NASASpaceFlight.com » Endeavour

Shuttle orbiter fleet heading into their final months ahead of exhibition

Chris Bergin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:34:33 +0000

With Kennedy Space Center workers towing Orbiter Atlantis on Thursday “around the corner” of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) the day after they moved Endeavour out of the same place, one might have thought it was Groundhog Day, and by coincidence it just so happened it was.

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.

Endeavour and Atlantis move – Final KSC processing begins for OV-105

Chris Bergin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:11:45 +0000

It’s the final time Endeavour will enter an OPF (Orbiter Processing Facility). After a storied 19 year, 25 flight career, the Space Shuttle orbiter Endeavour was rolled into OPF-2 at the Kennedy Space Center this morning to undergo final outfitting, Main Propulsion System (MPS) tear down, and configuration activities ahead of her October ferry flight to Los Angeles and the California Science Center for permanent retirement display.

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.

Year in Review – Part 4: Saying Goodbye to Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour

Chris Bergin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:26:27 +0000

All good things must come to an end. And thus was the grand finale of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. It was year of exceptional highs and emotional scenes as Discovery, Endeavour, and Atlantis closed out their remarkable careers with same style, grace, mission success, and safety that all had come to know from them.

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.

Endeavour and Discovery swap places – New retirement dates planned

Chris Bergin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:53:49 +0000

In a rare occurrence, Space Shuttle orbiters Discovery and Endeavour were purposefully visible together this morning at the Kennedy Space Center as a Shuttle shuffle took place to move Endeavour from OPF-1 to the VAB for storage and Discovery from the VAB to OPF-1 for full Transition and Retirement processing, set to culminate for the veteran orbiter in January 2012 when she will be ready to ferry to the Smithsonian.

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.

OV-105 Endeavour: A Long-Standing Dream Realized

Chris Bergin — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 02:04:06 +0000

From the beginning of the Space Shuttle Program, the promise of a permanent, space-based work platform – dubbed Space Station Freedom – was a fixture within the Program. And while Space Station Freedom didn’t quite materialize as expected, what came from the fruits of those laborious development sessions provided a solid foundation for unprecedented international corporation and scientific achievements in Low Earth Orbit – achievements that would dominate the second half of Endeavour’s career.

Endeavour and the International Space Station: A Shuttle Legacy Come True – The Review Part II:
Following her highly successful mission to the Russian space station MIR in January 1998, Endeavour returned to the Kennedy Space Center at the end of January and was moved immediately in OPF-1 where preparations for what is arguably the second of her two most important missions began: the STS-88 mission to begin construction of the International Space Station.

**CLICK HERE TO READ PART 1: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/04/space-shuttle-endeavour-a-new-beginning-part-i/

After 9 months in the OPF, Endeavour was rolled to the VAB on October 15 and mated with External Tank 97. On October 21, Endeavour and the STS-88 stack was rolled out to launch pad B at the Kennedy Space Center.

Shortly after the count resumed at T-9mins, RTLS weather went GREEN and the countdown proceeded through the T-5min mark. At T-4mins 24secs, a Master Alarm regarding a below normal pressure indication of Hydraulic System #1 sounded in Endeavour’s crew cabin. The Ground Launch Sequencer (GLS) issued an automatic hold at T-4mins – the next available GLS hold milestone.

The count quickly resumed and the launch team inserted a hold at the last possible GLS hold milestone – T-31secs – to further assess the situation. Shuttle system engineers attempted to quickly complete an assessment of the suspect hydraulic system and eventually gave an initial “go” to resume the countdown.

With only seconds to respond, launch controllers resumed the countdown but not in time to satisfy LOX drain back hold constraints. The countdown was cutoff at T-19secs and a 24hr scrub turnaround initiated for a Dec. 4, 1998 launch attempt.

Liftoff of Endeavour and the STS-88 mission to begin construction of the International Space Station (ISS flight 2A) occurred right on time on the second attempt at 03:35.34 EST 4 December 1998. It was the 93rd Space Shuttle mission and lucky number 13 of Endeavour.

To accomplish the mission, Endeavour launched into a 173nm 51.6-degree inclination orbit on course for a Flight Day 4 (FD-4) meeting with Zarya.

Over the course of the 12-day mission, Endeavour’s crew mated the Unity module to OV-105′s Orbiter Docking System (ODS) on FD-3, rendezvoused with and grappled the Zarya module on FD-4, mated the two modules together that same day, and conducted two spacewalks to connect power and data cables between Unity, the PMAs, and Zarya – all of which were performed successfully.

Also carried aboard Endeavour on this mission was the Argentinean Scientific Applications Satellite-S, the MightySat 1 Hitchhiker payload, the Space Experiment Module, and Getaway Special G-093 sponsored by the University of Michigan.

After completing all docked priorities, Endeavour undocked from the newly formed International Space Station. She successfully returned to the Earth with a landing on runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center at 22:53 EST on December 15.

The first ISS construction mission lasted 11days 19hrs 18mins 47secs. The mission represented the 46th Space Shuttle landing at KSC and the 18th straight landing of a Shuttle mission at Kennedy, following a sparky re-entry (see re-entry video snippet from L2 here)

Endeavour was immediately towed into OPF-2 where processing began for the STS-99 Radar Topography mission. Delays to the launch manifest following the all eventful STS-93 launch of Columbia in July 1999 and fleet-wide wiring insulation problems and corrections, as well as a desire to fly the STS-103 emergency mission to Hubble as soon as possible, resulted in the progressive slip of Endeavour’s STS-99 mission from September 1999 into January 2000.

On December 2, 1999, Endeavour was finally rolled over to the VAB and mated with her External Tank. While in the VAB, one of her Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) – SSME-3 – was removed and replaced.

After arriving on the launch pad on December 13, Endeavour’s launch date was further placed under question. Finally, January 31, 2000 was selected as the launch date.

On January 31, a prolonged hold at T-20mins and holding was executed because of weather constraints. At this time, the teams began working a problem with one of Endeavour’s Master Events Controller’s (MEC #2) Built In Test Equipment (BITE). The problem quickly vanished and did not repeat during testing.

The countdown was eventually scrubbed due to weather and a 24hr turnaround implemented. However, the following day, it was decided that Endeavour’s launch would be postponed until her suspect MEC #2 could be replaced on the launch pad.

This marked the first time since Discovery’s maiden voyage (STS-41D) in August 1984 that a Shuttle launch was delayed because of a problem with the MECs.

The launch was first reset to Feb. 9, 2000 and then later moved to Feb. 11. During this time, a failed GPS box was replaced.

On February 11, 2000, Endeavour’s liftoff was delayed 13 minutes to allow teams enough time to troubleshoot three engineering problems: a cabin leak check supply pressure issue, a hydraulic recirculation pump issue, and a L2 manifold tank heater problem.

Endeavour launched from Pad-A at 12:43 EST 11 February 2000 on the 12-day radar topography mission. To accomplish the mission’s objectives, Endeavour was launched into a 57-degree 126nm-high orbit. This would be the LAST solo flight of Endeavour.

