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"6_2_2_44_5.TXT" (3381 bytes) was created on 03-30-93
3/30/93: ATLAS 2 LAUNCH DATE SET, SPACELAB D-2 MISSION RESCHEDULED
Ed Campion
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. March 30, 1993
LAUNCH ADVISORY
NASA today announced that Space Shuttle Discovery with the
STS-56/ATLAS 2 payload will be the next mission to fly with
launch scheduled for April 6, 1993 at 1:32 a.m. EDT. Space
Shuttle Columbia and the STS-55/Spacelab D-2 payload, which
experienced a launch scrub on March 22, has been assigned a new
target launch date of no earlier than April 24.
The decision for STS-56 to be the next mission flown came
after the main engine team finished analyzing the purge valve
which caused the STS-55 launch scrub. The team's investigation
concluded that the valve from the number 3 main engine failed to
operate properly because of contamination that had been in the
valve since it was manufactured. The team also determined that
this condition could exist in other engines. A series of tests
designed to reveal such a condition have been performed on
Discovery and one suspect valve from one engine is being removed
and replaced.
"Flying the missions in this order is the most effective
use of all our resources" said Shuttle Director Tom Utsman. "The
early April launch of the ATLAS 2 mission will give scientists
the opportunity to observe changes in the Earth's ozone during
the seasonal transition between spring and summer in the
northern hemisphere. At the same time, the launch team at
Kennedy will be working to get Columbia back to launch
configuration for launch on April 24. NASA is very pleased with
the cooperation given by our friends in the German space agency.
They have been involved as all possible options were considered.
Their willingness to let the STS-56 mission have an early April
launch will give the ATLAS folks the chance to collect some very
important data on the Earth's ozone."
As part of the effort to have Columbia ready at the
earliest possible date, all three main engines are being removed
and will be replaced with ones originally scheduled for use
during the STS-57 mission with Space Shuttle Endeavour .
The STS-57 mission, which will involve the first flight of
the SPACEHAB commercial payload and the retrieval of the
European Space Agency's EURECA satellite, is now scheduled to
fly in late May. The rest of the Space Shuttle missions planned
for 1993 will stay in their planned order and schedule.
-end-
3/25/93: LAUNCH ADVISORY: STS-56 FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW COMPLETED
Jim Cast
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. March 25, 1993
George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
The Flight Readiness Review for the launch of STS- 56/Discovery was
held today with no major issues identified.
Shuttle managers will set a target launch date next week after
resolution of the problem which caused last's Monday's engine shutdown on Space
Shuttle Columbia.
The primary STS-56 payload, ATLAS 2, will investigate the sun's energy
output and the Earth's middle-atmosphere chemical makeup and how these factors
affect levels of Earth's ozone, which prevents much of the sun's harmful
ultraviolet radiation from reaching the Earth's surface.
The 8-day STS-56 mission will be commanded by Kenneth Cameron and
piloted by Steven Oswald. Three mission specialists will round out the
five-person crew: Michael Foale, Kenneth Cockrell and Ellen Ochoa.