Shuttle Preparing For Final Destinations:

While America’s perhaps best-known rodent meteorologist Punxsutawney Phil was forecasting an extended winter, Atlantis was moved into VAB High Bay 4 in Springtime warmth in a movie-like repeat of the previous day’s work. 

This orbiter shuffle was the second in a possible series of “double-moves” to get each of the famous spaceships ready for transport to their display sites in the coming months.

Orbiters Discovery and Endeavour traded places back in August, Atlantis and Endeavour switched positions this week, and the next potential double-move could be sometime next month, which would signify completion of Transition and Retirement (T&R) work on Discovery at Kennedy and her readiness to be ferried to Washington, D.C. in mid-April.

Atlantis will eventually take Discovery’s place in Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) Bay 1, but the exact timing and route of the moves will depend on when Discovery is ready to ferry.  For now, work to begin removing Main Propulsion System (MPS) hardware from Atlantis for preservation for possible Space Launch System use is slated to start in High Bay 4.

Meanwhile, T&R work has resumed on Endeavour in OPF Bay 2 to get her ready for her planned ferry flight to Los Angeles now planned for the Fall. 

Bart Pannullo, NASA Vehicle Manager for Space Shuttle Transition and Retirement processing, spoke with media in attendance on Wednesday for Endeavour’s move back to the OPF; when asked about upcoming processing milestones, he noted that Endeavour’s decommissioned reaction control system (RCS) hardware was on the way back to KSC. 

“They’ve actually completed processing and they’re in transport right now and they’ll be delivered to Kennedy Space Center on Monday,” Panullo said, referring to the ship-set of Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) and Forward Reaction Control System (FRCS) pods that were decommissioned out at a facility in White Sands, New Mexico. 

Depending on the progress of processing work in the near-term, Panullo said that Endeavour’s gutted FRCS module could be re-installed next week.  He also noted that contract negotiations are still ongoing for shipment of Atlantis’s RCS hardware to White Sands for decommissioning work. 

Discovery’s RCS hardware has already been re-attached, but when her OMS pods were reinstalled, they were noticeably missing OMS engine nozzles – although the pods were also missing most of their seldom-seen internal hardware. “Because some of the nozzles aren’t safe for ferry flight, they’re going to be installed at the display sites, post-ferry,” Panullo explained. 

With the second orbiter double-move underway and the possibility of another one, NSF also asked Panullo about what might happen with Endeavour between when she is “ready to ferry” and her actual ferry flight.  “Endeavour is going to be processing pretty much up until the point it’s ready to leave,” he said. 

“Now that’s where it’s different with 103 [Discovery]; 103 we’re actually going to finish up processing in the middle of March and move it to the VAB for storage and then it’ll sit there until it goes directly out to the MDD, the Mate-Demate Device, and that will happen in mid-April.”

Although the target date for Discovery’s ferry remains April 17, the exact plans and timing for where Discovery might be stored before her ferry flight seem to remain in flux.

While observing work to secure Atlantis in High Bay 4 on Thursday after her move, the media group there for the photo opportunity heard a few possibilities; the ones we heard seemed to depend on when Discovery’s T&R work is completed and she is ready to ferry.  The earlier work is complete, the more moving around – such as just seen with Atlantis – might need to be done. 

If T&R work finishes much closer to the planned April 17th departure date from KSC, then there might not be much moving around. 

Noting another factor, on Wednesday Pannullo said “there are some other things going on with facilities,” that might play into the temporary storage locations for Discovery before ferry.  No final decisions have been made yet. 

Click here for T&R Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/T&R/

The actual takeoff dates and ferry stops for Discovery and Endeavour will be subject to weather conditions, similar to the past.  When asked whether there might be any changes in the weather rules, Panullo said he was unaware of any.

In addition to work going with the orbiter vehicles at KSC, the media group also observed ferry flight hardware for Enterprise getting ready for shipment.  The Approach and Landing Test Article OMS pods (or ‘ALTA pods’) were originally built for Enterprise and were used in 1977 during Approach and Landing Tests at Dryden Flight Research Center and Edwards Air Force Base in California. 

The ALTA pods were subsequently used to ferry all the Shuttle orbiter vehicles at one time or another throughout Shuttle Program operations when the OMS flight hardware was either under construction at the final assembly plant in Palmdale, California, or in maintenance at KSC. 

Both ALTA pods were seen on Thursday attached to their transportation trailers in the VAB, sitting next to their lifting equipment.  One of pods was used in a practice fit check on Endeavour last year while she was in High Bay 4. 

The ALTA pods should soon be shipped to Washington for installation (expected to be permanent) on Enterprise.  Enterprise will be ferried out of Washington to New York City shortly after Discovery arrives in April. 

To read about the orbiters -  from birth, processing, every single mission, through to retirement, click here for the links:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=25837.0

(Images: Via NASA and L2 content – And special photography provided by Philip Sloss, NASASpaceflight.com and Larry Sullivan, MaxQ/NASASpaceflight.com – many thousands of super hi-res image stock available on L2′s new Photo Section)

(L2 and NSF are continuing to follow the orbiters through their transitional period. To join L2, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)

Related posts:

1. STS-125 launch target moves to February 17 – crucial week for Hubble STS-125 has been given a new “work-to” launch date of...
2. Dual flow ballet for Endeavour and Atlantis – De-stack debate Preliminary milestone schedules have been created for the complex dual...

Endeavour back home in OPF-2; final KSC work begins on the baby orbiter:

Since being relegated to VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) HB-4 (High Bay 4) in August 2011 to allow sister Discovery access to OPF-1 to complete her retirement and decommissioning flow, Space Shuttle orbiter Endeavour has sat in the VAB to be viewed by spectators and visitors to the Kennedy Space Center – a role she will soon adopt full-time later this year.

After nearly six months in the VAB – a stay in storage longer then numerous of her OPF processing flows for her 25 flights – Endeavour’s engineers flocked to her side this morning for final preparations for her move back to her home in OPF-2.

With Endeavour (OV-105) safely cocooned inside the protective and processing structures of OPF-2, final decommission work will now proceed on the baby of NASA’s Shuttle fleet.

Serving her country and the world space community proud for just one-fourth of her total design life, Endeavour will now spend the next six months (at least) inside OPF-2 – the OPF that became her very own processing facility in 2003, following the tragic loss of her sister Columbia (OV-102) and her valiant international crew of seven men and women – the 9 year anniversary of which we remember today.

After vacating OPF-2 on 28 February 2011 for mating with her ET and SRB stack for her final voyage, Endeavour was taken into OPF-1 on 1 June 2011, following her successful return from the STS-134 mission.

In OPF-1, Endeavour was quickly deserviced from STS-134 flight status before being taken into full-up decommissioning operations – which saw her lose her three SSMEs (Space Shuttle Main Engines), OMS pods, FRCS (Forward Reaction Control System) pod, SRMS (Shuttle Remote Manipulator System) arm, and numerous pieces of internal equipment.

Stripped down and exposed, Endeavour was rolled out of OPF-1 on 11 August 2011 to make room for sister Discovery.

Since then, Endeavour has been stored in the VAB, with no work being performed on her during her stay in the VAB.

Following the removal of Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis (OV-104) from OPF-2 on Friday, 20 January 2012 to make room for Endeavour, technicians in Endeavour’s home OPF have been busy performing Open Bay Work – scheduled maintenance and upkeep work on the OPF-2 systems that cannot be undertaken with a Shuttle orbiter present in the bay.

With that standard Open Bay Work complete, Endeavour will now take center stage in the OPF as technicians complete all open work for her eventual centerpiece display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California.

In addition to the installation of three Replica Shuttle Main Engines (RSMEs) into her aft, Endeavour will also receive her now-cosmetic-only OMS Pods and FRCS pod before having portions of her MPS (Main Propulsion System) removed for the SLS rocket and related program.

Significant work will also be conducted in the space underneath her Payload Bay as final efforts to completely safe Endeavour for public display are carried out.

Endeavour, however, will not receive her SRMS arm back. That arm, which enabled many of her accomplishments throughout her life, will be given to a Canadian museum – still to be determined – in acknowledgement of and thanks for Canada’s support for the Shuttle Program since its conception in the 1970s.

Like Discovery before her, Endeavour’s payload bay doors will then be closed for the final time and power cut to historic vehicle for the final time.

With power already terminated to former fleet leader Discovery and middle child Atlantis, Endeavour – despite having flown the penultimate flight of the Shuttle Program – will be the final surviving Shuttle orbiter once hooked back up to OPF power this week.

The most recent information indicates the Endeavour will be powered through mid-March, though with all T&R (Transition and Retirement) flow schedules in flux and under a certain degree of pressure to be finished quickly, it’s possible Endeavour could be powered down for the final time earlier than mid-March.

Click here for T&R Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/T&R/

After this milestone is passed, she will then be fitted with a tailcone assembly to prepare her for her ferry flight across the country to the CSC.

While timelines are currently in flux because of the added work of having to remove MPS components from all three orbiters – work that has not yet begun on Endeavour or her sister Atlantis, KSC Orbiter T&R Manager Stephanie Stilson revealed in an interview with NASASpaceflight.com’s Philip Sloss that KSC is currently targeting a mid-September, 2012 ferry flight for Endeavour, as much as this has since slipped to the October timeframe.

The double switch - Atlantis to take Endeavour place in VAB HB4:

With Endeavour safely in her OPF, Shuttle orbiter Atlantis (OV-104) has now taken up residence in VAB HB4, which involved her being wheeled out of the VAB transfer aisle and around the side of the building to the HB4 entrance – a move which was delayed until next week, before being pushed back up to Thursday and completed in the afternoon.

This now become Atlantis’s temporary home for February and most of March while her big sister Discovery completes her final KSC processing milestones in OPF-1.

However, Atlantis’s stay in the VAB will not be as solitary as Endeavour’s proved.

Unlike Endeavour, which saw now work performed on her during her VAB vacation, Atlantis will undergo the beginnings of her MPS tear down and removal while in the VAB.

While timelines are not solidified yet based on ongoing MPS tear down and removal work on Discovery in OPF-1, Atlantis is expected to remain in VAB HB4 until mid- to late-March 2012.

At this time, once all work is terminated on Discovery, the veteran flyer will be removed from OPF-1 and rolled over to the VAB for her last few weeks at her Kennedy home – a place she has called home since 1983.

After OPF-1 is vacated, Atlantis will be wheeled into the processing facility for her final T&R work.

In mid-April, Discovery will be rolled on her wheels from the VAB, past her two sisters, and out to Shuttle Landing Facility where she will be picked up by the Mate-Demate Device and her wheels retracted up into her belly.

Discovery will then be mated to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and flown up the eastern seaboard of the United States to Washington, D.C. and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum on April 17, 2012 – 31 years 5 days after Columbia roared off Launch Pad 39A to begin this historic program.

To read about the orbiters -  from birth, processing, every single mission, through to retirement, click here for the links:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=25837.0

(Images: Via NASA and L2 content – And special photography provided by Philip Sloss, NASASpaceflight.com and Larry Sullivan, MaxQ/NASASpaceflight.com – many thousands of super hi-res image stock available on L2′s new Photo Section)

(L2 and NSF are continuing to follow the orbiters through their transitional period. To join L2, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)

Related posts:

1. Dual flow ballet for Endeavour and Atlantis – De-stack debate Preliminary milestone schedules have been created for the complex dual...
2. Endeavour rollaround moved forward to Thursday – FRR concludes The unique transfer of Endeavour and the STS-126 stack from...
3. Atlantis to rollback to VAB on October 20 – Hubble troubleshooting latest As NASA and the SSP (Space Shuttle Program) refine their...

OV-103/Discovery – The final voyage of the veteran workhorse:

For the final year of the Space Shuttle Program, operations in 2011 began where all Shuttle missions have: in the Vehicle Assembly Building.

After enduring a rollback from LC-39A in late-December 2010, because of cracks on the stringers of her External Tank’s (ET) intertank structure, Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery, OV-103, spent the first month of 2011 in the VAB undergoing ET intertank repairs and strengthening activities while the various NASA centers conducted numerous simulations to nail down the cause of the ET stringer cracks. (L2 Link).

Discovery, the third operational Shuttle orbiter and fourth overall Shuttle orbiter constructed by NASA, was preparing for her 39th and final mission in November 2010 when the stringer crack issue presented itself during the mission’s first launch attempt on November 5, 2010.

