[sarex] Re: STS-117 Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test

[Arthur Rowe]

> SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
>
> STS-117 Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test
>
>     
> STS-117 crew members gather at the Shuttle Landing Facility.*Ready for 
> Practice.*
> The STS-117 crew members gather at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle 
> Landing Facility after arriving in T-38 jets. Led by Commander Rick 
> Sturckow, the crew is at Kennedy to take part in the terminal 
> countdown demonstration test, a preparation for their launch to the 
> International Space Station. From left are Pilot Lee Archambault, 
> Mission Specialists Danny Olivas and Steven Swanson, Sturckow, and 
> Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

> TO VIEW IMAGES GO TO:
> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/117tcdt_photos.html 
>
>
> + View High-res Image 
> <http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170146main_07pd0462.jpg>
>
> *Getaway Drivers.*
> At Launch Complex 39, members of the STS-117 crew are instructed in 
> the operation of an M-113 armored personnel carrier by the astronaut 
> rescue team. The M-113 could be used to move the crew away from the 
> launch pad quickly in the event of an emergency. Photo credit: 
> NASA/Kim Shiflett
> + View High-res Image 
> <http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170147main_07pd0477.jpg>
>
> *Plotting Their Escape.*
> In addition to M-113 training, the terminal countdown demonstration 
> test includes teaching each astronaut how to make an emergency egress 
> from the launch pad using the slidewire basket system. From left are 
> Commander Rick Sturckow, Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester, Pilot 
> Lee Archambault, and Mission Specialists Danny Olivas, Steven Swanson 
> and James Reilly. Photo Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.
> + View High-res Image 
> <http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170148main_07pd0491.jpg>
>
> *Preparing for Takeoff.*
> At the Shuttle Landing Facility, Commander Sturckow sits in the 
> cockpit of the shuttle training aircraft, ready to begin practice 
> flights. The aircraft is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream 
> II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and 
> visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, it duplicates the 
> orbiter's descent from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing 
> on a runway. Photo Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
> + View High-res Image 
> <http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170149main_07pd0503.jpg>
>
> *Posing at the Top.*
> On the 215-foot level of the fixed service structure on Launch Pad 
> 39A, STS-117 crew members gather for a photo near the solid rocket 
> boosters and external tank of Space Shuttle Atlantis after completing 
> the terminal countdown demonstration test. From left are Mission 
> Specialists Danny Olivas and Steven Swanson, Pilot Lee Archambault, 
> Commander Rick Sturckow, and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester and 
> James Reilly. The STS-117 mission is No. 21 to the International Space 
> Station. Mission payloads aboard Atlantis include the S3/S4 integrated 
> truss structure, a third set of solar arrays and batteries. The crew 
> of six astronauts will install the truss to continue assembly of the 
> station. Photo Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
> + View High-res Image 
> <http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/170154main_07pd0544.jpg>
>
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