|
|||||
 | |||||
A Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) was conducted on July 12, 2000, in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) at Kennedy Space Center Florida, with Astronaut Wakata participating. What is CEIT? The CEIT is a test conducted two to three months prior to a shuttle launch. Astronauts who will be the on-orbit users of the flight hardware verify that there are no interface problems between that hardware and the astronaut users. Astronauts are mostly trained at Johnson Space Center, whereas the flight hardware is located at Kennedy Space Center. The CEIT provides the astronauts with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the flight hardware. During this test, fit checks are made between flight hardware that have not yet been verified. Fit checks with EVA tools and hardware planned to be handled during EVA are also conducted. Training that is difficult to conduct using mockups are also conducted. STS-92 CEIT For the launch, the PMA-3 and several other hardware items are fastened on the Spacelab Pallet in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery. During this CEIT, astronaut Wakata and other crew members verified the accessibility of the Spacelab Pallet and equipment mounted on the Spacelab Pallet. The equipment included the PMA-3, the Manual Berthing Mechanism (MBM) that is used to fasten the PMA-3 on the pallet, EVA Tool Stowage Devices (ETSDs) and DC-to-DC converters (DDCUs). * The ETSDs are the two boxes with handrails in the 3rd Figure from the top. They will be launched fastened to the Spacelab Pallet and will be transferred to the Z1 truss by EVA. The ETSD lid clearance and EVA tool accessibility were verified assuming that the ETSD could not be released from the palette. Figure 4 (left side) shows how the DDCU is attached to the cargo bay. The on-orbit DDCU will be transferred to the Z1 truss by EVA as well. The crew tried to remove the DDCU that was fastened to the cargo bay and verified its accessibility and operability. |
||||||||||||
|
Last Update : August 24, 2000
|
|