All of her remaining missions would be to the International Space Station. Subsequently, this would mark the last time Endeavour would be launched into an orbit other than that of the ISS at 51.6-degrees.

During the mission, Endeavour’s crew obtained the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of the Earth using specially modified C-band and X-band interferometric synthetic aperture radars.

In all, Endeavour collected 1 trillion measurements of Earth’s topography for the creation of better maps, enhanced water drainage modeling, realistic flight simulators, improved knowledge for cell phone tower locations, and enhanced navigation safety.

During 222 hours 23 minutes of mapping, Endeavour’s radar images filled 332 high-density tapes and covered 99.98 percent of the planned mapping area at least once and 94.6 percent of it twice. Enough data was gathered to fill the equivalent of 20,000 CDs.

Endeavour wrapped up STS-99 by performing the 50th KSC landing at 18:23 EST on February 22, 2000.

Endeavour was then towed into OPF-2 where post-flight deservicing/processing and pre-flight processing for STS-97 – the 6th ISS construction flight – began. She was moved to the VAB on Oct. 25 for mating with her mission’s External Tank. She arrived at launch pad 39B on October 31 for a late-November launch.

After working two issues late in the count – a loose bracket in the White Room that delayed ET fueling by 2hrs 21mins and a momentary signal dropout experienced by the Eastern Test Range – Endeavour launched right on time at 20:06 EST on November 30, 2000 to begin her 15th mission. STS-97 was the 101st Space Shuttle mission and the LAST manned spaceflight of the 20th century.

The international mission and crew delivered the first set of power-generating solar arrays and batteries to the International Space Station in the form of the P6 integrated truss structure as well as delivered and installed a communications system for voice & telemetry data.

Following the delivery and unfurling of the first set of ISS solar arrays by Endeavour, the ISS quintupled its electrical power and paved the way for the delivery of the first dedicated science laboratory (Destiny) on the first Shuttle mission of 2001 and the 21st century.

With the docking of the Endeavour to the ISS on December 2, 2000, Endeavour became the first Shuttle orbiter to visit the populated/crewed International Space Station. However, despite a FD-3 docking, hatches between Endeavour and the ISS were not opened until FD-7 – following the pre-flight mission plan.

As a direct result of Endeavour’s STS-97 mission, the Expedition 1 crew on the International Space Station was able to begin the first science experiments of the Station’s career.

After 10days 19hrs 58mins 20secs, Endeavour landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center on December 11 at 18:04 EST.

After this, Endeavour spent 3months in the OPF before rolling to the VAB on March 17 to be mated with an External Tank for her STS-100 mission – the 9th assembly mission to the International Space Station.

Liftoff of Endeavour on STS-100 occurred right on time on April 19, 2001 at 14:41 EDT at the opening of a 4.5min launch window.

During the highly important mission, Endeavour delivered tens of thousands of pounds of internal supplies and equipment to the ISS via the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Raffaello (making its debut flight on this mission). The crew also delivered the critical Canada arm 2 (the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, or robot arm) to the Station – an arm that would be vital to the continued assembly of the International Space Station.

Endeavour’s STS-100 crew also delivered the Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) communications antenna to the ISS as well as a spare electronics component.

The mission also recorded IMAX camera footage of the ISS and Chris Hadfield became the first Canadian to conduct a spacewalk.

Endeavour wrapped up the STS-100 mission on May 1 at 12:11 EDT with a landing at Edwards AFB, CA after 11days 21hrs 30mins in space.

Endeavour was returned to the KSC and moved into an OPF on May 9 were processing began for STS-108. After five months in the OPF, Endeavour rolled to the VAB in mid-October and out to Pad-B on October 30, 2001 for a November 29th launch.

This launch attempt was subsequently delayed so that teams could properly analyze a problem with a Russian Progress vehicle that failed to properly hard dock with the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module of the ISS.

Launch was retargeted for a classified launch time on December 4 – a launch time that was not released to the general public until No Earlier Than 24hrs before T0. This new security measure was put into effect as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.

STS-108/Endeavour was the first Shuttle mission to launch after the attacks. She carried with her to space on STS-108 a tattered and torn American flag recovered from Ground Zero in New York City, a Marine Corps flag recovered from the Pentagon, the American flag that flew over the state capital in Harrisburg, PA on Sept. 11th, the 23 shields of the fallen NYPD officers of that day, patches, posters, & an emblem from the FDNY, patches from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and 6,000 small American flags to honor those lost and those who served in the response and recovery efforts.

On Dec. 4, the launch was scrubbed at the T-5mins and holding mark due to unfavorable weather conditions.

The countdown on December 5 proceeded nominally and Endeavour thundered off Pad-B at 17:19 EST to begin her 17th mission and the 12th ISS assembly flight. STS-108 marked the last time that Endeavour launched from Pad-B. All of her remaining missions would launch from Pad-A.

Flying aboard Endeavour on STS-108 on his first space flight was pilot Mark E. Kelly – the person who will become the final Commander of Endeavour with the upcoming launch of STS-134.

Upon docking of the Endeavour to the ISS, Endeavour’s ODS ring did not properly align with the Station’s PMA-2. After allowing the relative motions between the two vehicles to dampen out, hard dock was secured. The practice of allowing for the dispersion of relative vehicle motions before pressing to hard dock became a staple of all subsequent Space Shuttle/ISS missions.

In all, the STS-108 mission delivered tens of thousands of pounds of supplies and internal equipment to the ISS via the MPLM Raffaello (making its second trip to space) with eight resupply stowage racks and four resupply stowage platforms.

Also riding to space on Endeavour was the Lightweight Mission Peculiar Support Structure Carrier (LMC) with four Get Away Special experiments and the Multiple Application Customized Hitchhiker-1 payload

Endeavour landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center on December 17 at 12:55:16 EST. Wheels stop occurred at Mission Elapsed Time 11days 19hrs 36mins 45secs.

Endeavour spent 4 months processing for her next mission, STS-111. The countdown was relatively uneventful and Endeavour sailed toward a May 30, 2002 launch date.

On May 30, a GN2 (Gaseous Nitrogen) regulator on Endeavour’s left OMS pod acted up, and the T-20min hold was extended from 10mins to 20mins.

When this issue was cleared, the count proceeded to the T-9mins and holding mark where the launch was scrubbed due to unfavorable weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center.

A subsequent launch attempt the following day was called off before the start of ET fueling because of unfavorable weather forecasts.

Launch of Endeavour and STS-111 occurred on June 5, 2002 at 17:22:49 EDT. It was the 110th Space Shuttle mission, the 18th for Endeavour, and the 75th launch from Pad 39A

During the mission, Endeavour’s crew delivered tens of thousands of pounds of supplies and equipment to the ISS via the MPLM Leonardo and delivered and installed the Mobile Base Station for the Canada arm 2 Mobile Servicing Station (MSS) – thereby enabling the SSRMS to inchworm from the US Destiny lab to the MSS and work on various locations along the Station’s growing Integrated Truss Structure.

