KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SHUTTLE & PAYLOAD PROCESSING STATUS REPORT Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2002 (12:00 noon) Visit http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/schedule/schedule.htm on the KSC Home Page for the latest schedule of future Shuttle missions. MISSION: STS-109 - HST Servicing Mission 3B VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102 TARGET KSC LAUNCH DATE: Feb. 28, 2002 at 6:48 a.m. TARGET KSC LANDING DATE: March 11, 2002 at 5:01 a.m. MISSION DURATION: 11 days CREW: Altman, Carey, Grunsfeld, Currie, Newman, Linnehan, Massimino ORBITAL INSERTION ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 308 nautical miles/28.5 degrees Shuttle Processing Note: The Shuttle Columbia countdown ran a few hours late this morning due to requirements to perform additional inspections before closing the payload bay doors and changing out a faulty ground support equipment regulator before initiating fuel cell propellant load. Fuel cell servicing is scheduled to begin at about noon and will continue as the countdown enters a four-hour built-in-hold at the T-27 hour mark at 2 p.m. The Space Shuttle Mission Management Team meets at 2 p.m. to assess final status for the planned liftoff of STS-109 on Thursday, Feb. 28. The seven STS-109 crewmembers, working their own circadian time cycle, were awakened at 9 p.m. Monday night and spent their "day" undergoing medical checks and performing final mission preparations. Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey made a 1-¸ hour flight in the Shuttle Training Aircraft before returning to the crew quarters at 7 a.m. The crew had dinner at 9:45 a.m. and were scheduled to start their sleep period at 1 p.m. The latest forecast for Thursday has a 40 percent probability of weather prohibiting launch, with scattered clouds at 3,000 feet, a temperature of 39 degrees F and surface winds from the northwest at 7 to 10 knots. The forecast for the Solid Rocket Booster recovery area calls for a sea state of eight to 10 feet, northwest winds 18-22 knots and an ocean temperature of 72 degrees F. Launch-1 Day (Wednesday, Feb. 27) Enter planned hold at T-11 hours for 12 hours, 58 minutes (2 a.m.) * Begin star tracker functional checks (3 a.m.) * Activate orbiter's inertial measurement units * Activate the orbiter's communications systems * Install film in numerous cameras on the launch pad (4:50 a.m.) * Flight crew equipment late stow (7:20 a.m.) * Move Rotating Service Structure (RSS) to the park position (11 a.m.) * Perform ascent switch list * Fuel cell flow-through purge complete * * Resume countdown at T-11 hours (2:58 p.m.) * * Activate the orbiter's fuel cells (4:08 p.m.) * Clear the blast danger area of all non-essential personnel * Switch Columbia's purge air to gaseous nitrogen (4:43 p.m.) * * Enter planned 2-hour built-in hold at the T-6 hour mark (7:58 p.m.) * * Launch team verifies no violations of launch commit criteria prior to cryogenic loading of the external tank * Clear pad of all personnel * * Resume countdown (9:58 p.m.) * * Chilldown of propellant transfer lines (9:28 p.m.) * Begin loading the external tank with about 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants (about 9:58 p.m.) * * Launch Day (Thursday, Feb. 28) * * Complete filling the external tank with its flight load of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants (about 12:58 a.m.) * Final Inspection Team proceed to launch pad * * Enter planned 2-hour built-in hold at T-3 hours (12:58 a.m.) * * Perform inertial measurement unit preflight calibration * Align Merritt Island Launch Area (MILA) tracking antennas * Perform open loop test with Eastern Range * * Resume countdown at T-3 hours (2:58 a.m.) * * Crew departs Operations and Checkout Building for the pad (3:04 a.m.) * Complete close-out preparations in the white room * Check cockpit switch configurations * Flight crew begins entry into the orbiter (about 3:34 a.m.) * Astronauts perform air-to-ground voice checks with Launch and Mission Control * Close Columbia's crew hatch (about 4:48 a.m.) * Begin Eastern Range final network open loop command checks * Perform hatch seal and cabin leak checks * Complete white room close-out * Close-out crew moves to fallback area * Primary ascent guidance data is transferred to the backup flight system * * Enter planned 10-minute hold at T-20 minutes (5:38 a.m.) * * NASA Test Director conducts final launch team briefings * Complete inertial measurement unit preflight alignments * * Resume countdown at T-20 minutes (5:48 a.m.) * * Transition the orbiter's onboard computers to launch configuration * Start fuel cell thermal conditioning * Close orbiter cabin vent valves * Transition backup flight system to launch configuration * * Enter estimated 40-minute hold at T-9 minutes (5:59 a.m.) * * Launch Director, Mission Management Team and NASA Test Director conduct final polls for go/no go to launch * * Resume countdown at T-9 minutes (about 6:39 a.m.) * Start automatic ground launch sequencer (T-9:00 minutes) * Retract orbiter crew access arm (T-7:30) * Start mission recorders (T-6:15) * Start Auxiliary Power Units (T-5:00) * Arm SRB and ET range safety safe and arm devices (T-5:00) * Start liquid oxygen drainback (T-4:55) * Start orbiter aerosurface profile test (T-3:55) * Start main engine gimbal profile test (T-3:30) * Pressurize liquid oxygen tank (T-2:55) * Begin retraction of the gaseous oxygen vent arm (T-2:55) * Fuel cells to internal reactants (T-2:35) * Pressurize liquid hydrogen tank (T-1:57) * Deactivate SRB joint heaters (T-1:00) * Orbiter transfers from ground to internal power (T-0:50 seconds) * Ground Launch Sequencer go for auto sequence start (T-0:31 seconds) * SRB gimbal profile (T-0:21 seconds) * Ignition of three Space Shuttle main engines (T-6.6 seconds) * SRB ignition and liftoff (T-0) CREW FOR MISSION STS-109 Commander (CDR): Scott D. Altman Pilot (PLT): Duane G. Carey Payload Commander (MS1): John M. Grunsfeld Mission Specialist (MS2): Nancy Jane Currie Mission Specialist (MS3): Richard M. Linnehan Mission Specialist (MS4): James H. Newman Mission Specialist (MS5): Michael J. Massimino SUMMARY OF STS-109 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES Wednesday, Feb. 27 9 p.m. Crew wake up 10:15 p.m. Breakfast Thursday, Feb. 28 *1:00 a.m. Snack and photo opportunity 2:24 a.m. Weather Briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2) *2:24 a.m. Don flight suits (MS1, MS3, MS4, MS5) *2:34 a.m. Don flight suits (CDR, PLT, MS2) *3:04 a.m. Depart for launch pad *3:34 a.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress *4:48 a.m. Close crew hatch *6:48 a.m. Launch * Televised events (times may vary slightly) All times Eastern -- end --