Following the discovery of this issue, NASA mission managers refused to set a launch date for the flight in a concerted effort to allow the engineering analysis teams to have the time they needed to properly and safely address the issue without feeling a push toward launch fever. 

STS-133 Specific - Including ET Stringer Issue - Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-133/

On January 4, NASA identified the potential root cause for the stringer issue – a mottling on the stringers themselves.

As noted by an investigation report, “Some material used for the stringers was found to be ‘mottled,’ with a different surface appearance than the standard material. Testing revealed this mottled material had lower fracture toughness than the nominal material and exhibited unstable crack growth.

“All of the cracks found during tanking as well as cracks fixed during manufacturing were located on stringers made with this mottled material.”

Furthermore, engineers were finally able to recreate the stringer crack failure seen on Discovery’s ET using the stringers from the partially-built ET-139 at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF).

By January 6, the all-powerful Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) had directed teams to proceed forward with the radius block modification on well over 100 of Discovery’s tank stringers – a decision that further emphasized the drive for safety and understanding over launch date pressure.

With that, Discovery’s launch date was penciled in for February 24 or 25 as negotiations began with other ISS partners – specifically ESA (the European Space Agency) which was planning to dock their ATV-2 vehicle to the ISS at the same time that Discovery would now be ready for launch.

After negotiations concluded, it was decided that ATV-2′s docking on the morning of February 24 would permit the launch of Discovery later that day – something that had previously been ruled out due to communication and on-orbit requirements of the two vehicles and the ISS crew.

But as repairs to Discovery’s stringers kicked into high gear and things looked to be settling out for the veteran space vehicle, STS-133/Discovery crewmember Tim Kopra was injured and had to be removed from the mission as a result.

Within three days, Steve Bowen was assigned to the mission as Tim Kopra’s replacement, and NASA, in making the crewmember switch announcement, made it clear that Bowen’s experience on the previous Shuttle mission, STS-132/Atlantis, meant that he would need only moderate refresher training to perform the EVA activities originally assigned to Kopra.

As a result, Discovery would keep her February 24 NET launch date, and Nicole Stott and Al Drew would split the Flight Engineering responsibilities for launch and entry that Kopra was originally assigned.

By the end of January, Discovery’s stringers were modified and reviews had cleared the vehicle to return to the launch pad.

On the night of January 31/February 1 – the 8th anniversary of the loss of sister Columbia – Discovery was returned to the launch pad for what would be the 20th post-Columbia mission.

By all would not be as smooth sailing as hoped. The GUCP once again showed its temperamental side by failing an ambient leak check at the pad. (L2 Link).

The GUCP was disassembled, inspected, its two-part flight seals replaced, and reassembled. Subsequent ambient leak checks revealed a healthy GUCP, and all pad activities continued on schedule.

On February 15, the Ariane 5 launch vehicle successfully delivered the ATV-2 ESA resupply vehicle for the ISS into orbit – paving the way for a 24 February docking of ATV-2 to ISS and subsequent launch of Discovery later that same day.

With all approvals in place, the three-day countdown began on Monday, February 21.

The countdown proceeded flawlessly, and fueling of Discovery’s External Tank yielded absolutely no issues with the modified stringers or the GUCP.

Following the successful docking of ATV-2 to the ISS on the morning of 24 February, final preparations continued, the crew boarded Discovery, and the Countdown reached T-9mins and holding.

And then… it happened: the Eastern Range suffered a computer anomaly that prevented them from seeing the necessary safety information readouts from Discovery.

As the Range team worked the issue, the minutes continued to tick toward the end of the day’s short launch window.

At T-9mins and holding, Launch Director Mike Leinbach and his team decided to pick up the count and then hold at T-5mins if the Range issue had not yet been resolved.

With concurrence from all involved, Discovery’s Commander, Steve Lindsey, told the millions watching to “get ready to witness the majesty and the power of the Shuttle Discovery as she lifts off one more time.”

The launch countdown picked up and was indeed held at T-5mins for just over 3mins as the Range continued to work the issue.

In a heart-pounded final seconds, the launch team moved, with esteem calm and professionalism, to resume the countdown in time once the Range issue was cleared.

In the end, the team successfully resumed the countdown with only 1 second of LOX drain back hold time – the limiting launch window factor that day – remaining before a scrub would have had to have been called for the day.

But that one second was all that was needed.

To thunderous applause, numerous tears, an on-hand spectator number reaching close to a quarter of million people, and under crystal clear skies, the Space Shuttle Discovery began the display she and her sisters were best known for when she gracefully lifted off from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 1653.24 EST and made one final reach for the stars.

A true tribute to America’s space workforce, Discovery executed a flawless ascent and safely, successfully, and with pride delivered her six-member crew and mission payload to LEO.

Discovery docked to the ISS for the final time on 26 February 2011.

With her docking, a historic milestone was reached for the ISS – a complete family moment with the ISS supporting all of its support vehicles: Shuttle, Soyuz, Progress, HTV, and ATV.

During the mission, Discovery delivered thousands of pounds of external spares via the Express Logistics Carrier ELC-4 and thousands of pounds of internal supplies for the Space Station via the newly minted Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) Leonardo – a former Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM).

The addition of PMM Leonardo marked the final, permanent, pressurized module to be delivered to the ISS by the Space Shuttle fleet and NASA.

After nearly nine days of joint-docked operations, the ISS bid a final farewell to Orbiter Discovery after 13 missions to the orbital outpost.

On March 9, just before 12-noon, Discovery announced her triumphant return to the Kennedy Space Center before flying effortlessly over her Florida home and easing down onto Runway 15 at 11:58:14 EST.

By the time Discovery rolled to a stop on the Florida spaceport runway, she had achieved the distinction of having spent a cumulative total of 365 days (a full year) in space.

She was also the oldest-surviving Shuttle orbiter in the fleet upon completion of her final mission as well as the first Space Shuttle orbiter to successfully complete every single one of her missions – including all three Return to Flight missions following the losses of her big sisters Challenger and Columbia.

Discovery’s service to the human race began on 30 August 1984 with the launch of the STS-41D mission and ended on 9 March 2011 having lasted 26 years 6 months 6 days and 39 missions.

OV-105/Endeavour - An emotional high for the baby of the fleet:

For Endeavour, the 2011 calendar year began with direct knock-on effects from the on-going stringer crack issue of her sister Discovery’s ET.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour, the fifth and final space-worthy orbiter and sixth and final overall Space Shuttle orbiter constructed by NASA, began 2011 in her OPF-2 home as NASA hammered out a fix to the stringer issue on the External Tank.

Following the identification of root cause of the issue and implementation of the radius block modification, NASA made the decision to modify ET-122 – the External Tank Endeavour was to use on her final mission – despite the fact that ET-122 was an earlier-constructed tank than Discovery’s and was not constructed from the same material batch as Discovery’s mottled stringers were.

Nonetheless, the decision was made to ensure the highest safety factor for Endeavour and her returned-to-service ET.

In many ways, Endeavour’s final journey to space was a story of perseverance and rising above the odds.

Endeavour herself had always been a symbol of triumph from the throes of tragedy as her existence is owed entirely to the loss of Challenger, the sister she never knew.

Called upon for multiple important missions during her storied career, Endeavour was the Space Shuttle Orbiter that saved the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993 and the Orbiter that began construction of the International Space Station in December 1998 when she launched on the STS-88 mission to join the US’s “Unity” module with Russia’s Zarya module.

For Endeavour’s final mission, her Commander was none other than veteran Shuttle flier Mark E. Kelly – who, like his vehicle, was an amazing source of strength, hope, and inspiration throughout the early months of 2011 and throughout the STS-134 mission.

But the perseverance on STS-134 did not end with Endeavour or her crew.  Despite the fact that the STS-134 mission was the first of the final two missions to be added to the end of the Shuttle manifest (and the first of the final Shuttle missions whose flight was specifically mandated by Congress), her External Tank was a major source of pride for the NASA workforce.

Built in 2002, ET-122 was damaged during the landfall of Hurricane Katrina near the New Orleans MAF construction facility for the tanks. In fact, ET-122 was so damaged by the hurricane that it was completely removed from flight status.

Originally, Endeavour’s mission was supposed to use ET-138 – the final completed External Tank in the numerical sequence.

However, the addition of the STS-335 Launch On Need rescue mission for Endeavour mandated the need for another tank. Rather than complete fabrication and assembly of a new tank, ET-139, the MAF workforce was directed in November 2008 to restore ET-122 to flight status.

In addition to all the hurricane repair work that needed to be made, MAF workers also had to implement most of the RTF (Return To Flight) modifications mandated by NASA in the wake of the Columbia accident.

By early 2011, NASA decided to move ET-122 to STS-134/Endeavour’s mission so that Atlantis, if the STS-335 rescue mission was needed, could fly with a perfectly clean tank instead of the patched-up, but extremely safe, ET-122.

With Endeavour fitted with ET-122 and her SRB set, the entire stack arrived and LC-39A on March 10 with a target April 19 launch to the International Space Station.

With a rather traumatic opening week to her last visit to Pad-A, Endeavour’s flight managers were forced to review TPS damage zones on the baby of the Orbiter fleet after a tool was accidentally dropped from the RSS (Rotating Service Structure) and impacted Endeavour before landing on the zero-level deck of the MLP (Mobile Launch Platform).

The damage was very minor and no repairs were carried out on Endeavour.

At this time, as well, Endeavour was also cleared to proceed toward her April 19 launch date when Russian space officials confirmed that their Soyuz launch would only be slipping to April 4 and not deeper in April like originally thought.

But by the end of March, Russia and NASA were once again into negotiations on Endeavour’s launch date as a conflict between Russia’s Progress M-10M spacecraft and Endeavour’s missions arose.

Endeavour eventually lost the fight and was forced to move to an April 29 launch date – which she continued processing toward despite multiple rounds of adverse weather at the launch pad that triggered evaluations of the stack for storm damage.

Also at this time, NASA managers decided to cancel plans for a Soyuz fly-about of the docked Endeavour/ISS stack because of crew impact concerns should the Soyuz fail to re-dock to the ISS. (L2 Link).

By April 13, NASA formally extended Endeavour’s swan song mission by one day. With a newly extended mission, Endeavour entered what was thought to be her final launch countdown on April 26.

On launch day, as Endeavour’s crew prepared for their journey to the launch pad, an APU-1 heater issue presented itself. Initial attempts to troubleshoot the issue did not prove successful, and Launch Director Mike Leinbach scrubbed the April 29 launch attempt.

In the following week, the APU-1 heater issue was quickly traced to the Aft Load Control Assembly (ALCA-2) box. The ALCA-2 was Removed and Replaced, where a blown driver was subsequently focused on as the cause of the heater issue. (L2 Link).

STS-134 Specific Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-134/

With a new ALCA in place, Endeavour’s launch was retargeted for May 16.

For the final time, the countdown for the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour began on Friday, May 13.

Thanks to the delay in the launch date, and agreements with Russia to undock the Soyuz TMA-20 for a nominal end of Soyuz mission landing during Endeavour’s docked mission, the formal plan to use the departing Soyuz to capture imagery of the docked Endeavour/ISS stack returned to mission planning.

On May 16, even though the weather looked borderline at best, all launch commit criteria aligned, leading to a final, unanimous “GO” for launch decision.

From the cockpit of Endeavour, Commander Mark Kelly said, “We endeavor to build a better life than the generation before and we endeavor to be a united nation. It is in our DNA to reach for the stars and explore. We must not stop.”

And mere minutes later, under overcast, grey, dreary skies, the Space Shuttle Endeavour roared to life for the 27th and final time as she thundered from the launch pad to begin her 25th and final voyage.

To many on the ground, including the launch team, Endeavour seemed to take just a little longer than normal to rise from the launch pad, turn, and begin her historic final mission to space – giving the 500,000 to 750,000 people in personal attendance the feeling of being able to see her for just a bit longer in all her glory.

Her launch was a moment of historical coincidence as well. Endeavour lifted off for the final time exactly 19 years to the day (May 16) after she landed to conclude her maiden voyage, the STS-49 mission in May 1992.

As she had 24 times before, Endeavour dutifully delivered her crew safely to orbit and performed a flawless docking to the ISS two days later.

Her mission marked the delivery of the premiere and exciting Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the ISS – an experiment designed to search for evidence of the existence of dark matter, anti-matter, and dark energy in our universe.

The mission also saw the delivery of ELC-3 – the final large delivery of external spares for the ISS – to the Station.

