxiliary power unit No. 2 (Jan. 23)
  Ordnance installation and hypergolic propellant pressurization (Jan. 26)
  Install and checkout  spacesuits (Jan. 27)
  Complete orbiter aft engine compartment close-outs (Jan. 29)
  Countdown begins (4:30 p.m. Jan. 29)
  Crew arrival for launch (12 midnight Jan. 29)
 

    re: "5 minute Launch Window"
    
    Reason given in the "Aviation Week & Space Leak" magazine, was that
    Launch window was so small, in order to allow the Shuttle to reach
    MIR with adequate fuel reserves. 
    
    High Inclination Orbits for MIR / FREEDOM are at the outer limits of
    the Space Shuttle capabilities. It can do them, but operating margins
    are narrow.
    
    It also mentioned that the astronauts will be carrying excess water
    ,from the Shuttle Electric fuel units, to MIR by hand in plastic bags.
    (i.e.  They will be the most expensive water boys in history ;-)
    
    Gil

So there will be an EVA while "in the neighborhood", just not a hard docking?

(yeah, I've been out of touch this flight)

 
	       KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
		     TUESDAY,  JAN. 24, 1995 (11 AM EST)
 
KSC Public Affairs Contact: Lisa Malone - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Lisa.Malone-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)
 
 
	   MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3
 
VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103                           LOCATION: Pad 39B   
LAUNCH DATE/APPROX. TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:48 a.m. EST    
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes    
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 6:10 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 5 hours, 22 minutes       CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees
 
IN WORK TODAY:
  Closeouts of the solid rocket boosters
  Loading the orbiter+s mass memory units with software
  Preparations to install ordnance devices
  Launch countdown preparations
  Preparations to begin closing out the orbiter+s aft compartment for flight
  Preparations to begin stowage into the SPACEHAB module
 
WORK COMPLETED:
  Hot fired auxiliary power unit (APU) No. 2 (total run-time was about 7 
	minutes)
  Rotated the pad service structure back around vehicle
 
KEY OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are targeted only):
  Ordnance installation (Jan. 25)
  Hypergolic propellant pressurization (Jan. 26)
  Install and checkout  spacesuits (Jan. 27)
  Purges of the external tank (Jan. 27)
  Complete orbiter aft engine compartment close-outs (Jan. 29)
  Countdown begins (4:30 p.m. Jan. 29)
  Crew arrival for launch (12 midnight Jan. 29)
 

Press kit is/will be available at:

  http://www-space.lkg.dec.com/space-archives.html


Text right now.  Should be nicer (graphics, etc.) by Monday.

- dave

    
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT

WEDNESDAY,  JAN. 25, 1995 (11 AM EST)

KSC Public Affairs Contact: Lisa Malone - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Lisa.Malone-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)

MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3

VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103     
LOCATION: Pad 39B   
LAUNCH DATE/APPROX. TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:48 a.m. EST    
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 6:10 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 5 hours, 22 minutes
CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees

IN WORK TODAY:
  Closeouts of the solid rocket boosters
  Preparations to install ordnance devices
  Launch countdown preparations
  Closing out the orbiter+s aft compartment for flight
  Stowing experiments and equipment into the SPACEHAB module

WORK COMPLETED:
  Loading the orbiter+s mass memory units with software
  Hot fired auxiliary power unit (APU) No. 2 (total run-time was about 7 
minutes)

KEY OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are targeted only):
  Ordnance installation (tonight)
  Hypergolic propellant pressurization (Jan. 26)
  Install and checkout  spacesuits (Jan. 26)
  Purges of the external tank (Jan. 27)
  Complete orbiter aft engine compartment close-outs (Jan. 29)
  Countdown begins (4:30 p.m. Jan. 29)
  Crew arrival for launch (12 midnight Jan. 29)

    
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT

THURSDAY,  JAN. 26, 1995 (10:30 AM EST)

KSC Public Affairs Contact: Lisa Malone - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Lisa.Malone-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)

MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3

VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103     
LOCATION: Pad 39B   
LAUNCH DATE/APPROX. TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:48 a.m. EST    
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 6:13 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 5 hours, 25 minutes
CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees

IN WORK TODAY:
  Closeouts of the solid rocket boosters
  Launch countdown preparations
  Closing out the orbiter+s aft compartment for flight
  Install and checkout the two contingency space suits in the orbiter+s 
        airlock (tonight)

WORK COMPLETED:
  Installed ordnance devices
  Completed initial stowing of experiments and equipment into the SPACEHAB
        module

KEY OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are targeted only):
  Hypergolic propellant pressurization (Jan. 27)
  Purges of the external tank (Jan. 27)
  Complete orbiter aft engine compartment close-outs (Jan. 29)
  Countdown begins (4:30 p.m. Jan. 29)
  Crew arrival for launch (12 midnight Jan. 29)

MISSION: STS-67 -- ASTRO - 2

VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105
LOCATION: OPF bay 1
TARGET LAUNCH DATE/TIME: March 2 at approximately 1:37 a.m.
LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hours, 30 minutes
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: March 18 at 3:09 p.m.
MISSION DURATION: 15 days, 13 hours
CREW SIZE: 7
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 218 statute miles/28.45 degrees

IN WORK TODAY:
  Checks of the body flap
  Close-outs of the orbiter+s midbody and aft engine compartment
  Leak tests of the forward reaction control system
  Closeouts of orbital maneuvering system pods
  Installing various panels on the vehicle
  Checks of the flight controls and main propulsion system thrust vector 
        control system
  Frequency response test of the orbiter+s aerosurfaces

WORK SCHEDULED:
  Structural leak tests
  Positive pressure test

MISSION: STS-71 -- 1st MIR DOCKING

VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
LOCATION: OPF bay 3
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: May/June
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early morning
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: TBD
MISSION DURATION: 9 days, 20 hours
CREW SIZE: 7 up, 8 down
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees

IN WORK TODAY:
  Systems testing of the power reactant storage and distribution system
  Servicing the orbiter+s potable water system
  Repositioning of the waste water dump nozzle
  Tests of the main propulsion system and Ku band antenna
  Orbital maneuvering system functional tests
  Configuring the midbody for the orbiter docking system

WORK SCHEDULED:
  Reconfigure payload bay for ODS installation next month

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 1995 (11:45 AM EST)

KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)

MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3

VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103     
LOCATION: Pad 39B   
LAUNCH DATE/APPROX. TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:48 a.m. EST    
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 6:13 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 5 hours, 25 minutes
CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees

IN WORK TODAY:
o Checkout  spacesuits
o Aft engine compartment close-outs
o Purge external tank

WORK COMPLETED:
o Pre-launch hypergolic pressurization
o Hot fire auxiliary power unit no. 2
o Ordnance installation
o Install spacesuits into orbiter airlock

KEY OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are targeted only):
o Complete orbiter aft engine compartment close-outs (Jan. 29)
o Countdown begins (4:30 p.m. Jan. 29)
o Crew arrival for launch (midnight Jan. 29)
o Tanking (3:55 p.m. Feb. 1)

              KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT

MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 1995 (10:19 AM EST)
LAUNCH MINUS 3 DAYS

KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)

MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3

NOTE: The countdown for mission STS-63 began yesterday at 4:30 p.m. at the
T-43 hour mark for a planned launch of Space Shuttle Discovery at about
12:48 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 2. The countdown will target launch for 12:45
a.m., the earliest possible launch opportunity based on the Mir orbit. The
exact launch time will be adjusted at the T-9 minute hold.The weather
forecast indicates no chance of weather prohibiting launch Thursday
morning. 


VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103     

LOCATION: Pad 39B   
LAUNCH DATE/APPROX. TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:48 a.m. EST    
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 6:13 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 5 hours, 25 minutes
CREW SIZE: 6
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees

IN WORK TODAY:
o Pyrotechnic initiator controller tests
o Begin stowage of flight crew equipment
o Begin final stowage set-ups of Spacehab experiments
o Begin 7 hour operation to load cryogenic reactants into Discovery+s fuel 
        cell storage tanks

WORK COMPLETED:
o Countdown began at 4:30 p.m. Sunday
o Complete orbiter aft engine compartment close-outs
o Crew arrival for launch (11:40 p.m. Sunday)
o Install and checkout spacesuits
o Aft engine compartment close-outs
o Purge external tank

KEY COUNTDOWN MILESTONES:
o Complete cryogenic loading operations (8:30 p.m. Monday)
o Retract rotating service structure (8 a.m. Wednesday)
o Tanking (3:55 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1)

NOTE: For additional details regarding STS-63 countdown milestones, please 
refer to KSC Release No. 6-95.


SUMMARY OF BUILT-IN HOLDS FOR STS-63

T-TIME ------------- LENGTH OF HOLD -------- HOLD BEGINS -------- HOLD ENDS
                                                        
T-27 hours -------  4 hours ---------------8:30 a.m. Mon.------12:30 p.m. Mon.
T-19 hours -------  8 hours ---------------8:30 p.m. Mon.-------4:30 a.m. Tues.
T-11 hours ------  20 hrs.,25 mins. ----- 12:30 p.m. Tues.------8:55 a.m. Wed.
T-6 hours ---------  2 hours --------------1:55 p.m. Wed.------ 3:55 p.m. Wed.
T-3 hours ---------  2 hours --------------6:55 p.m. Wed.------ 8:55 p.m. Wed.
T-20 minutes ---- 10 minutes -------------11:35 p.m. Wed.------11:45 p.m. Wed.
T-9 minutes -----  40 minutes ----------- 11:56 p.m. Wed.------12:36 a.m. Thur



CREW FOR MISSION STS-63

Commander (CDR): James Wetherbee
Pilot (PLT): Eileen Collins
Mission Specialist (MS1): Bernard Harris
Mission Specialist (MS2): Michael Foale
Mission Specialist (MS3): Janice Voss
Mission Specialist (MS4): Vladimir Titov



SUMMARY OF STS-63 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES


Wednesday, Feb. 1
7:20 p.m. Wake up
7:50 p.m. Breakfast and crew photo
8:20 p.m. Weather briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2)
8:20 p.m. Don flight equipment (MS1, MS3, MS4)
8:30 p.m. Don flight equipment (CDR, PLT, MS2)
9:00 p.m. Depart for launch pad 39B
9:30 p.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress
10:45 p.m.  Close crew hatch

Thursday, Feb. 2, 1995

12:48 a.m.  Launch (time estimated)

    RE: Digital's Space Archives -
    http://www-space.lkg.dec.com/space-archives.html
    
    The STS-63 Information center has been added to the home page
    created by Dave Griffin.
    
