STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

SpaceNut · 2006-09-29 06:55:59

The next shuttle will as it appears be a night launch around the Dec 7th time frame it is expect to carry out some electrical work. The last night launch since Endeavour lifted off Nov. 23, 2002 at 7:49 p.m. This is a relaxing of rules...

Next shuttle mission to do complex electrical work

NASA managers today agreed to move up the target launch date for the shuttle Discovery and mission STS-116 from Dec. 14 to Dec. 7 at roughly 9:38 p.m. EST.

Possible night shuttle launch Dec. 7

Nasa Consolidated Launch Manifest Space Shuttle Flights and ISS Assembly Sequence

SpaceNut · 2006-09-29 19:41:26

With how Atlantis was struck by lightening an had a close brush with Ernesto one must wonder Does NASA Need A Better Launch Site?

Why is NASA’s premier launch facility, and the only NASA facility that conducts manned launches, located in such a disaster-prone region?
Hurricanes aren’t the only drawback to Kennedy’s location—salt coming from the nearby Atlantic Ocean makes corrosion a constant worry, and oppressive humidity for much of the year makes working conditions difficult.
The reason? Kennedy’s southerly location means it is closer to the equator than the United States’ other launch sites, so it can pick up more of a boost from Earth’s rotation when it launches rockets in an easterly direction. This translates into more payload for the same amount of fuel. The Atlantic Ocean provides a large handy patch of uninhabited planet for spent or malfunctioning booster stages to fall onto.

The Stennis Space Center conducted the final space shuttle main engine test on its A-1 Test Stand Friday. NASA Ends One Chapter in Human Spaceflight, Prepares for the Next

The A-1 stand begins a new chapter in its operational history in October. It will be temporarily decommissioned to convert it for testing the J-2X engine, which will power the upper stage of NASA's new crew launch vehicle, the Ares I. The J-2X will also power the Earth departure stage of the Ares V new cargo launch vehicle. The Ares I and V vehicles will provide the thrust, while the Orion crew capsule will be future astronauts’ home in space.

Stennis will continue testing shuttle main engines on its A-2 Test Stand through the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2010.

RobertDyck · 2006-10-01 10:23:02

Interesting. The Consolidated Launch Manifest now includes flight 20A tentatively scheduled for January 2010, to carry Node 3 with Cupola. Flight 17A is tentatively scheduled for January 2009 to carry MPLM, Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier, and "Three crew quarters, galley, second treadmill (TVIS2), Crew Health Care System 2 (CHeCS 2)". What is "Three crew quarters"? Is that the US habitation module? The full US hab module shouldn't fit in the cargo bay with MPLM. The US hab module was going to house 4 crew, complete with galley, treadmill, and CHeCS2. Life support equipment for the 4 crew was going to be spread between Node 3 and US Hab. Is this a scaled-down version? A half length version would at least let us test life support equipment on orbit. I think this is very good news.

Flight ATV1 will carry the first European ATV to the station; May 1 2007. Again,all dates on that manifest are tentative. Flight HTV-1 is February 2009, to carry Japan's HTV on an H-IIB rocket. So they got the rocket to work. Resupply by vehicles from other countries means reliable, continued station operation.

cIclops · 2006-10-01 11:33:56

Interesting. The Consolidated Launch Manifest now includes flight 20A tentatively scheduled for January 2010, to carry Node 3 with Cupola. Flight 17A is tentatively scheduled for January 2009 to carry MPLM, Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier, and "Three crew quarters, galley, second treadmill (TVIS2), Crew Health Care System 2 (CHeCS 2)". What is "Three crew quarters"? Is that the US habitation module?

AFAIK it's a unit that provides private sleeping space for three crew. The US HAB was cancelled in 2001 and is now used as a test bed for future life support systems.

SpaceNut · 2006-10-02 06:37:52

Accelerated launch schedule is ambitious For STS-116 to launch early in December

'Extended and holiday launch countdowns for STS-121 and STS-115 drove notable maximum work time deviations and violations. Increased likelihood of driving > 2500 hours in 52 consecutive weeks violations. Currently monitoring/managing time of approximately 200 employees with potential of exceeding 2500 over next few months. Acceleration of STS-116 will eliminate opportunities to give some employees expected time off.'
'To mitigate the impact of this change will require an increase in the overall processing density of our third shift and weekend operations. This will entail additional overtime costs and an increased risk of exceeding the OT guidelines (2500 hrs). Currently there are approximately 200 employees with the potential of exceeding 2500 hours over the next few months. Overtime budgets for September and October will be exceeded.

