Up to date shuttle and space flight news http://www.nasaspaceflight.com Copyright 2006, NASASpaceFlight.com en 30 http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/images/nsf_rss.gif http://www.nasaspaceflight.com 88 31 Mon, 12 May 2008 00:39:00 CSTMon, 12 May 2008 00:39:00 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5421 STS-124 continues to proceed on schedule for the May 31 launch date target, following an issue-free closure of her payload bay doors at the weekend. The next key junction for the pre-flight preparations relates to paperwork, as managers meet to clear Discovery for her launch date via two Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR) - the first of which is a two day Space Shuttle Program FRR, which begins on Tuesday. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5421 Discovery STS-124 Mon, 12 May 2008 00:39:00 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5420 As the Constellation Program prepare to update the media on the current status of Ares and Orion next week, NASASpaceflight.com L2 has acquired an expansive synopsis of the current data on the new vehicles. Meanwhile, the opening series of tests for the J-2X Ares Upper Stage engine have been completed at NASA's Stennis Space Center, which utilized J-2 components used from the Apollo program through the X-33 program. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5420 Ares/Orion Fri, 9 May 2008 07:19:31 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5419 Orion's next key milestone, the Preliminary Design Review (PDR), has been delayed to November 21 - a slip which ripples through all the way through to the Design Certification Review (DCR) in 2013, according to May 6 documentation. Meanwhile, engineers have been evaluating crew survival scenarios, should Orion suffer an off-nominal landing. A baseline plan calls for astronauts to survive in the capsule for up to and over 36 hours prior to rescue - which is currently a concern. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5419 Ares/Orion Wed, 7 May 2008 21:54:57 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5418 Engineers are working through the opening issues with Discovery at Pad 39A - all of which are expected for a pad flow - as the pace picks up ahead of the May 31 launch date target for the mission that has been extended to 14+1+2 days. Discovery's crew - led by commander Mark Kelly - also made their journey from the Johnson Space Center (JSC), arriving on their T-38 jets at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Tuesday afternoon. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5418 Discovery STS-124 Tue, 6 May 2008 12:06:22 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5417 Planning for Endeavour's STS-127 mission - which will complete assembly of the Kibo Laboaratory complex - has already begun. The mission, currently targeted for launch in April 2009, will see Endeavour launch with a complex array of payloads that will require a 15 day mission with five baselined EVAs. Aside from installing the Japanese Experiment Module - Exposed Facility (JEM-EF), Endeavour's crew will be tasked with replacing six batteries on the P6 truss. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5417 Endeavour LON-400/STS-126 Sun, 4 May 2008 19:19:40 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5416 Discovery remains on track to make the May 31 launch date for STS-124, as she made her overnight journey to Pad 39A. It's been a busy flow inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for the stack, as engineers worked through clearing a total of 21 issues ahead of rollout. Discovery arrived at the pad well ahead of schedule - at 4:25am local time, with the shuttle secured at the pad just after 6am. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5416 Discovery STS-124 Fri, 2 May 2008 22:49:30 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5415 Constellation engineers are continuing work on an extension to the Ares I First Stage nozzle, which will provide an extra kick for the vehicle's assist of Orion's Lunar mission profiles. Meanwhile, ATK have successfully carried out a test firing of an old Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) - which enabled the gathering of additional data for the Ares I program, in tandem with additional margin on the "Age Life" certification of boosters. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5415 Ares/Orion Fri, 2 May 2008 00:27:05 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5414 The huge Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM) has been transferred to Launch Pad 39A, ahead of Saturday's rollout of shuttle Discovery - as STS-124 preparations enter the final stretch ahead of May 31's launch date. Meanwhile, evaluations are continuing on the next two External Tanks (ET-127 and ET-129) - which are still undergoing production at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) - as shuttle managers debate as to when they will be able to launch the final servicing mission to Hubble. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5414 Discovery STS-124 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:37:27 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5413 A trade study has begun on three leading candidates to mitigate Ares I's Thrust Oscillation problem, as the Tiger Team work through design immaturity and mass constraints. Active Pulse RCS (Reaction Control System) - mounted on the aft skirt, Isolation Mounts between the First Stage and the Upper Stage, and a Tuned Mass Damper are three concepts that have made the cut as the most favorable options. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5413 Ares/Orion Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:23:12 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5412 While public attention remains focused on the unraveling drama of the emergency spacecraft landing on April 19, and how close to death the crew actually came, space engineers in Russia and the United States are already looking ahead. Their concern now must be what to do regarding space hardware and procedures already built, or being completed, that may have hitherto unrecognized hazards - and what can be done to improve the odds for future space crews who gamble with their lives on every mission. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5412 Features Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:59:19 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5411 Arianespace's Starsem affiliate has launched a Russian Soyuz-FG, carrying European GIOVE-B navigation satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch was on time at 6:16pm EDT - ending with a successful spacecraft separation nearly four hours later. NASASpaceflight.com is covered the launch as a live event, with extensive background, live updates (including "in the bunker live" on L2), images and launch video, available on the links below (read more). http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5411 European Space (ESA) Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:37:47 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5410 Veteran orbiter Discovery departed her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-3) early on Saturday, for the short trip to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). First motion was at 07:17 local, arriving in the VAB at 08:05. Meanwhile, a spacesuit test inside Johnson Space Center's Building 7 was terminated, following a vacuum chamber leak, this week. The crewmember was in no danger, though tests on the facility will be carried out before the next scheduled runs take place next week. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5410 Discovery STS-124 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:40:56 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5409 The main runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base (EDW) in California has been removed as a landing option for STS-124, through to STS-126. A refurbishment of the main strip means orbiters - should they require the alternative landing site at the end of their upcoming missions - will use the new temporary runway 22, which will also require new braking and rollout techniques. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5409 Discovery STS-124 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:31:41 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5408 With all three orbiters at various stages of pre-launch processing, shuttle managers are already planning their downstream missions, with opening plans being 'turned on' for STS-127 and STS-128. The fleet is in great shape heading into the first of three more missions this year, with the only critical path item relating to External Tank delivery dates - which remains under pressure following a two week hit to ET-130 production being noted this week. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5408 Discovery STS-124 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:11:39 CST http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5407 Discovery's STS-119 flight - currently targeting February 2009 - has gained its opening planning documentation, created for the mission that will carry the final truss element to the International Space Station. The expansive mission baseline includes documentation on the deferred Boundary Layer Transition (BLT) experiment that was originally scheduled for STS-126, plus a special Thrust Oscillation test - designed to provide valuable launch vibration data for Ares I. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5407 Discovery STS-124 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:22:32 CST