    [Great job Dave!] 
    
    Bob :-)

              KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
    
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1995 (12:12 PM EST)
LAUNCH MINUS 2 DAYS

KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)

MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3

NOTE:  Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery remains set for about 12:48 a.m. 
Thursday, Feb. 2. The countdown will target launch for 12:45 a.m., the 
earliest possible launch opportunity based on the Mir orbit. The exact 
launch time will be adjusted at the T-9 minute hold.

VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103     
LOCATION: Pad 39B   
LAUNCH DATE/APPROX. TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:48 a.m. EST    
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 6:13 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 5 hours, 25 minutes
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees

     The countdown for mission STS-63 and the launch of Discovery Thursday 
morning continues as planned today. The countdown began Sunday at 4:30 p.m. 
at the T-43 hour mark.
     The pad was cleared yesterday for loading the onboard cryogenic tanks 
with the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen reactants. Reactant loading was 
concluded yesterday evening. The reactants will provide electricity for the 
orbiter and crew while in space and drinking water as a by-product during 
their 8-day mission.
     After the cryogenics were loaded, the orbiter+s mid-body umbilical unit 
was demated and retracted into the fixed service structure. Final vehicle 
and facility close-outs are now underway and the orbiter+s communications 
systems and inertial measurement units are being activated today. Final 
Spacehab stowage will be completed later today.
     Tomorrow, preparations will be made to retract the rotating service 
structure to launch position at about 8 a.m. Loading of the external tank 
with cryogenic propellants is scheduled to begin at about 3:55 p.m. 
Wednesday.
     Air Force weather forecasters are currently indicating a zero percent 
probability of weather prohibiting launch on Thursday. During Thursday+s 
five minute launch window, the winds at Pad B are expected to be from the 
west at 10-15 knots; temperature 48 degrees F; visibility 7 miles; and 
clouds scattered at 25,000-28,000 feet. The 24-hour-delay forecast reveals 
similar conditions with forecasters again listing a zero percent chance of 
violation.
     The six-member astronaut crew arrived at KSC+s Shuttle Landing Facility 
at about 11:40 p.m. Sunday. Today they will be involved with checking out 
their mission plans, fit checks of their equipment and flights in the 
Shuttle Training Aircraft.

NOTE: For additional details regarding STS-63 countdown milestones, please 
refer to KSC Release No. 6-95.

SUMMARY OF BUILT-IN HOLDS FOR STS-63

T-TIME ------------- LENGTH OF HOLD -------- HOLD BEGINS -------- HOLD ENDS

T-27 hours -------  4 hours ------------------------- 8:30 a.m. 
Mon.--------- 12:30 p.m. Mon.
T-19 hours -------  8 hours ------------------------- 8:30 p.m. 
Mon.---------- 4:30 a.m. Tues.
T-11 hours ------  20 hrs.,25 mins. ------------- 12:30 p.m. Tues.---------- 
8:55 a.m. Wed.
T-6 hours ---------  2 hours ------------------------ 1:55 p.m. 
Wed.----------- 3:55 p.m. Wed.
T-3 hours ---------  2 hours ------------------------ 6:55 p.m. 
Wed.----------- 8:55 p.m. Wed.
T-20 minutes ---- 10 minutes -------------------- 11:35 p.m. Wed.--------- 
11:45 p.m. Wed.
T-9 minutes -----  40 minutes -------------------- 11:56 p.m. Wed.--------- 
12:36 a.m. Thurs.


CREW FOR MISSION STS-63

Commander (CDR): James Wetherbee
Pilot (PLT): Eileen Collins
Mission Specialist (MS1): Bernard Harris
Mission Specialist (MS2): Michael Foale
Mission Specialist (MS3): Janice Voss
Mission Specialist (MS4): Vladimir Titov


SUMMARY OF STS-63 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES


Wednesday, Feb. 1
7:20 p.m. Wake up
7:50 p.m. Breakfast and crew photo
8:20 p.m. Weather briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2)
8:20 p.m. Don flight equipment (MS1, MS3, MS4)
8:30 p.m. Don flight equipment (CDR, PLT, MS2)
9:00 p.m. Depart for launch pad 39B
9:30 p.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress
10:45 p.m.     Close crew hatch

Thursday, Feb. 2, 1995
12:48 a.m.     Launch (time estimated)

The Globe this morning says that New Englanders might be able to see the shuttle
shortly after launch from the light of its main engines.  Shortly after it
becomes visible, the engines will cut off (and it will go dark).  Shortly
thereafter, we might see the flash from the ET being jettisoned.  I assume this
flash is from the explosive bolts, though I suppose it might be from the
shuttle's thrusters pulling back from it.

The paper said to look south at 10 degrees above the horizon at about 12:54. 
Assuming the current clouds go away, of course.  This is pretty low, but some
of you might manage.

Burns

RE: <<< Note 924.29 >>>

This caught my eye, sorry for the digression:

>     Air Force weather forecasters are currently indicating a zero percent 
>probability of weather prohibiting launch on Thursday.

ZERO percent chance? As in, it is absolutely impossible that the weather could
do something to prohibit launch? Seems far fetched to me!
						-- Tom

    I saw that too, it would appear that they feel *extremely*
    confident of this. :-) The weather is most volatile in the
    Florida coast area in the afternoon to evening window. The
    sun has been beating  down on ground surface, & clouds, and
    this is the cause for sudden build up of clouds capable of
    rain, lightning, hail etc. Late night to morning launches 
    have the greatest chance of getting off because the air - ground
    temperatures are the most stable and have the least chance of
    creating sudden thermal changes, which would manifest in inclement
    weather. So, seeing as how Florida has it's lowest sun incination
    this time of the year, and that it's mostly clear, and it's a
    late night launch, I ain't gonna dispute their high degree of
    confidence in getting the launch off! :-)
    
    Bob

              KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1995 (9:43 AM EST)
LAUNCH MINUS 1 DAY

KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)

MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3

NOTE:  Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery remains set for about 12:48 a.m. 
Thursday, Feb. 2. The countdown will target launch for 12:45 a.m., the
earliest possible launch opportunity based on the Mir orbit. The exact
launch time will be adjusted at the T-9 minute hold. 

VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103     

LOCATION: Pad 39B   
LAUNCH DATE/APPROX. TIME: Feb. 2, 1995 at 12:48 a.m. EST    
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Feb. 10 at 6:13 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 5 hours, 25 minutes
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees

     The countdown for mission STS-63 and the launch of Discovery Thursday
morning continues as planned today. No technical issues are being worked
by the management team and no problems are being reported from the pad. 
     The rotating service structure was moved into launch position at
about 8 a.m. today. Other operations today include: activate the fuel
cells, perform pre-ingress switch list, configure communications at
mission control in Houston and clear the pad for external tank loading.
Loading of the external tank with cryogenic propellants is scheduled to
begin at about 3:55 p.m. today. 
     Air Force weather forecasters are currently indicating a zero percent
probability of weather prohibiting launch on Thursday. During Thursday+s
five minute launch window, the winds at Pad B are expected to be from the
west at 10-15 knots; temperature 48 degrees F; visibility 7 miles; and
clouds scattered at 25,000-28,000 feet. The 24-hour-delay forecast reveals
similar conditions with forecasters again listing a zero percent chance of
violation. 
     Today, the six-member astronaut crew will be given a briefing on
tomorrow morning+s launch weather outlook at Kennedy Space Center and the
TransAtlantic abort sites in Spain and Africa. Also today, the crew will
make last minute adjustments to their flight plans while completing their
review of launch day activities. Tonight, the crew will depart for Launch
Pad 39B at about 9 p.m. 

NOTE: For additional details regarding STS-63 countdown milestones, please
refer to KSC Release No. 6-95. 


SUMMARY OF BUILT-IN HOLDS FOR STS-63 

T-TIME ------LENGTH OF HOLD -----HOLD BEGINS -------HOLD ENDS

T-27 hours ----4 hours -----------8:30 a.m. Mon.----12:30 p.m. Mon.
T-19 hours ----8 hours -----------8:30 p.m. Mon.-----4:30 a.m. Tues.
T-11 hours ---20 hrs.,25 mins.---12:30 p.m. Tues.----8:55 a.m. Wed.
T-6 hours -----2 hours -----------1:55 p.m. Wed.-----3:55 p.m. Wed.
T-3 hours -----2 hours -----------6:55 p.m. Wed.-----8:55 p.m. Wed.
T-20 minutes -10 minutes --------11:35 p.m. Wed.----11:45 p.m. Wed.
T-9 minutes --40 minutes --------11:56 p.m. Wed.----12:36 a.m. Thurs.


CREW FOR MISSION STS-63

Commander (CDR): James Wetherbee
Pilot (PLT): Eileen Collins
Mission Specialist (MS1): Bernard Harris
Mission Specialist (MS2): Michael Foale
Mission Specialist (MS3): Janice Voss
Mission Specialist (MS4): Vladimir Titov


SUMMARY OF STS-63 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES


Wednesday, Feb. 1
7:20 p.m. Wake up
7:50 p.m. Breakfast and crew photo
8:20 p.m. Weather briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2)
8:20 p.m. Don flight equipment (MS1, MS3, MS4)
8:30 p.m. Don flight equipment (CDR, PLT, MS2)
9:00 p.m. Depart for launch pad 39B
9:30 p.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress
10:45 p.m.     Close crew hatch

Thursday, Feb. 2, 1995
12:48 a.m.     Launch (time estimated)

    Tuned into NASA Select and during supper was watching some
    video simulations of some of the key events on the STS-63 flight.
    At 7:00 they switched to some of their usual collection of
    educational programs until 8:00. Then a full screen message
    came on stating that the shuttle flight is being delayed for
    24 hours and that Nasa Select TV coverage would begin at 
    7:00 pm Thursday leading up to launch at about the same time as 
    had been planned for tonight. No reason was given for the delay.
    