Gee these are the same people that had nothing to do while the CIAB investigated the foam issues, while damage from Katrina / Rita huricanes and the first launch of Discovery ET foam loss stood collecting wages not earned. Winers....

SpaceNut · 2006-11-11 20:43:46

STS-116, launching in a window that begins on December 7, will be using ET-123, which does not have the modification of the new IFR design, but the confidence gained from the last two flights mitigate any concerns in regards of the unmodified ramps.

SpaceNut · 2006-11-12 22:19:16

Article also mentions the Y2K issue if it were to launch later in the month.

Discovery mission extended; moving up launch ruled out

SpaceNut · 2006-11-15 11:31:45

I know that most care less about shuttle and more about the buzz on Ares....

Astronauts rehearse for shuttle launch; Discovery’s crew goes through procedures for December mission

The space shuttle Discovery's seven astronauts flew to Florida on Monday for several days of dress rehearsal in preparation for their Dec. 7 launch on a mission to the international space station.
the astronauts will run through emergency escapes from the launch pad, practice landing on Kennedy Space Center's runway and learn how to put out fires on the shuttle. The dress rehearsal culminates Thursday with the crew donning their spacesuits, strapping into the shuttle and practicing a launch countdown.

Rocket motors tested this week is planned to test-fire solid rocket motors in Utah to see whether their illumination provides enough light to take photographs of the external tank at night.

SpaceNut · 2006-11-16 09:25:12

astronaut Joan Higginbotham on her first shuttle mission, Her Time For Discovery

During her nine-year tenure as an engineer at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Joan Higginbotham actively participated in 53 space shuttle launches
began her career at the space center as a payload electrical engineer. Over the ensuing years, she held a number of positions in the shuttle program, even working in the firing room -- the launch control "nerve center" during the shuttle countdown and liftoff

Nothing like working hard towards a dream. I wonder just how she felt thou about the loss of a shuttle on her watch, so to speak....

SpaceNut · 2006-11-21 18:24:14

Boeing Power and Cooling Systems to be Activated on International Space Station

Like a city's central power plant, the station's giant solar arrays generate primary power at levels too high for consumer use, ranging from 137 to 173 volts direct current (Vdc). The power is regulated between 150 to 160 Vdc, and then routed to batteries for storage and to four Main Bus Switching Units (MBSUs) that route it to distribution networks.
DC-to-DC converters "step-down" the primary 160 Vdc stream to a tightly regulated secondary power of 124.5 Vdc and distribute it to laboratories, living quarters and individual users.

SpaceNut · 2006-12-01 22:29:27

This is a little unique to say the least.
NORAD to patrol space shuttle operations

The Air Force is stepping up its air patrols in the Cape Canaveral, Fla., area to increase security for upcoming space shuttle operations.
The patrols are a smart, efficient way to protect American lives and resources in the region,
"We want local citizens to recognize this as a prudent measure as we work around the clock for their continued protection,"

Sounds practicle....

SpaceNut · 2006-12-06 07:39:07

STS 116 How Long Will a Frisbee Fly in Space?

With golfballs and indicated baseball already in orbit why do we still need to place more junk that could hit the station into the mix...

He intends to set a new record for maximum time aloft for a Frisbee in space, to break the current record of 16.72 seconds, which is held by Frisbee champ Don Cain of Philadelphia, a record that was set in 1984.
Will he set a new speed record? Of course he will. The shuttle orbits the earth traveling 17,500 miles per hour, or five seconds a mile.

Shuttle will carry CU-designed experiment for kids

With the help of University of Colorado engineers, two biology experiments designed for school children will ride into space Thursday aboard the space shuttle Discovery.
A seed-germination experiment and one about worm development will fly inside a suitcase-size container built by BioServe Space Technologies, a NASA-funded center based at CU’s aerospace engineering sciences department.

The power glitch I think were also seen on the last few launches but I am not sure which circuits they were observed in.

