An In Flight Anomaly (IFA) Review into STS-132′s ascent has noted an observation of over 200 streaks from Atlantis’ Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) plumes during ascent. While the number of streaks is twice the amount of the previous “record” no loss of performance or safety margins were breached. Meanwhile, Discovery has received all of [...]
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As the Space Shuttle Program prepares to enter its final phase next year, with Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour all decommissioned and prepared for display at various museums around the United States, preparations for a ferry flight of NASA’s first orbiter, OV-101 Enterprise, from her current home at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in [...]
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The Russian Soyuz TMA-19/23S spacecraft has been relocated from the Zvezda module to dock with the Rassvet (MRM-1) research module during a 30 minute maneuver on Monday. Meanwhile, International Space Station (ISS) managers have been made aware of a Change Request (CR) for preliminary design, integration, and delivery concepts for the addition of Node 4 [...]
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Arianespace have finally launched their second mission of the year via the Ariane 5 ECA, following issues that resulted in two scrubs. The workhorse launched with the Arabsat 5A and COMS 1 telecommunication satellites from the European Spaceport in French Guiana, during an issue-free countdown, at 9:41pm GMT.
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Two of Discovery’s Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) will be re-installed in opposite positions, following their removal to allow for work to take place on Main Engine #1 (ME-1). The change to the engine order will allow for two SSMEs to return to Discovery’s aft next week, after the troublesome ME-1 turbo pump is sent [...]
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As part of the comprehensive 700+ page study of a truly Shuttle Derived Heavy-Lift Vehicle (SD HLV), a preliminary assessment of an SD HLV’s capability to deliver cargo (and potentially crew) to International Space Station (ISS) has been performed, demonstrating the first part of an SD HLV’s multi-use potential should this vehicle be chosen as [...]
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Engineers are preparing to remove Discovery’s three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) on Thursday, after SSME 1′s Low Pressure Oxidizer Turbo Pump (LPOTP) failed torque checks. No schedule impact will be suffered as a result of back-stepping in the flow, due to the six week slip to STS-133′s launch date caused by payload requirements.
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A multi-stage approach to the mitigation of foam liberations from the intertank region of the External Tanks (ETs) continues to pay dividends, as STS-132′s In Flight Anomaly (IFA) review pointed to yet another clean tank – with only one area of notable foam loss from Atlantis’ tank. The results have removed the requirement for additional [...]
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Following numerous delays to its launch date, an ISC Kosmotras Dnepr launch vehicle has finally lifted off with the TanDEM-X satellite into orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan – at 02:14 GMT. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Astrium satellite, together with its twin, TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X will survey all 150 million square kilometres of Earth’s [...]
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The Shuttle Derived Heavy-Lift Launch Vehicle (SD HLV) Assessment has been completed, the result of applying years of historical expertise from members of the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) and others into a follow-on vehicle. The focused effort over 15 months to create a post-shuttle masterplan has fostered HLV options that could be completed to a [...]
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As NASA and Space Shuttle Program Managers continue to narrow down options for the final two missions on the flight manifest, preparations and modifications for/to Orbiters Discovery and Endeavour are continuing in their respective Orbiter Processing Facilities (OPFs) at the Kennedy Space Center – most notably the process to approve a new Boundary Layer Transition [...]
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Engineers are working on finalizing mating operations on STS-133′s External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), although it will be at least a couple of months until they are joined by Discovery. The veteran orbiter has welcomed her three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs), as the flow continues to push way ahead of the realigned [...]
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ISS veteran Fyodor Yurchikhin, NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock and first time flying Shannon Walker have launched on a three day journey to the International Space Station (ISS), after their Soyuz TMA-19 lifted off at 5:35:19 pm EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They will spend three days on orbit ahead of docking with the [...]
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The Ukrainian-built Dnepr launch vehicle lifted off on Tuesday, launching from an underground silo at a military base near Yasny, Russia at 14:42 GMT. Riding onboard is PRISMA, two satellites – nicknamed Mango and Tango – which will test rendezvous and formation flying in space, along with a French satellite, called Picard, riding below its [...]
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Continuing its launch surge for 2010, China has launched a new satellite, the SJ-12 – or Shi Jian-12 – on June 15 using a CZ-2D Chang Zheng-2D (Long March 2D) launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Launch took place at 9:39am local time.
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While the three shuttle orbiters continue to enjoy nominal processing flows, managers are continuing to evaluate the exact launch date targets for the upcoming missions. Those launch dates have slipped at a program level, with STS-133′s mission to the International Space Station (ISS) now baselined for No Earlier Than (NET) late October, slipping STS-134 to February/March, 2011, with the potential for STS-135 to launch [...]
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As NASA managers continue to work through evaluations on the remaining three Space Shuttle missions – STS-133/ULF-5, STS-134/ULF-6, and STS-335 (Launch On Need for STS-134) – a reconfiguration of the launch manifest has begun via the June 10th PRCB (Program Requirements Control Board) decision to official increase the mission duration and content of the final [...]
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As mission planning efforts continue for Space Shuttle Discovery’s STS-133/ULF-5 flight to the International Space Station later this year, flight designers and mission managers have conducted a thorough review of all aspects of Discovery’s hardware and payload at the recently-completed Launch Site Flow Review (LSFR) in May.
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Currently the next mission scheduled to fly, Discovery’s processing for STS-133 is continuing minus her Right Hand Orbital Maneuvering System (ROMS) Pod, as it undergoes repairs in the Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF) – prior to its reunion with the orbiter early in July. Meanwhile, External Tank (ET-138) will be mated with the twin Solid Rocket [...]
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Wide-ranging evaluations are taking place for the closeout of the shuttle program, with STS-133 and STS-134 potentially swapping their flight order via realigned launch dates in October/November and February, 2011 – while engineering departments have been asked to evaluate impacts to a June 24, 2011 launch of STS-135 – in the event of the additional [...]
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