HOUSTON Though the test results from last week's shuttle repairs have yet to be completed, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) technicians are moving ahead with scheduled preparations for the vehicle's Monday launch.
Engineers at the Florida space center finished poring over data from the weekends frequency response test (FRT) of a newly installed power-drive unit (PDU) that controls the shuttles rudder speed-brake to slow it down during landing.
"Weve got the FRT behind us and the preliminary hack looks good," said KSC spokesman Joel Wells. "Were back into our standard work now."
Even with the successful test results, little or no slack remains in the schedule as crews work around-the-clock. Atlantis is set to lift off Monday at 4:51 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (20:51 GMT) on a critical mission to the International Space Station.
Should any problems develop that cannot be repaired in concert with other activities, the launch could be pushed back into May.
"If any unexpected work came up that could not be completed in parallel, it could impact us," Wells said.
Engineers at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) will have the final call on the problematic PDU before launch and are studying the faulty unit.
"Well develop a conclusion one way or another before we fly," said JSC spokesman James Hartsfield.
He said engineers would probably finish their work within the next couple of days. The faulty PDU had been operating within specified tolerances, but gave unusual readings and mission managers decided to replace it last week.
advertisement
