FIELD JOURNAL

Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test at the Cape

As usual, we are quite busy in the astronaut office at Johnson Space Center. There are always several crews training for upcoming flights. Earlier this year, in August, I had the privilege of attending and observing the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This test was for the STS-106 crew that flew in September of 2000. I had the opportunity to attend this test because I manage a group of people who work on the Vehicle Integration Test Team (VITT). These folks are very visible and well known at the Cape (KSC), as they are the ones who actually conduct the TCDT. The VITT oversees everything right down to the most minute detail, including how the crew walks out just prior to launch.

The TCDT is a dress rehearsal for launch and usually occurs at launch minus two weeks. The crew will go to KSC just like they would for launch week. During this week they stay in crew quarters, attend the same kind of meetings they would during launch week (weather briefings, launch briefings, etc.). The crew also has the opportunity to go to the pad and crawl around the vehicle. This helps give them a better feel for what's ahead. This "tour" also gives them the chance to see the payload bay and how it is configured.

While at the pad, the astronauts perform a full-dress rehearsal in their launch and entry suits, including crew pad escape. This included a demonstration of the slide wire basket used in this procedure - though no one rides in this during the simulation. The astronauts (about 195 feet up) come out of the shuttle single file at a dead run, heading for the basket. This slide wire basket rides down a cable, approximately one inch in diameter, about two to three hundred feet away to a sandpit. At this point, they would bail out of the basket and head into a bunker. When they actually let the basket go, it is a somewhat phenomenal activity as it falls. It falls really fast and makes this unusual "singing" noise on its way down. It is something to see and hear! If there were an emergency on the pad just prior to launch, two astronauts would ride down at a time in each basket.

As a side note -- only one astronaut has ever actually ridden in the basket, and that was Charlie Bolden. As this is somewhat of a dangerous activity, astronauts don't get in it unless they have to. Actually very few people period have ever ridden in the basket.

Once the basket is on the ground, the crew climbs in the basket and practices getting out, in their full gear, and running to the bunker. If there were time, during a real emergency, the crewmembers would get into an M113 tank and bust through the fence and head away from the pad to safety. There is one of these tanks at each pad.

One of the neat things I got to do while I was there was to ride in an M113 tank, while the crew was learning to drive it. Each and every crewmember must be familiar with how to operate the tank - they all seem to really enjoy this part of the training, too. (The picture to the left shows me riding in the M113 tank, a personnel carrier, while Rick Mastracchio is learning to drive the tank.)

This test is always a big media event for NASA, and is attended by many high level management people, NASA photographers, videographers and reporters.

The neatest thing I got to do during this test was do the payload bay walk down with the crew. The shuttle is covered by the RSS (Rotating Service Structure), which is a big room that rolls back prior to launch. While underneath this, the payload bay doors can be opened so the payload configuration can be seen. To go in there, we had to dress up in "bunny suits" covering everything from our shoes to our heads. Once in, we got to go from one level to another, with the crew checking out how all the payloads were packed. Sometimes the crew will spot something that could be an obstruction, and if so it is checked out. The SpaceHab was loaded on this particular flight, so it was really neat to see it stored in the shuttle, along with the docking module.

I also got to visit the crew quarters, which is kind of a neat place, especially since not too many people get the chance to go visit this particular area at Kennedy. It's nice and is divided into three parts - series of bedrooms and conference rooms, full kitchen facility with staff and eating area, and an administration area with staff. This facility is the astronauts' home away from home.

I will be attending another TCDT in January 2001. I will be at the Cape for a different reason, but will still be able to attend this test, too. The training we do is important for everyone - it helps in learning procedures and it helps in developing timelines. Both are important.

My time at the Kennedy Space Center was a fun-filled week and I was like a kid in a candy store!! I hope you all have a happy holiday season!!
(This last picture is of me greeting my former office mate and friend, Scott Altman, as he arrived at KSC to attend the TCDT.)