NASA’s Space Shuttle Processing Status Report

NASA’s Space Shuttle Processing Status Report

Processing continues for the second space shuttle mission in the Return to Flight sequence. Wire inspections and chafe protection installation continue on the reaction jet driver. The nose landing gear was cycled Thursday to support tile work on the shuttle’s heat shield.

The Orbiter Boom Sensor System is in the transfer aisle of the processing facility awaiting installation. The boom installation was moved to next week to allow for final work on the pedestals and latches.

Technicians are removing and replacing approximately 100 gap fillers daily in a main priority area. This work is being performed due to two gap fillers that were protruding from the underside of Discovery during the last mission, STS-114. New installation procedures are being developed to ensure gap fillers stay in place and do not pose any hazard during the shuttle’s re-entry to the atmosphere.

Engineers are evaluating data from two catch bottles that indicated higher levels of oxygen than expected in the shuttle’s aft compartment during the last mission. Six bottles automatically capture samples for two seconds in pairs at precise times after launch and through the first two minutes of flight.

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