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20 The transonic buffet was normal manifesting itself from approximately .95 to .85 Mach. Control stick steering (CSS) control with auto speedbrakes was selected rolling on to the heading alignment circle (HAC(. Nominal tracking was accomplished following the guidance indicators. There were minimal offsets at microwave landing system (MLS) incorporation when rolling out on final for EDW lakebed 17. Speedbrakes were closed at 2,500 feet. A higher than anticipated equivalent air speed (EAS) of landing gear was lowered at 300 feet. Final flare was normal and touchdown was at a higher than desired, but comfortable, EAS (approximately 210 kts). Derotation commenced at 180 kts at slightly more than 1 deg/sec with nose gear touchdown approximately 140 kts. The manual weight on nose gear (WONG) switch was executed at this time. Braking was commenced at 120 kts. A deceleration of 7 fps² and then held approximately 8 fps² until 40 kts where it was gradually released. Positive pedal pressure was maintained throughout the braking profile. No abnormalities were noted during the braking. Due to the reduced convoy at EDW, the extended power up was not performed. This provided a very expeditious clean up and exit from the vehicle. From a crew procedural standpoint, this was a much cleaner operation than that used with a normal convoy. TRAINING General: The overall training support for this mission was excellent. Because the mission definition was reasonably stable from crew assignment, it was possible to lay out a training plan early that was reasonably well balanced. The training manager and coordinator concept worked to provide the necessary modification to the plan as they were required. Integrated training required a high percentage of the prime crew time due to the unique nature of the mission. No other reasonable alternative was available. These simulation, which exercised the entire team, proved their worthiness during the actual mission. Having a dedicated simulation team for the crew was a real boon and made the training much more thorough and efficient than it would have otherwise been. Rendezvous: Actual rendezvous training was approximately doubled over the original projections. The actual amount was necessary and should be included in the future training plans. Advantage was taken of the Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS) Orbit Skill Lessons to perform rendezvous. In addition, the availability of the Shuttle Engineering Simulator (SES) helped achieve this extra training time. The SES provides an invaluable tool for performing a large number of runs in a short time period to establish the basic skills for rendezvous. It was the only facility that provided adequate rendezvous dispersed trajectory training. The SES also provided the only facility where the flying of the Orbiter and the MMU against the Solar Maximum Satellite could be combined. This training was essential to being prepared to accomplish this mission.