Two problems may hinder Discovery launch

a brief power surge and potential problems with a glue that helps seal rocket boosters.
Routine tests found that the adhesive used on some of the connection joints in the boosters might not be as strong as it should be

Engineers troubleshoot last-minute shuttle issues

The forecast for Friday and Saturday is 60 percent no-go both days.
NASA's scrub/turnaround options permit seven launch attempts between Dec. 7 and Dec. 17, the end of the currently approved launch window. A launch on Dec. 17 would result in a landing before the end of the year and still provide two contingency days for bad weather or other problems.
In any case, the launch team's normal scrub-turnaround policy calls for four launch attempts in five days - Dec. 7, 8, 10 and 11. That includes one 48-hour stand down to top off on-board supplies of liquid hydrogen between the second and fourth attempts.
After that, alternating hydrogen and oxygen top-offs would result in launch opportunities Dec. 13, 15 and 17.

SpaceNut · 2006-12-06 07:39:57

Shuttle's Next Feat: Station Reboot

Station's Fate Hinges on Mission Any serious missteps or problems during Discovery's flight could affect the rest of the assembly sequence.
Upon reaching the outpost, the astronauts' first job will be to install a spacer segment to the station's exterior metal truss. Clearances will be as tight as two inches and visibility limited as robot arm operators aboard the space station carefully lower the girder into place.
One of the mission's most harrowing moments will come the next day when ground control teams attempt to retract a solar array that has been flying out in open space, with temperatures zigzagging from 200 degrees Fahrenheit to minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit every 45 minutes for the past six years. No one knows if the array will fold back, accordian-style, into its flat case.
The array must be retracted at least 40 percent so another set of arrays that will take over primary power generation can rotate to track the sun.
Concerns about the array, however, pale in comparison to the work ahead. To hook up the new power system, half the station must be shut down, leaving the outpost with little or no backup power for critical systems.

SpaceNut · 2006-12-06 09:43:11

I wonder if this is the same issue that STS-114 had just before its launch.

Space shuttle gets go-ahead for launch, 15:17 25 July 2005

Potential causes of the problem include electromagnetic interference on the launch pad or a connection that may pull apart when the tank’s temperature drops, following its intake of supercold cryogenic fuel. Engineers have also tweaked an electrical grounding discrepancy. But, ultimately, the cause of the problem remains unknown.

Engineers believe that an electrical grounding problem with a "point sensor box" may have caused fuel sensor to malfunction, generating erroneous readings.

SpaceNut · 2006-12-06 22:09:25

Yup this article does indicate what I posted earlier plus it has happened before on the STS-87 in 1997 as well in that it suffered a very similar situation with Shuttle Columbia...

NASA clear voltage spike issue

SpaceNut · 2006-12-07 06:40:59

Excited engineer awaits flight of 'Puny'; Small segment plays large role in station work

Danom Buck was there when the $11 million prime payload for shuttle Discovery's upcoming International Space Station construction mission arrived at Kennedy Space Center on June 19, 2001.
He was there on Dec. 16, 2002, when the payload -- a girder-like section of the station's central truss -- was turned over to NASA shuttle managers for launch the following summer.

I wonder how much the storage and keeping it functional has cost?

SpaceNut · 2006-12-08 20:29:51

Well shuttle got clouded out with regards to launch for they must be able to see the rocket all the way from the launch pad to orbit. It is a no go for Friday with only a small chance for liftoff on Saturday.

A typical weekday scrub like Discovery’s carries an estimated cost of about $500,000 on top of the mission’s total price tag due to the additional unloading and later reloading the spacecraft’s 15-story external tank of the more than 500,000 gallons of super-cold propellant required for launch. If the launch on Saturday of Discovery is scrubbed again it will add $600,000 more of which the extra $100,000 is because it’s a weekend.

dicktice · 2006-12-11 17:46:53

Spacenut: How about a little discussion re. the mission objectives and zero-gee activities and how the crew members interact now that they're safely up there and functional? What does it matter the overtime costs, as long as NASA are at last taking care not to risk failures due to weather conditions everywhere in the world that it counts before launching, eh? What about the routine inspections which remove the Russian Roulette aspect of these missions that the Canadarms provide? The Space Shuttle hardware is out of the experimental stage at last, just in time to carry out its purpose. Boring, and thankfully so, that the only thing newsworthy are the overtime costs. Ain't it grand?

