[sarex] ET-117 Arrived at Kennedy

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*ET-117 Arrived at Kennedy*

 Image above: The barge carrying external tank 117 is maneuvered toward 
the dock by a tug boat in the turn basin of Kennedy's Launch Complex 39 
area. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Phaller

TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

+ View Hi-res Image 
<http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170421main_barge.jpg>
+ View Hail Damage to External Tank 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/multimedia/117_gallery-hail.html> 


*04.06.07 *
NASA's Pegasus barge with external fuel tank 117 aboard arrived at 
Kennedy Space Center today.

Shuttle program managers will meet on or about April 10 to decide 
whether to use ET-124 or substitute it with ET-117 for the STS-117 
mission to the International Space Station.

Work continues to assess and repair hail damage to ET-124. Foam repairs 
on the liquid hydrogen tank, which is located on the bottom of the 
external tank, are complete and the focus is currently on repairs to the 
liquid oxygen tank.

Shuttle program managers decided this week to inspect Atlantis and 
Endeavour's main propulsion system for contamination after a small 
amount of material was found during routine post-flight inspections in 
one engine that flew on the STS-116 mission of Discovery in December 
2006 and one engine that flew on the STS-121 mission of Discovery in 
July 2006.

The contaminant is a substance called RepliSet, which is a material used 
to make a mold of the flow liner surface. It is used to check for cracks 
and imperfections. The inspections can be accomplished within the time 
frame of the hail damage recovery effort, with no impact to the launch 
schedule for STS-117.

During the STS-117's 11-day mission, the six-member crew will install a 
new truss segment, retract a set of solar arrays and unfold a new set on 
the starboard side of the station. Lessons learned from two previous 
missions will provide the astronauts with new techniques and tools to 
perform their duties.

Atlantis Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault and Mission 
Specialists Jim Reilly, Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson and John 
"Danny" Olivas will continue training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in 
Houston as they await a new target launch date.

*STS-117 Mission*
+ The Crew 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/index.html> 

+ The Mission 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/mission_overview.html> 

+ The Integrated Truss Structure 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/its.html>