WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR WEEK ENDING 6 JUNE 2003:
SPACE VEHICLE THRUSTER TESTING UNDERWAY
The space vehicle has been removed from the thermal vacuum test chamber rails and is in the tilt dolly. E14 thruster testing is currently underway.
The leak check of the thruster system is in progress, and the actual functional checkout of the thrusters will start as soon as the leak check is complete.
Visual inspection revealed contamination on the nozzle plate of the -X forward thruster, with no signs of contamination on any of the other thrusters.
The thruster was removed from the vehicle, recleaned, and inspected. The plan is to reinstall the thruster Monday June 9, with no impact to the overall
critical path. It will be tested on the vehicle during the latter stages of the current E14 test sequence. A likely root cause has been identified, which will be
described in the final report.
The team continues to be on track for a 7/10/03 ship date to Vandenberg.
Photo: The GP-B spacecraft.
FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR SIM 5 UNDERWAY
Final preparations for Sim 5, which will be performed on the space vehicle, are underway. All flight and ground procedures necessary for the
Sim have been updated and delivered. Testing is currently underway to verify all details of the configuration are set correctly for the simulation.
A dry run has been successfully completed in the Integrated Test Facility, and a dry run will be conducted on the vehicle June 9. Finally, an intensive
training program is underway and will continue through the simulation.