Archive for April, 2009

STS-132: PRCB baselines Atlantis’ mission to deliver Russia’s MRM-1

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

With Discovery safely back from STS-119, Atlantis undergoing pad processing for STS-125, and Endeavour ready to roll to the VAB on Friday ahead of STS-400/127, NASA is hard at work preparing for a busy summer launch schedule while planning continues for future flights. Of these future flights, the Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) has officially [...]

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Soyuz investigation findings backed by nominal Soyuz TMA-13 return

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Expedition 18 Commander Michael Fincke, Flight Engineer and Soyuz TMA-13 Commander Yury Lonchakov and space tourist Charles Simonyi have returned home safely, following their landing in Kazakhstan this morning. The safe return backs up the findings presented in an expansive NASA and Russian document that outlined the off-nominal ballistic re-entries of Soyuz TMA-10 and 11, [...]

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STS-119 FCV performance boosts flight rationale for STS-125

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Aiding the requirement of flight rationale for STS-125, engineers have found that the three replacement Flow Control Valves (FCVs) that flew on STS-119 suffered from no cracking, following inspections on the valves after they had been removed from Discovery. The news comes as managers prepare to conduct both the post flight review of STS-119 and [...]

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STS-127: NASA managers recommend mission length increase to 16 days

Monday, April 6th, 2009

Due to a conflict with Shuttle Crew Scheduling Constraints (SCSC) rules relating to off duty time during flight, NASA managers have recommended an increase of STS-127 to a 16 day mission (16+0+2). The confirmation came via a PRCB (Program Requirements Control Board) meeting presentation, which also outlined alternative options. The mission length will be under review [...]

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Processing on track for STS-125 as mission heads to FRR season and Sims

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

No issues are being worked on Atlantis at Pad 39A, as STS-125 continues to proceed towards launch in just over a month’s time. One crucial element for the May 12 launch is the replacement hardware that Atlantis will carry to the Hubble Space Telescope, with several days of mission content simulations taking place next week,  [...]

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LIVE: ULA Atlas V launches WGS-2 for USAF

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

United Launch Alliance (ULA) has launched the WGS-2 satellite on an Atlas V rocket, with lift-off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral at 21:33 EDT, Friday. The launch was realigned following an issue with the Centaur LOX pump led to the termination of tanking and put pay to the March 17 launch attempt.

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Pre-empting Hubble: MOD reviews STS-125/400 requirements

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

With Space Shuttle Atlantis undergoing her second round of pad processing for the much anticipated flagship mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in May, NASA managers continue to refine the complex ballet of procedures for STS-125 and its associated Launch On Need (LON) mission, STS-400 – with Endeavour on track for rollover to the VAB [...]

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ISS concern over S1 Radiator – may require replacement via shuttle mission

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

Imagery taken of the delaminated panel on the International Space Station’s S1 Radiator has revealed a “structural risk” on the array, which has the potential to create an ammonia leak in the External Thermal Control System (ETCS). NASA managers are considering options that include flying a replacement radiator array on a downstream shuttle mission, along [...]

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