SpaceNut · 2006-12-11 21:56:28

Actually the news worthy stuff had not happened as of yet, for the shuttle had not left the pad as of yet.

The crew includes Discovery commander Mark Polansky, Sweden's first astronaut, Christer Fuglesang, pilot William Oefelein, flight engineer Robert Curbeam and mission specialists Nicholas Patrick, Joan Higginbotham.

The plan is to deliver Sunita Willaims to replace European Space Agency a German astronaut Thomas Reiter after five and a half months in residence on the space station, which has a rotating crew of three astronauts. Astronaut Sunita Williams will spend the next six months aboard the space station. Where she will join Lopez-Alegria and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin as part of the 14th resident crew.

An inspection of the exterior of the shuttle Discovery on Sunday turned up no evidence of damage to its tiles and panels sustained during its launch Saturday night. Accelerometer data collected during the shuttle's launch registered four minor debris hits during launch, but none strong enough to cause any damage.

The US space shuttle Discovery successfully docked with the International Space Station took place about 220 miles (350 kilometers) above southeast Asia on Monday. During the remaining eight days Discovery will be docked to the station, astronauts plan three spacewalks.

Sunita mission includes a complex set of tasks carried out over three spacewalks, including adding a small structural truss to the orbiting laboratory and reconfiguring the station's electrical system to begin drawing power from solar panels added on the last mission.

A new truss segment, called the P5, being delivered by Discovery will be attached to the end of the P4 truss.

Nicknamed the EVA campout, the move allows spacewalkers to purge nitrogen from their bodies while they sleep at a slightly lower atmospheric pressure 10.2 psi rather than the standard 14.7 psi aboard Discovery or the ISS.

This also saves time for the process before each EVA.

Manmade Bubbles to Multitask in Space

Blowing bubbles may sound like child's play, but researchers are investigating the use of inflatable structures for use as interplanetary imagers and space habitats.
The raw materials would be launched as a compact, and therefore inexpensive, payload of liquid and gas. In theory, pumped air would blow the film into a bubble and ultraviolet light from the sun would cure the surface into a hardened shell. Once blown into shape in space, the bubble could span thousands of miles.
And attempts at launching inflatable structures in space have already had success. For example, the California-based aerospace company L'Garde has flown 150 deployable objects, including a 46-foot microwave antenna that was flown on the space shuttle.

SpaceNut · 2006-12-13 07:29:17

As noted the standing army is large:

Space Flight Operations Contract with United Space Alliance. That contract employs about 6,500 workers at KSC.

SpaceNut · 2006-12-13 09:43:28

Tile inspection images:

061212_ShuttleWing_hmed_145.standard.jpg
Belly image

061212_shuttlewing_bcol9a.standard.jpg
Left wing

SpaceNut · 2006-12-15 07:12:29

NASA to attempt to fix solar panel hitch solar array halfway retracted.

The problem lies in a guidewire that is stuck in one of the eyelets, In tests of the array on Earth, NASA saw the issue arise, but gravity helped fix it. That's not the case in space.

Whats funny is the thought process on how they may get it unstuck.

It plans to move a joint on the panel to shake it, and may also ask one of the astronauts to break a sweat using a bungee bar-like exercise device. NASA officials recalled an incident where the space agency saw an array shaking and found the cause was astronaut Leroy Chiao working the device hard in his squats and lifts.

SpaceNut · 2006-12-15 07:45:06

On the last shuttle mission this was one of the experiments that happened to be carried out.
Bacteria 'blasts off' ASU professor leads NASA study

Real science...

Nickerson sent two types of disease-causing bacteria and a common fungus called Candida albicans on the mission.
"This study is the first of its kind," said James Wilson, an ASU professor on Nickerson's team. "It helps us to get some critical information as to crew health safety on flights."
Infectious diseases pose a great risk to astronauts, Nickerson said, because the crew is living in close chambers and recycling their air and water.
Plus, with international crews, astronauts are carrying microbes from the flora and fauna of their own native lands, which other crewmembers may not be accustomed to, she added.
"When you add in the fact that infectious disease is the leading cause of death on Earth, you start realizing this is a problem we need to address to ensure health and safety of the crew during spaceflight," Nickerson said.
An understanding of how spaceflight affects human immune systems and disease-causing organisms could lead to innovative new ways of developing vaccines and treatments for diseases, Nickerson said.
"This study holds real potential to translate to health advantages for humans here on the ground," she said.