And, as we all remember and cherish, the mission also provided the stunning photography and video of Endeavour docked to the International Space Station from the vantage point of the departing Soyuz spacecraft. (L2 Link to 271 hi res flyaround photos)

But the greatest milestone of all came toward the end of Endeavour’s docked mission: US Assembly Complete of the International Space Station - achieved when Endeavour’s crew transferred and berthed Endeavour’s OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor System) to the orbiting outpost.

Thus, Endeavour was the orbiter that began and completed US assembly of the International Space Station.

(Animated image resized from hires/full screen version and sequence photo dumps on L2′s STS-134 Flight Day image section - several hundred megabytes strong – L2 Link.) 

After 11 days 17 hours 41 minutes of docked operations with the ISS, Endeavour bid a fond farewell to her orbital child.

Two days later, under the cover of darkness, Endeavour gallantly swooped down over her Florida home to end her career on 1 June 2011 at 0235 EDT.

To the very end, Endeavour was and always will be an iconic symbol of hope, a ship that inspires pride, awe, the quest for knowledge, and the determination to pick ourselves up and continue forward when adversity would rather us surrender.

After 19 years 24 days 6 hours and 55 minutes of service (May 7, 1992 at 1940 EDT to June 1, 2011 at 0235 EDT), Endeavour officially ended her tenure with the Space Shuttle Program. But she still remains our hope for a new tomorrow, an era when humans will regularly explore the space beyond the confines of our home world and push our boundaries of scientific knowledge and our quest of exploration.

OV-104/Atlantis - The Grand Finale of an American icon:

STS-135: The flight that wasn’t even manifested at the start of 2011.

Included in the NASA Authorization Act of 2011, which was signed into law on 11 October 2010, funding for the STS-135 mission remained in limbo while Congress remained incapable of reaching an agreement on the exact nature of the Fiscal Year 2011 calendar budget.

To this end, NASA continued procurement of mission hardware and software for the STS-335 contingency LON rescue mission which would have been used in the event that Endeavour became disabled during STS-134.

On 20 January 2011, NASA officially changed the mission designation number for STS-335 to STS-135 on internal documentation only (L2 Link), allowing teams to proceed with mission training and planning operations so that the continuing appropriations battle in Washington D.C. would not impact flight operations.

Finally, on 13 February 2011, NASA announced and confirmed that STS-135 would fly to the International Space Station regardless of whether or not appropriations from Congress materialized.

At this point, STS-135 became an officially manifested flight, making it one of the quickest missions to go from manifestation to liftoff in Shuttle Program history.

Undergoing a near one-year OPF-1 flow for STS-335/135, Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis was mated to her ET/SRB stack.

Arriving at the launch pad at the same time as her sister Endeavour landed a few miles away to complete her last mission on June 1, Atlantis began a one month eight day pad flow.

On 15 June,  a tanking test was performed on the Atlantis/STS-135 stack to confirm a solid fix to Atlantis’s Tank’s stringers – which underwent the same modifications as Discovery’s and Endeavour’s tanks had.

The Tanking Test revealed a healthy tank and modified stringers while also revealing a hydrogen fuel valve issue in Main Engine #3 that, if it had occurred on launch day, would have resulted in a multi-day scrub.

Replacement of the valve was completed on 21 June, just one day after Atlantis’s payload was installed into her payload bay.

Despite a dismal weather forecast with only a 40 percent chance of acceptable weather, NASA launch managers decided to proceed with the launch attempt on 8 July.

Tanking operations began right on time at 0201 EDT and wrapped up three hours later with no issue.

In fact, Atlantis performed flawlessly during her countdown, with the only concern being the weather.

One hour before the scheduled liftoff, weather conditions improved and went GREEN, falling within Launch Commit Criteria rules. However, post-flight launch weather rules governing Return To Launch Site (RTLS) abort weather requirements could not be satisfied by the strict by-the-word standards.

However, the commitment clause for “Good Sense” allowed Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses to issue a formal waiver for the RTLS weather restrictions – giving all stations a GO status for launch – since the weather violation would have cleared by the time of an RTLS landing.

After Launch Director Mike Leinbach wished the crew “Good luck … on the final flight of this true American icon,” the countdown resumed and proceeded nominally from T-9mins to T-34seconds.

At T-34seconds, the Ground Launch Sequencer issued an automated hold at T-31seconds and inhibited Atlantis’s onboard computers from taking control of the countdown.

Prior to this, the final mission of the Space Shuttle to the ISS, the last time a Shuttle launch countdown was held at T-31secs was on the STS-88 mission – the very first Shuttle mission to ISS.

For Atlantis and STS-135, the hold was issued due to the failed indication of a complete retraction and latch of the Gaseous Oxygen vent arm.

The launch control team, one final time, demonstrated their extreme commitment to safety and professionalism as they calmly worked through the issue and used close circuit TV cameras at the launch pad to verify that the GOX vent arm was indeed fully retract and latched against the FSS (Fixed Service Structure) – thus confirming that the failed retraction and latching indication was a sensor error.

The glitch was ironic in many ways, as the GOX vent arm had never given the launch team an issue during the 150+ countdown retractions it was placed through during the life of the Program.

Furthermore, the GOX vent arm was a complete afterthought for the Shuttle Program and was only installed on the FSS after pad validation testing using test Shuttle Enterprise in 1979 revealed the need for the arm and vent system to prevent the build-up of dangerous ice at the top of the External Tank during the countdown.

STS-135 Specific Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-135/

With the issue resolved, the launch team released the hold, and Atlantis’s onboard computers took control of the vehicle and countdown. The time was 11:29:03.9 EDT on 8 July 2011.

In front of a world-wide audience and crowd of one million people at the Kennedy Space Center and surrounding cities and beaches, the Space Shuttle Atlantis came to life, majestically rose from her seaside launch pad, stretched her wings one final time, and went transonic as she punched through the cloud deck and disappeared from view – leaving only the sound of her engines as evidence of her flexing her muscles for the last time.

Atlantis, like her sisters, delivered her crew safely to orbit and docked to the ISS for the final time on 10 July 2011.

The mission saw the Atlantis crew deliver thousands of pounds of internal spares and supplies to the Station – stockpiling the outpost for several years to come.

The mission also delivered the Robotics Refueling Depot to the station, an external experiment deigned to help test robotic refueling technologies for future spacecraft and satellites.

On the final full day of docked operations, Atlantis Commander Chris Ferguson – at the farewell ceremony on the ISS – presented the ISS crew with a small American flag that was flown on the STS-1 mission by Shuttle Columbia on April 12-14, 1981.

The flag was fastened to the inner wall of the ISS and flanked by the STS-1 and STS-135 mission patches – a symbolic gesture signaling the end of the Shuttle program.

On July 19, Atlantis undocked from the ISS and performed a modified flyaround maneuver of the Space Station.

As she backed away from ISS for the last time, Atlantis silently slipped into the darkness of orbital night, the lights turning off on the historic program.

On July 21, Atlantis navigated her way through the fierce outer atmosphere of Earth, taking aim on the Kennedy Space Center for a pre-dawn landing on runway 15.

(Animation created from some of the 114 hi res photos (all available in L2) taken by Mike Fossum on the ISS)

Less than 10 minutes before landing, the ISS made a breath-taking visual pass directly over the Kennedy Space Center in a final salute to the Shuttle Program, heralding Atlantis’s arrival to her permanent home city.

At 05:57:54, Atlantis descended from the darkness and touched her wheels to the pavement at the Shuttle Landing Facility for an emotional finale to her legacy and the legacy of the Space Shuttle Program.

Upon “wheels stop,” the final Shuttle Commander thanked all the men and women who worked on the program and the vehicles over the preceding 30+ years. And in a touching moment, Commander Ferguson also thanked the five flight vehicles themselves for protecting their crews and enabling the expansion of our knowledge and quest for science.

Less than 30 minutes after landing, Atlantis fell silent for the final time.

It was over.
 
Final Reflections on a legend:

With that final Shuttle landing came a moment of joy, sadness, grief, prolonged contemplation, but above all PRIDE in an amazingly complex set of vehicles that inspired countless numbers around the world, flew more people to space than any other spacecraft thus far (and for many, many decades to come), and helped bridge the gap between nations and forge unprecedented alliances in space.

For 30 years, 3 months, 8 days, 22 hours and 57 minutes (April 12, 1981 at 0700EDT to July 21, 2011 at 0557 EDT), the five space-worthy Shuttle orbiters spent a combined total of 1,332 days 1 hour and 36 minutes in space, completing 21,152 orbits of Earth over 548.2 million miles.

All five Shuttle orbiters deployed a combined total of 66 satellites, completed 46 rendezvous with an orbital space station (9 to MIR and 37 to ISS), and carried a combined total of 827 crewmembers (some more than once) into space.

For the final breakdown:

Discovery (OV-103): 39 missions; 365days 12hrs 53mins in space; 5,830 orbits of Earth; 148.2 million miles travelled; 31 satellites deployed (including the Hubble Space Telescope); 14 space station dockings; 252 crewmembers.

Atlantis (OV-104): 33 missions; 305days 7hrs 47mins in space; 4,848 orbits of Earth; 125.9 million miles travelled; 14 satellites deployed; 19 space station dockings (a world-wide record she will keep for decades to come); 207 crewmembers.

Columbia (OV-102): 28 missions; 300days 17hours 41mins in space; 4,808 orbits of Earth; 125.5 million miles travelled; 8 satellites deployed; 160 crewmembers.

Endeavour (OV-105): 25 missions; 299days 3hrs 19mins in space; 4,671 orbits of Earth; 122.8 million miles travelled; 3 satellites deployed; 12 space station dockings and one space station rendezvous and grapple; 148 crewmembers.

Challenger (OV-099): 10 missions; 62days 7hrs 56mins in space; 995 orbits of Earth; 25.8 million miles travelled; 10 satellites deployed; 60 crewmembers.

And while the Shuttles’ missions are behind them, and their engines and APUs forever silent, we wish them and all who have flown aboard them, and all who have worked on them, and all who dedicated theirs lives to making them fly Godspeed in whatever the future may hold.

The Space Shuttle Program, the five orbiters, and their dedicated workforce leave behind an unprecedented legacy of achievement – and a legacy that must never be forgotten, a legacy where all were taught by example “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

But moreover, the five Shuttle orbiters made a thousands-strong workforce incredibly proud.

To all of the NASA engineers, all of the astronauts, the entire NASA workforce (including those contractually employed by Pratt & Whitney, Boeing, ATK, Lockheed, USA), and all those whose names we never heard but nonetheless worked silently and many times without recognition in support of a program that you whole-heartedly believed in, we give you our resounding thanks and gratitude.

Without you, this program would not have been what it was.

The Shuttle program has come to an end, but the legacy of the program and those who worked and flew aboard the Shuttle, as well as those who will continue the dream of human space exploration, will forever carry on.

And so, for the final time, to Enterprise (1977-1985), Columbia (1981-2003), Challenger (1983-1986), Discovery (1984-2011), Atlantis (1985-2011), and Endeavour (1992-2011), you will always have our eternal thanks and gratitude for all that you have enabled the human race to learn and discover about not only the universe and our home planet, but also about ourselves and our ability to work together to achieve common and mutually-supportive objectives.

It was an incredible journey. And those of us who were a part of this great program, no matter how small a part, will never forget a single part of it or the Orbiters and people who made it all possible.

Thank you.

Please note: Clickable links with (L2) references point directly to cited L2 content. Such content is only available to L2 members (please ensure you are logged in). All other clickable links point to NSF articles and open content.

To read about Atlantis and her sisters – from birth, processing, every single mission, through to retirement, click here for the links:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=25837.0

Click here for the amazing MaxQ Entertainment STS-135 Mission Review Music Video:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26178.0

(Images: Via Larry Sullivan and Brian Papke, MaxQ Entertainment/NASASpaceflight.com, L2 and L2 presentations and NASA. To join L2, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)

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Discovery’s Final Months At KSC:

The veteran orbiter marked the beginning of the end for the orbiter’s role of conducting missions under the NASA call sign, when she returned from the highly successful STS-133 mission. Soon after, Discovery was placed into the Transition and Retirement (T&R) flow, which was always going to result in her being the first orbiter to leave the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for one final time.

For that final trip, Discovery will be rolled to the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), hoisted up by the Mate/Demate Device (MDD), prior to being mated atop of the awaiting Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), which will fly Discovery to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum near Washington, D.C.