    Bob

    Nope, the only thing I picked up on later on the 11:00 local
    news was that a faulty navigation unit was the cause of the delay.
    They didn't say whether the navigation unit was in the shuttle
    proper, or whether it really means a supporting piece of ground
    equipment critical to receipt of navigation telemetry from/to
    the shuttle. At least the weather will be clearer here in the
    Boston area for those who want to go out in the frigid cold
    on a hill with a southern exposure (to the same frigid cold), and
    look for the shuttle engine burn as it swings by 10 deg altitude
    or so. The weather predictios her are for the temperature to
    plumment to 5 deg F tonight.....burrrrrr.
    
    Bob

Yep, it was one of the 3 inertial measurement units on the shuttle.

Burns

              KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1995 (10:45 AM EST)
LAUNCH MINUS 1 DAY

KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham - 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)

MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3

VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103     
LOCATION: Pad 39B   
*LAUNCH DATE/APPROX. TIME: Feb. 3, 1995 at 12:22 a.m. EST  
LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
* KSC LANDING DATE/APPROX. TIME: Feb. 11 at 5:49 a.m.
* MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 5 hours, 27 minutes
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.60 degrees

* Change from yesterday+s status

NOTE: The countdown for mission STS-63 and the launch of Discovery was
postponed for 24 hours yesterday when one of three inertial measurement
units (IMU no. 2) failed during its normal power-up activation phase. The
replacement IMU was installed last night. Initial replacement and
calibrations indicate the new unit is working properly. Final IMU
activation procedures will be completed by early this afternoon. No other
technical issues are being worked by the management team and no problems
are being reported from the pad. About five mid-deck lockers are being
replaced this morning as a result of the scrub. 
     Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery is now set for about 12:22 a.m.
EDT, Friday, Feb. 3. The countdown will target launch for 12:21 a.m., the
earliest possible launch opportunity based on the Mir orbit. The exact
launch time will be adjusted at the T-9 minute hold. 
     Other operations being worked today include: activate the fuel cells,
perform pre-ingress switch list, configure communications at mission
control in Houston and clear the pad for external tank loading. Loading of
the external tank with cryogenic propellants is scheduled to begin at
about 3:30 p.m. today. Tanking could begin about 30 minutes earlier than
planned if work at the pad to prepare for tanking is complete. 
     Air Force weather forecasters are currently continuing to indicate a
zero percent probability of weather prohibiting launch on Friday. During
Friday+s five minute launch window, the winds at Pad B are expected to be
from the west at 8-12 knots; temperature 49 degrees F; visibility 7 miles; 
and clouds scattered at 25,000-28,000 feet. The 24-hour-delay forecast
reveals similar conditions with forecasters again listing a zero percent
chance of violation. 
     Today, the six-member astronaut crew will be given a briefing on
tomorrow morning+s launch weather outlook at Kennedy Space Center and the
TransAtlantic abort sites in Spain and Africa. Also today, the crew will
make last minute adjustments to their flight plans while completing their
review of launch day activities. Tonight, the crew will depart for Launch
Pad 39B at about 8:36 p.m. 


NOTE: For additional details regarding STS-63 countdown milestones, please
refer to KSC Release No. 6-95. 


SUMMARY OF BUILT-IN HOLDS FOR STS-63

T-TIME ------------- LENGTH OF HOLD -------- HOLD BEGINS -------- HOLD ENDS

T-11 hours  ------------------------------------------------8:31 a.m. Thurs.
T-6 hours ---------  2 hours ------------1:31 p.m. Thurs.---3:31 p.m. Thurs.
T-3 hours ---------  2 hours ------------6:31 p.m. Thurs.---8:31 p.m. Thurs.
T-20 minutes ---- 10 minutes -----------11:11 p.m. Thurs.--11:21 p.m. Thurs.
T-9 minutes -----  40 minutes ----------11:32 p.m. Thurs.--12:12 a.m. Fri.


CREW FOR MISSION STS-63

Commander (CDR): James Wetherbee
Pilot (PLT): Eileen Collins
Mission Specialist (MS1): Bernard Harris
Mission Specialist (MS2): Michael Foale
Mission Specialist (MS3): Janice Voss
Mission Specialist (MS4): Vladimir Titov


SUMMARY OF STS-63 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES


Thursday, Feb. 2
6:56 p.m. Wake up
7:26 p.m. Breakfast and crew photo
7:56 p.m. Weather briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2)
7:56 p.m. Don flight equipment (MS1, MS3, MS4)
8:06 p.m. Don flight equipment (CDR, PLT, MS2)
8:36 p.m. Depart for launch pad 39B
9:06 p.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress
10:21 p.m. Close crew hatch

Friday, Feb. 3, 1995
12:22 a.m. Launch (time estimated)

NOTE: The orbiter Endeavour will roll over to the Vehicle Assembly Building 
about 90 minutes following launch of Discovery.

The launch went off last night exactly on schedule.  AND I SAW IT !  (I think).

I went outside at T+7 and looked due south.  At just about T+8 a light appeared
over the horizon moving rapidly along the horizon toward the east.  Within about
20 seconds, the light went out.  By now, I projected its position to be behind
some trees, but as I followed with my eyes, I saw a flash of light behind a
tree.  The ET jettison, maybe?

Anyway, I wish I had had a radio with the mission audio so I could really
confirm what I saw by telling whether the light appeared to go out at the same
time as MECO.  I guess it could have been a plane, but it seemed to be moving
awfully fast and seemed awfully bright for something that was so silent.

Burns

Sorry, I forgot to mention...this was in northern Nashua, NH.

Also, apparently no sooner had they reached orbit than a couple of the RCS
thrusters failed/leaked.  The news said that this may mean they can't get closer
than 1000 ft from MIR.  I suppose that means these are the thrusters that they
need to use in the new rendezvous technique.

Burns

    I think I may have seen something too, but it was for a very
    brief period. I have one place along my southern tree line where
    there is a gap that allows viewing down to within about 5 deg of
    the horizon. I had NASA Select on (courtesy of our local cable's
    educational access channel), and I started looking out my dining
    room window with a pair of binocs (which faces south), towards that 
    gap which is at about an azimuth of 165 degrees. I thought I saw 
    something flash, but didn't see anything prior to this which could
    have been interpreted as the shuttle main engines.
    I then went back to the TV to watch the replays, and listen to
    the comm as they proceeded over Italy, and towards the ZOE. Shortly
    after they came out of the ZOE, I determined that the shuttle was
    abotu 40 minutes behind MIR. So when I got up this morning, I went
    outside and saw MIR make a NNW to ESE pass at about 6:10-6:18.
    I went back inside gulped some OJ, and cereal, knowing that it
    would be too bright out by the time that the Shuttle passed through
    roughly the same track.
    Given the snow storm heading this way, (Murphy's law), we won't get 
    a chance to see the shuttle chase MIR for the next two days at least. :-(
    
    Bob

I *know* I saw it...   My son and I stepped out on the balcony at MECO
-30 seconds and there it was...  The light stopped right when MECO was
scheduled -- "confirming" the sighting.

Now to see one less than a few hundred miles away!


- dave


p.s.  I know the delay was a pain, but it was worth it for little ol' me!

Dave, what color was it?  Was there any reddish component to it?  Did you see a
flash 20-30 seconds after MECO?

Neat!

Burns

    Damn!  I'm going to have to cut down a lot of trees!  ;-)
    I watched the launch on CNN, and then bundled up and stepped 
    out on my porch.  But I've got tree's all around my house
    and they cover to at least 30 degrees.  What with the winter
    and all, I can catch glimpses of things through the bare limbs,
    but I didn't see anything I would definitely say was the shuttle.
    At one point I saw something that almost looked comet like,
    but noone has mentioned anything along those lines, so it
    was probably my eyes playing tricks with stars and moving
    branches.  Saw a plan in the last year or so in Sky and Telescope
    for building an observatory in the treetop levels.  That 
    would do the trick!  
    
    PeterT
    

    Has anybody been able to get elements for the shuttle?
    Our cluster access to the LKG home page is not currently
    working, and this morning when it was working, I did not
    find anything posted either on the lkg space archives home
    page, nor on Spacelink. I also looked on archive.afit.af.mil/pub/space
    and nothing's been posted there either. Also nothing has been
    posted in any of the appropriate newsgroups either.
    
    Bob

Hi Burns,


Yes, it did have a reddish hue to it (it was a tiny bit surprising, considering
the blue-white color normally associated with the SSME's).


I didn't see a flash after MECO, but because our view basically had the
shuttle passing through branches of trees I could have easily missed a
flash.   When I walked back in the house they were reporting a clean
ET sep, so if the pyros were visible I missed them.

I did my viewing from Maynard, MA.


- dave

The elements are available in the infocenter...  (I just picked them up)


Here's a snapshot:

STS-63
1 23469U 95004A   95034.66295111  .00130549  00000-0  12842-3 0    43
2 23469  51.6455 107.1862 0016707 292.1436  67.7759 15.75151023    84

Satellite: STS-63
Catalog number: 23469
Epoch time:      95034.66295111   =    (03-Feb-95   15:54:38.97 UTC)
Element set:     004
Inclination:       51.6455 deg
RA of node:       107.1862 deg            Space Shuttle Flight STS-63
Eccentricity:     .0016707               Keplerian element set JSC-004
Arg of perigee:   292.1436 deg           from NASA flight Day  1 vector
Mean anomaly:      67.7759 deg
Mean motion:   15.75151023 rev/day                Gil Carman
Decay rate:    1.30549e-03 rev/day^2       NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev:               8
Checksum:              296

Is this the catchup phase, or how it will be when the rendezvous has been 
accomplished. ??

re Note 924.39 by SKYLAB::FISHER:

> I went outside at T+7 and looked due south.  At just about T+8 a light appeared
> over the horizon moving rapidly along the horizon toward the east.  Within about
> 20 seconds, the light went out.  By now, I projected its position to be behind
> some trees, but as I followed with my eyes, I saw a flash of light behind a
> tree.  The ET jettison, maybe?
  
        My wife, daughter, and I dashed out and drove a mile to a
        farmer's field.  We had an unobstructed view, and saw the
        same kind of thing reported here (we were in Groton, MA).

