Allard Beutel
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-3749
George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center
321-867-2468
RELEASE: 07-116
NASA'S SHUTTLE ATLANTIS ROLLS BACK OUT TO LAUNCH PAD
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis is back at its launch
pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Teams are preparing Atlantis
for its mission, STS-117, to the International Space Station. Launch
is targeted for June 8.
Atlantis rolled out of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 5:02
a.m. EDT Tuesday on a massive crawler transporter. Traveling less
than 1 mph, the journey ended with Atlantis atop the launcher
pedestals at Launch Pad 39-A at 11:47 a.m. The total trip time was
six hours and 45 minutes. Electrical and mechanical connections of
Atlantis to the launch pad are under way. With the refurbishment of
Pad 39-A, this launch will be the first from the pad in four years.
Atlantis originally was targeted for launch in March, but a hail storm
damaged foam insulation on the shuttle's external fuel tank and
forced managers to roll the spacecraft back into the Vehicle Assembly
Building to make repairs.
Atlantis' payload, consisting of the S3/S4 truss, will be installed
into the shuttle's payload bay on Wednesday. Beginning May 23,
propellants will be loaded into Atlantis' storage tanks. The
propellant will be used by the orbital maneuvering system and
reaction control system to move the spacecraft while it is in orbit.
The flight readiness review meeting, where the official launch date is
scheduled, will be held May 30-31 at Kennedy. For a launch on June 8
at 7:37 p.m., the 43-hour countdown would begin on June 5.
STS-117 Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault and mission
specialists Jim Reilly, Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson, John
"Danny" Olivas and Clay Anderson are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy
on June 4.
During their 11-day mission, the astronauts will work with the space
station crew and ground teams to install the girder-like S3/S4 truss
segment, unfold a new set of solar arrays and retract one array on
the starboard side of the station.
STS-117's terminal countdown demonstration test, which is a launch
dress rehearsal, was held in February and will not need to be
repeated.
For more information about the STS-117 crew and mission, visit:
-end-
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