With just under one week to go before the opening launch attempt for Space Shuttle Endeavour and the STS-130 crew, the Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR) have thoroughly reviewed all open and nonconformance outstanding issues with the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and Reusable Solid Rocket Motors (RSRMs) ahead of the first shuttle mission of the year.
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The Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) have confirmed they have almost enough External Tank resources to allow for one ET-sized “In Line” Shuttle Derived Heavy Launch Vehicle (SD HLV) test flight and up to three Block I SD HLVs. The news comes as NASA managers insist the workforce should wait for official news, and not to [...]
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A Problem Report (PR) has been cleared for what is being described as a “scratch” on Endeavour’s left Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) – following a Focused Inspection at Pad 39A. However, the Launch Control Center (LCC) has suffered from flooding after a pipe bust on the fourth floor. STS-130 remains in a good stance for launch at this time, [...]
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The Agency Flight Readiness Review (FRR) has concluded with the approval for Endeavour to take an opening launch attempt on February 7. As part of the standard readiness review procedure, the Agency reviewed all contingency mission timelines for the flight, including the possibility of a Minimum Duration Flight (MDF) and the incorporation of the +1 [...]
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As NASA managers prepare to meet on Wednesday for the final Flight Readiness Review (FRR) ahead of Endeavour’s penultimate mission, workers throughout the agency are hard at work performing final preparations for the youngest orbiter’s scheduled February 7 launch to the International Space Station (ISS).
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With less than two weeks until STS-130′s launch with Endeavour, managers are already setting up the readiness meetings for STS-131 – which is scheduled to launch the following month with Discovery. With Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs) overlapping the missions, engineers and managers will be working at full pace for several weeks.
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With the official opening statements on the overhaul of NASA’s future expected “soon”, the realignment of NASA’s future goals will create a Human Space Flight path that will likely stretch out for decades. The end goal remains footsteps on Mars, but the approach may involve the use of deep space and Phobos as the precursor [...]
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With Endeavour enjoying a smooth flow on Pad 39A, preparations for Discovery’s STS-131 mission in March are picking up the pace – with the milestone of External Tank (ET-135) mating with the twin Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) set to take place next Monday. Meanwhile, the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans has been handed [...]
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The STS-130 crew are undertaking the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) this week, which will be used as the dress rehearsal launch countdown for the real thing on February 7. Endeavour will be the second orbiter to fly with a suite of sensors relating to Main Engine Ignition (MEI) Acoustic and SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine) [...]
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Following a few minor delays due to poor weather at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the arrival of STS-130′s payload to Pad 39A has taken place in the early hours of Monday. Meanwhile, engineers will have several days to play with, following the latest schedule for the arrival of backup NH3 lines to KSC, the [...]
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The Chinese have opened their 2010 campaign by orbiting a navigation satellite via a CZ-3C Chang Zheng-3C (CZ3C-3) launch vehicle from the Xi Chang satellite Launch Center, in Sichuan Province. Previously scheduled to take place last year, the launch of the new BeiDou-2 (Compass-G1) finally took place at 16:12 UTC on Saturday.
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A one-year long investigation into the liberation of part of a Flow Control Valve (FCV) poppet during Endeavour’s STS-126 launch in November 2008 has concluded with a recommendation to close the official investigation after findings revealed the most probable cause of the STS-126 liberation and subsequent eddy current reading increases following some of the Shuttle [...]
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NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden will review the findings of his “special team” – which he set up to evaluate all Heavy Lift alternatives to the current plan – on Friday. Pre-empting the overview, Exploration Project officials all-but ruled out the Sidemount HLV, whilst noting a couple of In-line heavy lifters – one of which appears [...]
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Hypergolic loading of the STS-130 stack has suffered a slight delay due to unacceptable temperatures at Pad 39A, allowing for troubleshooting to take place with the Hydraulic Power Unit (HPU) on the right boosters. Endeavour is still tracking a February 7 launch date, although the schedule is tight, due to two Node 3 ammonia line [...]
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Managers have been evaluating options for STS-130′s launch and mission duration, following the test failures of ammonia lines that are related to Endeavour’s Node 3 payload. While options to keep Node 3 alive without the installation of the troublesome lines appear positive, the Tiger Team have a potential solution for beefing up the lines, or [...]
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NASA managers have created an evaluation and roadmap for a potential human mission to visit the 1999 AO10 Near Earth Object (NEO) as early as 2025, as part of their options under the Flexible Path approach to the future of Human Space Flight. The mission would focus on using the International Space Station (ISS) as [...]
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International Space Station (ISS) managers are conducting a series of meetings to discuss problems relating to Node 3′s associated ammonia lines, which have suffered from rupturing during proof testing. Options available to managers range from reducing STS-130 to a shortened, single EVA, mission, to potentially postponing the flight via swapping the order of the 2010 [...]
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With Endeavour undergoing pad validation work – as engineers make the hundreds of connections to prepare her for launch in a month’s time – processing of her older sisters, Atlantis and Discovery, is pushing ahead. While STS-131′s boosters are being stacked inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), work has been completed on repairs to Atlantis’ [...]
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Endeavour has completed her 3.5-mile journey to Launch Pad 39A from the VAB ahead of her targeted February 7 launch date on the STS-130 mission. Meanwhile, managers and engineers around NASA are preparing for the multi-stage Flight Readiness Review (FRR) process for STS-130 – aided in large part by the low number of In-Flight Anomalies [...]
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With all the engineers back from the Christmas holidays, Endeavour is rolling out to Pad 39A on Wednesday morning. Call To Stations (CTS) was put into effect early, as low temperatures on the Space Coast required an extended purge requirement ahead of Endeavour’s adventure into the chilly air during her journey down the crawlerway.
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