STS-114: Crew Equipment Interface Test

Put to the Test

02.11.05

All seven members of the STS-114 crew were busy at NASA's Kennedy Space
Center in Florida Feb. 10 and 11, further familiarizing themselves with the
spacecraft that will take them on the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight
mission.

The astronauts took the Crew Equipment Interface Test, or CEIT, a formal
test that every Space Shuttle crew takes before flight. The experience
served as a thrilling reminder that the May-June flight launch opportunity
window is drawing ever closer.

"We're getting really excited about flying," said Eileen Collins, commander
of the STS-114 mission to the International Space Station. "We're going to
have a great mission."

During the two-day event, the crew members spent the bulk of their time in
the Orbiter Processing Facility, where orbiter Discovery is undergoing final
preparations for its historic flight. The CEIT allowed the astronauts to
work closely with the hardware they'll be required to operate on orbit.

This week's test had three major goals, according to Collins.

The first day was spent primarily on the first goal: a walk-around and
visual inspection of Discovery's exterior. This will aid the astronauts
during the second and fourth days of their flight, when they'll perform an
on-orbit inspection to ensure the spacecraft sustained no damage during
launch. "We'll also have photographs of the exterior of Discovery that we
can look at later, and that will help us with our inspection goal," she
added.

The crew spent most of the second day of CEIT inside Discovery's crew cabin,
accomplishing the test's second goal by becoming more familiar with the
flight deck and mid-deck. The astronauts noted which cables are routed to
various pieces of equipment, looked behind panels, reviewed in-flight
maintenance tasks, and even took a peek at components beneath the floor of
the mid-deck, such as water tanks.

Finally, the crew took on the test's third goal: space walk preparation.
They ventured through Discovery's payload bay, reviewing normal tasks and
any additional work they may be called upon to perform.

Normally, CEIT occurs about two months before scheduled launch. But STS-114
is not a normal mission. A test of the External Tank is planned, as well as
other Return to Flight tests, so the schedule has been adjusted to provide
extra time for testing at the launch pad.

Because of that, "we're doing CEIT early," Collins said. "The orbiter is
ready, and the folks are ready for us to do this."

The astronauts also stopped by the Space Station Processing Facility for a
quick look at the payloads they'll bring with them on their mission,
including the Multipurpose Logistics Module Raffaello, a new control moment
gyro, several racks of experiments and other equipment and supplies. The
racks will eventually be installed inside Raffaello.

As launch day approaches and final preparations and plans are made, the crew
members emphasized their confidence in the safety measures of the Space
Shuttle program.

"You know, I believe in what we're doing," Collins said. "And there is risk
in space flight, but yes, I certainly feel it's going to be safe."



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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info