        I would describe the color as orangish white (perhaps due to
        being low on the horizon?).  I'm pretty sure I saw at least
        two flashes at the end.

        It was worth dashing out of the house after midnight on a
        cold, dark night!

        Bob

The rendezvous with Mir is to be today sometime.  At one point it was to be this
afternoon, but I don't know if that may have changed.  BTW, the elements listed
earlier may not be particularly valid, since they have been maneuvering.  Find
the elements for Mir, and the shuttle won't be far off.

BTW, I heard it reported this morning that Titov thought that he was able to see
Mir, so they are apparently getting close.  They won't be as close as they would
like, however.  On of the RCS thrusters is still leaking, so Russia does not
want them to get closer than 400 feet to avoid contaminating the optics on the
attached Salyut.

Burns

Rendezvous is scheduled for just after noon (12:16), Central US time.  That is
what, 1816 GMT?  

    >>                                              BTW, the elements listed
    >>earlier may not be particularly valid, since they have been maneuvering.  
    >>Find the elements for Mir, and the shuttle won't be far off.
    
    I expected the elements to not hold true through the weekend, but they
    were useful in trying out a new feature on my STSORBIT PLUS software.
    The 9445 rev of the tracking software allows you to track multiple
    satellites simutaneously. The elements for STS-63 stayed within about
    400-500 miles behind where it really was shown to be on NASA Select.
    I didn't wake up early enough though to watch for MIR yesterday or
    this morning.
    
    Bob

It appears that they are going to actually do the close approach to MIR despite
the leaking thruster.  I'm not sure why.  It appears that they turned off the
entire manifold servicing the leaking thruster, but I was under the impression
that they needed other thrusters on the cluster to do the approach.  

OTOH, I may be misunderstanding what mission control is saying.

Burns

They're within 1100' and slightly below.  Weatherbee (I think) just said,
"Houston, this is the most beautiful thing *I've* seen in space."  Story
Musgrave in Houston replied, "Copy".  Geez.

Also, the Mir crew reported that they would see Weatherbee in the window.  
Weatherbee waved at them.

Burns

Deep down, I knew I should have called in sick today....

Sigh!

- dave

If you have a dish, yes.  Otherwise, my wife reports that I am getting a
wonderful tape of the OJ Simpson trial on CNN.

Sigh also...

Burns

So this weekend I tune into Channel 13 on my cable system (Grafton, MA with
Greater Media Cable).  I'm supposed to get NASA Select (at least I have been
getting it for the past several months).  Only this weekend there's a message on
the screen "Channel 13 is off the air due to the predicted snow storm..." 
Ahhhhhhhhhh!  Wasn't back as of around 9:00 p.m. Sunday night either.  :-(

RE: Burns.  Yeah, the OJ Simpson trial.  Now there's news worthy of primetime
air time.  NOT!  A pretty sad commentary on what's important to the American
public.  Nobody cares about US-Russian cooperation in space, but you can bet
it's important to show Robert Shapiro grill Denise Brown until she has an
emotional breakdown.  :-(  But I digress...

...Roger...

re Note 924.53 by SKYLAB::FISHER:

> It appears that they are going to actually do the close approach to MIR despite
> the leaking thruster.  I'm not sure why.  It appears that they turned off the
> entire manifold servicing the leaking thruster, but I was under the impression
> that they needed other thrusters on the cluster to do the approach.  
> 
> OTOH, I may be misunderstanding what mission control is saying.
  
        That seems to be the implication of the NASA STS-63 Web page:

        http://www.ksc.nasa.gov./shuttle/missions/sts-63/mission-sts-63.html

        "At 2/6/95 at 12:06 CST (.9ft/sec and 960ft from MIR),
        Discovery switched to a Low-Z attitude mode that restricts
        RCS thrusters firings that point away from the MIR space
        station. Discovery is slightly in front of and below MIR. At
        12:22pm CST, Discovery matched the velocity vector of MIR and
        linked up orbits at 422ft. Both Discovery and MIR downlinked
        video of each other from close proximity. It will station
        keep at this location for about 1 hour before moving in to
        closest approach at 10meters. The current time to move closer
        is set for 13:23 CST but this may be moved up."

        That page is getting updated frequently.

        Bob

        "The close approach operations went as planned and acheived a
        distance of 37 feet between the top of the SpaceHab module
        and the surface of the KVANT-1 module. Discovery then backed
        out to 400 feet and started MIR/Fly around operations. At
        3:13pm CST Discovery initiated the burn that would seperate
        Discovery from MIR. As the two spacecraft seperated,
        Discovery gathered data that will be used for the MIR Docking
        approach on STS-71."

        from:

        http://www.ksc.nasa.gov./shuttle/missions/sts-63/mission-sts-63.html

    In Westford our local educational access would switch to NASA
    Select during off hours from school-time airing of MCET broadcasts
    (the Mass-Learnpike satellite channel). This past weekend after the
    snowstorm, the dish (which is located at the Westford High School,
    and maintained by the High School Media Center), developed a lot
    of snow (excuse the pun), and sparklies. I'm sure the dish was 
    weighted down with a few extra pounds of snow and ice, tilting the
    dish a few fractions of a degree away from Spacenet 2. This morning
    before I left the house, the signal was a little better, but I'm
    sure the dish was cleaned off and moved over to the other bird
    during the day-time for MCET broadcasts. I hope the Media Center
    supervisor at the school moves the dish back to Spacenet 2 before
    leaving for the day. At least I may see replays of the days highlights
    or replays of some portion of the rendezvous.
    
    Bob

I'm surprised they left it there over the weekend!   I stowed Maynard's
dish in the "snow storm ready" position -- as nearly as vertical as I
can get it, to avoid damaging the unit.

No NASA over the weekend, but at least I know the dish is safe....


- dave

    Could some of the usual "element set heads" give a series of
    Mir/Shuttle predictions so we might brave the New England cold and see
    them cross. I'd love to see a "paired" crossing to get a feel for
    relative brightness.

    Well, there was a paired crossing this morning. From my location
    in Westford they passed from WNW to ESE with it highest elevation
    a little over 60 deg or so. The two satellites were supposed to
    come out of earth shadow somewhere at just about due west and an
    elevation above the horizon of about 30 deg. There were some clouds
    in the western sky, and it was thin in spots sas I could see some
    stars. The time was at about 5:30am. I had set my alarm and looked
    out my bedroom window and at first glance didn't see any stars. Instead
    of hopping back under the covers, I went to another window which gave
    me a view out to the south and saw stars up to zenith. So I threw on
    some clothes, bundled all up and went out at roughly 5:30 or a little
    before, and waited. Sure enough, at about 5:34, first the Shuttle, 
    and then about a fist&1/4 (at arms length), behind came MIR. It was
    still dark enough and the clouds in the western direction were vague
    enough, so I couldn't tell exactly where they came out of earth
    shadow, and where they may have come out of the clouds. The altitude
    above horizon seemed about right for where they should have popped
    out of shadow. The Shuttle was roughly a mag -2 and Mir looked like
    a mag 1. I followed them until they faded into another bank of clouds
    in the SE direction. Seeing them together was *worth* standing out
    in the -3 degree cold. Fortunately, there was no wind to chill the
    event. 
    
    Bob
    PS:
    RE: 924.63 RANGER::REITH  - Give me your location and I'll try to
    post something for the next couple of days. Although I don't have
    any way of running a prediction for tomorrow morning from work, I could
    run it for the day after tomorrow tonight. My observation is though that
    the shuttle & space station are regressing westward, and earlier in
    the morning such that they are passing through the New England area
    in the next couple of days lower in the western sky and also too early
    to be lit by sunlight. The mornings over the past weekend were probably
    the best viewing, and the sky's were cloudy for the most part around
    here. 
    
    

Well I watched the replays and they were fantastic...

There was lots of video from both Mir and Discovery (sometimes simultaneously).

For the first time, it felt like 2001 was coming true (except that real life
is even slower than that movie!).

The IMAX movie from this is going to be breathtaking!


- dave

Yes, Greater Media came through!  Channel 13 is back on the air and I got to see
the shuttle/MIR rendez-vous last night.  As Dave said, it was fantastic!

Now if only I had remembered to set my alarm for this morning to see the pair
fly overhead.  Oh well.

...Roger...

    Yep, I forgot to mention that I too got to see the replay of
    the days highlights, which included footage of video from both
    MIR and STS-63 of the approach, the circling of MIR by the shuttle
    and the back-away. The video of MIR as seen by the shuttle, with
    the earth and the earth's horizon, *was* fantastic!
    Dave, you mentioned the IMAX video. I must have missed reading
    that they were going to carry the IMAX camera with them on this
    flight. BTW, before I left for work, the shuttle crew had grabbed
    SPARTEN in the payload bay with the arm, unberthed it, and were about 
    to release it when I left the house.
    I've often wondered how they configure the solar arrays on MIR so
    they get maximum sun. It looked like they have a set of arrays facing
    one axix and another set facing at a 90 deg angle from the other set,
    so no matter how they orbit and orient the space station, there is
    a set of arrays receiving some sun all the time (except of course on
    the half of the orbit in darkness). :-)
    
    Bob
    

Actually, CNN came through too.  During a break in the OJ trial, they showed
some pretty good pictures.  Of course we had to have their jerky commentators
making their uneducated guesses about stuff.  Sigh.  At least Miles O'Brian (no,
not of Star Trek) has some knowledge about it.

Burns

re IMAX:  Yep.  Its use is not listed as a flight objective, but it is listed in
the payload on the WWW page.

Burns

Thanks for the report Bob. I'm down in pathworks on the floor below you. I think
we've actually me once as a mutual friend brought me by. home is Southbridge.
The Connecticut border, west of Worcester where Rt84 comes up to meet the pike.
I've always had good luck following your predictions in the past.

Jim

    RE: Solar panels - 
    
    Looked to me on the video replay that the solar panels rotated to keep
    aligned to the sun - you could see them rotating on their mount as
    Discovery got close in - So with two sets of solar panels on different
    axis (axiis??) plus the rotating of the panel on its mount, it looks
    like Mir can keep aligned easily with the SUN for max power -
    
    BTW, I have purchased a book that describes the MIR in detail from a
    private company in Russia with sales outfit in the US.  If I remember
    to bring the invoice to work, I'll post the address, phone etc.  The
    book is called "A colorful history of Cosmonautics" and comes with MIR
    foldouts with all modules as well as several posters on launch vehicles
    etc etc.
    
    cs

    re .-1
    
    For the record, the plural of axis is axes.

