July 20, 1995

KSC RELEASE NO. 71-95

DISCOVERY SCHEDULED TO LAND AT KSC

	The orbiter Discovery is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space
Center on Friday, July 21 at 7:54 a.m. EDT, completing its STS-70
mission which was launched from KSC on July 13.

	Landing at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) is slated to
occur on orbit 127 at mission elapsed time of 7 days, 22 hours, 12
minutes. The deorbit burn will occur at about 6:54 a.m. Friday.

	There is one later KSC landing opportunity on Friday at 9:30
a.m. In the event a landing is not possible at KSC on Friday due to
weather concerns, no landing attempt is expected to be made at
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (though one opportunity exists at 9:21
a.m. EDT). On Saturday, two landing opportunities are available at
KSC and one at Edwards.

	KSC Saturday landing times are: 6:26 a.m. and 8:01 a.m. EDT.

	EAFB Saturday landing time is: 9:28 a.m. EDT.

	The landing of Discovery will mark the 24th landing at KSC in
the history of Space Shuttle flight. It will be the third KSC landing
this year.

	About 5 hours after landing, select members of the flight
crew will be present for a post-mission press conference. The
conference will be held at the KSC TV auditorium and carried live on
NASA TV.


SLF and KSC Ground Operations

	The Shuttle Landing Facility was built in 1975. It is 300
feet wide and 15,000 feet long with 1,000 foot overruns at each end.
The strip runs northwest to southeast and is located about 3 miles
northwest of the Vehicle Assembly Building.

	Once the orbiter is on the ground, safing operations will
commence and the flight crew will prepare the vehicle for post-landing
operations. The Crew Transport Vehicle (CTV) will be used to assist the
crew, allowing them to egress the vehicle and doff their launch and
re-entry suits easier and quicker.

	The CTV and other KSC landing convoy operations have been
"on-call" since the launch of Discovery July 13. The primary
functions of the Space Shuttle recovery convoy are: provide immediate
service to the orbiter after landing, assist crew egress, prepare the
orbiter for towing to the Orbiter Processing Facility.

	Convoy vehicles are stationed at the SLF's mid-point. About
two hours prior to landing, convoy personnel don SCAPE suits, or Self
Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble, and communications checks
are made. A warming-up of coolant and purge equipment is conducted
and nearly two dozen convoy vehicles are positioned to move onto the
runway as quickly and as safely as possible once the orbiter coasts
to a stop. When the vehicle is deemed safe of all potential explosive
hazards and toxic gases, the purge and coolant umbilical access
vehicles move into position at the rear of the orbiter.

	Following purge and coolant operations, flight crew egress
preparations will begin and the CTV will be moved into position at
the crew access hatch located on the orbiter's port side. A physician
will board the Shuttle and conduct a brief preliminary examination of
the astronauts. The crew will then make preparations to leave the
vehicle.

	Following departure from the SLF, the crew will be taken to
their quarters in the O&C Building, meet with their families, undergo
a physical examination and prepare to depart for the skid strip at
Cape Canaveral Air Station for their trip back to JSC.

	If Discovery lands at Edwards, an augmented KSC convoy team
will be on-site to safe the vehicle, disembark the crew and move the
orbiter to the Mate/Demate Device. The turnaround team will be
deployed to Edwards by charter aircraft on landing day.

	About 3 hours, 30 minutes after Discovery lands at KSC, it
will be towed to Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 for post-flight
deservicing. Preparations will then begin for Discovery to be ferried
to Palmdale, Calif., where it will spend about 9 months undergoing
standard refurbishment and modifications to support future flights to
the international Space Station. Discovery is scheduled to be
delivered to Palmdale about Oct. 1 and return to Kennedy Space Center
on about July 1, 1996. Discovery’s next flight is not scheduled to
occur until early 1997, the second mission to re-visit the Hubble
Space Telescope.

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NOTICE TO EDITORS: Media wishing to view Discovery's landing should
be at the KSC press site between 4:30 - 6:30 a.m. Friday for
transport to the SLF. Other specific information is available at the
KSC News Center regarding landing photo opportunities, the post
landing press conference, crew departure photo opportunities and news
center operational hours.