In fact, Discovery’s T&R flow schedule shows she will be coming to the end of preparations for the trip by the holiday break in late-December 2011,  Those schedules – which are subject to change – show that by January 3, 2012, Discovery will be “ready for ferry”.

Soon after, Discovery will be rolled out of her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-1) and into Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) High Bay 4 (HB4) for storage. She will remain in storage until April 10, when she will be towed to the SLF and hoisted atop the SCA.

The non-official date – based on preliminary internal information – has Discovery departing KSC on April 12, 2012, just as her older sister Columbia did 31 years previously, during the very first Space Shuttle launch.

Discovery’s point of arrival, Dulles Airport, currently believe Discovery is due to arrive around April 16, as much as they do not have a confirmed date. The Smithsonian’s current orbiter, Enterprise, will be moved to a staging point just days ahead of Discovery’s arrival.

This means it may be possible that Discovery and Enterprise will be parked together on the tarmac at Udvar-Hazy for a short period of time for photos and video right after Discovery is wheels-down.

Discovery will be removed from the back of the SCA via cranes and lowered onto the ground at Dulles, a process which has already been practised at KSC’s SLF earlier in the year.

Shortly thereafter, Enterprise will be hoisted on top of the SCA in preparation for her ferry flight to JFK International Airport in New York.

Discovery will still sport her battle scars of re-entry on her Thermal Protection System (TPS) blankets. However, she will be missing some of the hardware she used during her operational life.

To her visitors, she will have a very similar appearance on the surface, but her Orbital Manuevering System (OMS) Pods and Forward Reaction Control System (FRCS) were near-gutted during safing operations at the White Sands facility in New Mexico.

She will also be sporting three RSMEs, as opposed to SSMEs, following the Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) decision to protect all flight-able SSMEs for the SLS program.

The PRCB Change Request presentation (available on L2) noted direction from the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) to roadmap the ability to keep the engines, and replace them with replicas for when the retired vehicles go on display at their exhibitions.

“Directed by SSP to prepare an integrated approach for an alternative to using flight Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) on post SSP orbiter displays. To obtain authorization and funding to design, build, deliver, and install nine (9) Replica Shuttle Main Engines (RSMEs) to replace flight SSMEs on orbiters,” noted the presentation.

“To preserve the SSME flight engines for future use, NASA MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center) / KSC (Kennedy Space Center) / JSC (Johnson Space Center) recommends a replica engine be provided utilizing existing inoperable nozzle assets and an adapter to simulate the SSME for display purposes.”

With the Shuttle Derived (SD) Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV) utilizing between three and five RS-25 engines on its core stage, the available stock of SSMEs (RS-25Ds) – comprising of three sets from each orbiter, a spare set of three and up to three others located outside of KSC – will be used during the testing and initial launches of the SLS, prior to the switch to the expendable RS-25E version of the engine in the 2020s.

For the orbiters going on display, SSME contractor Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) developed the RSME, of which nine have been fabricated for installation on the vehicles.

While a flight ready SSME consists of large amounts of plumbing, turbopumps and electronics, etc. The RSMEs simply consist of a scrap – but cosmetically repaired – nozzle, with an adaptor to install it into the aft of the retired orbiter.

The internal schedules showed the installation of the RSMEs was scheduled to take place in October, meaning they are behind on the timeline with this week’s completion of the task. However, there is a large amount of flexibility in the flow, given the aforementioned information that Discovery’s schedule allowed for four months between her “ready to ferry” date and her eventual departure from Florida.

With all three RSMEs now installed on Discovery, she is starting to return from her rather sorry looking appearance of a vehicle with no engines, no OMS Pods and no FRCS. This process was required to allow for the complete safing of the vehicle, due to the amount of hazardous substances her powered systems contained after returning from STS-133.

Click here for other T&R Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/t&r/

The T&R plans for Atlantis and Endeavour are currently under embargo, while the Johnson Space Center (JSC) – which missed out on a flown orbiter, are soon to expect delivery of the high-fidelity model which is being dismantled from its current home at the KSC Visitor Complex.

The model is scheduled to be moved to the Turn Basin at 7am (first motion) on Sunday, December 11, with the move requiring removal of light poles and other obstructions – work which will begin on December 9.

The replica External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) which sat next to the orbiter at the display have also been dismantled and will be placed into temporary storage at KSC.

Ground breaking on a new exhibition facility – which is going to be the eventual home for Atlantis – is expected to start early in the new year.

(Images: Via L2 content and NASA.)

(L2 and NSF are continuing to follow the orbiters through their transitional period. To join L2, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)

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UARS:

UARS was launched onboard Space Shuttle Discovery on September 12, 1991, as part of the STS-48 mission.

To read about Discovery and her sisters – from birth, processing, every single mission, through to retirement, click here for the links:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=25837.0

It was deployed from Discovery’s Payload Bay, via her Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS), on Flight Day 3 of the mission (September 15). Discovery then returned home on September 18, landing at Edwards Air Force Base’s Runway 22.

The satellite was the first multi-instrumented spacecraft to observe numerous chemical components of the atmosphere for better understanding of photochemistry. UARS data marked the beginning of many long-term records for key chemicals in the atmosphere.

The satellite also provided key data on the amount of light that comes from the sun at ultraviolet and visible wavelengths.

UARS – which is 35 feet long, 15 feet in diameter, and weighs 13,000 pounds – ceased its productive scientific life in 2005, whilst on its orbit at an altitude of 375 miles with an orbital inclination of 57 degrees. It was originally designed to operate for only three years.

Now out of fuel, the satellite has been dropping out of orbit, and is expected to re-enter around September 23. The problem is, NASA aren’t sure where it will re-enter until next week, which has gained media attention, given experts believe at least 26 large pieces of the satellite are expected to survive re-entry.

All NASA know at this point is the satellite will re-enter somewhere between the latitudes of northern Canada and southern South America. While the hope – via probability – is any surviving pieces of UARS will impact over water, it highlights the need to work a level of mitigation into other returning objects from space.

NASA Meeting:

The timing of the UARS re-entry comes shortly after NASA’s FOIG team held a Special Safety Topic review into the hazards posed by space hardware fragmentation during re-entry, with the aim to apply mitigation to any potential risks from hardware breaking up and surviving entry – in turn threatening human life on the ground.

“As we progress forward with future programs, we should keep in mind that in systems engineering the definition of a System Life Cycle includes not just deployment and operation but also retirement and disposal,” a presentation from the meeting (available on L2) noted.

Several examples of hardware entering and surviving the extreme heat and aerodynamic stresses – which usually destroys returning hardware – are cited, starting with Apollo 13′s Lunar Module in April, 1970.

“The Aquarius LEM re-entered Earth’s atmosphere after having served as a lifeboat for the Apollo 13 crew. Mounted on the LEM descent stage, was a SNAP-27 (System For Nuclear Auxiliary Power) RTG (Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator) which contained 8.3 lbs (3.9 kg) of Plutonium-238,” noted the presentation.

“Re-entry was at 122 km above the South Pacific Ocean near the Fiji Islands. High and low altitude atmospheric sampling in the area indicated there was no release of plutonium, so the graphite fuel cask is assumed to have survived re-entry and now resides on the bottom of the Tonga Trench in 6 to 9 km of water.”

The second example overviewed also had a nuclear element of concern, as the Soviet COSMOS-954 satellite failed to safe itself prior to returning back to Earth in 1978.

“COSMOS – A Soviet surveillance satellite that used a nuclear reactor for power (~50 kg of Uranium-235). By design, at the end of the satellite’s life, the reactor was supposed to separate and be boosted to a high parking orbit.

“COSMOS-954′s reactor failed to separate and when it re-entered, pieces of the satellite fell over a sparsely populated section of the North West Territories in Canada. 12 large pieces were recovered. Some were highly radioactive (less than 1 percent of the fuel was recovered).”

The presentation also notes that in 1983, COSMOS-1402 landed in the Indian Ocean, while in 1988, COSMOS-1900 landed in the Atlantic Ocean.

The third example shown related to the US station Skylab, which had originally hoped for an orbital reboost from an early space shuttle mission, prior to an eventful re-entry in July of 1979, which resulted in large pieces of hardware surviving.

“Increased solar activity, along with shuttle delays prevented any possibility of a reboost of the 90.6 ton space station. JSC (Johnson Space Center) controllers commanded Skylab into a tumble, hoping this would increase the amount of disintegration upon re-entry.

“Large chunks of debris were spread over a 100 mile long strip of land near Perth, Australia.”

The Russian’s own space station also suffered the fate of re-entry, as MIR saw its life ended in 2001. However, while a lot of pieces of the station survived, all the hardware followed a pre-planned disposal corridor over the southern Pacific Ocean.

“After a 15 year on-orbit life, the 135 ton orbital complex, was intentionally de-orbited by firing the thrusters of the attached Progress M1-5,” added the presentation’s overview.

“Entry was East of Australia, over the southern Pacific Ocean. Approximately 1,500 pieces of debris weighing 50 tons may have survived, including pieces as heavy as a small car.”

Other examples include an incident during Columbia’s STS-75 mission, when the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) was to be deployed to a distance of 12 miles to place the TSS into the rarefied electrically charged layer of the atmosphere known as the ionosphere.

As described in Chris Gebhardt’s superb overview of Columbia’s service and missions, it was hoped that the TSS would generate high voltage and electrical currents as it moved through the ionosphere and across the magnetic field lines of Earth.

This, in turn, would allow scientists to learn more about the electrodynamics of a conducting tether system and to deepen understanding of physical processes in the near-Earth space environment.

Deployment of the TSS proved successful at first. But just before the TSS reached full deployment, the tether snapped and the TSS was lost. It remained in orbit for several weeks before finally re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.

“During the STS-75 mission, with the TSS at 19.6 km (of a planned 20 km deployment), the tether broke due to a break down in insulation, short and subsequent melting of the cable,” added the presentation.

“At this point the 518 kg TSS became a free flying satellite (trailing a very long tail). While the satellite and tether did not pose a hazard to the ground, there was pre-flight concern that should the tether break, it could pose a re-contact risk to the orbiter.

“Side Note: Post break, MOD personnel sent a number of commands to the now free flyer, initially via the PI to save consumables and latter via ESTL (by building discrete commands).”

Tragically, Columbia herself provided the next example, after she – and her crew – were lost over east Texas during the ill-fated entry at the end of her STS-107 mission. Her loss resulted in additional work on computer models related to the mitigation of public risk for spacecraft debris.

“In the vicinity that debris fell, there are an average of 85 inhabitants per square mile. In the aftermath of the accident, NASA pursued the development of computer tools to predict the survivability of spacecraft debris during re-entry to help assess public risk. Entry paths were modified to mitigate the risk posed by the over flight of densely populated areas.”

The final example cited was USA-193 – also known as NRO launch 21 – was a military spy satellite launched on December 14, 2006 – the first launch of the then newly formed United Launch Alliance (ULA), via a Delta II launch vehicle.

Unfortunately, the satellite malfunctioned shortly after deployment,and was intentionally destroyed 14 months later on February 21, 2008, by a modified SM-3 missile fired from the warship USS Lake Erie, stationed west of Hawaii.

“Shortly after launch, all communication with a 5000 lbs, classified, US experimental radar reconnaissance satellite, was lost. The decision was made to destroy the satellite to prevent larger pieces from reaching the ground,” the presentation noted.

“The primary reported concern was contamination should the onboard hydrazine tank survive to the ground. A secondary concern was the classified nature of any hardware that did make it to the ground.

“A SM-3 missile was fired from the USS Lake Erie in the Pacific Ocean. The impact caused the satellite to break into more than 80 pieces, which at its orbital altitude (150 nmiles) , was expected to have a short lifetime (24-48 hours for most debris, with some not entering for 40 days).”

As NASA aim to control debris both in space and from surviving entry, the presentation noted that the International Space Station (ISS) has provided additional insights – from the standpoint of what they jettison from the orbital outpost.

“As the ISS program progressed, it became apparent that there needed to exist a standard policy for the jettison of hardware. Reasons for jettison could include: Safety issue for return (contamination, material properties, etc.). On-orbit stowage return manifest. EVA timeline savings. Hardware is designed to be jettison (ex. micro-sat).

As noted in flight rules (FR B4-104) for jettisoning hardware, “Whenever possible, hardware will be jettisoned from the ISS in a retrograde direction.” This allows controllers on the ground to analyze the expected relative motion, and ensure the jettisoned item cannot pose a collision hazard to ISS. USSTRATCOM are notified by NASA – and if available, a state vector provided.

