Endeavour astronauts today practiced procedures they hope never to use. Simulating a fire or other emergency at at Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A, they jumped into an M113 armored personnel carrier they would use to blast through the pad's perimeter fence to escape an explosion.
The crew would drive the lime-green tank to a triage site where where medical crews would await. Today, each crew member took a turn driving the tank.
The astronauts also familiarized themselves with the launch pad bunker that would be their first safe harbor, before determining if they had enough time to flee in the tank.
The seven astronauts, who arrived Sunday from Houston, are in the midst of training called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. It culminates Wednesday in a dress rehearsal of their liftoff planned for Nov. 14, on a 15-day mission to outfit the International Space Station.
Commanander Chris Ferguson and Pilot Eric Boe are also practicing landings in modified Gulfstream jets called Shuttle Training Aircraft.
On Tuesday, the crew will answer questions from the media in front of Endeavour at the launch pad. You can watch live coverage of the event here at The Flame Trench starting at 8:30 a.m. Just click on the NASA TV viewer on the right side of the page.
In other shuttle developments, Endeavour's payload was installed Sunday afternoon, including the Italian-made Leonardo "cargo van." It's the heaviest Multi-Purpose Logistics Module ever launched, carrying about 19,000 pounds of gear packed into all 16 of its cargo racks.
Endeavour is hauling supplies and furnishings that will allow station crews to double from three to six people.
Meanwhile, in the Vehicle Assembly Building, workers today began stacking solid rocket boosters onto a mobile launcher platform for Discovery's STS-119 mission, which is slated for a Feb. 12 launch.
Still undetermined is a launch date for Atlantis' Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, which was delayed from this month to early next year.
NASA executives will conduct a final flight readiness review this Thursday and Friday to officially set Endeavour's launch date.
IMAGE NOTE: Click on the images twice to fully enlarge them. Abpve,
STS-126 crew members practicing driving an M-113 armored personnel carrier as part of pre-launch preparation known as Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT. The training provides astronauts and ground crews with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and a simulated launch countdown. Below, crew members for Endeavour's STS-126 mission posed for a group portrait Sunday at the Shuttle Landing Facility. From left are Mission Specialists Shane Kimbrough and Steve Bowen, Pilot Eric Boe, Commander Chris Ferguson, and Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Sandra Magnus. Endeavour is targeted to launch at 7:55 p.m. EST on Nov. 14. Photo credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett.
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