STS-129 Rollout Preps

Final Rollout Preps in Store for Atlantis

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:45:33 -0500

Technicians are conducting tests and working on final preparations for space shuttle Atlantis' move, or rollout, to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building is scheduled for 12:01 a.m. EDT Wednesday.

At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the six STS-129 mission astronauts have the Columbus Day holiday off and will resume training on Tuesday morning.

The crew is scheduled to fly to Kennedy on Oct. 19 to participate in the three-day Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT. Typically held prior to launch, TCDT gives the crew an opportunity to check the fit of their spacesuits, practice emergency evacuation procedures at the launch pad, review firefighting methods, and participate in briefings on security and range safety.

Atlantis is targeted to launch to the International Space Station at 4:04 p.m. EST Nov. 12 on an 11-day mission.

STS-129 Crew Photo

STS-129 Mission Patch

Mission Pin Available shortly!

Atlantis Prepared for STS-129

Atlantis Preps for STS-129 Continue

Space shuttle Atlantis remains in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, undergoing preparations for its rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building scheduled for Oct. 6.

STS-129 Mission Patch

Closure of the payload bay door in anticipation for the rollover is planned for Friday. Testing of the wing leading edge sensors is ongoing. The sensors help monitor the reinforced carbon carbon heat shield panels on the shuttle’s wings for possible debris impacts.

Once Atlantis is in the VAB, it will be joined with the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters that already have been stacked on the mobile launcher platform in High Bay 2.
Rollout to Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A is scheduled for Oct. 13.

STS-129 Crew Portrait