The Space Shuttle fleet is housed and processed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla. The order of the Space Shuttles in this report does not necessarily reflect the chronological order of future missions.
Discovery (OV-103)
Technicians continue to prepare Discovery for its Return to Flight mission to the International Space Station. The left-hand Orbiter Maneuvering System pod was moved from the Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF) to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) on Monday for installation on the vehicle.
Build-up of left-hand Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels and associated fittings is ongoing with 16 left-hand spar fittings installed on the vehicle. Thermal Protection System blanket installation is in work inside of Discovery’s nose cap in the low bay area outside of the Orbiter Processing Facility. Thermography has been performed on 43 of the 44 panels, with nose cap thermography scheduled for next week.
Atlantis (OV-104)
Processing work continues in the OPF as technicians prepare Atlantis for its future flight to the International Space Station. Technicians continue steps toward removal of the rudder speed brake actuators.
All of Atlantis’ 44 RCC panels have been received at KSC, and all 22 panels have been hung on the left-hand wing. Sixteen left-hand T-seals, the C-shaped seals that fit between each panel, have been installed. Build-up of right-hand RCC panels and associated fittings is ongoing. Nose cap thermography is complete.
Endeavour (OV-105)
Endeavour is in its Orbiter Major Modification period, which began in December 2003. The Orbiter Maneuvering System left-hand pod was transferred from the OPF to the HMF, where it will undergo routine inspections and maintenance.
Rudder Speed Brake panel removal began yesterday. Actuators scheduled for removal as early as Monday. RCC thermography continues with only eight of the 44 panels remaining.
Previous Space Shuttle processing status reports are archived on the Internet at:
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/status.htm