STS-111 marked the last time a CNES astronaut – the now defunct French space agency following its incorporation into ESA (European Space Agency) – flew aboard the Space Shuttle.

The 13day 20hr 35min 56sec mission concluded on June 19 with a flawless landing at Edwards AFB, CA at 13:58:45 EDT.

Endeavour was then prepared for the STS-113 mission later in 2002. After arriving at Pad-A in mid-October, processing proceeded smoothly toward a scheduled Nov. 10 launch. On November 10th, the launch was scrubbed at 21:50 EDT due to an oxygen leak in the crew module.

The leak was fixed and the launch retargeted for November 22. On this day, the launch was scrubbed because of unacceptable weather at all three Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) sites.

Launch occurred on November 23, 2002 at 19:49:47 EST. STS-113 was the 112th Space Shuttle mission, the 28th night launch of the Space Shuttle, the 16th Space Shuttle mission dedicated to assembly of the International Space Station, and the 19th mission of Endeavour.

On STS-113, Endeavour delivered the 27,506 lbs, 13.7 meters long, 4.6 meters wide, and 4 meters high P1 truss assembly to the Space Station as well as the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart for the Mobile Transporter rail line on the Station.

Endeavour also carried the Micro-Electromechanical System (MEMS) based Pico Satellite Inspector during STS-113.

After three days of landing weather wave-offs, Endeavour finally landed at the Kennedy Space Center on December 7, 2002 at 14:37:12 EST after 13days 18hrs 47mins 25secs in space.

STS-113 marked the first and only time that a Space Shuttle suffered three days of weather landing wave-offs and marked the final time that a Russian flew aboard the Space Shuttle.

Less than two months after the successful landing of Endeavour and STS-113, her sister Columbia would not make it safely back to Earth.

In the aftermath of the loss of Columbia, Endeavour was sent through her second Orbiter Modification Down Period (OMDP). This time, however, the OMDP was performed at the Kennedy Space Center instead of at Palmdale in California.

During the OMDP, Endeavour was fitted with every single one of the safety upgrades and modifications recommended by the Columbia Accident Investigate Board, including the Wing Leading Edge Impact Detection System and an Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS).

She was also fitted with a state-of-the art glass cockpit, a fully-functional 3-string GPS system to provide the most accurate information on vehicle position and orientation during entry and landing ops, and the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSTPS) – a system that would enable her to perform complex 15-16 day missions to the International Space Station by drawing power from the ISS and thereby conserving her own cryos for her Fuel Cells.

Launching for the first time since Columbia on STS-118 (a mission originally manifested to use Columbia) on August 8, 2007 at 18:36:42 EDT, Space Shuttle Endeavour – Shuttle Challenger’s replacement – carried Barbara Morgan to space.

Morgan had previously served as Christa McAuliffe’s backup to the ill-fated Challenger/STS-51L mission. Thus, with Endeavour and STS-118, the goal of placing a teacher in space was realized.

During STS-118, the seven-person crew delivered the S5 spacer truss to the ISS and thousands of pounds of supplies via the SPACEHAB module. The mission marked the final flight of SPACEHAB.

The flight also became the only mission to date to require a Focused Inspection of an orbiter’s Thermal Protection System (TPS) following the discovery of what turned out to be an “underwhelming” gouge in Endeavour’s belly TPS tiles from an ice ball impact during launch.

The Focused Inspection quickly allowed mission engineers to clear Endeavour for reentry and landing.

The mission became the first to make use of the SSPTS system – in a test capacity at first – and the first Shuttle mission to use a three string GPS positioning system in a non-Detailed Test Objective scenario for real-time, in-flight use.

The mission was cut short by one day in order to ensure the safe landing of Endeavour before Hurricane Dean passed close to the Johnson Space Center and Mission Control.

Upon landing at the Kennedy Space Center, 12days 17hrs 55mins 34secs after liftoff, Endeavour was towed back to her now-dedicated OPF (OPF-2) for post-flight deservicing and pre-mission processing for STS-123 in February 2008.

Delays from the STS-122/Atlantis mission eventually pushed STS-123 to March.

On March 11, 2008 at 02:28:14 EDT, Endeavour lit up the night sky of Central Florida as she departed on her 21st mission.

The STS-123 1J/A mission marked the first of three Space Shuttle missions to deliver the Japanese Kibo laboratory complex to the International Space Station (of which Endeavour flew two of those missions).

On STS-123, the crew delivered the Kibo Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section and Canada’s Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator – or DEXTRE – to the Space Station.

During the mission, Endeavour had to perform her customary late-inspection of her TPS with her OBSS while docked to the ISS because she was to leave her OBSS on the station for use by sister Discovery on the next Shuttle mission.

This marked the first time – and to this day – only time that a Shuttle has not returned with its OBSS from a mission.

STS-123 was the 25th Space Shuttle mission dedicated to construction of the International Space Station and the first Space Shuttle mission to make full use of the SSPTS. During STS-123, Endeavour set a record (that still stands to this day) for the longest docked time between a Space Shuttle orbiter and the International Space Station: 11days 20hrs 36mins.

Since only two Shuttle missions remain, and since the only one of those missions that will not use Endeavour cannot stay in space long enough to come anywhere near this record, Endeavour will forever be the Space Shuttle to have been docked for the longest, continuous amount of time to the International Space Station.

(It is possible that Endeavour herself could break this record during her final voyage to space later this month.)

During STS-123, Endeavour was piloted by Greg “Box” Johnson – his first space flight. Johnson will become Endeavour’s final pilot when she launches on STS-134 later this month.

After a highly successful mission, Endeavour glided to picture-perfect landing at the Kennedy Space Center on March 26 at 20:40:41 EDT after 16days 18hrs 12mins 27secs in space.

STS-123 marked the first of three back-to-back 16-day missions for Endeavour.

Endeavour was then quickly processed for her triple duty role as the STS-326 rescue vehicle for Discovery’s STS-124 mission in May 2008, as the STS-400 rescue vehicle for sister Atlantis’s STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, and as the primary vehicle for the STS-126 mission to the ISS.

Following the safe landing of Discovery in June 2008, Endeavour continued her processing for STS-400 and STS-126.

In mid-September 2008, Endeavour was transported to Pad-B for STS-400 pad processing while sister Atlantis underwent final processing at Pad-A for STS-125. In late October, the STS-125 mission was delayed following the failure of a science data handling unit on Hubble.

Once Atlantis was rolled back to the VAB, Endeavour was re-commissioned for STS-126 and rolled around from Pad-B to Pad-A.

Click here for all STS-400 Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-400/

STS-126 successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center on November 14, 2008 at 19:55:39 EST. It was the fourth and final mission of 2008 and rounded out a perfect launch campaign year for NASA in which all four of the missions launched right on time on their first launch attempts.

