Following the removal of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission payload from Endeavour's payload bay last week, technicians are continuing with inspections and repairs as necessary of the wiring in the orbiter's midbody and aft engine compartment. These inspections were required for all Shuttle orbiters following mission STS-93 when a damaged wire to a main engine controller shorted out.
Preventative measures are under way to preclude similar wiring damage on all vehicles.
At this time, over 70 percent of the work on Endeavour is complete. The SRTM payload is currently in the Vertical Processing Facility and will remain there until all wiring work on Endeavour is complete. Launch options are being reviewed this week for Endeavour as well as Discovery. No specific target launch dates are expected to be announced until early September. Wiring inspections are about 50 percent complete aboard the orbiter Discovery.