SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2000 (1:00 p.m. EDT)
- VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
- LOCATION: Launch Pad 39A
- TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE/TIME: May 18, 2000 at about 6:33 a.m. EDT
- TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: May 28 or 29 (depending upon ISS rendezvous)
- LAUNCH WINDOW: 5 minutes
- MISSION DURATION: 10 or 11 days
- CREW: Halsell, Horowitz, Weber, Williams, Voss, Helms, Usachev
- ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 173 nautical miles/51.6 degrees
Shuttle Processing Note: NASA managers today set May 18 as the target launch date for Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-101 following a thorough evaluation of launch options for both STS-101 and the Atlas GOES-L mission. Managers decided the need to preserve full satellite weather capability with a launch of Atlas GOES-L as scheduled on May 3 was a higher priority than an earlier launch of Atlantis to visit the International Space Station. May 18 is the earliest available opportunity due to other planned launches and operational requirements on the Eastern Range.
At Launch Pad 39A, Shuttle Atlantis remains in excellent health. Shuttle workers have completed standard post-scrub activities. The Rotating Service Structure is in place around Atlantis, and offloading of cryogenics from the orbiter’s onboard storage tanks is in work. Launch controllers will maintain the vehicle’s current configuration at the pad and continue to monitor Shuttle systems. Routine system retests will resume next week in preparation for the next launch attempt. The countdown clock is scheduled to begin at the T-43 hour mark on Monday morning, May 15.
The seven-member flight crew is in Houston, TX and will leave quarantine today. They will continue training activities at Johnson Space Center until their return to KSC a few days prior to launch.
