The Space Shuttle fleet is housed and processed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla. The order the Space Shuttles are listed does not necessarily reflect the chronological order of future missions.
Orbiters
NASA’s three Space Shuttles, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, Shuttle launch pads, critical flight hardware for the orbiters and the International Space Station were undamaged by Hurricane Jeanne.
On Tuesday workers began the process of taking the orbiters out of a hurricane preparedness status and returning to regular processing activities. Discovery was powered up Tuesday, and the payload bay doors were opened. Atlantis and Endeavour also returned to pre-hurricane processing activities.
In the Orbiter Processing Facility, work is under way to install the new wing leading edge instrumentation on Discovery. The sensors are being placed on the backside of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels as impact detection devices. They will relay information about acceleration and temperature.
On Sept. 17 a fit check was performed of the new External Tank (ET) digital still camera. NASA is pursuing use of the camera, beginning with the Shuttle’s Return to Flight, to obtain and downlink high-resolution images of the ET after separation after orbiter launch.
Atlantis is in a power-down period, during which all of the critical path wiring inspections and Return to Flight electrical modifications will be completed. Right-hand radiators No. 1, 2 and 3 are installed. The final right-hand RCC spar fitting, a series of floating joints that attach the RCC to the wing leading edge, was installed.
Kennedy Space Center
Prior to Hurricane Jeanne, workers completed securing the panels on the south side of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) loosened by Hurricane Frances. During Jeanne, 25 additional aluminum panels were lost on the east side of the building. Workers are covering the holes with corrugated steel, so the VAB can return to performing operational activities.
KSC was closed to all non-essential personal on Monday, so assessment teams could begin to determine damage sustained during Jeanne. The entire KSC workforce returned to work on Tuesday.
Previous Space Shuttle processing status reports are available on the Internet at:
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/status.htm
For information about NASA’s Return to Flight efforts on the Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/news/highlights/returntoflight.html