This Echo is READ ONLY !   NO Un-Authorized Messages Please!
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John F. Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899
AC 321-867-2468
_______________________________  For Release: Jan. 30, 2003 

KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham				
(321) 867-2468						
	
KSC Release No. 14 - 03

NOTE TO EDITORS:
COLUMBIA SCHEDULED TO LAND AT KSC FEB. 1

The orbiter Columbia is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center 
(KSC) Saturday, Feb. 1, at about 9:16 a.m. EST completing the 16-day 
STS-107 international microgravity research mission. Columbia launched 
from KSC on Jan. 16, 2003, at 10:39 a.m. EST.

Landing at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) is slated to occur on 
orbit 255 at mission elapsed time 15 days, 22 hours, 37 minutes. The 
deorbit burn will occur at about 8:15 a.m. EST. A second KSC landing 
opportunity is also available on Feb. 1 at 10:50 a.m. EST with a 
deorbit burn coming at 9:50 a.m. EST. 

If managers must keep Columbia in orbit beyond Saturday, two landing
opportunities are available at KSC on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 7:38 a.m. EST 
and at 9:12 a.m. EST. Two additional times are also available at KSC 
on Monday, Feb. 3.

No landing opportunities are planned for the back-up landing location 
at Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB), Calif., on Saturday or Sunday.

If landing occurs as scheduled, it will be the 62nd landing at KSC in 
the history of the Shuttle program. Following landing, Columbia will 
be serviced and prepared for its next mission, STS-118, targeted to 
launch in November 2003.

After touchdown, the STS-107 crew will be taken to their KSC quarters 
to meet with their families and undergo initial physical examinations. 
A post-mission press conference with select members of the STS-107 
crew is scheduled to occur at the KSC News Center at about 6 p.m. EST.  
Media should check with the KSC Press Site for details.
 

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 three miles northwest 
of the 525-foot tall 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 leave the vehicle and remove 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 Columbia. The primary functions of the Space 
Shuttle recovery convoy are to provide immediate service to the 
orbiter after landing, assist crew egress, and prepare the orbiter for 
towing to the processing facility a few hours following touchdown. 

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.


NOTICE TO EDITORS: The KSC press site will open for landing activities 
at 5 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. Accredited news media wishing to view 
Columbia's landing should be at the KSC News Center no later than 7:45 
a.m. for transport to the SLF.  STS-107 launch badging requirements 
and security restrictions for the media remain in effect. Media 
parking will be at Gate 3 on S.R. 405. Additional information 
regarding accreditation, transportation to the KSC Press Site, landing 
photo opportunities, post-landing press conferences with the STS-107 
crew, and News Center operational hours is available by calling the 
KSC News Center at (321) 867-2468.

-- end --

-END OF FILE-
=============

---