Headline News
Internal Communications Branch (P-2) NASA Headquarters

  Wednesday, February 6, 1991	Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788

This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, February 6, 1991

The flow of work in the two Orbiter Processing Facilities 
continues on a schedule to meet Discovery's planned March, and 
Atlantis' planned April, launch dates.  Work on Discovery 
yesterday included re-splicing of a heater control line.  That 
repair will be tested today.  Discovery is scheduled for aft 
closeout this afternoon and will undergo structural leak checks 
tonight and tomorrow.  Roll over to the Vehicle Assembly 
Building is scheduled for daybreak on Saturday, Feb. 9.  
Columbia will be rolled from the VAB into OPF Bay 1 shortly 
after Discovery arrives in the VAB transfer aisle.  The terminal 
countdown demonstration test for Discovery is now set for Feb. 
19 and 20.

Work on Atlantis includes continued preparation of the crew 
cabin for the installation of two windows, and aft preparations 
for the retest of main engine #2.  Atlantis' STS-37 external tank 
was mated to the two solid rocket boosters last night.

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In the world of payloads, final electrical testing of the Gamma 
Ray Observatory has been completed.  The flight batteries 
have been installed and are being trickle charged.  Last week, 
GRO was rotated to the vertical position and placed in its 
transporter.  Yesterday, the transporter cover was placed 
around the spacecraft in preparation for the one-mile trip to the 
Vertical Processing Facility.  The trip to the VPF will begin 
at 4:00 am tomorrow.

The Tethered Satellite was successfully hoisted into its deploy 
mechanism last month, and has been removed and reinstalled 
several times since then to allow technicians to make fit 
adjustments.  The tether reel assembly was installed on the 
flight pallet this past weekend.  The deploy mechanism will be 
mated to the pallet in late April.  In the meantime, the Tethered 
Satellite is back in the laboratory for a series of tests.

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Langley Research Center is displaying the HL-20 Personnel 
Transport System vehicle at the Crystal City Holiday Inn 
Crowne Plaza today and tomorrow.  This is a life-sized 
mockup of Langley's lifting body concept for a six-person Earth-
to-orbit "astrobus."

As part of NASA's observation of Black History Month,  Dr. 
Edward Fort, Chancellor of North Carolina A&T State 
University, Greensboro, will discuss "Historically Black 
Colleges and Universities," at 11:00 am in the NASA 
Headquarters Auditorium.  The presentation will be shown live 
on NASA Select TV.

	
Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA 
Select TV.  All times are Eastern.  **indicates a live program.

Wednesday, 2/6/91
	11:00 am	**"Historically Black Colleges and Universities," 
			presentation by Dr. Edward Fort, Chancellor of North
			Carolina A&T State University.

	 1:15 pm	**Magellan-at-Venus update from Jet Propulsion 
			Laboratory.


	

All events and times may change without notice.  This report is 
filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12:00 pm, EST.  It is a 
service of Internal Communications Branch at NASA 
Headquarters.  Contact:  CREDMOND on NASAmail or at 
202/453-8425.
	

NASA Select TV:  Satcom F2R, Transponder 13, C-Band, 72 
degrees West Longitude, Audio 6.8, Frequency 3960 MHz.