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Johnson
Space Center, STS-103, Mission Control Center Status Report
# 17, Monday, December 27, 1999, 7:30 pm EST
Johnson
Space Center, STS-103, Mission Control Center, Status Report
# 16, Monday, December 27, 1999 - 9:30 am EST
Landing
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Johnson
Space Center, STS-103, Mission Control Center Status Report
# 17, Monday, December 27, 1999, 7:30 pm EST
The
seven astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Discovery glided to
a smooth landing at the Kennedy Space Center, wrapping up
their eight-day mission to refurbish and repair the Hubble
Space Telescope.
After
waving off the first landing opportunity of the day because
of a concern with cross winds at the landing site, the crew
was given a "go" to perform the deorbit burn which
came at 4:48 p.m. CST and caused Discovery to fall out of
its 380 statute mile high orbit to start the journey home
to the Kennedy Space Center.
With
Commander Curt Brown at the controls, Discovery touched down
at 6:01 p.m CST on Runway 33 at the three mile long Shuttle
Landing Facility runway at KSC to complete a mission spanning
almost 3.3 million miles. Pilot Scott Kelly, Flight Engineer
Jean-Francois Clervoy and Mission Specialist Michael Foale
joined Brown on the flight deck for entry and landing. Mission
Specialists Steve Smith, John Grunsfeld and Claude Nicollier
were seated down in the middeck. The end of the STS-103 mission
marked the 20th consecutive landing at the Florida spaceport
and the 13th night landing in the history of the Shuttle program.
Left
behind in orbit, the Hubble Space Telescope now features six
new gyroscopes, six new voltage/temperature improvement kits,
a new onboard computer, a new solid state recorder and new
data transmitter, a new fine guidance sensor along with new
insulation on parts of the orbiting telescope.
The
STS-103 crew will spend the evening in Florida before returning
to Houston on Tuesday. The crew is expected to leave Patrick
Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach, FL at approximately 1:30 p.m.
CST. The crew should land at Ellington Field at about 5 p.m.
where the seven astronauts will be greeted by JSC management
and center employees. The crew return ceremony will occur
at Hangar 990 and is open to the general public.
Johnson
Space Center, STS-103, Mission Control Center, Status Report
# 16, Monday, December 27, 1999 - 9:30 am EST
With
promising weather forecast for the Kennedy Space Center, preparations
are under way to bring the seven-member crew of Discovery
home following a successful mission to refurbish and repair
the Hubble Space Telescope.
The
crew's day began with a wake-up call from Mission Control,
“The Cup of Life,” sung by Ricky Martin. The music
was the official song of France ’98 World Cup Soccer
and was played for Mission Specialist #2, Jean-Francois Clervoy
of the European Space Agency at the request of his son.
Entry
Flight Director Wayne Hale and his team of flight controllers
have three attempts to bring Discovery home to Florida today.
The first opportunity would see a firing of the Shuttle's
large orbital maneuvering system engines at 3:06 p.m. to drop
Discovery out of orbit and begin its high speed reentry toward
Earth. Landing would occur at 4:18 p.m. Central time (5:18
p.m. EST).
The
second opportunity would see a deorbit burn at 4:48 p.m.,
resulting in a landing at 6:01 p.m. Central time (7:01 p.m.
EST). The final opportunity for the day would have the deorbit
burn occurring at 6:31 p.m. with landing to follow at 7:43
p.m. Central (8:43 p.m. EST). If Discovery lands on either
of the last two opportunities, Commander Curt Brown and his
crew would make the 13th night landing in Shuttle program
history.
The
entry flight controllers will be receiving updated weather
forecasts throughout the day, however the initial prediction
is for favorable weather with a few high level clouds. Earlier
predictions of cross winds at or near acceptable limits appear
to be trending in a positive direction. Weather at the alternate
landing site at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards,
California also is predicted to be very good today although
KSC is the prime landing site for today's opportunities.
The
next status report will be issued after Discovery's landing
or a wave-off decision is made.
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