    Re .72
    The singular of axes is
    axis or
    axe or
    ax                   :-)
    
    I'm green with envy reading about you lot seeing this stuff on TV - we
    have had about 2 minutes on TV here in England.
    
    Dave
    

 
MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #1
 
Friday, February 3, 1995, 6:30 a.m. CST
 
The first shuttle mission of the year is well underway as the STS-63 crew
prepares for the first jet firing in a sequence of maneuvers that enable
Discovery to rendezvous with the Russian Space Station Mir on Monday. 
 
Discovery began its 20th flight at 11:22 p.m. Central, with an on-time
launch from the Kennedy Space Center. The trip to orbit went smoothly, but
shortly after reaching space, a leak was detected in one of the reaction
control system jets. 
 
Though thruster leaks are a common occurrence, the leaky jet is slightly
more of a concern for STS-63 because of the Mir rendezvous.  Flight rules
for mission dictate that Discovery must have all its aft firing thrusters
operational before it moves within 1,000 feet of Mir.  In past missions,
leaks frequently cleared themselves once the jets were warmed by either
thruster firings or the sun. Subsequently, flight controllers asked
Commander Jim Wetherbee to position the orbiter so that sun would shine on
the top side of the vehicle for several hours to help warm up the leaking
jet. 
 
Currently, controllers are proceeding with the rendezvous as planned but
will continue to watch the leak. The rendezvous sequence will begin later
this morning when crew members will fire the orbiters steering jets to
adjust its altitude and slowly close in on Mir. Discovery is currently
about 7,000 miles behind the Russian space station. 
 
Earlier today, crew members completed the activation of the Spacehab
module and began working with the experiments housed inside. Twenty
different experiments ranging from protein crystal growth to a robotics
demonstration comprise the STS-63 Spacehab payload complement. 
 
Checkouts of the robot arm also went smoothly.  The arm will be used later
in the mission to position and deploy the Spartan-204 payload for its far
ultraviolet measurements of the space phenomena. 
 
The crew will conclude its first day in orbit at 11:22 a.m. Central. 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 

 
MISSION CONTROL CENTER  
STS-63 Status Report #2  
  
Friday, February 3, 1995, 1: 15 p.m. CST  
  
As the six astronauts on board Discovery sleep, ground controllers 
in Houston are continuing to prepare for Monday's rendezvous with 
Russia's Mir space station.  
  
Controllers are monitoring a leaky reaction control system thruster, 
but so far, the steering jet does not pose an obstacle to the 
rendezvous.  
  
Shortly after Discovery reached orbit, ground controllers informed 
the crew that a right aft reaction control system jet had developed a 
small leak. The thruster is losing between 1-2 pounds of propellant 
every hour, a manageable loss according to mission managers. 
Earlier indications showed a loss of 2-3 pounds. Temperatures on 
the thruster remain constant at about 54 degrees Fahrenheit. If the 
temperature drops below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, controllers may 
have to close a manifold that supplies propellant to the leaking jet.  
  
Closing that valve would preclude the use of another healthy 
maneuvering jet which is to be used for close-in maneuvering 
around Mir. In that case, Discovery would not Discovery would not 
maneuver any closer than 1,000 feet from Mir.  
  
Flight controllers continue to monitor the jet's status and to 
investigate options for further minimizing or containing the leak.  
  
Earlier today, Commander Jim Wetherbee executed the first of 
several maneuvering burns that will take place over the next few 
days as Discovery prepares to rendezvous with the orbiting Mir 
space station.  
  
Crew members also activated the Spacehab module and began 
working with the experiments housed inside. Twenty different 
experiments ranging from protein crystal growth to a robotics 
demonstration comprise the STS-63 Spacehab payload 
complement. The astronauts also conducted a photographic survey 
of Discovery's payload bay using the shuttle's robot arm.   
  
All other systems on board Discovery continue to function well as 
the orbiter circles the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 189 
by 180 nautical miles.  
 
 

 
MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #3
 
Saturday, February 4, 1995, 8:30 a.m. CST
 
With each orbit, Discovery edged closer to Monday's rendezvous with the Russian
space station Mir, as the six STS-63 crew members wrap up a busy day of work
with the mission's payloads.
 
One of the first tasks for the crew during its second day is space was to deploy
the Orbital Debris and Radar Calibration Spheres, or ODERACS, from a canister in
the shuttle's cargo bay.  The three spheres and three wire strands, all of
varying sizes and composition,  were released from Discovery on time at about
10:57 p.m. CST Friday and will be used to fine-tune ground radars and optics
worldwide that track space debris.  The spheres and wires may remain in orbit
for times ranging from as short as 20 days to 280 days.
 
Mission Specialist and Russian Cosmonaut Vladimir Titov later used the shuttle's
mechanical arm to lift the SPARTAN-204 satellite from the cargo bay shortly 
after midnight for several hours of studying the shuttle glow phenomenon and
shuttle steering jet firings.  Shuttle glow is an effect created by the
interaction of the shuttle's surfaces with atomic oxygen in low Earth orbit
and is being observed on the mission by the Far Ultraviolet Imaging 
Spectrometer aboard SPARTAN.  Following the conclusion of the 
SPARTAN-204 operations, the satellite was latched down in the payload bay.
 
Also today, crew members checked out the equipment that will be used for
Monday's rendezvous with the Mir space station.  All the equipment is in good
working order and ready to support the rendezvous.
 
Throughout the day, Discovery has continued to close the distance with Mir at a
rate of about 180 nautical miles with each orbit.  Discovery is now in an orbit
of 200 by 182 nautical miles, about 4,400 miles behind Mir.
 
One of Discovery's steering jets continues to slowly leak propellant, but the
leak has had no impact on the mission.  Flight controllers are continuing to
evaluate if it will pose any problem for the planned close approach to Mir.
 

 
MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #5
 
 
Sunday, February 5, 1995, 10 a.m. CST
 
Flight control teams in Houston and Kaliningrad, Russia, are busy 
putting the final touches on plans for Monday's rendezvous of the Space 
Shuttle Discovery and the Space Station Mir.
 
Discovery is expected to catch up with the Russian space station Monday 
morning, but mission managers are still discussing how close the orbiter 
will come to the Mir. The original plan calls for Discovery to come 
within 33 feet of the Mir complex, but because of a leaking steering 
thruster, controllers also are looking at back-up plans for having the 
shuttle fly around Mir at a distance of 400 feet. Mission managers in 
both countries are continuing to work toward a consensus.
 
In an attempt to stop the leak, Commander Jim Wetherbee and Pilot Eileen 
Collins closed and reopened the manifold of the leaky thruster several 
times. The same procedure was used to clear a leak in a thruster on the 
nose of the orbiter earlier in the day, but the procedure was not as 
successful for this one. The crew will attempt to stop the leak one more 
time later today. 
 
Meanwhile in the Spacehab module, activities with its 20 experiments are 
progressing smoothly.  Among those activities, crew members tested a 
small robot called Charlotte. Designed by McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, 
Charlotte is designed to service other experiments in the absence of the 
crew. The robot moves along cables and has the capability to change 
experiment samples and perform many routine procedures.
 
The crew also activated an experiment that studies how materials burn in 
weightlessness. In this instance, the Solid Surface Combustion 
Experiment is examining how Plexiglas burns.
 
Discovery, which is in a 200 by 182 nautical mile orbit, is less than 
2,000 nautical miles behind Mir and is closing that distance by about 
190 nautical miles per orbit.
 
 

 
MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #6
 
 
Sunday, February 5, 1995, 5 p.m. CST
 
As the six astronauts on board Discovery sleep, the shuttle continues to
close in on Mir in anticipation of a rendezvous and flyaround of the space
station. 
 
Flight control teams both in Houston and Kaliningrad, Russia, are working
together to refine tomorrow's rendezvous plan. The teams are looking at
plans that would bring Discovery within either 33 or 400 feet. A final
decision on how close Discovery will approach Mir will be made early
Monday morning. 
 
Concerns over a leaking right aft maneuvering jet continue to be addressed
by both teams of flight controllers. Earlier today, Commander Jim
Wetherbee and Pilot Eileen Collins closed and reopened the jet manifold
several times in an attempt to stop the leak, but those attempts were not
successful. Shortly before the crew went to sleep, the manifold was
closed. 
 
The crew will receive a wake-up call at 11:21 p.m. CST to begin Flight Day
4 on the first mission for an American shuttle to rendezvous with Russia's
space station. 
 
Discovery is in a 208 by 197 nautical mile orbit, less than 1,000 nautical
miles behind Mir and closing that distance by about 78 miles with each
orbit. 
 

Below are upcoming passes remaining over the central-eastern Mass. area
for MIR before STS-63 & MIR disappear from morning viewing.

Aquisition of Satellite  | Highest Elevation  | Loss of satellite | Pass Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Date    EST Time  Azm    EST Time  Alt Azm    EST Time  Azm      Duration
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2/8/95  04:38:11  304.8  04:43:26  64  32.0   04:48:39  117.6    0:10:28
2 2/8/95  06:14:41  289.2  06:19:18  15  227.3  06:23:52  165.8    0:09:41

3 2/9/95  05:17:32  296.7  05:22:56  31  222.1  05:27:57  147.8    0:10:05

4 2/10/95 04:21:!3  301.7  04:26:28  67  216.6  04:31:40  131.5    0:10:27
5 2/10/95 05:58:15  279.1  06:02:04   7  231.9  06:05:50  185.2    0:07:35

6 2/11/95 05:01:06  289.9  05:05:46  16  226.9  05:10:22  164.3    0:09:16


#1 MIR pops out of shadow @ approx 4:44am alt 34 deg, azm 101 deg.
   I'm guessing here as I didn't have an up todate state vector
   when I ran this last night, but I would get out there as much as 
   15 minutes earlier to see STS-63 ahead of MIR.

#4 MIR pops out of shadow @ approx 4:29am alt 13 deg azm 134 deg.
   Same thing holds true here, get out there as much as 15 minutes 
   earlier ahead of MIR to see STS-63.

