A barge carrying the external tank NASA plans to use for its second post-Columbia test flight is tentatively scheduled to reach Port Canaveral about noon.
Arrival at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 is expected late in the afternoon or early in the evening.
Subsequently, the tank will be moved into the 52-story KSC Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be attached to twin 149-foot solid rocket boosters that already are stacked atop a mobile launcher platform.
The orbiter Discovery is to be moved from its processing hangar to the VAB in mid-April, and the fully assembled shuttle is scheduled to be rolled out to the launch pad a week later.
Launch is being targeted for May 10, and while there is no extra time built into NASA's processing schedule, the agency still hopes to get Discovery's mission under way during a window that extends from May 3 to May 22.
The ET barge set sail Saturday from Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where workers still are struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The picture above shows the tank being rolled out of the factory for the five-day trip to to KSC.
The delivery to KSC will mark a major milestone in NASA preparations to return its shuttle fleet to service and resume construction of the International Space Station.
If all goes well on the upcoming test flight, NASA hopes to re-start outpost assembly with shuttle missions that launch in late August and mid-November.
No comments:
Post a Comment