Endeavour successfully docked to the ISS on November 16 to begin 11days 16hrs 46mins of docked operations. During the mission, the seven-member crew delivered tens of thousands of pounds of internal supplies to the Space Station (via MPLM Leonardo) in preparation for the expansion of ISS permanent crew size from 3 people to 6 people in 2009.

The mission also saw the servicing of the S3/S4 truss’s Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) and the repair of the problem that had limited the starboard SARJ’s use since STS-120 in October 2007.

After 251 orbits of Earth, Endeavour and her crew landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base, CA 15days 20hrs 30mins 34secs after launch.

Click here for all STS-126 Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-126/

STS-126 thus became the longest Space Shuttle flight to the International Space Station – a record Endeavour will forever hold since the only remaining Shuttle mission to not use Endeavour cannot stay in space long enough to break this record.

Upon landing at Edwards AFB, Endeavour was forced to land on a temporary runway due to refurbishment operations on the permanent runway.

The temporary runway was 3,000 feet shorter than the usual 15,000 foot Shuttle runways. As a result, never-before-used braking techniques were required. Endeavour was the FIRST and LAST Shuttle orbiter to land on this temporary runway.

Upon return to Kennedy, it was discovered that one of her LH2 flow control valves had chipped during liftoff because of vibrations in the launch environment and materials fatigue in the FCV.

An extensive investigation was carried out – delaying the next Shuttle mission by one month until a safe solution to the issue could be found.

The result of the investigation was a wide-spread change in NASA’s understanding of the propellant flow and Main Propulsion System performance during ascent.

A strict inspection regime of all FCVs after each flight was implemented for each subsequent flight from STS-126.

Click here for all FCV Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/fcv/

Nonetheless, processing on Endeavour for her once-again triple mission role as the STS-327 rescue vehicle for the STS-119 crew, as the STS-400 rescue vehicle for sister Atlantis’s rescheduled STS-125 mission to Hubble, and as the primary vehicle for STS-127 continued throughout early 2009.

In mid-April, she was transported to Pad-B for pad processing for STS-400. With Endeavour on Pad-B and sister Atlantis on Pad-A, this marked the 19th and final time that both Space Shuttle launch pads were occupied by two space shuttle stacks at the same time.

Following the successful completion of the STS-125 mission to Hubble, Endeavour was released from her STS-400 duties. As such, Endeavour is the only Shuttle orbiter to have been assigned a mission that EVERYONE hoped would NEVER fly.

Upon her release from STS-400, Endeavour was rolled off Pad-B and around to Pad-A. When Endeavour left Pad-B it marked that last time in history that a Space Shuttle was present on LC-39B.

Once at Pad-A, processing proceeded very smoothly for Endeavour’s STS-127 mission to the ISS.

Initially targeting a June 13 liftoff, a gaseous hydrogen leak was detected from Pad-A’s Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) assembly – a system used to vent the extremely flammable gaseous hydrogen (caused by LH2 boil off inside the LH2 tank) safely away from the Shuttle stack – during ET fueling operations on June 12/13.

Following the immediate scrub of Endeavour’s first launch attempt, NASA managers reported that the signature of the leak was “nearly identical” to the leak seen during the first launch attempt of STS-119/Discovery in March 2009.

Since the Removal and Replacement (R&R) of the GUCP Quick Disconnect seals fixed the leak back in March, NASA managers decided to repeat the R&R procedure after obtaining critical data on the area of the leak for a root cause investigation.

As it would be, the GUCP leak reoccurred during ET fueling on June 16/17 and the launch was scrubbed again. Shuttle Program managers stated that they would not try to launch Endeavour before July 11 to allow for an investigation into the GUCP leaks.

Click here for all GUCP Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/gucp/

In the days that followed the second scrub of STS-127, engineers focused their attention on a minor misalignment between the GUCP and the External Tank Carrier Assembly (ETCA), the component on the ET to which the GUCP is mated.

In the end, the ETCA was realigned using high fidelity 0.515″ alignment pins and the Flight Seal in the GUCP was replaced. Once the R&R procedure was completed, a tanking test was performed on July 1 to verify the integrity of the repair and confirm that no leaks were present. The tanking test was a success and no leaks were detected.

This paved the way for the July 11 launch attempt of Endeavour, which was postponed prior to fueling because of extra time needed to clear all of Endeavour’s systems following a lightning strike within the Pad-A perimeter the previous day.

Launch was rescheduled for July 12 but was scrubbed at the T-9 minute and holding mark due to unacceptable weather around the Kennedy Space Center. The launch was further scrubbed on July 13 – again at the T-9 minute and holding mark – due to adverse weather.

NASA stood down on July 14 to replace the Tyvek covers on Endeavour’s Reaction Control System jets and retargeted launch for July 15. The countdown on July 15 was uneventful and at 18:03:10 EDT Endeavour lifted off from Pad-A just one day shy of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch from the same pad.

During the course of the mission, Chris Cassidy became the 500th person to fly into space, a record 13 people lived and worked on the ISS during Endeavour’s docked mission (thanks to the increase of the permanent ISS crew from three people to six people at the end of May 2009), five EVAs (spacewalks) were performed, the Japanese experiment exposure facility was installed to the Japanese Kibo module, and six P6 truss batteries were R&R on the ISS.

Click here for all STS-127 Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-127/

STS-127 marked the last time that 5 EVAs (spacewalks) were carried out on a Space Shuttle mission. As such, Endeavour holds the distinction of being the Shuttle orbiter to perform the first mission with five EVAs (STS-61 in December 1993) and the last orbiter to perform 5 EVAs on a single mission.

Of the two remaining Shuttle missions, the only one to not use Endeavour is not slated to perform any spacewalks (EVAs); thus, even if STS-134 requires a fifth, unscheduled spacewalk, Endeavour would still hold this prestigious EVA distinction within the spacecraft community.

STS-127 also marked the first time that two Canadians were space at the same time.

After wrapping up operations on the International Space Station, Endeavour and her seven member international crew landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center at 10:48 EDT on July 31st on the mission’s first landing opportunity, completing a 15day 16hour 44minute 58second flight.

After being towed into her dedicated OFF later that day, Endeavour spent 5.5 months in processing for her next mission: STS-130. Rolling to the VAB in mid-December, Endeavour was mated to the External Tank and then left in the VAB over the year-end holidays.

Endeavour and the STS-130 vehicle began the slow crawl to Launch Complex 39A at 0413 EST on January 6, 2010 – a rollout that garnered attention not only as the first rollout of the year, but also as one of the coldest rollouts undertaken by the Space Shuttle Program.

So cold were the overnight/morning temperatures at the Kennedy Space Center that the normal, pre-rollout ops were spread out over a longer period of time than the standard 4hrs from rollout Call to Stations to rollout first motion.

Click here for all STS-130 Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-130/

In fact, Call to Stations occurred nearly 11 hours prior to rollout. Much of this extra time was dedicated to the activation of special heating and purging equipment to ensure that certain Endeavour systems could be maintained at adequate temperatures for the duration of the rollout.