Click here for ISS Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/iss/

NASA managers now find themselves having to be vigilant to provide mitigation of hardware risks, with several current vehicles designed to end their lives in the fire of re-entry. Managers will also have to apply such planning for future vehicles, not least the fleet of new vehicles, such as SpaceX’s Dragon, and NASA’s own Orion (MPCV).

“ATV (ESA), HTV (JAXA) and Progress (Russia): End of mission disposal is via atmospheric re-entry. Soyuz (Russia): While the Descent Module re-enters and is recovered, support hardware is jettisoned (ex. Orbital Module and Instrumentation and Science Module),” added the presentation.

“COTS (Commercial) Visiting Vehicles (Future): Support hardware is jettisoned (ex. Dragon Service Module). Orion MPCV Hardware (Future). Support hardware is jettisoned (ex. Orion Service Module). Earth orbit tests of future asteroid/lunar hardware.”

According to the Special Safety Topic meeting’s findings, the key to providing additional mitigation against risks to the public will be found via improving computer models on how hardware is expected to disintegrate during entry.

“Improving re-entry fragmentation models can help ensure that planned (or contingency) disposal of on orbit hardware does not pose a hazard to the public. For first entry of new program (unproven) hardware, tracking and interception helps to ensure a safe trajectory and provide confirmation of the above models.”

On the whole, no risks are associated with re-entering vehicles, given the tight pre-planned disposal corridors. The mitigation – however – will provide a safety net for those vehicles which may suffer an issue and an uncontrolled re-entry.

(Images: Via the cited presentation – available on L2, plus ESA and NASA TV.)

(L2 is – as it has been for the past several years – providing full exclusive future vehicle coverage, available no where else on the internet. To join L2, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)

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The Shuttle Shuffle – two OPFs for three Orbiters:

One month and two days after Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis lifted off on the finale of the Space Shuttle Program, her two sisters – Discovery and Endeavour – shared the spot light this morning at the Kennedy Space Center in what was a rare-est of rare photographs of the Space Shuttle Program: two Space Shuttle orbiters, on their wheels, nose-to-nose, in severely stripped-down attire.

Specifically, the effort to move Discovery and Endeavour was part of the ongoing Transition and Retirement flows for Atlantis (OV-104), Discovery (OV-103), and Endeavour (OV-105) in only two OPFs at the space center.

After completing her historic 39th and final mission in March, orbiter Discovery was moved into OPF-2 (Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2) for Down Mission Processing and initial Transition and Retirement (T&R) processing.

Interestingly enough, Discovery’s entrance into OPF-2 on March 9, 2011 marked the first time in nearly 10 years that she was placed into OPF-2. The last time Discovery was in that processing bay was on September 18, 2001.

After Sept. 18, 2001, Discovery spent several months in storage in the VAB, two months in OPF-3, and then two months in OPF-1 before being stored again in the VAB.

After this, she was moved into OPF-3 on August 22, 2002. As fate would have it, OPF-3 would end up being Discovery’s final operational home at the Kennedy Space Center, as the tragic loss of Columbia reduced the Shuttle fleet to three orbiters and allowed each orbiter to gain an OPF all to themselves.

When this occurred, Discovery took OPF-3, Endeavour OPF-2, and Atlantis OPF-1. (Historical Note: If going by OPF numerical designations, the Space Shuttle orbiters actually flew their final flights in reverse numerical order: 3, 2, 1.)

In all, Discovery would call OPF-3 home from August 22, 2002 – September 9, 2010 when she was rolled out and over to the VAB to be mated to her ET/SRB flight set for her final mission.

During the lengthy launch delays for Discovery on STS-133, the decision was made to terminate OPF-3 operations for the Shuttle Program and prepare the bay for future use by an outside customer.

This meant that Discovery had to undergo post-flight processing from STS-133 in OPF-2 since teams were able to move Endeavour over to the VAB for her final mission before Discovery landed for the final time.

As such, Discovery spent March, April, May, June, and part of July in OPF-2 undergoing post-flight deservicing and initial T&R processing.

However, the loss of OPF-3 meant that NASA had to contend with only two processing facilities for three orbiters. As such, NASA moved Atlantis out of OPF-1 and over to the VAB for stacking for the final Shuttle mission after the successful launch of Endeavour and STS-134 in mid-May.

When Endeavour returned to land at the end of her final mission, she was moved into OPF-1 – an OPF she had not been in since September 30, 2002 when she finished processing for STS-113.

Once in OPF-1, Endeavour began Down Mission Processing: engine removal, initial fuel tank drains, Forward Reaction Control System pod removal, and OMS pod removal operations.

By mid-July, following the successful and emotional launch of Atlantis and STS-135, Discovery – looking the worse for wear – was removed from OPF-2 and transferred to VAB HB4 for storage in order to make room for Atlantis upon her return from STS-135.

On July 21, 2011, Atlantis successfully completed the Space Shuttle Program and was towed into OPF-2 – an OPF she had not been in since September 4, 2002 when she completed processing for STS-112.

Once spotted in OPF-2, Atlantis began Down Mission Processing.

Moving Discovery and Endeavour – a historic photo op:

Following the decision of NASA’s leadership to send Endeavour to Los Angeles and the California Science Center for the youngest orbiter’s retirement, the master and orbiter-specific T&R schedules were changed to reflect the fact that Endeavour would not be staying at the Kennedy Space Center.

Prior to the announcement of the orbiters’ retirement homes, internal T&R documentation – available for download on L2 – initially showed Endeavour as being prepped for KSC display. This was quickly changed, however, in subsequent, pre-retirement home announcement documents to “OV-105 Ready for Ferry” from “OV-105 KSC Display.”

Nonetheless, T&R documentation never wavered on the fact that Endeavour would be the final Shuttle orbiter to complete T&R processing despite the fact that she was the second-to-last Shuttle orbiter to fly.

That all changed as soon as Endeavour’s California destination was announced on April 12, 2011, and T&R documentation was changed to reflect the fact that Endeavour would now be the second orbiter to finish T&R processing.

However, Discovery still remained as the vehicle that would be ready for retirement display first.

To accomplish this with only two OPFs and three orbiters, NASA was forced to shuffle Endeavour and Discovery following the completion of Down Mission Processing on Endeavour.

This move, which was accomplished Thursday morning, involved backing Endeavour out of OPF-1 and stopping her on the tow-way just outside OPF-3. Discovery was then removed from the VAB and towed over to her sister, where a never-before photo op was convened: two Shuttle orbiters, on their wheels, nose-to-nose, stripped down to the bare bones with neither orbiter sporting her FRCS, OMS pods, or Space Shuttle Main Engines.

However, while the photo op this morning was unique in many ways, it was not the first time that two Space Shuttle orbiters were photography together, on the ground, in the horizontal position near the OPFs.

In fact, at least three of these dual Shuttle photo events (all involving Discovery, no less) occurred over the 30-year, 5 orbiter history of the Shuttle Program.

Those three specific events included Discovery and Atlantis switching places (Discovery to OPF-1 and Atlantis to VAB HB2) in May 1986; a mission-ready Discovery being rolled to the VAB for temporary storage on July 25, 1991 as Endeavour waited for her to vacate OPF-1; and Discovery rolling to the VAB for mission stacking as Columbia was moved from VAB HB2 to OPF-1.

Moreover, there were several “almost” photo ops in the 1990s as NASA dealt with moving four orbiters between three OPFs.

One such occasion occurred on June 8, 1994 when Columbia was rolled over to the VAB for mission stacking. Columbia was secured in the VAB transfer aisle by the time Discovery began moving from VAB HB2 storage into the now-vacant OPF-2.

A complete and comprehensive list of Orbiter OPF movements can be found here: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=10586.msg213808#msg213808

T&R processing and retirement display timelines:

The move today of Discovery into OPF-1 marked the beginning of the end of the road for Discovery. As currently scheduled, Discovery will remain in OPF-1 until teams complete all of her T&R activities and configure her for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum near Washington, D.C.

Click here for additional T&R Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/t&r/

Moreover, a new master T&R schedule – available for download on L2 – has revealed the new and updated timelines for all four Space Shuttle orbiters and their respective retirement and display flows.

Discovery/OV-103 and Enterprise/OV-101:

Counting the work that has already been accomplished, Discovery is well into her T&R processing flow.

Following arrival in OPF-1 today, T&R work will pick up in earnest, with museum configuration operations and OV-103/OPF-1 End State Safing operations consuming all of the work on Discovery from August 10 to early November 2011.

In mid-October, under the new schedule, crews in OPF-1 will officially power-down the orbiter Discovery for the final time.

In late-October, installation of her Replica Shuttle Main Engines (RSMEs) will take place, followed by the return of her FRCS and OMS pods from White Sands Space Harbor, NM in early November.

At this point, OPF-1 crews will spend November through mid-December installing her FRCS and OMS pods and performing final display ops configurations on Discovery.

By the holiday break in late-December 2011, Discovery’s processing at the Kennedy Space Center will come to an end.

On January 3, 2012, Discovery will be “ready for ferry” – a politically correct way of saying that all work on Discovery at the Kennedy Space Center will be done.

On Jan. 3, Discovery will be rolled out of OPF-1 and into VAB HB4 for storage. She will remain in storage until April 10, when she will be towed to the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) and hoisted atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA).

Then, on a date that seems too conspicuous to be a coincidence, the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery will depart the Kennedy Space Center for the final time on April 12, 2012 – the 31st anniversary of the very first Space Shuttle launch.

After a short flight on the back of the SCA, Discovery will arrive at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. later that day.

Over the course of the following five days, the opportunity for a never-before-seen event will transpire: the meeting of the original, and first, Space Shuttle orbiter Enterprise with one of her operational sisters.

Following arrival on April 12, Discovery will be removed from the back of the SCA via cranes and lowered onto the ground at Dulles. Shortly thereafter, on April 15, Enterprise will be hoisted on top of the SCA in preparation for her ferry flight to JFK International Airport in New York.

But Enterprise’s road to New York will begin long before April 2012. In mid-January 2012, Enterprise will be removed from display at the Air and Space Museum.

From mid-January through mid-April, Enterprise’s display pods will be removed, she will be fitted with the standard ferry flight aerodynamic tailcone assembly, and a ferry kit will be installed on her.

Following the arrival of Discovery on the SCA on April 12, Enterprise will be towed out of her temporary storage hanger to the SCA at Dulles, mated to the aircraft, and flown out of Washington, D.C. and into JFK International on April 17.

Once at JFK, the mated SCA/Enterprise duo will spend a month in storage as the offload equipment at JFK is configured. (The offload equipment at Dulles for Discovery will be flown out a good month in advance of Discovery’s arrival.)

After a month in storage, Enterprise will be demated from the SCA and await the readiness of the Intrepid to receive her.

Endeavour/OV-105:

Following her move to the VAB today, Endeavour will spend the next two months in storage in the VAB.

Once Atlantis/OV-104 is done with Down Mission Processing activities in mid-October 2011, Endeavour and Atlantis will swap places (just like Discovery and Endeavour did).

Endeavour will be moved into OPF-2 (fittingly enough, her home) where she will be processed out for retirement.

T&R processing on Endeavour will begin in mid-October 2011 with the start of OV-105/OPF-2 End State Safing – a time where all critical government equipment that cannot be permanently displayed with Endeavour will be removed.

End State Safing of Endeavour will last from mid-October 2011 through mid-March 2012. Specific display site configuration work will take pace in January and February of 2012, and she will be configured per the wishes of the California Science Center.

Installation of Endeavour’s RSMEs will be completed by early January 2012.

Then, in early-February 2012, Endeavour will be powered down for the final time.

In late March 2012, Endeavour’s FRCS and OMS pods will be returned from White Sands Space Harbor. At this point, the second part of Endeavour’s two part display site ops configuration will take place with the installation of her FRCS and OMS pods.

On May 10, 2012 – 21 years 3 days after her delivery to KSC, and 20 years 3 days after her maiden launch – Endeavour will be “ready for ferry.”

On this day, she will be removed from OPF-2 and moved to the VAB for storage in VAB HB4. 

After two months of storage, Endeavour will be towed to the SLF on August 2 and mated to the SCA.

On August 4, 2012, Endeavour will leave the Kennedy Space Center for a brief cross-country tour before landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Once at LAX, Endeavour will be promptly removed from the SCA and lowered to the ground.

Removal of Endeavour from the SCA will serve to mark one of the final “lasts” for the Shuttle Program: the completion of service of the Shuttle Carrier Aircrafts which have been in service since the initial taxi and Approach and Landing drop tests of Shuttle Enterprise in 1977.

