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#1
07-01-06, 02:41 PM
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Launch is scheduled to take place in a little over an hour. I hope weather doesn't cause a delay. 
__________________  "There are many dying children out there whose last wish is to meet me" -David Hasselhoff      |
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#2
07-01-06, 03:56 PM
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| Weather Still Issue For Shuttle Launch POSTED: 7:06 am CDT July 1, 2006 UPDATED: 12:41 pm CDT July 1, 2006 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Flashing thumbs-up signs and waving to onlookers, the seven Discovery astronauts headed out to the launch pad even though the forecast looked iffy. At midday, forecasters said conditions had worsened because of brewing thunderstorms in the area. But mission managers are hoping conditions will clear in time for the launch at 3:49 p.m., Eastern Time. Meanwhile, engineers are still working a technical issue with one of four steering jets near the tail of the shuttle. Normally, all four are required to be in good order for launch, but NASA said officials are deciding whether Discovery can safely fly with just three. Fueling began as scheduled at 6 a.m. During the process, NASA engineers planned to find out if new fuel tank sensors were operating properly. Four sensors designed to prevent the main engines from running too long or not long enough during the climb to space were replaced after one of them gave an electrical reading that was slightly off. The swap-out pushed back Discovery's launch in May. The launch Saturday will test NASA Administrator Michael Griffin's decision to go ahead with the mission despite the concerns of two top agency managers who fear foam flying off the fuel tank might harm the space shuttle. Bryan O'Connor, the space agency's chief safety officer, and chief engineer Christopher Scolese recommended at a flight readiness review meeting two weeks ago that the shuttle not fly until further design changes are made to 34 areas on the fuel tank known as ice-frost ramps. These wedge-shaped brackets run up and down the tank holding in place pressurization lines. Foam insulation is used to prevent ice from building up on the tank when it is filled with supercold fuel. Small pieces of foam have snapped off during previous launches. O'Connor and Scolese agreed with Griffin's rationale that the risk was only to the shuttle and not the crew since the astronauts could take refuge in the international space station until a rescue vehicle is sent up, so they didn't appeal Griffin's decision. "First of all, it's not a democracy. We don't take a vote. We don't need 100 percent of the people to say it's OK," astronaut Scott Kelly, whose identical twin, Mark, is Discovery's pilot, said of Griffin's decision. "He made the decision and I think it's the right decision to proceed with the launch." Astronaut Stephen Robinson, who was part of last year's crew that made the first return to flight since Columbia disintegrated in 2003, said he was encouraged that the biggest technical debate was focused on the ice-frost ramps. "If we're down to worrying about something like an ice-frost ramp, we must be doing a lot of things right," Robinson said. "There are much bigger things to worry about." NASA engineers redesigned the external fuel tank after the Columbia accident, and again after a 1-pound piece of foam insulation came off the tank during Robinson's mission last year. In the most recent change, more than 35 pounds of foam have been removed in what NASA describes as the biggest aerodynamic change ever made to the shuttle's launch system. NASA tried other design changes to the ice-frost ramps, such as removing foam, but they didn't hold up well in wind tunnel tests. Discovery's seven-member crew will test shuttle inspection and repair techniques, bring supplies and equipment to the international space station and deliver the European Space Agency's Thomas Reiter for a six-month stay aboard the orbiting outpost. Astronauts Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum will make two spacewalks and possibly a third, which would add a day to what is planned to be a 12-day mission. The crew also includes commander Steve Lindsey and mission specialists Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson. www.ksat.com |
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#4
07-01-06, 04:07 PM
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watching these shuttles still irks me a bit. I remember when that one shuttle practically disintegrated over Texas. I came home early from work with food poisoning and was in bed all day and i was watching the coverage they were having about the shuttle, and it was sad to see how that turned out 
__________________  __________________________ "you're the target that i'm aiming at"-coldplay |
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#5
07-01-06, 05:02 PM
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A good friend of mine works at NASA and on these missions. They have until August to keep trying.