Less than one day into the pad flow came word that Endeavour’s primary payload, the Node-3/Tranquility module had a rather significant engineering issue relating to its exterior ammonia (NH3) cooling hoses. As noted by ISS Flight Director Robert Dempsey, “While proof testing one of the new flight unit ammonia lines there was another rupture. A tiger team has been formed and dispatched to California to begin looking at options and schedule impacts.”

NASA immediately began reviewing options, which ranged from truncating the STS-130 mission from 3 EVAs (Spacewalks) to 1 EVA and still launching in the February timeframe without a resolution/modification to the ammonia lines or delaying the mission until later in the year when a resolution would be available.

The issue itself arose primarily because of a last-minute change to Node-3′s berthing location on the ISS. This change in berthing location meant that the ammonia coolant lines would have to bend at a near 90-degree angle to properly interface with ISS systems.

Nonetheless, within a few days of the issue’s rise to prominence, NASA demonstrated an amazing work effort to understand the jumper hose failure and design a potential workaround that would allow the nominally planned STS-130 mission to maintain its target launch date of Feb. 7.

Over the next 10 days, work proceeded to fix the jumper hose issue and resulted in amazing and inspiring work across the agency from thousands of dedicated engineers and managers.

With the issue fixed, NASA officially and unanimously cleared Endeavour for launch on February 7 at the January 27 SOMD FRR (Space Operations Mission Directorate Flight Readiness Review).

Moreover, the Agency FRR for STS-130 also brought to fruition the year-long investigation into the Flow Control Valve (FCV) poppet cracks discovered after the November 2008 flight of Endeavour and STS-126. The year-long investigation yielded six recommendations to the Space Shuttle Program, all of which were incorporated by the Program.

With everything in place, the stage was set for a spectacular night time launch of Endeavour. As the countdown proceeded, Endeavour behaved extraordinarily well on the pad (a testament to the hard work of her processing teams), allowing launch personnel more than enough time to analyze a few (very few) minor issues that cropped up during the count. But in the end, it would come down to the weather, which proved to be just barely out of limits on February 7.

Recycling for a 24hr turnaround, teams configured for a second launch attempt on the morning of February 8. This time, it would be the TAL (Transoceanic Abort Landing) sites in Europe that would pose an issue in terms of weather.

However, thanks to real-time weather reconnaissance, one TAL site was declared “go” and at 04:14:08 EST, Endeavour lit up the partly-cloudy and cold night sky of Florida, thundering away from the Kennedy Space Center to begin STS-130.

In all, Endeavour reached orbit unscathed thanks to a superb job from the External Tank teams in preparing Endeavour’s tank for flight. TPS inspection data revealed NO (0 – ZERO) underbelly TPS scuffs or damage zones – a first for the Space Shuttle Program.

The extremely clean nature of Endeavour’s TPS allowed all those involved in the execution of the mission to focus on the mission’s objectives – the delivery and installation of Node-3 and Cupola.

After successfully installing Node-3 and configuring Cupola, the STS-130 crew had the honor of opening up Cupola’s window covers for the first time and taking in the breath-taking 360 degree view of Earth from ~200miles above the planet’s surface.

After 13 days 18 hours 8 minutes and 3 seconds in space, Endeavour Commander George Zamka and Pilot Terry Virts fired her OMS (Orbital Maneuvering System) engines for 2minutes 38seconds, dropping Endeavour to suborbital speed.

Earth’s gravity pulled Endeavour into the atmosphere where friction between Endeavour and the atmosphere created a stream of plasma around and behind the orbiter – an event imaged by crewmembers aboard the International Space Station from the newly installed Cupola.

Endeavour glided to a dark landing at the Kennedy Space Center at 22:22:10 EST on February 22 to cap off her penultimate mission.

STS-130 was the 130th Space Shuttle mission, the 32nd Shuttle mission to the Space Station, and the 32nd night launch of the Space Shuttle.

Upon landing, Endeavour was towed into OPF-2 where processing began for her final mission: STS-134. Following several launch date realignments, Endeavour was rolled over to the VAB on February 28, 2011 and mated to ET-122 the following day.

Since arriving at Pad-A in early-March, Endeavour has enjoyed a smooth processing flow – as we’ve come to expect from her.

Targeting launch at 15:47:52 EDT on Friday 29 April 2011, STS-134 will be the 25th and final flight for Space Shuttle orbiter Endeavour.

Under a full mission duration, Endeavour will celebrate her 19th birthday on May 7, 2011 (and the 20th anniversary of her delivery to the Kennedy Space Center) flying ~200 miles above Earth docked the Space Station for which she began construction of on STS-88.

And just like her maiden voyage, Endeavour’s final flight will be a long, complex, and awe-inspiring mission. In addition to delivering the final full round of external spare parts for the International Space Station, she will deliver the premiere scientific experiment to ISS: the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer -02 (AMS-02).

After being mounted to the exterior of ISS during STS-134, the AMS-02 will spend the next decade conducting continuous observations of the universe, searching for evidence of and information on dark matter, dark energy, and anti-matter.

STS-134/Endeavour will be the 165th manned U.S. spaceflight, the 134th Space Shuttle mission, the 25th flight of Endeavour, the 36th Shuttle flight to the ISS (Endeavour’s 12th), the 109th post-Challenger flight, and the 21st post-Columbia flight.

Click here for all STS-134 Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-134/

The mission will mark the final spacewalks to be conducted by a Space Shuttle crew, the final time an international astronaut will fly on the Space Shuttle, the use of the final External Tank to be delivered to the Kennedy Space Center from the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana, the final all-male crew of a Space Shuttle mission, the final flight of a major European Space Agency payload element on the Space Shuttle, and the delivery of the final major payloads to the ISS by the Space Shuttle.

But more importantly, delivery of AMS-02 and all the spares on ELC-3 (Express Logistics Carrier 3) will mark U.S. Assembly Complete on the International Space Station… meaning that Endeavour will become not only the orbiter to have begun construction of the ISS, but also the orbiter which completes U.S.-segment assembly of the ISS.

Endeavour will also permanently leave her OBSS behind on the ISS so that future ISS crews can make use of its ability to extend the reach of astronauts to the outer most elements of the Station’s truss.

Thus, Endeavour will once again return home without her OBSS (as she did on STS-123).

Upon her return from STS-134, Endeavour will undergo post-career deservicing and Transition and Retirement processing. During T&R processing, she will further have her Shuttle Remote Manipulator System, or robot arm, removed. Her SRMS will be sent back to Canada where it will be displayed at a Canadian museum to highlight Canada’s numerous contributions to the Space Shuttle Program.

After T&R work is complete, Endeavour will be hoisted atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and flown out of the place that she has called home for two decades.

After a ferry flight across the United States, Endeavour will arrive for retirement display in the state where she was built. OV-105 Endeavour will spend her retirement on permanent display as the centerpiece of a newly planned space exhibit at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California – just miles from the Palmdale facility where she was constructed.