#6 This passage was thrown in if the Shuttle needs to stay up an extra day,
   and this would be when MIR passes through. Get out 10-15 minutes 
   earlier to see STS-63.

Unless a newer set of state vectors of STS-63 changed, the set I've 
used show that STS-63 moved away from MIR in front and lower in altitude 
from MIR. Now last night when I was watching NASA Select, it appeared that 
the shuttle is double-digits nautical miles below MIR and still separating.
Ergo, the separation is slower than STSORBIT PLUS was giving me which had
the shuttle in the thousand miles or so of separation below and in front.
There is also a burn planned today or tomorrow to re-capture SPARTEN, so
the actual location of the shuttle relative to MIR is still dynamic.

Bob

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #7


Monday, February 6, 1995, 7 a.m. CST

Discovery's crew has begun preparations for a close encounter with the
Russian Mir space station this afternoon, although two possible plans for
the rendezvous exist -- one that would have Discovery move to about 35
feet from Mir at its closest point and another that would have Discovery
remain about 400 feet from Mir. 

Regardless of how close Discovery approaches the station, for either plan,
Discovery will fire its engines at 8:16 a.m. central and again at 9:02
a.m. central in maneuvers designed to decrease the present rate -- 79
nautical miles per orbit -- that the shuttle is closing in on the station. 
Next, Discovery will fire its engines at 10:37 a.m. central, when the
shuttle is about 8 nautical miles from Mir, to begin the final phase of
the rendezvous.  Discovery will arrive at a point about 400 feet directly
in front of Mir at 12:16 p.m. central. 

For the plan which has Discovery stay 400 feet from Mir, the shuttle would
then begin a flyaround of Mir at 1:30 p.m., circling the station
completely by about 2:16 p.m. and firing its engines to depart the
vicinity of the station at 2:28 p.m. 

Under a plan where Discovery would approach to 35 feet from Mir, Discovery
would reach that closest point to the station at 1:20 p.m.  The shuttle
would then back away and reach a point 400 feet distant again at about 2
p.m..  Discovery would begin a flyaround of Mir from a distance of 400
feet at 2:26 p.m., completing the circle and firing its engines to
separate from the vicinity at 3:13 p.m. 

Which plan will ultimately be used depends on an evaluation of a leaking
right aft maneuvering jet aboard Disocvery that is ongoing by both shuttle
flight controllers and Mir flight controllers.  A final decision is
expected as the morning progresses, although both rendezvous plans are
identical until 12:16 p.m. central, the time when Discovery arrives a a
point 400 feet from Mir. 

--end--

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #8


Monday, February 6, 1995, 9:30 a.m. CST

Discovery's crew was given a "go" to fly within 35 feet of the Russian Mir
space station at 9:25 a.m. CST. Mission Specialist Vladimir Titov already
is in radio contact with his countrymen on the space station. 

CAPCOM Story Musgrave relayed the decision to Commander Jim Wetherbee on
board the space shuttle, along with several conditions relating to a leaky
steering thruster that had raised the question of whether Discovery would
be allowed to approach any closer than about 400 feet from Mir. 

Discovery fired its engines at 8:16 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. CST in maneuvers
that decreased the rate that the shuttle is closing in on the station.
Next, Discovery will fire its engines at 10:37 a.m. CST, when the shuttle
is about 8 nautical miles from Mir, to begin the final phase of the
rendezvous. Discovery will arrive at a point about 400 feet directly in
front of Mir at 12:16 p.m. CST. 

Discovery is expected to reach its closest point to the station at 1:20
p.m. The shuttle will then back away and reach a point 400 feet distant
again at about 2 p.m.. Discovery will begin a flyaround of Mir from a
distance of 400 feet at 2:26 p.m., completing the circle and firing its
engines to separate from the vicinity at 3:13 p.m. 

--end--

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #9


Monday, February 6, 1995, 5 p.m. CST

The Space Shuttle Discovery and Russian Space Station Mir today
successfully completed an on-orbit rendezvous that resulted in the two
spacecraft coming within 37 feet of each other. 

"As we are bringing our space ships closer together, we are bringing our
nations closer together," said STS-63 Commander Jim Wetherbee after
Discovery reached the point of closest approach. "The next time we
approach, we will shake your hand and together we will lead our world into
the next millennium." 

Discovery had been slowly closing the distance between it and Mir since a
few hours after it reached orbit. Today, the final phase of rendezvous
brought the orbiter from behind the Russian station to a point about 400
feet in front it. Discovery then moved down the velocity vector (an
imaginary line extending in the direction of travel of a space vehicle)
toward Mir. After reaching the point of closest approach over the Pacific
Ocean at an altitude of 213 nautical miles and maintaining that position
for 10 minutes, Discovery moved away from Mir and initiated a fly-around
of the station. 

Wetherbee reported that Discovery performed well during the operations.
The orbiter's performance, he said, was identical to that of the flight
simulators the crew trained in. Mir Commander Alexander Viktrenko reported
that the orbiter's thruster firing did not affect the Mir's solar arrays.
All insights collected today will be used to refine planning for the first
time a shuttle docks with Mir later this year. 

Following the completion of today's rendezvous activities, President Bill
Clinton made a special phone call to the STS-63 crew members. His remarks
included congratulations to the crew for successfully performing the
historic rendezvous. 

The STS-63 astronauts are is now preparing for its eight-hour sleep
period. When they awake at 12:52 a.m., they will begin their fifth day in
space which includes the deploymeny of the Spartan-204 spacecraft for 48
hours of astronomical observations. 

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #10


Tuesday, February 7, 1995, 8 a.m. CST

Following a historic rendezvous with the Russian Space Station Mir
yesterday, Discovery's crew will spend another day of precision flying
today, releasing a small satellite that will study the material from which
stars and planets are born. 

Mission Specialist and Russian Cosmonaut Vladimir Titov released the
Spartan 204 satellite and its Far Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph
instrument from the shuttle's mechanical arm on time today at 6:26 a.m.
central.  As Commander Jim Wetherbee backed Discovery away, Titov
confirmed that Spartan was in good health by reporting the satellite has
performed its first solo maneuvers. 

Spartan will spend about two days flying free of Discovery before it is
retrieved by the shuttle.  Using the far ultraviolet instrument, Spartan
will study the interstellar medium, the gas and dust that fills space
between stars and planets.  Spartan's observations will be recorded aboard
the satellite for analysis by scientists after Discovery's return to
Earth. 

At about 9:22 a.m. today, Titov, Pilot Eileen Collins and Mike Foale will
be nterviewed by ABC News' Good Morning America and by CBS News.  Other
activities remaining today for the crew include continued monitoring of
the 20 experiments in the Spacehab module and several ongoing medical
studies. 

Discovery is now more than 100 nautical miles from the Mir station and
continually separating in an orbit with a high point of 114 nautical miles
and a low point of 207 nautical miles. 

--end-- 

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #11


Tuesday, February 7, 1995, 5 p.m. CST

Discovery's fifth day in space has come to a close as the STS-63 crew
turns its attention from rendezvousing with a Russian space station to
scientific investigations, satellites and spacewalks. 

Today's on-orbit activities were highlighted by the deployment of the
Spartan-204 satellite. Russian Mission Specialist Vladimir Titov released
the Spartan 204 satellite and its Far Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph
instrument from the shuttle's mechanical arm on time today at 6:26 a.m.
central. 

The satellite, which is now moving out ahead of the shuttle, will spend
about two days flying free of Discovery, studying the gas and dust that
fills space between stars and planets. Spartan's observations will be
recorded aboard the satellite for analysis by scientists after Discovery's
return to Earth. The satellite will be retrieved by the orbiter's robot
arm Thursday just prior to a spacewalk by Mission Specialists Bernard
Harris and Mike Foale. 

Also today, crew members continued working with the 20 experiments
residing in the Spacehab module. The experiments -- which represent a
diverse cross-section of technological, biological and other scientific
disciplines -- include plant studies, crystal growth studies and a robotic
experiment. 

The crew began a nine-hour sleep period at 2:52 p.m. central. The flight
control team decided to give the astronauts an extra hour of sleep tonight
as a reward for their hard work over the last several days and to keep
them fresh for the work remaining.  Tomorrow's plans include continued
work with the Spacehab experiments, and checks of the spacesuits to be
used by Harris and Foale for Thursday's extravehicular activity. 

Just before the crew turned in, flight controllers faxed several pictures
taken from video sent by Mir during the rendezvous activities Monday. The
pictures showed how Discovery looked to the Mir crew while it approached
the Russian station. 

Discovery is now more than 160 nautical miles from the Mir station and
continually separating in an orbit with a high point of 214 n.m. and a low
point of 207 n.m. 

--end--

    Bummer.......My "whole earth" planetarium didn't have any er...
    stars lit this morning, so I didn't get to see the shuttle & MIR
    pass through between its planned passage at approx 5:15-5:30.
    
    Bob

... through the magic of radio news reports I know this...

(I would have closed my eyes and imagined it, but I was driving
at the time).


- dave

    Before I left the house, NASA TV showed the re-capture and berthing
    of SPARTEN, and shortly after, the two astronauts came out the
    special hatch fitted into the tunnel structure that runs between
    the shuttle cab, and SPACEHAB. They were preparing their equipment
    to start on their EVA DTO's when I left the house.
    
    Bob

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #12


Wednesday, February 8, 1995, 6 a.m. CST

Discovery's crew focused on preparations today -- for a spacewalk planned
for Thursday and the shuttle's return to Earth planned for Saturday
morning. 

The crew was awakened after an extra hour of sleep today to the tune of
Pink Floyd's "Time" as they entered the final days of shuttle mission
STS-63. 

Payload Commander Bernard Harris and Mission Specialist Mike Foale spent
several hours this morning unstowing and checking the spacesuits they'll
use tomorrow for a five hour spacewalk. The spacewalk will evaluate the
warmth provided by thermal garments added to the spacewalkers' gear and as
well as the astronauts' ability to maneuver large objects, in this case,
the Spartan satellite. Harris and Foale reported the suits and other gear
are in excellent shape and ready for the spacewalk. 

Also, Commander Jim Wetherbee and Pilot Eileen Collins checked out the
flight control systems Discovery will use for landing. The cockpit
displays and controls, navigation aids and the shuttle's aerosurfaces were
tested and found in excellent shape as well. 