Delivery of Endeavour to Los Angeles will also mark the final time that a Space Shuttle orbiter will leave the Kennedy Space Center.  Coincidentally, Endeavour – the baby of the Shuttle fleet – was the last Shuttle orbiter to be delivered to Kennedy. She arrived for the first time on May 7, 1991.

Atlantis/OV-104:

After completing Down Mission Processing from STS-135, Atlantis will be moved into VAB HB4 for storage in mid-October 2011.

On January 3, 2012, Atlantis will swap places with a retirement-ready Discovery to take her place in OPF-1.

Once in the OPF, T&R processing on Atlantis will begin right away with the start of OV-104/OPF-1 End State Safing. This End State Safing will take place on Atlantis from January to the beginning of May 2012.

During this End State Safing phase, Atlantis will be powered-down for the final time in her career – marking the end of powered orbiter operations at the Kennedy Space Center for the time since the late 1970s.

Atlantis’s FRCS pod and OMS pods will be shipped to White Sands Space Harbor for retirement safing and processing in mid-March 2012.

In mid-May, installation of Atlantis’s RSMEs will be complete.

Teams will then begin the two part process of configuring Atlantis for display. The first part of this processing will run from mid-May to mid-June 2012. The second part will resume with the return of the FRCS pod and OMS pods in early July and run through mid-September.

Finally, on September 19, 2012, all processing work on Atlantis will be complete – an end of over 30 years of Shuttle processing efforts at the Kennedy Space Center.

On Sept. 19, Atlantis will be removed from OPF-1 and stored in the VAB until February 2013.

For the final time, on February 1, 2013 – exactly 10 years after the loss of Columbia – Atlantis will be rolled out of the VAB, past the OPFs, out onto State Road 3, and down the road to the KSC Visitor’s Center.

To read about Atlantis and her sisters – from birth, processing, every single mission, through to retirement, click here for the links:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=25837.0

Click here for the amazing MaxQ Entertainment STS-135 Mission Review Music Video:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26178.0

(Images: Via L2 and L2 presentations, NASA.gov and Omar Izquierdo via twitter (@izqomar. Further articles on the fleet will be produced during her down processing, driven by L2 – which is continuing to follow the orbiters via a wealth of FRR/PRCB/MER/MMT and SSP documentation/pressentations, videos, images and more.

(As with all recent missions, L2 is providing full exclusive level mission coverage, available no where else on the internet. To join L2, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)

Related posts:

1. Dual flow ballet for Endeavour and Atlantis – De-stack debate Preliminary milestone schedules have been created for the complex dual...
2. Endeavour rollaround moved forward to Thursday – FRR concludes The unique transfer of Endeavour and the STS-126 stack from...

Discovery in the VAB:

Following the conclusion to her highly successful swansong STS-133 mission, Discovery arrived in OPF-2 for nominal post-flight safing and processing. However, this time, the flow would not process her for another mission into space.

With months of pre-planning put into action, Discovery would have her wings clipped, as her propulsive elements were stripped from her body, and her toxic lifeblood purged from her veins – via plans known as Transition and Retirement (T&R) operations.

While Endeavour and Atlantis remain under a protection order from NASA HQ – based on secretive, albeit unlikely, commercial plan to continue flying the two sisters, as confirmed by Space Shuttle Manager (SSP) John Shannon, before Mission Management Team (MMT) chair LeRoy Cain noted he expects a retraction of the order – Discovery’s fate has already been sealed.

With her Orbital Manuevering System (OMS) pods, Forward Reaction Control System (FRCS) and Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) all removed – the latter of which have been put into protective storage, due to their likely role with the Space Launch System (SLS) – Discovery has undergone the first phase of her preparations to go on display at the Smithsonian.

These propulsive elements, namely “FRC3, LP01, and RP03″ have been decommissioned inside KSC’s Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF), prior to their shipping to the NASA facility at White Sands in New Mexico on June 24.

Discovery was towed out on her wheels – as opposed to riding on the Orbiter Transporter System (OTS), given her tires aren’t being protected for a post-mission landing – and entered the VAB looking rather sorry for herself, where she will be cared for by her team, who are utilizing a PPU (Portable Purge Unit).

She will spend around a month in the VAB, before a game of musical chairs takes place with the fleet, as each orbiter is put through the initial phase of deservicing, sharing OPF’s 1 and 2, following a processing path led by Discovery. Her departure from OPF-2 clears the way for Atlantis to take up residency once she returns from the ongoing STS-135 mission next week.

Next year, Discovery will make one final journey, this time on top of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), taking the place of Enterprise – which is moving to a new home in New York.

While Discovery will have no trouble mating with the SCA via the Shuttle Landing Facility’s Mate-Demate Device (MDD), work has taken place on how to help her egress the modified 747, once the duo arrive at the world-famous Smithsonian.

“747 Sling build-up for offloading the orbiters at the museums was completed and heavy equipment transported the sling and Fly Away Kit Conex to the staging area at the MDD,” noted Discovery’s T&R notes (L2). “The conex will be removed from the transport trailer and work will begin on crane build up to support of the Sling assembly and SIM Run.”

This planning is being conducted under the guidance of the Management Integration & Planning T&R Readiness Reviews, which is utilizing onsite procedures with all the museums set to receive an orbiter – the first of which has already been held at the Smithsonian.

“The fly away kit is a wind restraint system for use with portable cranes and the 743 sling when demating the Orbiter from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft at a location that does not have a Mate Demate Device (MDD),” added the T&R notes.

“This is the setup that will be used when the Orbiters are ferried for delivery to the museum locations. No flight hardware, SCA, or mockups were involved in this test. The Fly away kit demonstration was completed with two successful lift cycles.”

Commercial Use of the OPFs:

Back at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the eventual departure of its three main tenants – as much as Atlantis will only be moving down the road to the Visitor Center – won’t signal an end to Shuttle facilities, as the Florida base aims to become a dual use commercial and government spaceport.

Numerous presentations (L2) have been drawn up and modified – the latest of which was written in June – showing KSC as the home port for a new family of vehicles, ranging from Orion/MPCV, through to commercial vehicles, and the SLS.

While all the vehicles depicted may not wish to take up KSC as their new location, the Florida spaceport has made no secret about its desire to open up the use of its assets, such as the SLF, VAB, Pad 39B – which has almost completed its transition to a clean pad – and indeed the OPFs.

Interestingly, while rumors of the USAF’s X-37B’s setting up shop inside an OPF can’t be confirmed due to the secretive nature of the military space plane, the new NASA documentation overviews plans for what is known as the 21st Century Space Launch Complex, provided hints to at least one vehicle which may soon be seen inside the former home hanger of the Space Shuttle orbiters.

“Dedicate OPF’s to government and commercial users: Allocate OPF-1 to potential commercial user. Allocate OPF-2 to potential commercial user. Allocate OPF-3 to potential commercial user,” noted the 21st Century Space Launch Complex Architectures Refinement Cycle (ARC) 5.0 presentation (L2).

NASA managers have already discussed the early release of OPF-3, which is the main reason the current orbiters are moving around just OPF 1 and 2.

Presentation slides, while notional, show a herd of Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Dream Chasers being processed inside an OPF, portraying as many as four of the spacecraft taking up residency in just one OPF, under the title of “Clean Floor Processing”.

SNC class themselves as the complete system provider and claim to have demonstrated significant progress maturing design and development of the Dream Chaser (DC) Space System (DCSS), and were one of the winners of the four Space Act Agreements in the second round of NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev-2).

With an appearance of a baby shuttle orbiter, the Dream Chaser would launch atop of an Atlas V – building on studies which range back several years – as first revealed via NASASpaceflight.com’s article on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United Launch Alliance (ULA) in 2007.

The Dream Chaser is a reusable lifting body vehicle based on the form of NASA Langley’s HL-20 spaceplane concept from the 1980s, which can land on a conventional runway.

Click here for articles on Commercial Space Flight: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/news/commercial/

Thus, this vehicle may be a perfect match for KSC, potentially utilizing an OPF for processing, prior to heading out to either Pad 39B, or more probably the current Atlas V facilities at Cape Canaveral, before landing at the SLF and returning – just like the orbiters have over their lifetimes – to the OPF.

Interestingly, another slide in the presentation places the Human Rated launches of the Atlas V – both in the capsule and Dream Chaser configuration – as launching from Pad Complex 39, advertising a viable option of hosting the vehicle.

The Falcon Heavy (FH) is also shown as being able to launch from the former Shuttle Pad, along with the SLS (likely to be 39A initially) – and even the “black sheep” of future launch vehicles, the Liberty LV, which failed to win a CCDev-2 award.

For reference, the Cape’s SLC-40 shows Falcon 9′s as the mainstay vehicle for that complex – as much as SpaceX have noted they are planning a second integration facility for a dual use with Falcon Heavy, placed next to the current Falcon 9 facility at SLC-40. SpaceX have already announced the ground-breaking at the USAF Vandenberg site for the Falcon Heavy.

The Cape’s SLC-41 is shown as hosting unmanned Atlas Vs, while SLC-37 is shown to be the continued home of Delta IVs and IV-Hs. A vast array of smaller vehicles are also shown for the Cape’s SLC-36 and 46, while the SLF is shown – as expected – to be able to host the landing of Dream Chaser and horizontal landing jets, such as XCOR’s Lynx.

A future article will cover the use of other KSC facilities, such as the VAB, based on the expansive 21st Century ARC presentations.

(Further articles will follow, as we follow Discovery all the way to the exhibition. L2 members refer to L2′s ongoing coverage sections for internal coverage, presentations, images and and updates from engineers and managers. Images used: NASA and via L2 presentations).

No related posts.

Background:

A few months ago, at the End State Flow Review (ESFR) for orbiter Discovery, “direction was given to place OV-103 into T&R (Transition & Retirement) processing as soon as practical following wheel stop” on the vehicle’s final mission: STS-133.

As such, a plan was put in place to safe and secure Discovery post-landing and to perform “minimal” DMP. This minimal DMP included the removal of Discovery’s OMS (Orbital Maneuver System) pods and Forward Reaction Control System (FRCS) pod and subsequent shipment of those pods to the Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF) at KSC for initial post-career deservicing. 

Furthermore, at the ESFR, “two self-imposed actions were taken to ensure there were no issues to proceeding directly into T&R following DMP.”

First, the OPO (Orbiter Project Office) and Integrated Logistics (IL) would need to determine if there would be any hardware elements on OV-103 in need of protection as spares for safe flyout STS-134 and STS-135.

Second, a Risk Assessment would need to be performed to verify that T&R processing on OV-103 could be carried out concurrently with flight processing of OV-105 (Endeavour/STS-134) and OV-104 (Atlantis/STS-135) – the results of which would be reported at the Delta End State Flow Review (Delta ESFR) for OV-103.

Click here for T&R articles on the fleet: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/t&r/

OV-103 Spares Supportability Plan for SSP Manifest Flyout:

Upon direction of the ESFR, an investigation occurred to determine what components, if any, from OV-103 would be required for retention as spares for STS-134/Endeavour and STS-135/Atlantis SSP (Space Shuttle Program) manifest flyout.

“OPO worked with IL to determine what hardware should be protected to support flyout of SSP. An assessment was also performed for rollover to the VAB during T&R for OV-103.”

This investigation yielded a list of several select hardware elements from OV-103 for removal during DMP. To this end, all hardware removals have been identified and are planned to occur prior to OV-103′s transfer to VAB HB 4 (Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 4) in late-April/early-May for temporary storage.

All hardware elements not identified as necessary for SSP manifest flyout will remain installed on Discovery. Should their removal become necessary, however, a plan has been adopted to remove these elements either before rollover to the VAB for storage or after transfer of OV-103 in early June to OPF-1 for complete T&R processing.

This plan was approved at the PRCB (Program Requirements Control Board) meeting on March 18, 2011.

To accomplish complete protection of OV-103′s hardware elements (those not immediately identified for retention as spares through manifest flyout), Discovery will be hooked up to purge air during all DMP and T&R processing activities. She will even have purge air hook-ups during her one month of storage in VAB HB 4.

According to the late March, 2011 Delta ESFR presentation, available for download on L2, “While in the VAB, hardware can be protected by maintaining full purge on the vehicle.”

The purge would be accomplished through all three (3) purge circuits and drag on crew cabin purge. For this, the orbiter’s vent doors “will be placed in the purge configuration prior to leaving OPF-2 and moving into VAB.”

