Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1991
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q_ KHR-16 March 1992 Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1991 (',;AgA-T_-[O7.,_02) CNROI_OLOOY _]F KSC AND KSC N_2-25250 KrLAT_J EVi7 NTS F_ ]Vol Annudl R_oort t ]_qi (r_J_rton) L;_,L _) CSCL 050 Uncles G3/_9 007774_ National Aeronautics and Space Administration John R Kennedy Space Center KK _ONii li*li (IIV. I/?i| v kv- CHRONOLOGY OF KSC AND KSC RELATED EVENTS FOR 1991 BY KEN NAIL, JR. KSC UBRARY ARCHIVIST v V FOREWORD This 1991 Chronology is published to fulfill the requirements of KMI 2700.1 (as revised) to describe and document KSC's role in NASA progress. Maledais for this Chronology were selected from a number of published sources. The document records KSC events of inlerest to hislodans and other researchers. Arrangement is by date of occurrence, though the source cited may be dated one or more days after the event. Materials were researched and prepared for publication by Historian-Archivist Ken Nail, Jr., of EG&G FLORIDA, Inc. The 1991 Chronology includes two appendices: (A) Shuttle Era Rrsts (p. 261) and (B) Shuttle Landings at KSC (p. 263). A General Index (p. 264) and a Company Index (p. 274) have been included for added convenience to resemchem, and each _ has been headlined. Comment on the Chronology should be directed to the John F. Kennedy Space Center, UBRARY-E, Kennedy Space Center, Flodda, 32899. Walter L Covin_ Center Services . J TABLE OF CONTENTS JANUARY ................................................. 1 FEBRUARY ............................................... 14 MARCH ................................................. 24 APRIL .................................................. 43 MAY .................................................... 60 JUNE ................................................... 89 JULY ................................................... 108 AUGUST ................................................ 135 SEPTEMBER ............................................. 166 OCTOBER ............................................... 186 NOVEMBER .............................................. 217 DECEMBER .............................................. 241 APPENDIX A ............................................. 261 APPENDIX B ............................................. 263 GENERAL INDEX .......................................... 264 COMPANY INDEX .......................................... 274 JANUARY January 2: CHILD-CARE FACILITY OPENS This morning the doors to Kennedy Space Center's child-care facility were opened for the first time. About 120 children of KSC employees have been registered and there is a waiting list for the Infant room, according to Michael Weissman, Manager of the facility for Tutor Time Space Coast Inc. "The first day was really a dalight. It all went very smoothly," Weissman said. NASA government employees have priority over contractors for available space in the child care facility. An industrial area security gate off Kennedy Parkway South was moved to keep the day-care center off secured property so that parents without KSC identification badges could get to their children. KSC security officers have been trained in emergency medical techniques for children. [Banke, FLORIDA TODAY, p. 1B, Jan. 3, 1991 .] g KSC BAT PATROL USBI Co. workers who rebuild Shuttle boosters are looking to bats for relief from Space Coast mosquItoes which pester them in their unscreened lO-story building. At a cost of $100, workers from USBI and the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science will place three bat houses next to the USBI facilities. The three houses are expected to attract about ten wild bats who should consume about 600 mosquItoes per hour, according to Museum Curator Merle Kuns. [Jones, FLORIDA TODAY, p. 1A, Jan. 3, 1991 .] January 3.- ORBITERPROCESSING Today the payload bay doors of Discovery are to be opened and the Ku-Band antenna is to be deployed and checked. The forward reaction control system is scheduled to be installed this evening. The rudder speed brake has been inspected and redundancy checks are underway. Atlantis is scheduled to be powered up today and the payload bay doors opened. The number 3 auxiliary power unit is scheduled for Installation today; the remote manipulator system will be installed over the weekend. Inspections of the nose cap are continuing. Technicians are setting up platforms in Columbia's aft compartment to begin post- flight Inspections. Access to the crew cabin is being established and some tile operations are scheduled. Booster stacking operations are continuing for Atiantis' STS 37 mission. A new 17-inch liquid hydrogen disconnect is being installed on the extemal tank this week. [KSC SHU'I'I'I,E STATUS REPORT, Jan. 3, 1991 .] January 4: CEA,INC.CONTRACl" CEA, Inc. (Canton,MA) has been awarded a $534,000 contract for fiber-optic cable work at Kennedy Space Center. The small business firm will fumish and install one 144-fiber cable from a main communications switching center, the Vehicle Assembly Building Repeater (VABR) in the Launch Complex 39 area, to the Orbiter Modification and Refurbishment Facility (OMRF). Two cables of the same capacity will also be provided to run from the VABR to the Launch Control Center (LCC). A second part of the contract calls for the installation of two 36-fiber cables from the VABR to the Lockheed Logistics Facility and a copper audio cable link to a weather instrumentation location. [Kdstofferson, KSC NEWS RELEASE NO. 3-91, Jan. 4, 1991.] g SANTA CRUZ _ON CONTRACT Santa Cruz Construction (Merritt Island, FL) was awarded a $144,294 contract by Kennedy Space Center for the installation of underground communications conduits and access manholes in the center's Industrial Area. The small business firm will install the conduits to provide a communications pathway under NASA Causeway East and to expand hardware capabilities for the KSC Operational Intercommunication System (OIS). The OIS provides communications links between the Space Shuffle Orbiter and payload processing facilities, the Launch Control Center and Launch Pads 39A and 39B. [Kristofferson, KSC NEWS RELEASE NO. 4-91, Jan. 4, 1991.] g SAUER, INC, CONTRACT Sauer, Inc. (Jacksonville, FL) was awarded a Kennedy Space Center contract today worth $1.13 million for the removal of existing air handling units in the Vehicle Assembly Building and replacement with new models featuring computerized automatictemperature control. [Kristoffarson, KSC NEWS RELEASE NO. 1-91, Jan. 4, 1991 .] g TRITON MARINE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT Kennedy Space Center today awarded a $3.2 million contract to Triton Madne Construction (Houston, TX) for the rehabilitation and repair of four bridges at KSC. (See story below.) [Kristofferson, KSC NEWS RELEASE NO. 2-91, Jan. 4, 1991 .] n DISCOVERY PROCESSING: STS 39 The forward reaction control system (FRCS) was Installed ovemight; an interface test of the system will be conducted tomorrow. The payload bay doors have been opened today and the Ku-Band antenna has been deployed for checks. Engineers are evaluating a problem with the pilot's attitude director indicator, a navigation aid that gives the crew information about the Orbiter's attitude in terms of pitch, yaw and roll. Exhaust ducts of the three auxiliary power units were tested and the data are being evaluated. [KSC SHUTI'LE STATUS REPORT, Jan. 4, 1991 .] g ATLANllS: GPC INSTAU.ATION Atlantis is powered up today for routine tests. The new general purpose computers are being installed in the Orbiter. Connections of the number 3 APU are continuing. The remote manipulator system is at the OPF and remains scheduled for installation this weekend. Instrumentation is being installed for the flutter buffet modification. Booster stacking operations are continuing. The left aft center segmentis being mated to the left booster today. The left forward center segment is scheduled for mating early next week. Technicians are aligning the new 17-inch liquid hydrogen disconnect in the proper position on the external tank. [KSC SHU'I-rl.E STATUS REPORT. Jan. 4, 1991 .] [i STS 35 (COLUMBIA) PROCESSING Technicians removed the sleep stations from Columbia's crew cabin yesterday. Tiles are being waterproofed and post-flight inspections in the aft compartment have commenced. [KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT, Jan. 4, 1991 .] January 7: DELTA 2: RRST 1991 LAUNCH A NATO communications satellite was the first payload lifted to orbit in 1991 aboard a Delta 2 rocket at 7:53 p.m. tonight. The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch had been delayed 68 minutes due to overcast skies caused by the presence of two thunderstorms moving over Central Florida. Don Tutmler, Director of the McDonnell Douglas Delta Launch Vehicle Division, said, "Launching was like threading a needle." Built by Marconi Space Systems and British Aerospace, the $110 million dollar NATO satellite will allow political leaders to communicate with each other and with the organization's Brussels, Belgium, headquarters. [Brown, FLORIDA TODAY, p. 1A, Jan. 7, 1991, and Brown, FLORIDA TODAY, p. 2A, Jan. 8, 1991 .] Janualy 8: SHUTTLE FLOW DIRECTORS NAMED Kennedy Space Center recently named flow directors for the Space Shuttle Orbiters Discovery and Endeavour. John J. =Tip"Talone has been named as the Flow Director for NASA's newest Orbiter, Endeavour, which is undergoing construction in Palmdale, CA. John C. "Chris" Fairey has been chosen as Flow Director for Discovery. [Malone, KSC NEWS RELEASE NO. 5-91, Jan. 8, 1991 .] January 10: A'n.,ANT1S WINDOW REPLACEMENTS Both Atlantis and Columbia suffered some damage to their windows during their most recent