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#6
07-03-06, 01:43 PM
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*Update* CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA managers are keeping their options open for a Fourth of July space shuttle launch even though a 5-inch-long (13-centimeter-long) crack has been found in the foam of Discovery’s external fuel tank. The crack was spotted during an overnight inspection. NASA had scrubbed launch plans Saturday and Sunday because of the weather, and had removed the fuel from the tank. The inspectors found a crack one-eighth of an inch (30 millimeters) deep in the foam on a liquid-oxygen feed-line bracket near the top of the external fuel tank. A piece of foam was seen falling from around the cracked area as the launch-pad support structure was rolled back toward Discovery, said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team, at a press conference. That same piece of foam was later found on Discovery's launch structure. NASA has not yet ruled out going ahead with a countdown Tuesday, Shannon said. Rather, team members will discuss the issue Monday evening with representatives from Lockheed Martin's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the external fuel tanks are made, then make a determination on the launch schedule. If a fix is required, foam insulation might have to be removed from around the crack, then new foam would be reapplied, with an extra period allowed for curing and trimming, said Marion LaNasa, communications director for Michoud. If Tuesday's launch is ruled out, the launch could be rescheduled anytime between now and July 19. And if the repair operation was so extensive that NASA had to miss this month's launch opportunity, the next window for liftoff would open Aug. 28. Preparations for launch on the Fourth The shuttle and the tank were being inspected in preparation for replenishing supplies on the pad, after the two weekend postponements. Mission managers had given the launch team 48 hours to prepare for the Fourth of July attempt at 2:38 p.m. ET. On both Saturday and Sunday, threatening clouds in the area led NASA to stop the countdown. "It became very obvious ... that the weather was just not going to cooperate with us," Shannon said Sunday. Click for related story Do you think the shuttle program is worth the risk? What Discovery has to do Space shuttle launch criteria Once it became clear a launch was not in the cards on Sunday, launch director Mike Leinbach urged that the countdown should be stopped early, to maximize the time available to replenish the shuttle's liquid hydrogen fuel. That, in turn, would maximize the chances to extend Discovery's mission to 13 days. In response to a question, Leinbach said each scrub on a weekend or on a holiday like the Fourth of July costs NASA in the neighborhood of $1 million, for supplies as well as overtime costs. Forecasters said the weather outlook was improving to a 60 percent chance of favorable conditions for launch on Tuesday. Lightning threat Both on Saturday and Sunday, the proximity of lightning-prone clouds was the prime concern. If Discovery were to fly through the wrong kind of clouds, it could spark a lightning strike, as occurred during Apollo 12's launch in 1969. Although no lasting damage was done that time, NASA wants to avoid a repeat. The launch team has to cope not only with afternoon storm clouds but also with a relatively short five-minute opportunity for liftoff on a given day. (It's actually 10 minutes, but NASA generally targets just the last five.) The reason for the short time frame is that NASA wants to launch Discovery during daylight, so that debris from the shuttle's external fuel tank can be clearly seen. In addition to the daylight factor, NASA has to time the launch so that Discovery is in the right orbital position to catch up with the space station two days after launch, as scheduled. After five or 10 minutes, the timing is off. Every so often, launch workers have to replenish the "consumables" aboard the shuttle, such as the fuel that's used for the onboard power system. After three attempts in a row, the launch team generally has to stand down for 96 hours. But after two attempts in a row, NASA has the option of waiting 48 hours, then trying twice more. Mission managers opted for the latter option with Discovery. Mission aim Discovery's 12-day mission is aimed at testing safety improvements made to the shuttle as well as resupplying the space station, replacing equipment on the station and dropping off a third station crew member. The key safety improvement has to do with the fuel tank, which has been redesigned to remove a troublesome section of foam insulation. Flying foam is thought to have damaged the shuttle Columbia in 2003, eventually leading to the loss of that shuttle and the seven astronauts aboard. Last July, Discovery lifted off with a fuel tank that was redesigned to address foam loss — but a 1-pound (450-gram) section of the foam was seen flying off the tank during the ascent. Although no damage was done, engineers needed another year to redesign the tank once again, removing a suspect section of foam. This mission will put the twice-redesigned tank to the test. In an unusual move, some NASA engineers and safety officials argued that Discovery's launch should be delayed for even more tank modifications, but NASA Administrator Mike Griffin ruled that the launch should proceed, with further modifications set aside for future flights. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13666974/ |
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#7
07-03-06, 01:46 PM
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Yeah the bigger issue is the foam falling off.
__________________ Matt Bonner gets indigestion when swallowing his pride. You can't divide by zero, but Matt Bonner can. Matt Bonner and Chuck Norris only ever met once... that was the day dinosaurs went extinct. |
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#9
07-05-06, 02:14 AM
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The launch was spectacular. It gave me goose bumps. 
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