Like her sailing ship namesake of the 18th century, the Space Shuttle Endeavour has never faltered in her mission to expanding our understanding of the scientific frontier.

From saving the Hubble Space Telescope, to broadening our knowledge of maneuverability in space, to her innumerable scientific studies and experiments, to the knowledge she gave us about the contours of our home planet, and to the International Space Station (which will be one of her longest-lasting legacies), Endeavour has constantly taken us to new and unprecedented territories.

She has been, and will be for countless generations to come, a ship that inspires pride, awe, and the quest for knowledge.

As Barbara Morgan remarked upon the completion of the STS-118/Endeavour mission, “there’s a great sense of pride to be able to be involved in a human endeavor that takes us all a little bit farther. When you look down and see our Earth, and you realize what we are trying to do as a human race, it’s pretty profound.”

To the good ship Endeavour, we give you our heartfelt thanks and gratitude. And as you prepare for your final voyage of exploration and discovery, we wish you clear skies and a strong wind on your sail.

To the Endeavour and all who have flown aboard her… THANK YOU.

(Lead Image via Larry Sullivan MaxQ Entertainment/NASASpaceflight.com – including some within the aritcle. All other images within the article via NASA.gov, Jacques van Oene, Spacepatches.nl and L2′s Historical Section – With large collections of Hi Res (larger than desktop size, average 3mb each, many scanned and restored from hard copies) images, videos, MER reports, etc. For nearly every mission – over 500 gbs an growing).

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Space Shuttle Endeavour: A New Beginning (Part I)

Chris Bergin — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:49:41 +0000

The Space Shuttle Program was well underway by January 1986 – with preparations marching toward the launch of the 25th Space Shuttle mission, a mission to place a school teacher in Low Earth Orbit. And while the STS-51L/Challenger mission ended in disaster, from its devastating aftermath came the hope of a new beginning in the form a new and improved Space Shuttle orbiter – an orbiter that has performed some of the most vital and historical missions for humanity over the course of her 19-year, 25-mission career.

OV-105 Endeavour: The Baby with Big Expectations and a Bold History:

**CLICK HERE TO READ PART 2: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/04/ov-105-endeavour-a-long-standing-dream-realized/

A little over one year after the loss of the sister she never knew, the United States Congress passed legislation officially authorizing the construction of new Space Shuttle orbiter to fill the manifest needs left in the wake of the 51L disaster.

However, before permission to construct a new orbiter was issued, serious consideration was given to refitting the test orbiter Enterprise (OV-101) and having her join the Shuttle fleet as an operational, space-worthy vehicle. This idea was quickly turned down, however, due to cost and time requirements.

Essentially, it was deemed cheaper and faster to simply build a new orbiter than to refit the Enterprise.

Taking advantage of structural spares created during the construction campaigns of OV-103/Discovery and OV-104/Atlantis, construction of NASA’s newest orbiter, known officially as OV-105 (Orbiter Vehicle 105), gained a significant time advantage by making use of these structural spares.

To this end, the start of structural assembly of OV-105′s Crew Module began on February 15, 1982 — over five years before authorization to build OV-105 was issued.

Specifically, the contract to build NASA’s newest, and last, Space Shuttle orbiter was issued to Rockwell International on July 31, 1987.

Two months later, on September 7, engineers began assembling the body-flap of OV-105 – with assembly beginning on her aft-fuselage on Sept. 28.

Mid-fuselage assembly began on October 19, 1987 followed on November 30 by the start of assembly of the vertical stabilizer.

On December 22, OV-105′s distinctive and tell-tale Delta wings arrived on-dock at her Palmdale, California construction facility from the Grumman group in New York state.

On January 11, 1988, engineers began work on the fabrication and assembly of OV-105′s Forward Reaction Control System thruster pod. The vehicle’s left hand OMS (Orbital Maneuver System) pod arrived on-dock on January 29 followed by the right hand OMS pod on February 16.

Mating of the wings to the mid-fuselage was completed on May 17, 1988, and the lower fuselage was transported to Palmdale on May 25. The mid- and lower-fuselages were mated together in August 1988. Upper-fuselage assembly began at Downey on August 1 – the same day that final assembly of OV-105 began.

OV-105′s payload bay doors arrived at Palmdale throughout October 1989. The aft-fuselage was delivered on December 15, 1989, followed by the crew module on February 23, 1990. The crew module was mated to the upper-fuselage throughout March 1990.

OV-105 was powered-up for the very first time on July 6, 1990. The vehicle’s body flap was mated to the orbiter in July, the nose cap and vertical stabilizer in September, and the payload bay doors in Sept./Oct. of 1990.

Unlike all previous NASA spacecraft, NASA chose to involve, from the beginning, the general public when it came to choosing a name for the new Space Shuttle orbiter. For the naming contest, students in all elementary and secondary schools in the United States were offered the opportunity to submit names for consideration.

The entries had to include an essay regarding the historical and exploratory significance for the suggested name, as well as information on why the name would be appropriate for the new Shuttle orbiter. State-level winners were selected and forward on for final consideration.

In the end, the name that was eventually chosen for OV-105 was the most popular entry received, accounting for one-third of the total state-level entry winners.

On April 25, 1991, the Space Shuttle orbiter ENDEAVOUR was proudly rolled out of her Palmdale construction facility by her dedicated workforce.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour is named after two great ships of exploration – the first being the HMS Endeavour, the ship Captained by James Cook on his first voyage from 1768-1771. During the HMS Endeavour’s voyage, she transported Cook to the South Pacific where he observed and recorded the transit of Venus between the Earth and the sun – observations that helped early astronomers calculate the distance of the Earth from the sun.

Cook’s Endeavour further enabled him to become the first person to fully chart New Zealand, survey the eastern coast of Australia, and discover the Hawaiian Islands.

Cook’s voyage on the Endeavour also carried significant medical prestige of the day and helped establish the usefulness of sending scientists on voyages of exploration.

During the HMS Endeavour’s voyage with Cook, her crew reportedly conducted the first long-distance voyage during which no crewman died from scurvy. To this end, Cook is credited with being the first captain to use diet as a cure for scurvy.

The second great exploratory ship that Space Shuttle Endeavour was named in honor of was the Command Module of Apollo 15.

Following her rollout from Palmdale, Endeavour was transported overland to Edwards Air Force Base where she was bolted to the top of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Endeavour departed Edwards Air Force Base (Edwards AFB), CA for the first leg of her multi-stop journey to the place she would call home for the next two decades.

Endeavour’s ferry flight delivery stops included Biggs Army Base in Texas, Kelly AFB, and Ellington AFB from May 3-6, 1991. On May 7, Endeavour departed Ellington AFB and gracefully arrived at the Kennedy Space Center, FL – exactly one year to the day before she would launch on her maiden voyage.

