Endeavour Scheduled to Land at KSC June 17

The orbiter Endeavour is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Monday, June 17, at 1:00 p.m. EDT completing the nearly 12-day STS-111 mission to deliver and install the Mobile Base System (MBS) and transport the Expedition Five crew to the International Space Station. Endeavour launched from KSC on June 5, 2002.

Landing at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) is slated to occur on orbit 185 at mission elapsed time 11 days, 19 hours, 38 minutes. The deorbit burn will occur at about 11:56 a.m. EDT. The two KSC landing opportunities on June 17 are at 1:00 p.m. EDT and at 2:36 p.m. EDT. The deorbit burn for the second landing opportunity would take place at 1:33 p.m. EDT. No landing opportunities are planned for the back-up landing location at Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB), Calif., on Monday.

If managers must keep Endeavour in orbit an additional day, two landing opportunities are available at KSC on Tuesday, June 18, at 11:56 a.m. EDT and at 1:32 p.m. EDT. Two landing opportunities also exist at EAFB on Tuesday at 3:02 p.m. EDT and at 4:38 p.m. EDT.

If landing occurs as scheduled, it will be the 60th landing at KSC in the history of the Shuttle program. Following landing, Endeavour will be towed to the Orbiter Processing Facility for post-mission servicing and preparation for the STS-113 mi ACn in October.

About an hour after touchdown, the crews will be taken to crew quarters in the O&C Building, meet with their families and undergo physical examinations. A post-mission press conference with select members of the STS-111 crew is scheduled to occur at the KSC News Center about six hours after touchdown. A ceremony commemorating the STS-111 and Expedition Four crews’ return from space will be held at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, on June 19.

If Endeavour lands at Edwards, an augmented KSC convoy team will be on-site to safe the vehicle, disembark the crew and move the orbiter to the Mate/Demate Device. The turnaround team will be deployed to Edwards by charter aircraft on landing day.

SLF and KSC Ground Operations

The Shuttle Landing Facility was built in 1975. It is 300 feet wide and 15,000 feet long with 1,000-foot overruns at each end. The strip runs northwest to southeast and is located about three miles northwest of the 525-foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building..

Once the orbiter is on the ground, safing operations will commence and the flight crew will prepare the vehicle for post-landing operations. The Crew Transport Vehicle (CTV) will be used to assist the crew, allowing them to leave the vehicle and remove their launch and re-entry suits easier and quicker.

The CTV and other KSC landing convoy operations have been “on-call” since the launch of Endeavour. The primary functions of the Space Shuttle recovery convoy are to provide immediate service to the orbiter after landing, assist crew egress, and prepare the orbiter for towing to the Orbiter Processing Facility about three hours following touchdown.

Convoy vehicles are stationed at the SLF’s mid-point. About two hours prior to landing, convoy personnel don SCAPE suits, or Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble, and communications checks are made. A warming-up of coolant and purge equipment is conducted and nearly two-dozen convoy vehicles are positioned to move onto the runway as quickly and as safely as possible once the orbiter coasts to a stop. When the vehicle is deemed safe of all potential explosive hazards and toxic gases, the purge and coolant umbilical access vehicles move into position at the rear of the orbiter.

Following purge and coolant operations, flight crew egress preparations will begin and the CTV will be moved into position at the crew access hatch located on the orbiter’s port side. A physician will board the Shuttle and conduct a brief preliminary examination of the astronauts. The crew will then make preparations to leave the vehicle.

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NOTICE TO EDITORS: The KSC press site will open for landing activities at 8 a.m. Monday, June 17. Accredited news media wishing to view Endeavour’s landing should be at the KSC News Center by 11:30 a.m. for transport to the SLF. STS-111 launch badging requirements and security restrictions for the media remain in effect. Media parking will be at Gate 3 on S.R. 405. Additional information regarding accreditation, transportation to the KSC Press Site, landing photo opportunities, post-landing press conferences with the STS-111 crew, and News Center operational hours is available by calling the KSC News Center at 321-867-2468.