The Damage Assessment Team (DAT) are working hundreds of images taken during the orbiter’s RPM (Rbar Pitch Maneuver) on Flight Day 3 – with full clearance from a Focused Inspection (FI) now gained. Clearance for re-entry will take around another day. Also, images of the External Tank (ET-132) via the ET Umbilical Well camera show the [...]
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The Chinese have suffered a problem during the launch of the Indonesian Palapa-D communications satellite via a CZ-3B Chang Zheng-3B (CZ3B-12) launch vehicle. The launch took place at the Xi Chang Satellite Launch Center, in Sichuan Province on Monday at 09:28 UTC, but failed to place the spacecraft in the required orbit – due to [...]
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Discovery celebrated her 25th birthday in style by docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on Flight Day 3 of STS-128. During the Approach Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) phase of the mission, Discovery helped verify the performance of Neptec’s TriDAR vision system for unmanned AR&D via a Detailed Test Objective (DTO).
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The STS-128 crew have completed Flight Day 2′s activities, which focused on the opening inspections of Discovery’s Thermal Protection System (TPS), along with the checkouts of the orbiter’s docking systems ahead of Sunday night’s arrival at the International Space Station (ISS). Discovery launched Friday night on what is initially being described as a very clean ascent.
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With the clearance of the PV12 Inboard LH2 Fill and Drain Valve issue by the Mission Management Team (MMT) – which ironically performed as planned during tanking - Shuttle Discovery enjoyed a super smooth countdown and launch, as she takes aim on the International Space Station (ISS).
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Engineers still believe they only have an instrumentation problem with the LH2 PV12 Inboard Fill and Drain Valve on Discovery, but further data is required – resulting in a 24 hour hold to STS-128. Testing on Wednesday night – involving five cycles of the valve – has aided engineering confidence the valve is undamaged, but [...]
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The push to return Discovery back to launch operations has begun, with initial troubleshooting via five test cycles of the LH2 inboard fill and drain valve at the pad complete, following issues with the PV12 (pneumatic valve) during STS-128′s second launch attempt. The goal is to gain confidence the issue is instrumentation – as opposed [...]
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Discovery was undergoing S0007 Launch Countdown Scrub Turnaround procedures, with the goal to launch on Wednesday morning at 1:10am local time. However, during tanking, the PV12 (pneumatic valve) failed ‘stuck’ on the fill and drain system on Discovery, causing the scrub for “at least” 48 hours.
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South Korea had been claiming they had placed their STSAT-2 scientific satellite into orbit on Tuesday, following its launch on their KSLV-1 (Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle) “Naro” rocket. However, Russian officials cited by “Interfax” are claiming the vehicle failed during second stage flight. The launch came after last week’s scrub – caused by a problem [...]
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Unacceptable weather over the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has caused the scrub of STS-128 for 24 hours. NASA managers had worked through a few minor last-minute issues with Discovery and her systems in what has been an extremely interesting flow – one that has highlighted the pad teams’ ability to cope with unexpected work while still [...]
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With Discovery deep into S0007 (Launch Countdown) operations, the Mission Management Team (MMT) has passed STS-128 to proceed towards the business end of the count – with the aim to launch early Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, NASA managers conducted a systematic review of Discovery’s Cargo Integration Hardware (CIH) and CSCS (Contingency Shuttle Crew Support) calculations brought forth [...]
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The International Space Station (ISS) is fighting back at claims made during the Augustine Commission review into Human Space Flight (HSF), where it was suggested scientists have seen only a small amount of science being produced on the orbital outpost. With a media relations push to counter such claims set to take place on Sunday [...]
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STS-128 entered into S0007 (launch countdown) operations at 11pm on Friday evening, as engineers at Launch Pad 39A are nearly complete with both standard and non-standard pre-launch processing operations. Meanwhile, NASA managers continue to review past-vehicle and hardware performance ahead of Tuesday morning’s scheduled liftoff – with the L-2 Mission Management Team (MMT) set to [...]
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Arianespace’s Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle lifted-off with two space two telecommunication satellites – JCSAT-12 and Optus D3 – on Friday, and successfully placed them into their transfer orbit, following launch from the European Spaceport in French Guiana, at the start of a 60 minute launch window that opened at 6:09pm Eastern.
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After a wait of nearly a decade, the International Space Station is just a matter of weeks away from welcoming another new visitor, in the form of the Japanese HTV (H-II Transfer Vehicle). NASA recently held a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for their role in aiding the cargo vehicle’s debut stay at the orbital outpost, [...]
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With STS-128 and Discovery officially cleared by the SOMD (Space Operations Mission Directorate) FRR for an opening launch attempt on Tuesday, August 25 at 1:36A.M. EDT, NASA’s ongoing effort to ensure that all aspects of the Space Shuttle system are safe to fly was not dedicated just to the External Tank, as managers thoroughly reviewed [...]
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The Agency Flight Readiness Review (FRR) is still expected to slip STS-128′s launch date by one day – to August 25 – due to additional pad flow work related to repairs on an ETVAS (External Tank Vent Arm System) ordnance cable. However, managers will meet again on Wednesday to set the launch date, as they [...]
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Engineers are once again at the I/T Access Arm attached to the External Tank for troubleshooting, but this time it’s not to work on a leaky Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) seal. A problem with an ordnance cable on the ETVAS (External Tank Vent Arm System) requires repair, and holds the potential to slip STS-128′s [...]
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A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II has become the last rocket to lift off from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 17A this morning, as it launched the twenty-first and last GPS IIR satellite for the US Air Force. The 2059-kilogram GPS IIR-21(M) satellite, also known as GPS IIRM-8, was deployed following a sixty-eight minute flight. [...]
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At last week’s Space Shuttle Program (SSP) FRR, program managers discussed a wide range of topics, including Weather Satellite limitations, the Boundary Layer Transition DTO (Detailed Test Objective), several new operations that will be a part of STS-128 – including Discovery’s debut of new flight software – as well as previous flight performance of the MPLM [...]
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