Endeavour has concluded her STS-127 mission by returning to her home base at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. She landed at 10:48am local time on Flight Day 17 of the highly successful mission to the International Space Station (ISS). One item of interest – relating to observed debris near the vehicle – was [...]
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STS-127 is coming to the end of another highly successful mission for the shuttle program, as the crew prepare for one of two attempts to land at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Friday – following the clearance of the vehicle’s Thermal Control System (TPS). With LiOH consumables limiting to a Sunday return deadline, Saturday [...]
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Following the conclusion of STS-127 docked phase of the mission, Flight Day 15 involved a Late Inspection survey on Endeavour’s Thermal Protection System (TPS). Meanwhile, an investigation into the foam losses from External Tank ET-131 during Endeavour’s ascent has indentified a leading candidate for why a large amount of foam shed from the Intertank.
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With NASA authorization language already being drawn up behind the scenes by Congress, Augustine Commission ISS/Shuttle subgroup lead Dr Sally Ride – along with several key NASA and United Space Alliance (USA) managers – have embarked on a major push to extend the shuttle program, linking the move with the allowance for the International Space [...]
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STS-127 has concluded it’s fifth and final EVA, following the pacy completion of EVA-5’s tasks. Meanwhile, at Launch Pad 39A, engineers have completed turnaround procedures to prepare the pad for the arrival of the STS-128 payload on Friday and Discovery early next week.
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Shuttle engineers like to check, double check, and check again, whenever there’s a flight safety concern – and that was more than the case with the pull tests that have been conducted on External Tank ET-132, following an increased number of foam liberation events during ET-131’s ride to orbit with Endeavour. The test results show [...]
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Chris ‘Chuck Norris’ Cassidy and Tom Marshburn have completed EVA-4 to finalize the replacement of the P6 batteries, following the earlier termination of EVA-3. Meanwhile, a Russian Progress resupply vehicle has launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying 2.5 tons of cargo to the International Space Station.
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With Endeavour’s seven member crew and the International Space Station’s six member crew working diligently to ensure that all major objectives of STS-127 are accomplished in a timely and measured manner, engineers on the ground have also been hard at work with the DAT (Damage Assessment Team) and Image Science and Analysis Group openly discussing [...]
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Astronauts Dave Wolf and Chris Cassidy have returned to the Quest airlock earlier than scheduled, due to concerns relating to a potentially faulty LiOH canister in Cassidy’s suit during STS-127’s third EVA. Meanwhile, the full findings of the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) have been produced via a series of stunning presentations, confirming Endeavour is an [...]
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The foam liberation from Endeavour’s External Tank (ET-131) intertank may have been a one-off event, as all 26 pull tests on ET-132’s intertank show no signs of weakness in the tank set to fly with Discovery next month. However, minor damage was sustained on the tank after a tube-lock broke loose and fell from scaffolding [...]
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STS-127 Spacewalkers Dave Wolf and Tom Marshburn have completed EVA-2, following robotic work to handover the Integrated Cargo Carrier-Vertical Light Deploy (ICC-VLD) to the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS). Meanwhile, Endeavour has been cleared for re-entry following the DAT (Damage Assessment Team) evaluations on the orbiter’s TPS (Thermal Protection System), while Discovery’s ET-132 intertank [...]
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Endeavour’s Dave Wolf and the ISS’s Tim Kopra ventured outside the Shuttle/Station complex on Saturday and completed the first of five EVAs (spacewalks) scheduled for the STS-127 mission. Meanwhile, the Mission Management Team (MMT) continues to monitor the Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) levels and operating temperature of Fuel Cell 3 on Endeavour as the docked portion of the [...]
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Endeavour has docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Flight Day 3, following a stunning RPM (Rbar Pitch Maneuver) – allowing engineers on the ground to make extensive evaluations into the orbiter’s Thermal Protection System (TPS). So far, engineers expect to see only minor cosmetic damage on Endeavour’s heatshield, following several debris events during her [...]
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Flight Day 2 for the crew of STS-127 focused on carrying out inspections of Endeavour’s Thermal Protection System (TPS), following Wednesday’s launch enroute to the International Space Station (ISS). Several debris events were noted during ascent, with ET photography showing numerous areas of missing foam on ET-131 – especially at the intertank region.
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Endeavour finally got a break from the weather and launched on the sixth attempt to mark the begining of STS-127. A number of debris events could be seen on the ET Cam during ascent, but it will take a few days to check to see if they caused any damage of note. STS-127 will include [...]
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The fifth launch of the SpaceX Falcon 1 carrier rocket is underway, carrying the RazakSat spacecraft for Malaysia’s Astronautic Technology (M) Sdn. Bhd. The launch, which marks the first flight of a commercial payload aboard a Falcon rocket, was delayed to 03:35 GMT (11:35pm Eastern).
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Shuttle orbiter Endeavour was again ready to launch to the International Space Station. However, poor weather again put pay to the fifth launch attempt for STS-127, moving launch to Wednesday. Meanwhile, the results of the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) investigation appear to have been validated via Sunday’s leak-free “near-complete duration” tanking.
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Results on the STS-127 stack – called for after a number of lightning strikes were registered at the pad on Friday night – had cleared Endeavour to proceed with another launch attempt on Sunday. However, poor weather near the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) caused another scrub, prior to coming out of the T-9 minute hold. STS-127 will make [...]
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The Mission Management Team (MMT) have declared they require more time to evaluate data from overnight lightning strikes on the pad. STS-127 was tracking a Saturday evening launch attempt (7:39:35 pm local) to the International Space Station (ISS). The next launch attempt will take place on Sunday, pending engineering data on the strikes.
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Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) Director Paul Hill has attempted to rally his troops, following the announcement of six hundred job losses – whilst noting his belief there will at least be a “follow on program” in the human space flight future, post-shuttle. MSFC acting director Robert Lightfoot also addressed his workforce, noting the center will be involved [...]
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