Upon delivery, Endeavour was equipped with state-of-art equipment and numerous updates based on lessons-learned from her sisters’ previous flights. During construction, Endeavour was fitted with a 40ft drag chute for use during landing, additional plumbing and electrical connections for the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) pallets that would allow up to 28-day missions, updated avionics and advanced General Purpose Computers, improved Inertial Measurement Units and Tactical Air Navigation systems, enhanced Master Events Controllers, enhanced multiplexer-demultiplexers, and improved nose gear steering.

Endeavour was also equipped with improved versions of the Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) and an enhanced solid-state star tracker. Endeavour is also the lightest orbiter in terms of dry weight – weighing substantially less than Columbia and her other sisters.

One day after her arrival at Kennedy, Endeavour was removed from the SCA and towed directly into the VAB transfer aisle, where she remained for two days before being moved into VAB HB 2 (High Bay 2) for temporary storage.

After one month in storage, Endeavour was moved into OPF-1 (Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1) on July 25, 1991 for receiving inspections and maiden voyage flight processing.

After just over seven months in the OPF, Endeavour was rolled over to the VAB on March 7, 1992 and mated to ET-43 on MLP-2 (Mobile Launch Platform 2) on March 8.

Five days later, on March 13, Endeavour and the STS-49 stack was rolled out of the VAB and out to Launch Complex 39B where pre-flight processing continued toward the planned Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) of her three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs).

The FRF – a 20-second test firing of the three SSMEs at the culmination of a wet countdown dress rehearsal – proceeded nominally on April 6. Following the FRF, which was the final step in verifying and validating Endeavour’s Main Propulsion System for flight, all three SSMEs were replaced at launch pad 39B.

Final pre-flight processing proceeded nominally toward a targeted May 4 launch at 20:34 EDT. However, during the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) process, the launch date was moved to May 7 at 19:06 EDT (the opening of the launch window) to ensure better lighting conditions for photographic documentation of the vehicle through first stage flight.

On May 4, the three day countdown to launch began. On launch day, the countdown proceeded nominally to the T-9min hold. The hold was extended for 34mins due to unacceptable weather at the Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) site.

At 19:40:00 EDT on May 7, 1992, the countdown clock reached ZERO and the Solid Rocket Boosters ignited, lifting Endeavour and her seven-member crew off Pad-B and into the history books.

Launch of Endeavour and the STS-49 mission marked the first and ONLY time that a Space Shuttle vehicle conducted its maiden voyage from Pad-B at the Kennedy Space Center; all four of Endeavour’s older sisters embarked on their maiden flights from Pad-A.

At launch, Endeavour weighed 256,597 lbs. Through the combined power of her twin Solid Rocket Boosters, three SSMEs, and twin OMS pod engines, Endeavour was quickly and efficiently inserted into a 195nautical mile (nm) high orbit inclined 28.35-degrees to the equator (resulting in a due east launch trajectory from the Kennedy Space Center).

Once in orbit, Endeavour’s crew got right to work setting up for the rendezvous with the Intelsat VI satellite – which was stranded and unusable in Low Earth Orbit following its launch on a Titan rocket in March 1990 when its launch system failed to place it in its correct, geostationary orbit.

To facilitate the repair of Intelsat VI, a spacewalk was planned in which two of Endeavour’s crewmembers would physically grab the satellite and attach a capture bar to the satellite. During the spacewalk to grab the satellite, all attempts to grab Intelsat VI and attach the capture bar failed.

The EVA was subsequently called off and rescheduled for the following day, and Endeavour backed away to safe distance. The next day, after a re-rendezvous, all attempts to capture Intelsat VI and install the capture bar failed as well.

Then, on May 13, a third attempt to capture the satellite was made using three of Endeavour’s crewmembers.

Before capture of Intelsat VI on this day, an Assembly of Station by EVA Methods (ASEM) structure was erected by the crew to assist in the satellite’s capture. The EVA was successful: Intelsat VI was captured, the capture bar attached, a live rocket engine kit installed (a kit that would propel Intelsat VI into its correct orbit), and the satellite released back into orbit.

The EVA marked the first and, to date, only time in history that an EVA was conducted involving three people, the first and, to date, only time that a live rocket kit was attached to a satellite in space during an EVA, and the longest single EVA in history to that point – a record that would stand until STS-102 in March 2001.

The following day, another spacewalk was conducted as part of an ongoing investigation into the ASEM experiment for Space Station Freedom.

A second planned ASEM spacewalk was cancelled following the lengthy Intelsat retrieval.

This marked the first time that a single Space Shuttle mission featured four EVAs – a record at the time – and the longest total EVA time for a single Space Shuttle mission at the time at 25hrs 27mins.

STS-49 also marked the first mission requiring multiple (three in this case) rendezvous with an orbital spacecraft.

During the mission, Endeavour’s crew also performed Chimerical Protein Crystal Growth, Ultraviolet Plume Imager, and Air Force Maui Optical Station experiments/investigations.

The maiden voyage of Endeavour concluded at 06:57.38 EDT on May 16th with a landing on runway 22 at Edwards AFB, CA. Upon landing, Endeavour made one more first for the Space Shuttle Program – the first use of a drag chute during landing.

Rollout distance on the runway was 9,490 feet and was conducted without the use of braking. Total mission elapsed time was 8days 21hrs 17mins 38secs – the longest maiden voyage of the five operational Shuttle orbiters.

Endeavour was then de-serviced and ferried back to KSC on May 30. She was towed into OPF-3 on May 31 for post-flight de-servicing and pre-flight processing for STS-47. After 2.5 months, Endeavour was rolled over to the VAB on August 17 where she was mated with ET-49.

The entire STS-47 stack was rolled out to Pad-B on August 25 for a targeted September 12 launch. The pad flow proceeded uneventfully and Endeavour launched on her second mission – and the 50th Space Shuttle mission – at 10:23:00.0680 EDT 12 Sept. 1992. The launch marked the first on-time launch since STS-61B in November 1985.

STS-47 was a joint NASA/NASDA (National Space Development Agency of Japan) mission – also known as Spacelab-J – with a primary focus on life and material science.

STS-47 marked the first of several times that a Japanese astronaut flew about the Space Shuttle, the first flight of an African-American woman into space, and the first flight of married couple into space.

Overall, the mission included 24 materials science experiments and 20 life sciences experiments. Thirty-five of these experiments were sponsored by NASDA, seven by NASA, and two by NASA and NASDA.

Among the numerous experiments were some focusing on biotechnology, electronic materials, fluid dynamics, human health, cell separation and biology, space radiation, and biological rhythms. The tests were carried out on the crew, Japanese koi fish, cultured animal and plant cells, chicken embryos, fruit flies, fungi & plant seeds, frogs, and frog eggs.

The Israeli Space Agency Investigation About Hornets was also flown about this mission.

After 7days, 22hrs, 30mins, 23secs in space, Endeavour gracefully touched down on Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center at 08:53:24 EDT on Sept. 20, 1992.

After 64 days in OPF-1, Endeavour was moved to the VAB and mated with ET-51. Endeavour and the STS-54 stack was rolled out to Pad-B on December 3, 1992 for a January 13, 1993 launch.