Later this morning, the crew will be interviewed by NBC's Today Show, and,
shortly afterward, Collins will speak to students at the Elmira Free
Academy, Elmira, N.Y., her alma mater. In addition, Wetherbee will have an
opportunity to speak with his counterpart Commander aboard the Mir Space
Station via a Mission Control, Houston, and Mission Control, Kaliningrad,
Russia, link. 

Discovery is now about 31 nautical miles from the Spartan satellite that
will be retrieved tomorrow and almost 300 nautical miles from Mir,
circling Earth every 92 minutes in a 213 by 207 nautical mile orbit. 

--end--

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #13


Wednesday, February 8, 1995, 2 p.m. CST

Commanders of two space vehicles talked about their missions and their
historic rendezvous in space today during a special ship-to-ship
conversation from the Space Shuttle Discovery and the Russian Space
Station Mir. 

STS-63 Commander Jim Wetherbee and Mir Commander Alexander Viktorenko
spoke through an interpreter in Houston's Mission Control Center. The
conversation focused on the missions of the two crews and the success of
their rendezvous on Monday. Wetherbee said he especially enjoyed the point
in the joint operations when Mir maneuvered to a new attitude while
Discovery was circling it. 

"It was like dancing in the cosmos," Wetherbee said. "It was great." 

The commanders also said they were looking forward to meeting each other
on Earth and exchanged compliments about the two space vehicles and the
teams that designed them. 

"Together our programs will be even better," Wetherbee said. 

A few minutes before the commanders' conversation, Discovery Pilot Eileen
Collins talked to students and her own former chemistry teacher at the
Elmira Free Academy in Elmira, New York.  Collins graduated from the
school in 1974. 

The six crew members officially began their eight-hour sleep period at
1:52 p.m. Central.  When they wake for their seventh day in space, Mission
Specialists Bernard Harris and Mike Foale will begin preparing for their
four and a half hour spacewalk. Harris and Foale will test improvements in
their spacesuits and perform several mass handling exercises.  The two
spacewalkers checked out their suits earlier today and confirmed that they
were ready for Thursday's activities. 

The spacewalk will begin around 6 a.m. Central, shortly after the
retrieval of the Spartan- 204 satellite. Spartan has been flying free of
Discovery since Tuesday morning, collecting data on the interstellar
medium. 

Discovery is now about 40 nautical miles behind the Spartan satellite and
more than 300 n.m. in front of Mir, circling Earth every 92 minutes in a
213 by 207 n.m. orbit. 


--end--

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #14


Thursday, February 9, 1995, 6:30 a.m. CST

Discovery's crew performed the second rendezvous of the mission today and
are now in the midst of a spacewalk in one of the busiest days ever aboard
a Space Shuttle. 

Commander Jim Wetherbee and Pilot Eileen Collins flawlessly eased the
shuttle to the Spartan satellite this morning, which had been released
from Discovery on Tuesday, to allow astronaut Janice Voss to capture it
using the mechanical arm. Voss locked on to the satellite and its cargo of
research on the material in interstellar space at 5:33 a.m. CST as
Discovery flew 240 miles above the Pacific Ocean south of the Aleutian
Islands. 

While free-flying from Discovery, Spartan's Far Ultraviolet Imaging
Spectrograph gathered more than 40 hours of observations to study the
interstellar medium, the gas and dust that fills space between stars and
planets and of which new such bodies are formed. 

Just after the satellite was captured, crewmates Mike Foale and Bernard
Harris began a five-hour spacewalk to test new thermal devices designed to
warm their spacesuits and evaluate how well they can manipulate the
3,000-pound Spartan satellite in weightlessness. Harris became the first
African-American to walk in space as the EVA started at 5:56 a.m. CST. 

--end--

Hi,

Just in case you don't check, the STS-63 Info Center has some
TV frame grabs for the viewing...

  http://www-space.lkg.dec.com/space-archives.html


- dave

I hadn't seen any status reports posted recently so here's the landing statement
from the mission WWW page.

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #18


Saturday, February 11, 1995, 7 AM CST

The Shuttle Discovery swooped to a dawn landing at the Kennedy Space
Center this morning on time to complete an historic eight-day mission
highlighted by the first rendezvous by a Shuttle with the Mir Space
Station.

Commander Jim Wetherbee and Pilot Eileen Collins guided Discovery to a
textbook touchdown on KSC's Runway 15 at 5:51 AM CST to complete a
2,992, 806 million mile mission spanning 129 complete orbits of the
Earth, the 20th flight for Discovery.

With nearly perfect weather at KSC awaiting him and his crewmates,
Wetherbee fired Discovery's orbital maneuvering system engines to
enable Discovery to drop out of its orbit for an hour-long descent
through the Earth's atmosphere. Discovery cut a blazing path through
the pre-dawn skies over the heartland of America as it raced toward
its Florida landing site.

Live television pictures of the landing were transmitted to the
Russian Mission Control Center in Kaliningrad, Russia, where flight
controllers beamed them up to the three cosmonauts travelling aboard
the Mir Space Station.

Less than an hour after completing their flight, Discovery's
astronauts left their vehicle for post-landing medical exams and
reunions with their families.

The astronauts are scheduled to return to Houston's Ellington Field
for a welcoming ceremony at mid-afternoon.

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #15


Thursday, February 9, 1995, 3 p.m. CST

Two of Discovery's astronauts today performed at 4 hour, 39 minute,
spacewalk to test modifications in their spacesuits and gain experience in
handling large masses in space. 

Mission Specialists Bernard Harris and Mike Foale floated into Discovery's
payload bay shortly after 6 a.m. Central to begin the shuttle program's
29th spacewalk. After arranging their tools in the payload bay, Harris and
Foale were lifted out of the payload bay on the robot arm to evaluate how
well new space suit undergarments would keep them warm. 

For the test, Mission Specialist Vladimir Titov positioned the arm so that
the two spacewalkers were high above and away from the relative warmth of
the payload bay.  They stayed in position for about 15 minutes,
subjectively rating their comfort levels while sensors in their gloves
collected objective data that will be compared to temperatures taken of
the space environment around them. 

For the second part of the spacewalk, Harris conducted a mass handling
exercise with the Spartan-204 satellite to gain experience in moving large
objects on orbit. While Harris was finishing his portion of the exercise,
both astronauts reported that their hands were beginning to get cold.
Flight controllers subsequently decided to cancel Foale's mass handling
tasks and end the spacewalk early. 

Harris and Foale re-entered Discovery's airlock and finished their
spacewalk around 10:30 a.m. Central. All the information collected during
the extravehicular activity will be used to refine and develop spacewalk
techniques and systems for future shuttle and International Space Station
EVAs. 

As the spacewalk was beginning, Mission Specialist Janice Voss was using
the robot arm to pluck the Spartan-204 satellite from orbit and secure it
in the payload bay. Spartan-204 had been flying free of Discovery for two
days, collecting information on the material in interstellar space. 

Friday, the STS-63 crew will store all the equipment taken out during the
mission in preparation for landing Saturday morning. Landing is scheduled
for 5:51 a.m. at Kennedy Space Center, but the flight control team is
monitoring weather conditions in Florida. 
 
--end--

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #16


Friday, February 10, 1995, 7 a.m. CST

Discovery's crew began powering off experiments and packing up the shuttle
cabin in preparation for Saturday's trip home. 

Two final observations were performed during the morning with the GLO
experiment, a study of the glowing effect created as the shuttle's
surfaces interact with atomic oxygen in orbit. Commander Jim Wetherbee and
Pilot Eileen Collins fired Discovery's steering jets to allow the
experiment to observe their effect on the glow. 

Also, the crew participated in a press conference early today, fielding
questions from reporters in Houston and in Florida.  The Spacehab module
and its 20 experiments will be deactivated at about 7:30 a.m. today for
tomorrow's landing. 

Discovery is scheduled to land at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle
Landing Facility Saturday, firing its engines at 4:44 a.m. CST to lead to
a touchdown at about 5:51 a.m.  CST.  The weather forecast for Florida is
currently favorable for the landing, although flight controllers will be
closely watching a possiblility of low clouds and strong winds there as
the forecast is continually updated.  Florida's weather is forecast to
deteriorate on Sunday. 

Two other landing opportunities exist for Discovery Saturday at Edwards
Air Force Base, Ca., as well.  The first, which is unlikely to be used
since it occurs prior to the first Florida opportunity, would have the
shuttle fire its engines at 4:38 a.m. CST leading to a touchdown at 5:43
a.m. CST.  The second opportunity for Edwards occurs one orbit after the
Florida opportunity and would have Discovery fire its engines at 6:13 a.m.
CST leading to a touchdown at 7:19 a.m. CST.  Edwards weather is forecast
to be excellent for a landing Saturday, and managers may opt to land there
if Florida's weather prohibits a landing. 

Discovery also has backup landing opportunities available in both Florida
and California on Sunday. 

--end-

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #17


Friday, February 10, 1995, 3 p.m. CST

Shuttle astronauts got one last look at the Russian Space Station Mir
before they return home Saturday, a fitting end to Discovery's historic
20th flight. 

At about 12:35 p.m. Central, Mir performed an on-orbit maneuver during
which STS-63 crew members reported that they could see the station near
the horizon as it trailed behind the orbiter at a distance of 850 nautical
miles. To Discovery's payload bay cameras, Mir looked like a small
flashing star. 

The sighting occurred as crew members were in the last stages of putting
away their experiments and equipment to configure the orbiter for
Saturday's trip back to Earth. 

Discovery is scheduled to land at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle
Landing Facility Saturday, firing its engines at 4:44 a.m. CST to lead to
a touchdown at about 5:51 a.m.  CST. The weather forecast for Florida is
currently favorable for the landing, although flight controllers will be
watching a possibility of low clouds and strong winds there closely as the
forecast is continually updated. Florida's weather is forecast to
deteriorate on Sunday. 

