STS-92 Day 13 Highlights

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On Monday, October 23, 2000, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-92 MCC Status Report # 25 reports:

After an additional day in space, Space Shuttle Discovery and the seven-member STS-92 crew is scheduled to return to Earth later today, weather conditions permitting. Landing opportunities exist at both the prime landing site at NASA^Òs Kennedy Space Center.in Florida or the alternate landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Weather conditions in Florida closely mimic those of yesterday when strong winds forced a landing wave-off. There is an additional threat of low clouds and showers in the vicinity of the Shuttle Landing Facility today with weather conditions expected to continue degrading over the next 24 hours. In California, the forecast for Edwards Air Force Base calls for a possibility of cloud cover and rain showers in the area, but generally improving conditions tomorrow.

Entry Flight Director Leroy Cain and his team of flight controllers have a total of four opportunities to bring Discovery home today, two at each of the landing sites. The first opportunity is to KSC on orbit 185 with a de-orbit burn at 12:43 p.m. CDT with a landing at 1:51 p.m. The second Florida landing opportunity would see a de-orbit burn at 2:21 p.m. CDT and a landing at 3:28 p.m. The second KSC and first Edwards opportunities are on the same orbit, six minutes apart.

If the second KSC landing opportunity is used, Discovery will skirt along the Gulf Coast during its high-speed reentry and residents in the Houston area will have an opportunity to see Discovery^Òs plasma trail and hear the sonic boom created by its passage as Discovery streaks overhead. The Houston pass would occur between 3:10-3:16 p.m.

Discovery^Òs landing tracks for all of today^Òs opportunities may be found at the human space flight web site at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/groundtracs/index.html.

The first opportunity of the day to land at Edwards Air Force Base would see a de-orbit burn on orbit 186 at 2:15 p.m. and a landing at 3:32 p.m. CDT. The second Edwards opportunity has a de-orbit burn taking place at 3:51 p.m. and landing at 4:58 p.m. CDT.

With a landing today, Discovery^Òs crew would return to Houston^Òs Ellington Field for a welcome home ceremony at approximately 1 p.m. Tuesday.

On Monday, October 23, 2000, 5:30 p.m. CDT, STS-92 MCC Status Report # 26 reports:

Discovery's astronauts will remain in space another day after rains near Edwards Air Force Base in California prevented landing on either of two opportunities at the California site. Discovery had two landing opportunities at Kennedy Space Center. but high winds there made landing weather unacceptable.

After carefully watching cloud cover at Edwards and getting observations from Astronaut Kent Rominger flying weather reconnaissance, entry flight director Leroy Cain decided about 3:30 p.m. CDT to wave-off the first attempt, which would have seen a landing at 4:58 p.m. CDT. Landing on second attempt would have been at Edwards at 6:35 p.m. The decision for the second wave-off came at 4:27 p.m.

Landing criteria call for no rain within 30 miles of the runway. Showers were observed on the edge of that circle, and forecasters continued to predict unacceptable conditions.

Discovery will have two opportunities to land at KSC, though weather there is predicted to be unacceptable. Discovery is not expected to attempt a landing on the first opportunity, at 12:52 p.m. CDT. They will look at the second opportunity, for a 2:28 p.m. Edwards weather is predicted to be acceptable. The first landing opportunity there would see a burn of the orbital maneuvering engines at 2:54 p.m. CDT and a landing at 3:59 p.m. The second has a deorbit burn at 4:31 p.m. and a landing at 5:35 p.m.

For the second consecutive day, the crew performed "deorbit backout" procedures after the last wave-off, undoing the preparations they had made to come home. And again, flight controllers in Houston will work through the night and into Tuesday morning to develop a re-entry strategy.

Discovery's crew will go to bed tonight shortly after 9 p.m. and be awakened tomorrow at 5:17 a.m. to once again begin preparations for a return trip home.

The next status report will be issued at 6 a.m. Tuesday or as events warrant.

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