Should a purge outage occur while in storage in the VAB, no waiver will be taken; however, nominal purge will be restored as soon as possible and all necessary documentation on hardware elements taken for review by potential hardware costumers.

Furthermore, positive pressure on all vehicles compartments will be maintained during VAB storage.

DMP Operations & Maintenance Plan Updates: 

As originally intended and baselined at the OV-103 End State Requirements Review (ESRR) in September 2010, Discovery was originally to be kept in flight-ready condition with only select fluid system de-servicing prior to flyout of the SSP manifest.

“With the new direction to proceed directly into T&R following DMP, updates of the OMP (Operations and Maintenance Plan) may be required.”

Therefore, any changes to the ESRR baselined plan will have to be submitted for review to the GO Project & Requirements Office. The changes will then require the signatures of USA GO / NASA System Engineers and USA Orbiter Elements Representatives prior to implementation.

USA GO Project & Requirements Office will track all changes to the OMP for OV-103, with all changes to the OMP presented to the SSP prior to the completion of DMP on Discovery.

Display Site Requirements:

With confirmation that OV-103/Discovery will be handed to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum just outside Washington, D.C. expected on Tuesday, April 12 (the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight and the 30th anniversary of the launch of STS-1/Columbia), discussions regarding Discovery’s specific Display Site Requirements (DSR) and configuration for the Smithsonian can begin.

However, until those discussions are complete, Discovery’s T&R team will process OV-103 toward the SSP’s agreed upon generic orbiter DSR configuration.

As noted by the OV-103 Delta ESFR presentation, “Display Site Requirements (DSR) T&R Team has partnered the baseline display configuration. Configuration is generic to all vehicles. Any future changes or updates to the DSR [will] be handled in accordance with NSTS 07700 Volume XX.”

White Sands Test Facility OMS/RCS Processing:

For Discovery’s FRCS and OMS pods deservicing, a White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) tiger team was developed in October 2010 following a Technical Interchange Meeting to determine specific processing plans for these hardware components as well as a shipment configuration plan.

For shipment to WSTF from KSC’s HMF, all thruster jets will be removed and shipped separately from and before the FRCS and OMS pods. The thruster’s propellant supply lines will also be capped for transport.

For specific deservicing and display configuration processing, the Delta ESFR presentation notes that all “GSE (Ground Support Equipment) has been identified and is being refurbished/fabricated as required.”

Meanwhile, the specific processing plan for Discovery’s OMS pods and FRCS is still being finalized per the Project Management Plan and WSTF Test Directive. This processing flow is being mapped out as an integrated flow for not only Discovery’s OMS and FRCS pods, but Atlantis’s and Endeavour’s as well.

While no insurmountable issues have been identified for the shipment of Discovery’s OMS and FRCS pods, numerous elements for the transport are still under consideration. Not the least of which being STS-Last hardware requirements and impacts -specifically, the potential requirement/desire to keep Discovery’s FRCS and OMS pods in as close to flight-ready condition as possible until the launch of STS-135/Atlantis.

Should this be the desired course of action, Discovery’s overall T&R schedule would only be impacted by two (2) weeks.

Meanwhile, while the OMS pods and FRCS will be taken out of flight-ready condition prior their removal from Discovery, the Delta ESFR presentation notes that they can be returned to flight-ready condition if needed.

Nonetheless, if the pods are not required for future SSP use, several processing steps will need to be completed in the HMF before they can be shipped WSTF. These steps include: system draining, thruster removal & line capping, packaging for shipment, and loading onto commercial carrier vehicles.

Moreover, in terms of STS-Last Orbiter Hardware retention requirements, “JSC Engineering has compiled a list of hardware to be retained” through the flyout of the SSP manifest. This list was compiled with the assistance of KSC Engineering, SLS (Space Launch System), WSTF, and the NESC (NASA Engineering Safety Council).

These requirements have been implemented into the DMP and T&R processing schedules for Discovery.

Specifically, some of these STS-Last hardware elements are the payload bay ROUEs, ELC (Express Logistics Carrier) keels, DragonEYE DTO, LWAPA, payload bay & umbilical cameras, TSAs (Tool Stowage Assemblies), winches, PFR, and OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor System) sensor palates.

Replica Shuttle Main Engines Status:

Unlike the OMS pods and FRCS, which will be reinstalled onto Discovery as part of her final museum display configuration, her tell-tale and stalwart Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) will not be returned to her.

Instead, as previous reported by NASASpaceflight.com, Discovery and her sisters will be fitted with Replica Shuttle Main Engines (RSMEs).

The previously-flown SSMEs will be retained by NASA for use on the SD HLV, slated for official unveiling and contract bidding later this year.

For the RSMEs, NASA has completed dynamics/stress analysis review on the Ferry strut configuration of the RSMEs, design reviews, nozzle adaptor drawing release to vendors for bids, and OV-103 RSME installation plan.

It will take vendors ~3 months to fabricate and deliver the first set of the three (3) nozzle adaptors. 

Fabrication of all nine (9) RSME nozzles for Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour is currently in-work at Canoga Park. RMSE installation and closeout plans for all three orbiters are also in-work at this time, as is the overall RMSE risk assessment.

In all, KSC need dates for the finished RSMEs for OV-103/Discovery is July 5, 2011, October 3, 2011 (coincidentally, the 26th anniversary of Atlantis’s maiden voyage) for Atlantis/OV-104, and March 5, 2012 for Endeavour/OV-105.

Forward Plan for OV-103:
  
With DMP currently in work on Discovery, the Delta ESFR presentation team concluded that all T&R early start work for OV-103 can be accomplished in conjunction with flight processing for sisters Atlantis and Endeavour.

Furthermore, at the conclusion of DMP, Discovery will be ready to begin T&R processing in accordance with NSTS 07700 Volume XX. As such, Discovery will not be maintained in flight-ready status through the flyout of the SSP manifest.

“The plan for full-up T&R processing is ready for implementation, and the teams are requesting approval to start T&R processing at completion of DMP.”

((Further articles will follow, as we follow Discovery all the way to the exhibition. L2 members refer to L2′s ongoing coverage sections for internal coverage, presentations, images and and updates from engineers and managers. Images via NASA.gov, L2 documentation and Larry Sullivan - MaxQ Entertainment/NASASpaceflight.com).

No related posts.

Early Release Assessments for OPF-3:

As Space Shuttle Program (SSP) flight operations draw to a close this year, NASA is beginning the full-up Transition and Retirement phase of life for its three remaining Shuttle orbiters: Discovery (OV-103), Atlantis (OV-104), and Endeavour (OV-105).

While information on where the three iconic space vehicles will be displayed for posterity following the completion of the SSP will not be announced until April 12 (the 30th anniversary of first Shuttle mission, and the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight), NASA is pressing forward with T&R processing in Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2 (OPF-2) – a significant change of scenery for Discovery who has called OPF-3 home since 2005.

In fact, since Shuttle flight operations resumed in 2005, each orbiter has enjoyed her own OPF: Atlantis in OPF-1, Endeavour in OPF-2, and Discovery in OPF-3 – a rarity in the life of the program which, for a majority of its existence, operated with more orbiter than OPF.

However, put simply, all three OPFs are no longer necessary to support Shuttle operations, and with other potential customers expressing interest in using Shuttle hardware for variant vehicles (namely – though not confirmed – the US Air Force’s X-37B), NASA is moving toward an early release of OPF-3 – with handling of T&R processing of the Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour in only two OPFs.

As noted in the expansive Discussion of Early Release of OPF Bay 3 document (dated March 24, 2011), available for download on L2, “Request Space Shuttle Program concurrence for early release of OPF Bay 3 by June 1, 2011 (vs current planned date of Feb 2012).”

Additional concurrences for inclusion in the Space Shuttle Management Resource Transition (SMRT) document focused on a release of the Processing Control Center (PCC) by December 2011 and of the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility (SSMEPF) by May 1, 2012.

In all, OPF-3 is located just to the northeast of conjoined OPFs 1 & 2 and shares a facility space with the SSMEPF, PCC, Communications & Tracking Station #2 (C&T 2), and the communications hub for part of the Launch Complex 39 area.

The presentation for the early release of OPF-3 partially focuses on the adjoined work stations and their vital nature to the completion of the program.

Specifically, C&T 2 “Supports integrated pad operations, launch activities, OPF Bay 3 processing, and [serves as a] backup for C&T 1 during post-mission roll in ops.” Therefore, C&T 2 must be maintained through the end of the Shuttle Program.

Likewise, the SSMEPF is where all of the Space Shuttle Main Engines are a) processed for flight and b) taken for post-flight teardowns, inspections, and evaluations. Following the completion of STS-135 and the post-mission processing of Atlantis’s SSMEs, the SSMEPF will be used to process all Replica Shuttle Main Engines (RSMEs) for T&R and display processing of the three orbiters.

To this end, the SSMEPF will need to be maintained until at least May 1, 2012 under the current RSME processing schedule for orbiter Endeavour (the orbiter which will take the longest to transition from flight status to display configuration).

Moreover, the PCC is, as noted the OPF-3 early release assessment presentation, the site for software development & validation and training simulations.

More importantly, though, the PCC is the fallback location for Firing Room personnel on launch day in the event of a Launch Control Center (LCC) evacuation. As such, the PCC cannot be released from SSP duties until (at least) the completion of post-launch securing operations for STS-135. As such, the target release date for the PCC is December 2011 – well beyond the currently planned launch for STS-135 on June 28, 2011.

However, these facilities and systems can remain operational through their needed lifecycles for the Shuttle Program even with the early release and turnover of OPF-3.

T&R Processing Impact Assessments from OPF-3 Early Release:

While the early release of OPF-3 is feasible from a facilities standpoint, its possible impacts on T&R processing of Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour could have proved more costly and time-consuming than simply keeping the OPF in operation.

To evaluate potential T&R timeline and cost impacts from the potential early release of OPF-3, the investigation team assembled two integrated T&R flow timelines: one with all three OPFs in use, and a second utilizing only OPFs 1 & 2.

TIMELINE #1:

Under timeline #1 (all three OPFs in service), Discovery would perform her DMP (Down Mission Processing) in OPF-2 before being moved to OPF-3 for all T&R work. T&R work would proceed in OPF-3 from late-April 2011 through January 2012, with Discovery’s FRCS (Forward Reaction Control System) and OMS (Orbital Maneuvering System) pods returned from White Sands, New Mexico for display installation on Discovery in late-October 2011.

In all, Discovery would be ready for ferry to her display site in early February 2012, with OPF-3 safing, T&R, and release occurring between February and October 30, 2012.

Atlantis would then be the next vehicle ready to ferry to her display site, despite the fact that she will be the last orbiter to fly and will fly at least two months after sister Endeavour.

Here, Atlantis would undergo DMP and T&R operations in OPF-1 from mid -July 2011 through late-May 2012. The FRCS and OMS pods originally from Endeavour’s STS-134 mission would be returned from White Sands for display site installation onto Atlantis in late-Feb. 2012. She would then be ready for ferry to her display site in mid-June 2012.

Conversely, Endeavour would undergo her STS-134 DMP and prolonged T&R work in OPF-2 from May 2011 through late-September 2012. The FRCS and OMS pods originally from Atlantis’s STS-135 mission would be returned from White Sands in late-June 2012 for display site installation onto Endeavour.

Endeavour would then be ready for transport to her display location in mid-October 2012.

Full-scale integrated safing and T&R work on OPFs 1 & 2 would then take place through May 2013.

TIMELINE #2:

Under timeline #2 (early release of OPF-3 on June 1, 2011), Discovery would remain in OPF-2 (where she currently resides) until late-April. At this point, she would be moved to VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) HB (High Bay) 4 for storage.

Endeavour, landing in early May from STS-134, would then be towed into OPF-2 for initial DMP and post-flight safing.

Atlantis would then be rolled to the VAB for mating with her ET/SRB (External Tank/Solid Rocket Booster) stack in late-May, thereby vacating OPF-1. Once this is completed, Discovery would be rolled into OPF-1 in early June 2011 for complete T&R work.

Endeavour would then be moved into VAB HB 4 for storage in early July 2011 ahead of the landing of Atlantis on STS-135. Endeavour would then remain in storage in the VAB from July 2011 through February 2012.

Following landing in early/mid-July 2011, Atlantis would be towed into OPF-2 for DMP and complete T&R work from July 2011 through late-May 2012 – the same timeframe as timeline #1.

