texte H-8     montage peps  Tout n'a pas été archivé   Launch - 8 Update  
19 juillet 1997 KSC & MORE DRAMA ON MIR

L minus 8 Weeks to Launch---7/19/97: The closer we get to flight, the more exciting the mission becomes... Recent developments on Mir have resulted in a number of modifications to the payloads and transfer items to be flown in September, and more changes to the manifest and timeline are expected. The crew travelled to KSC last week for a Spacehab "Bench Review," wherein the crew looked at all of the Spacehab stowage bags and their contents. Due to recent events on-orbit, several critical items will be added to Spacehab stowage, including additional batteries and tanks of air. Many of the transfer items slated for Mir hadn't yet arrived from Russia, so several of the bags the crew opened were empty. It may seem like Christmas when these bags get opened on-orbit! The photo at right shows the lead Spacehab engineer, Chris Jaskolka, training STS-86's Spacehab guys (Jean-Loup and Vladimir) on module activation and deactivation procedures.

The photo, above left, shows the crew looking at some of their stowage bags during the bench review. Another objective of the visit to the Spacehab Processing Facility at KSC was the so-called Spacehab "walk-down." Both halves of the Spacehab module have been bolted and sealed together, and the module will soon be loaded to the extent possible --- before taking the trip to the launch pad in a month's time. [A number of "late-stow" items, as mentioned above, will have to be loaded into the Shuttle on the launch pad --- this requires technicians to rappel like mountaineers into the Hab for final stowage!] During the module walk-down, the crew had the opportunity to look at the real hardware, and suggest places they'd like to have foot loops and extra velcro applied. In addition to a number of foot loops visible in the photo above, you can see Scott "floating" into the Hab in simulated zero-G.

Another major milestone before flight is the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT). The EVA crew took part in their payload bay CEIT while at KSC last week; the in-cabin portion of CEIT will take place next Saturday. Vladimir and Scott hopped into a cherrypicker-type crane, and were taken all over the payload bay to test out critical tool interfaces, look for sharp edges, and take a look at the MEEP sidewall carriers. With the exception of a couple of sharp edges detected by the sharp eyes of Louise Kleba, one of our Vehicle Integration Test Team members, the payload bay was in great shape. The Hollywood film crew got it all on film, and are planning on "moving" to Houston to film our adventures from now until launch. Below left you can see Vladimir, equipped with his space suit gloves, checking pip pins on a payload bay TV camera. The photo, below right, shows Mike observing the test from the platform, wearing a harness to prevent him from falling into the bay.

Back at JSC, the ascent flight deck crew had a "hold no punches" sim in the Motion Base SMS. The run started out innocently enough, with the center main engine leaking helium. Since the propellant valves are dependent upon a continuous flow of helium, and the leak was non-isolable, this engine failed well before our expected main engine cutoff time. Due to the engine loss and a variety of power and computer-related failures, Atlantis didn't quite make it up to orbit, and the crew had to perform an "Abort Once Around" (AOA). Then things really got bad, with computers, fuel cells, auxillary power units and inertial measurement units failing left and right. The crew managed to bring Atlantis limping back to KSC about 2 hours after "launch" --- the crew is counting on a healthier Atlantis and a longer mission in September.

The EVA crew was in the NBL for a 4 hour run last week to review the "96 bolts" contingency Mir-undocking EVA. Using power ratchet tools, right-angle drives, cable cutters and foot restraints, the two EVA crew members were able to separate the two halves of the Shuttle-Mir complex without too much difficulty. Also while they were in the pool, Vladimir practiced the use of the 3-point tool, used to close the payload bay doors should a set of bulkhead latches fail. Scott spent some time practicing Russian-style hand-over-hand tether protocol. Should the STS-86 EVA crew be tasked with some extra work on Mir's Spektr module, they will most likely have to use the hand-over-hand method --- their 55-foot retractable tethers, used in the Shuttle's payload bay, won't reach all the way to Spektr.

Mike was at the controls during our undocking sim at the Fixed Base SMS last week. Due to damage sustained on the Spektr module, it seems likely that Mike will get a chance to perform a Mir "flyaround." After first backing away to roughly 500 feet inside of an 8 degree corridor (to take measurements with a payload bay-mounted experiment called the European Proximity Operations Sensor), he'll reapproach the station to about 240 feet. From this point beneath the station, he'll initiate a manuever to take us up and over the station to acquire high resolution photographs of the damaged solar array and module exterior. The crew also had a Spacehab malfunctions sim at the Fixed Base, and Vladimir and Jean-Loup were able to fight off everything from Spacehab fires to cabin depressurization.

Next week the crew begins their integrated simulations with Mission Control-Houston. On Monday they'll have a 4 hour ascent simulation, suited in their LESs (Launch and Entry Suits), to make things more realistic --- as well as a bit more difficult. The next day they'll have a 12 hour integrated Mir rendezvous and docking sim, and on Wednesday have a 4 hour integrated entry simulation. The pace has really picked up, since launch is rapidly approaching! At the end of the week the entire crew will travel to KSC for the second portion of their Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT), as well as a fire-fighting course and tank driver school --- details to follow in next week's update! The crew will also have a number of briefings and sims next week to train photo/TV procedures and various payload activities. Wendy continues her training in Star City for the next couple of weeks, taking exams and the like. She'll be back in Houston for training beginning L-5 weeks to launch.

Make sure to check out this week's Mir update. An Atlantis update and several excellent questions will also be posted to the site shortly.