Two other landing opportunities exist for Discovery Saturday at Edwards
Air Force Base, Ca., as well. The first, which is unlikely to be used
since it occurs prior to the first Florida opportunity, would have the
shuttle fire its engines at 4:38 a.m. CST leading to a touchdown at 5:43
a.m. CST. The second opportunity for Edwards occurs one orbit after the
Florida opportunity and would have Discovery fire its engines at 6:13 a.m.
CST leading to a touchdown at 7:19 a.m. CST. Edward's weather is forecast
to be excellent for a landing Saturday , and managers may opt to land
there if Florida's weather prohibits a landing. 

Discovery also has backup landing opportunities available in both Florida
and California on Sunday. 

--end--

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1995 (7:46 AM EST)

KSC Public Affairs Contact:
Bruce Buckingham - 407-867-2468(fax 867-2692)
(Internet e-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov)

MISSION: STS-63 -- MIR RENDEZVOUS, SPARTAN and SPACEHAB-3
FLIGHT DAY 9/LANDING DAY

VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103     
LOCATION: Shuttle Landing Facility
LAUNCH DATE and TIME: Feb. 3, 1995 at 12:22 a.m. EST   
KSC LANDING DATE and TIME: Feb. 11 at 6:50 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 8 days, 6 hours, 28 minutes

The Shuttle Discovery landed at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing 
Facility runway 15 today at 6:50 a.m. EST on orbit 130. The unofficial 
mission elapsed and landing times are:
     
                       MET              EST
MAIN GEAR TOUCHDOWN  8:06:28:15      6:50:19  a.m.
NOSE GEAR TOUCHDOWN  8:06:28:29      6:50:33  a.m.
WHEELS STOP          8:06:29:35      6:51:39  a.m.


MILES TRAVELED:  2,992,806  MILES


* The last landing at KSC was Shuttle Columbia on STS-65 on July 23, 1994.

    CREW: Commander James Wetherbee; Pilot Eileen Collins; and Mission 
Specialists Bernard Harris, Michael Foale, Janice Voss and Vladimir Titov


Discovery will be towed to Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2 beginning at 
about 2 p.m. today.

From: kcpierce@ddi.digital.net
Date: 11 Feb 1995 00:49:33 GMT
Organization: Florida Online
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle 


There have been several questions about the thruster problems on Discovery during 
STS-63, and some of the responses have been only partially correct. I'm an engineer on 
the OMS/RCS at Kennedy, so I'll try to clarify some points about the problems.

There were three problems during STS-63. During ascent, 2 thrusters (L2D and R1U) 
failed off due to low chamber pressure indications when the jets were fired. L2D was 
simply de-selected, and was not used during the remainder of the mission. R1U was also 
de-selected but began to leak oxidizer (nitrogen tetroxide, N2O4). The RH manifold 1 
isolation valve, upstream of the manifold 1 thrusters, was closed to stop the leakage, and 
was opened periodically to repressurize the manifold in an attempt to better seat the 
oxidizer poppet. Iron nitrate deposits have been found to form in oxidizer systems for 
numerous reasons. When these deposits form on valve seats, orificed leaks occur. 
Repressurizing the R1 manifold was an attempt to "knock" the nitrate deposits off the 
teflon seats of the oxidizer valve. These attempts were ovbiously unsuccessful, and the 
oxidizer R1 isolation valve was closed for the rendezvous with Mir. That iso valve will be 
opened prior to re-entry for attitude control using thrusters R1A and R1L (R1U is still de-
selected) and closed again just prior to landing.

The third thruster problem was with thruster F1F. This thruster was fired on orbit and 
also failed due to a low chamber pressure. As with R1U, F1F began to spew oxid. The F1 
iso valve was cycled and the oxid valve stopped leaking. The thruster was subsequently 
fired nominally and was enabled for the duration of the mission.  

Now to answer some other miscellaneous questions...

The RCS and OMS use monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) for the fuel  and nitrogen titroxide 
(NTO) for the oxidizer; no LOX, LH2, peroxide, kerosene, or any other propellant is used.  
BTW: RCS stands for Reaction Control Subsystem, and OMS for the Orbital 
Maneuvering Subsystem.

There are three RCS systems: FRCS, LRCS and RRCS (Forward, Left and Right). Each 
system has five manifolds. Manifolds 1,2,3,4 contain two to four 870-lb primary jets, and 
manifold 5 contains two 24-lb vernier jets. The thruster designations tell the location, 
manifold, and direction of flame. For example, R1U is located in the aft right-hand OMS 
pod, is serviced by manifold 1, and the flame fires up (so the orbiter is pushed 
downward). This is a list of the thrusters: 
F1U, F1F, F1D, F1L, F2R, F2D, F2U, F2F, F3U, F3F, F3D, F3L, F4R, F4D, F5R, F5L 
L1L, L1U, L1A, L2L, L2U, L2D, L3L, L3D, L3A, L4L, L4U, L4D, L5L, L5D
R1R, R1U, R1A, R2R, R2U, R2D, R3R, R3D, R3A, R4R, R4U, R4D, R5R, R5D
(the FRCS vernier jets F5L and F5R both fire downward and are the only exceptions to 
the naming nomenclature)

The vendor of the thrusters is keiser-Marquardt in Van Nuys, CA. The primary thrusters 
use two-stage  solenoid valves to inject propellant into the thruster for hypergolic (no 
ignition source required) combustion. The pilot stage is opened by the solenoid valve, 
and the resulting pressure deferential opens the main stage of the valve. The vernier jets 
are single-stage or direct-acting solenoid valves.

If anybody is still awake, I hope this answered some general questions about the RCS. If 
you want to be further bored about the RCS or OMS, please don't hesitate to ask. It's 
about time there's some interest in the BEST subsystem on the shuttle! <grin>


Charles

---------------------------------------------------------------
Charles Pierce - kcpierce@ddi.digital.net
Aerospace Engineer, NASA, Kennedy Space Center, Florida 
OMS/RCS Lead Engineer for OV-104 "Atlantis" 

Some additional downlink images have been placed in the the
STS-63 mission information center.  (I don't have time to do them
all right now -- if ever).   The full set is available over the
Web of course.

I haven't looked at all them yet, but I picked a few that I thought
were unique and worth the download time.


   http://www-space.lkg.dec.com/space-archives.html


- dave

There have been several questions about the thruster problems on Discovery
during STS-63, and some of the responses have been only partially correct. I'm
an engineer on the OMS/RCS at Kennedy, so I'll try to clarify some points
about the problems.

There were three problems during STS-63. During ascent, 2 thrusters (L2D and
R1U) failed off due to low chamber pressure indications when the jets were
fired. L2D was simply de-selected, and was not used during the remainder of
the mission. R1U was also de-selected but began to leak oxidizer (nitrogen
tetroxide, N2O4). The RH manifold 1 isolation valve, upstream of the manifold
1 thrusters, was closed to stop the leakage, and was opened periodically to
repressurize the manifold in an attempt to better seat the oxidizer poppet.
Iron nitrate deposits have been found to form in oxidizer systems for numerous
reasons. When these deposits form on valve seats, orificed leaks occur. 
Repressurizing the R1 manifold was an attempt to "knock" the nitrate deposits
off the teflon seats of the oxidizer valve. These attempts were ovbiously
unsuccessful, and the oxidizer R1 isolation valve was closed for the
rendezvous with Mir. That iso valve will be opened prior to re-entry for
attitude control using thrusters R1A and R1L (R1U is still de- selected) and
closed again just prior to landing.

The third thruster problem was with thruster F1F. This thruster was fired on
orbit and also failed due to a low chamber pressure. As with R1U, F1F began to
spew oxid. The F1 iso valve was cycled and the oxid valve stopped leaking. The
thruster was subsequently fired nominally and was enabled for the duration of
the mission. 

Now to answer some other miscellaneous questions...

The RCS and OMS use monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) for the fuel and nitrogen
titroxide (NTO) for the oxidizer; no LOX, LH2, peroxide, kerosene, or any
other propellant is used. BTW: RCS stands for Reaction Control Subsystem, and
OMS for the Orbital Maneuvering Subsystem.

There are three RCS systems: FRCS, LRCS and RRCS (Forward, Left and Right).
Each system has five manifolds. Manifolds 1,2,3,4 contain two to four 870-lb
primary jets, and manifold 5 contains two 24-lb vernier jets. The thruster
designations tell the location, manifold, and direction of flame. For example,
R1U is located in the aft right-hand OMS pod, is serviced by manifold 1, and
the flame fires up (so the orbiter is pushed downward). This is a list of the
thrusters: F1U, F1F, F1D, F1L, F2R, F2D, F2U, F2F, F3U, F3F, F3D, F3L, F4R,
F4D, F5R, F5L L1L, L1U, L1A, L2L, L2U, L2D, L3L, L3D, L3A, L4L, L4U, L4D, L5L,
L5D R1R, R1U, R1A, R2R, R2U, R2D, R3R, R3D, R3A, R4R, R4U, R4D, R5R, R5D (the
FRCS vernier jets F5L and F5R both fire downward and are the only exceptions to 
the naming nomenclature)

The vendor of the thrusters is keiser-Marquardt in Van Nuys, CA. The primary
thrusters use two-stage solenoid valves to inject propellant into the
thruster for hypergolic (no ignition source required) combustion. The pilot
stage is opened by the solenoid valve, and the resulting pressure deferential
opens the main stage of the valve. The vernier jets are single-stage or
direct-acting solenoid valves.

If anybody is still awake, I hope this answered some general questions about
the RCS. If you want to be further bored about the RCS or OMS, please don't
hesitate to ask. It's about time there's some interest in the BEST subsystem
on the shuttle! <grin>

 
[Downloaded from NASA Spacelink]
NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
MEDIA SERVICES BRANCH
 
Lisa Malone
867-2468
 
TITOV TO PLAN COMMEMORATIVE TREE AT KSC TODAY
 
Vladimir Titov, STS-63 mission specialist, Russian Space Agency, will plant 
a tree at Kennedy Space Center today to commemorate his flight aboard the 
Shuttle Discovery in February.  News media representatives can view this 
ceremony.  Transportation will depart the press site at 1 p.m. today for the 
1:30 p.m. event located  between the Headquarters Building and the 
Operations and Checkout Building.
 
Titov will plant a Cherry Laurel tree.  In keeping with Russian tradition, 
Sergei Krikalev, the first cosmonaut to fly aboard the Shuttle, planted a 
tree in the same vicinity last year following his flight on STS-60.