OPF-3 modification and T&R work would be completed by July 31, 2011.

In OPF-1 Discovery’s FRCS and OMS pods would be returned from White Sands for display site installation in late-October 2011.

T&R teams at the Kennedy Space Center would then complete all T&R work on Discovery in late-January 2012, with Discovery ready for ferry to her display site in mid-February 2012 – the same timeframe under timeline #1.

A few days after the rollout and ferry of Discovery out of Kennedy, Endeavour would be removed from the VAB and moved into OPF-1 where her T&R processing would begin.

Meanwhile, Endeavour’s FRCS and OMS pods would be returned to the Kennedy Space Center for installation onto Atlantis in mid-/late-February 2012. Atlantis would complete all T&R work in late-May 2012 and be ferried to her display site in early-/mid-June 2012 (the same timeframe as timeline #1).

At this time, limited T&R work would begin on OPF-2.

Meanwhile, Endeavour would be continuing with her T&R processing, with Atlantis’s FRCS and OMS pods returned to Kennedy for installation to her (Endeavour) in mid-June 2012. Endeavour herself would wrap up T&R processing by September 30, 2012 and be transported to her display building in early-/mid-October 2012.

At this point, full-scale T&R and release work would begin on OPFs 1 & 2, with complete OPF release in May 2013.

Final Program Assessments and Recommendations:

Of course, both timelines #1 and #2 assume the display museums for Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour are fully ready to receive their orbiter upon completion of orbiter-specific T&R work.

Under Timeline #2, all DMP and safing would occur in OPF-2 with all T&R work occurring in OPFs 1 & 2.

Therefore, with timeline milestones for the three vehicles identical in both timelines, the release of OPF-3 in June 2011 does not hinder the T&R timelines.

As noted in the OPF-3 early release presentation, “Overall T&R timelines maintained within current baseline. Vehicle timelines dependent on critical path POD/FRCS processing.”

However, on-going assessment of FRCS and Pod work at White Sands, including potential get-wells in those processing schedules, could drive OPF processing into the critical path for all T&R work. But these “time deltas” would not be significant and “would not result in improvement of overall T&R timelines.”

While KSC ground transition teams might require “1 month past June 2011 to complete facility T&R,” this work could potentially be accomplished in parallel with “new customer work.”

Moreover, there would be no budget increase for T&R work as a result of the early release of OPF-3, with “Potential cost savings and/or cost avoidance under review due to potential reduction in facility safing requirements planned under current Ground Ops T&R plan.”

Therefore, the OPF-3 early release investigative team found “No T&R risk … to baseline cost or schedule with early release of OPF Bay 3.”

But the cost assessment and T&R timeline impacts were not the only factors that came under consideration for OPF-3′s release; NASA also studied the impacts to T&R and mission processing should either Endeavour and/or Atlantis suffer a de-stacking and rollback to the OPF prior to their launches on STS-134 and STS-135, respectively.

“Rollback/demates, RTLS (Return to Launch Site) aborts, and early landings scenarios [are] accommodated with two OPF bays and VAB HB4″ for all scenarios involved with having more Shuttle orbiters than available OPFs due in large part to previous Ground Ops experience base during the 1990s and early 2000s when there were 4 vehicles and 3 OPFs.

 To this end, all Ground Operations Risk Assessments (GORA) have been completed and no increase in risk was identified that “could be mitigated.”

Provisions are in place to maintain SSMEPF and C&T 2 through the flyout of the Shuttle manifest. The SSMEPF will be maintained through T&R RSME installations, with C&T 2 released post-STS-135 OPF roll-in ops.

Furthermore, as noted by the OPF-3 early release presentation, “Increased risk from losing OPF Bay 3 environmental controlled storage areas mitigated with usage of other storage locations. Increase risk identified for potential interruption of the C&T lab and SSMEPF mitigated by limiting modifications done during this overlap period between turnover and last flight.”

Likewise, VAB HB4 will be preserved through at least the first orbiter flyout to display location with minimal effort to prepare for orbiter storage.  Forward and Aft access for Discovery and Endeavour will be available during VAB storage (if needed), as will vehicle purge, jacking and leveling, and minimal power-up.

Hydraulic ops and major hazardous operations will not be allowed during VAB storage for OV-103 and OV-105.

Therefore, the investigative team identified no shuttle manifest flyout issues with the early release of OPF-3.

As such, concurrence from the SSP has been solicited for the early release of OPF-3 on June 1, 2011 pending approval of the OPF-3 SMRT document.

The release of the SSMEPF (target date: May 1, 2012) has also been solicited, with forward work to determine storage requirements & relocation funding for existing SSME stock and future GSE (Ground Support Equipment) & associated schedules with the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Release of the PCC in December 2011 was also recommended to the SSP.

(Further articles will follow, as we follow Discovery all the way to the exhibition. L2 members refer to L2′s ongoing coverage sections for internal coverage, presentations, images and and updates from engineers and managers. Images used: Lead: Brian Papke/MaxQ Entertainment/NASASpaceflight.com. All other images via L2, bar SSME photo from NASA.gov).

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Discovery Post Career Latest:

Officially tagged as Transition and Retirement (T&R) operations, Discovery still has many more months of work to undergo at KSC, including one more trip to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

She headed back to her OPF with applause and tears from many of the crowd gathered at the space center last week, but it was notably pure professionalism from her workforce – in a sign of respect for the orbiter which many of her engineers regard as highly as the astronauts. 

Even official documentation shows the love that is embedded into the workforce for the veteran orbiter, as they prepare her for one more final flight, this time to a place of honor at an exhibition.

“Discovery (is) back on the ground and ready to begin her final processing flow. Although none of us are ready to put Discovery into retirement, the time has come for us to share her with the public,” noted one deservicing note (L2). “The official decision for where Discovery will be displayed has yet to be made, but we are anticipating the announcement in mid-April.

“After landing, we will spend approximately a year preparing Discovery to be able to be safely accessed by the public. Many of you may not be intimately familiar with the Transition & Retirement plans for Discovery so I wanted to give a brief description of what will be occurring over the next 11 months.”

Notably, with one Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) soon to be handed over to what is rumored to be one of the USAF’s X-37Bs, only two OPFs will be available for what will be the deservicing of three orbiters, as Endeavour and Atlantis complete their final missions over the next few months.

As such, Discovery will undergo Down Mission Processing (DMP) work in OPF-2 for two months, during which time she will be stripped of her Orbital Manuevering System (OMS) pods and Forward Reaction Control System (FRCS), prior to being rolled over to High Bay 4 (HB-4) of the VAB. 

“Roll in to OPF-2 (Please note: OPF-3 is being prepared for turnover to a future customer so we will be processing all T&R activities out of OPFs 1 & 2). Spend about two months performing standard Down Mission Processing activities and removing the OMS pods and FRCS,” added the information.

“The OMS Pods and FRCS will be sent to the HMF (Hypergolic Maintenance Facility) for initial safing and then transported to WSTF (White Sands Test Facility, New Mexico) for decommissioning. Roll OV-103 (Discovery) to VAB HB-4 for approximately 1 month of storage while OV-105′s (Endeavour) Down Mission Processing occurs in OPF-2.”

A game of musical chairs will continue with the orbiters, as Discovery then moves to OPF-1 for a series of final T&R activities, which continues to follow a relatively recent plan to use Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) simulators, in order to save and preserve Discovery’s own SSMEs for a potential future role with the Space Launch System (SLS) – as was previously revealed by this site.

It was back in October of last year when a Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) meeting recommended the orbiters should instead gain Replica Shuttle Main Engines (RSMEs) -  previously scrapped nozzles installed via an adaptor – for when all three of the vehicles retire to exhibitions.

However, it remains uncertain that the SLS will be a Shuttle Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (SD HLV), flying with SSMEs – which would use the current stock of RS-25Ds, before moving to a cheaper expendable RS-25E version. Agency and political evaluations are continuing on the ability to create the SLS both on cost and schedule.

“Once OV-104 (Atlantis) rolls out of OPF-1, OV-103 will roll into OPF-1 to complete the remainder of the T&R flow,” the forward plan for the orbiters continued, “which includes: End State Safing – removing hazardous commodities and components from the vehicle.

Preparation for Display – installing OMS pods, FRCS, and SSME simulators as well as preparing for ferry.

“Display Site Ops – load onto the SCA (Shuttle Carrier Aircraft), ferry to display site, offload from SCA, and perform final display site configuration activities.”

While the orbiters would be rolled to the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) to be mated atop of the SCA – not unlike the days where orbiters would be ferried to Palmdale, California, for Major Modification Periods (MMPs) – only KSC and Dryden Flight Research Facility (DFRC) have the Mate-Demate Facility available for the purpose of loading and indeed offloading an orbiter from a SCA.

This would mean the final location for the orbiters would require two large cranes to help them off the SCA, as previously seen when Enterprise was delivered to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The current plan is expected to see the exhibition swapping the Enterprise test orbiter with the historic Discovery.

It is not known where Enterprise would be relocated to, other than a large amount of engineering evaluations were carried out on her structure, so as to ensure her ability to be ferried to a new location.

The results were deemed to be acceptable, showing the pathfinder was in a better-than-expected condition.

It is possible that the final locations may start to be announced from mid-April, with a battle set to take place to attract one of the national treasures to their city.

For now, Discovery is undergoing the opening work on the T&R plan, which is mainly related to the continued – and usual – safing of the vehicle, following her excellent performance on the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

STS-133 News Articles (over 120 articles): http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-133/

“OV-103 (OPF Bay 2): Roll-in operations are proceeding as planned. Fuel Cell cool down completed and SSME bearing drying has begun. PRSD (Power Reactant Storage and Distributation) Cryogenic Tank drain was completed,” added the NASA Test Director (NTD) report (L2).

“OMS/RCS and OME post-flight operations picked up. OMS trickle purge activation was completed over the weekend. Payload Bay Doors will be opened late Monday. FRCS helium tank vents will be performed late Monday evening.”

Praise for Discovery’s performance, the crew’s over-achievement of their mission objectives, and the safe conclusion to the flight was never lacking from managers, nor has praise for the overall team’s effort both before, during and after the mission, which specifically earned remarks from Space Shuttle Manager (SSP) manager John Shannon.

“Discovery’s landing was an outstanding end to an amazing mission. STS-133 installed the last permanent pressurized module on the ISS, provided a large amount of logistics and critical spares, and positioned the ISS to aggressively pursue its function as a research laboratory,” noted Mr Shannon in an address to the workforce (L2).

“The preparation for this mission really challenged the team. The issues that we had during the initial attempt in November were difficult and time-consuming to solve. The External Tank and Center Engineering teams did a terrific job in developing new testing and analysis methods that demonstrated that the tank was safe to fly. The training of a new crew member late in the flow challenged our schedule.

“Through all of these issues, the team rose to the challenges and made good decisions. I couldn’t have been more proud of the team when Discovery lifted off the pad – we truly “earned” this one through our careful pre-flight work.”

As noted, managers were impressed by the professionalism of Discovery’s teams, as they greeted her on the SLF with the same dedication and attitude she had come to expect during all of her previous missions. Although this was clearly an emotional time, the orbiter crews – despite the looming end to their careers – continue to “finish strong”.
 
“I was really struck by the “business as usual” attitude of the dedicated team that takes care of our Orbiters. Even though this was the last flight for Discovery, there was no visible negative emotion. Instead I saw extreme dedication to making sure that we do the job right and that we preserve this Program’s legacy,” added Mr Shannon.

“It is vitally important that all elements of the program maintain this same attitude for our remaining two launches. We must stay focused, maintain our rigor, and make good decisions. The decisions we make as a team over the next several months will not only preserve the Shuttle legacy, but they will also demonstrate that this team is ready for the next challenge in Human Space Flight.

“To those team members that have flown their last flight with us – You should walk away with your head held very high. You have built and kept safe a unique capability in the most extreme of environments.

“I can only hope that others that come after us will look back at the Space Shuttle team and emulate the dedication, perseverance, and excellence that this team represents. If they do, we will have an outstanding human spaceflight program. For those team members remaining.

“Let’s go finish this program strong.”

(Further articles will follow, as we follow Discovery all the way to the exhibition. L2 members refer to L2′s ongoing coverage sections for internal coverage, presentations, images and and updates from engineers and managers. Images used: Lead: Larry Sullivan/MaxQ Entertainment/NASASpaceflight.com. All other images via L2, bar Ferry and OPF shots – via NASA.gov).

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