Now send the same experiment up there and study it over time in the station and compare results.

Now with this device we can get a more real time watch on the changes....

'Lab-on-a-Chip' (Locad) will keep space station squeaky clean

Marshall develops hand-held device to analyze bacteria
The age of a "Star Trek" "Tri-corder" may be close.
Marshall Space Flight Center scientists have developed a hand-held device similar in size and shape to the Tri-corder scanner of the popular science fiction character Mr. Spock.

:twisted: :idea:

The "chip" has microscopic channels used to analyze bacteria,
Locad, will allow International Space Station crews to perform laboratory-like analyses in minutes, eliminating time-consuming science chores used on the orbiting lab today

This will give station crews the ability to test the overall cleanliness of the International Space Station in a matter of just minutes," Monaco said. "Importantly, they would know if a (dangerous) bacteria was present very quickly, so they could respond to it."

Saturday's launch of Discovery lofted the experiment to the space station, and crews are expected to begin using Locad "starting around May," said Ginger Flores, a Marshall program manager who oversaw the $4.5 million project.

SpaceNut · 2006-12-17 20:34:27

While it seems like business as always straight forward as the crew continues towards there goal of returning home.

Astronauts Haul Cargo, Prepare for Spacewalk but it was that little but on the end that has trouble this visit.

Mission managers called on the shuttle astronauts to pick through Discovery’s tool box for any generic items that might prove useful during Monday’s spacewalk, Mack said. Any items tapped as a possible tool during the solar array shaking spacewalk will have to be wrapped in Kapton tape as a safety measure

Decision to add spacewalk highlights shuttle risk trades

The spacewalk came at the expense of a landing weather contingency day but it was either that or give up a post-undocking heat shield inspection, an option many shuttle engineers were reluctant to consider.

Here is why they must come home whether or not they are able to get the solar array back into its stow away position.

There is not be enough hydrogen and oxygen on board to extend the mission itself beyond 12 days and still preserve two backup landing days.

What option for getting the array into position

Only three options were available:
Adding a spacewalk to Discovery's mission to complete the retraction
Deferring any repair attempt to the station crew after the shuttle's departure
Deferring the work to the next shuttle mission, assembly flight 13A, in March

The next shuttle mission in march is due to remove this array and place the next large P6 unit.

NASA has three shuttle landing sites in the United States: The Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and Northrup Strip in White Sands, N.M.

What about the alternative emergency sites ????

Sure they do not have the equipment to place the shuttle on the carrier plane and of course this is another 1 week delay to get started reprocessing the shuttle for the next mission.

SpaceNut · 2006-12-19 21:32:22

Shuttle unhooks from space station, After rewiring outpost, Discovery heads toward Friday homecoming

Oopss lost another ....

Although they didn’t expect a problem, flight controllers were keeping an eye on two items lost during the mission’s four spacewalks that are now space junk — a 7-inch-long (17-centimeter-long) socket and a camera — because of the small chance they could hit the shuttle.

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#1 2006-09-29 06:55:59

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#2 2006-09-29 19:41:26

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#3 2006-10-01 10:23:02

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#4 2006-10-01 11:33:56

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#5 2006-10-02 06:37:52

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#6 2006-11-11 20:43:46

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#7 2006-11-12 22:19:16

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#8 2006-11-15 11:31:45

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#9 2006-11-16 09:25:12

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#10 2006-11-21 18:24:14

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#11 2006-12-01 22:29:27

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#12 2006-12-06 07:39:07

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#13 2006-12-06 07:39:57

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

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Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#15 2006-12-06 22:09:25

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#16 2006-12-07 06:40:59

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#17 2006-12-08 20:29:51

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#18 2006-12-11 17:46:53

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#19 2006-12-11 21:56:28

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#20 2006-12-13 07:29:17

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#21 2006-12-13 09:43:28

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#22 2006-12-15 07:12:29

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#23 2006-12-15 07:45:06

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#24 2006-12-17 20:34:27

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

#25 2006-12-19 21:32:22

Re: STS- 116 Discovery to be a night launch

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