The crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-100, the 104th mission in the history
of Shuttle flight, will be at Kennedy Space Center this week for a Terminal
Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). The crew is scheduled to arrive at
KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility on Wednesday, March 28, and remain through
the end of the test activities Friday.
The following events are available to media during the STS-100 TCDT:
Wednesday, March 28 – A photo opportunity is available to the media covering
the arrival of the STS-100 crew. Media must be at the KSC Press Site by 11
a.m. for transport to the Shuttle Landing Facility. The astronauts are
scheduled to arrive at 12 noon.
Thursday, March 29 — Media representatives have an opportunity to speak
informally with and photograph the entire STS-100 crew at Launch Pad 39A.
Media interested in participating in this question-and-answer session should
be at the KSC Press Site by 12:15 p.m. for transport to the pad. This event
will be carried live on NASA TV; however, media must be present in order to
participate.
Friday, March 30 – Media are invited to the crew walkout, which occurs as
the crew depart their quarters and are driven to the launch pad. Media must
be at the KSC press site by 6:45 a.m. for the walkout, which is scheduled
for 7:45 a.m.
The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each Space Shuttle flight, providing crews
an opportunity to participate in simulated countdown activities. The TCDT
ends with a mock launch countdown culminating in a simulated main engine
cut-off. The astronauts also spend time undergoing emergency egress training
exercises at the pad and have opportunities to view and inspect the payloads
in the orbiter’s payload bay.
On Friday, the crew will enter the orbiter Endeavour fully suited for the
final hours of the practice countdown, including the simulated Shuttle main
engine ignition and cut-off.
Following TCDT activities Friday, the crew will depart KSC for final mission
preparations in Houston, Texas.
Mission STS-100 is targeted for launch from Kennedy Space Center at 2:41
p.m. April 19. The flight is scheduled to last 11 days and will feature
Endeavour delivering the Space Station Remote Manipulator System to the
International Space Station. Also, in Endeavour’s payload bay will be the
Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module.
Crew members for mission STS-100 are Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff
Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield (MS1) of the Canadian Space
Agency, John Phillips (MS2), Scott Parazynski (MS3), Umberto Guidoni (MS4)
from the European Space Agency, and Yuri Lonchakov (MS5) representing the
Russian Aviation and Space Agency.