Following a flawless pad flow, Endeavour launched at 08:59:30 EST 13 January 1993 after a 7 minute delay due to concerns with upper level winds.

Later that day, Endeavour’s crew deployed the mission’s primary payload – the TDRS-F (Tracking Data Relay Satellite -F) – into Earth orbit. Following TDRS-F’s deployment, the crew activated the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer to collect data on X-ray radiation from diffuse sources in deep space.

Carried in Endeavour’s middeck for STS-54 were several payloads designed to test the effects of microgravity. These payloads/experiments included the Commercial General Bioprocessing Apparatus, the Chromosome and Plant Cell Division in Space Experiment, the Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment, the Space Acceleration Measurement Equipment experiment, and the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment.

The only EVA of the mission was conducted on FD-5 (Flight Day 5) by Mario Runco and Greg Harbaugh. The 4.5-hour spacewalk was designed to test NASA’s knowledge of the working conditions of space and the orbiter’s payload bay. Specifically, Runco and Harbaugh tested their ability to move freely about Endeavour’s payload bay, climb into foot restraints without using their hands, and carry large objects.

On January 19, Endeavour’s crew prepared their craft for landing. After a one-orbit landing wave-off due to ground fog, Endeavour landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center on runway 33 at 08:37.47 EDT after 96 orbits of Earth and a Mission Elapsed Time (MET) of 5days, 23hrs, 38mins. Her rollout distance at landing was 8,723 feet.

Later that day, Endeavour was moved into OPF-1, where she spent just over two months in processing for her next mission. After being mated to ET-58, the STS-57 stack was moved to Pad-B on April 28.

The Countdown Demonstration Test with Endeavour’s crew was successfully completed on May 7 – exactly one year after her maiden launch.

Endeavour successfully launched on her 4th voyage to space on June 21, 1993 at 09:07.00 EDT. It was the 25th space mission to be launched from Pad-B.

During the course of the 9-day mission, Endeavour’s crew conducted a series of biomedical and materials science experiments inside the SPACEHAB module; furthermore, the EURECA experiment was retrieved from orbit after having spent a year space following its deployment in the summer of 1992 by Space Shuttle Atlantis.

During the capture of EURECA, an improperly installed electrical connector on Endeavour’s SRMS (Shuttle Remote Manipulator System – or robot arm) prevented EURECA from recharging its batteries and stowing its communications antennas. The Flight Rule requiring the antennas to be stowed was waived and the satellite was lowered into Endeavour’s payload bay.

A subsequent EVA allowed two of Endeavour’s crewmembers to manually secure the antennas with the help of controllers at the Johnson Space Center. The 5hr 50min spacewalk also allowed NASA to perform continued testing on spacewalk maneuverability with an astronaut mounted to the SRMS.

Aboard SPACEHAB for this mission, Endeavour’s crew performed several experiments, including the study of body posture, spacecraft environments, crystal growth, metal alloys, waste water recycling, fluids behavior, and one experiment to evaluate maintenance equipment for Space Station Freedom.

Also flying about Endeavour was WATCH, the Wide Angle Telescope for Cosmic Hard X-rays.

Endeavour and her crew wrapped up their mission and, after two days of weather wave-offs, landed successfully at the Kennedy Space Center on July 1 at 08:52 EDT.

Processing then immediately began for what can arguably be considered the first of Endeavour’s two most important missions: STS-61 – the mission to save the Hubble Space Telescope.

On October 28, 1993, Endeavour and the STS-61 stack was rolled out to Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Shortly thereafter, on October 30, a windstorm created a contamination concern (sandblasting grit) with Pad-A’s Payload Changeout Room.

The mission’s payload was not effected by the contamination, but to maintain strict cleanliness standards for the mission’s payloads and Hubble’s new scientific equipment, Endeavour was removed from Pad-A and rolled around to Pad-B on November 15. This was the second pad-switch in Shuttle history.

At Pad-B, processing encountered a brief problem on November 18 when one of four delta-p transducers on Endeavour’s elevon hydraulic actuator failed. Launch Commit Criteria (LCC) at the time demanded that all four delta-p transducers be functional at liftoff.

However, the delta-p transducer could not be replaced at the launch pad due to the need to access the component through Endeavour’s Main Landing Gear wheel well.

Therefore, a rollback, de-stack, and return to the OPF would have been required.

Upon review of the situation, NASA decided that all four delta-p transducers were not in fact necessary to commit to launch, and the LCC was amended.

Launch on December 1 was scrubbed due to a combination of bad weather at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center and a boat that ventured into the launch restriction zone.

Under the Florida night sky, Endeavour departed launch pad 39B at 04:26.00 EST December 2, 1993 to begin the first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.

During the course of the 11-day marathon mission, Endeavour’s crew performed 5 back-to-back space walks (a feat that has only been tied, never broken) to bring Hubble back to life and correct its vision.

On EVA-1, a spacewalking duo replaced two sets of Remote Sensing Units (containing new gyroscopes for Hubble), replaced a pair of electrical control units, and swapped out eight fuse plugs.

EVA-2, on the following day, was then spent replacing Hubble’s two damage solar arrays.

EVA-3 then saw the replacement of the Wide Field Planetary Camera with a new and enhanced Wide Field Planetary Camera. One of Hubble’s magnetometers – compasses – was also replaced during EVA-3.

EVA-4 followed the next day – the EVA to install Hubble’s corrective optics and save the telescope’s ability to clearly image distant objects in the universe. For this task, two of Endeavour’s crewmembers removed Hubble’s High Speed Photometer and replaced it the COSTAR, the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement unit. The EVA a 100% success!

After this, Hubble’s altitude was raised by Endeavour through a series of two thruster firings.

The 5th and final spacewalk of the mission replaced the solar array drive electronics and fitted an electrical connection box on the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph.

Endeavour then redeployed Hubble into Earth orbit before backing away and preparing to come home.

Endeavour landed safely at 00:26.25 EST on December 13 at the Kennedy Space Center. The mission was a smashing success, and Hubble began beaming back its ionic, awe-inspiring, and crystal-clear images of the cosmos a few months later.

In terms of Space Shuttle mission risk assessment, STS-61 carried the highest percentage risk of catastrophic failure – 1in 150 due to space debris and micrometeorite impact concerns – in Shuttle Program history.

After four months on the ground, Endeavour took to the skies once again when she launched on the STS-59 mission on April 9, 1994 at 07:05.00 EDT. Liftoff of Endeavour occurred from Pad-A – her first launch from Pad-A. It was the 60th space mission to launch from Pad-A at the Kennedy Space Center.

Launch of STS-59 was postponed from April 7 to allow engineers time to verify that Endeavour had vanes of the proper radius in her SSME liquid oxygen preburners. Launch on April 8 was scrubbed at T-5mins and holding due to low cloud cover and high winds at the SLF.

During STS-59, Endeavour’s six-person crew conducted ’round-the-clock observations of Earth using the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C), the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellite (MAPS), and the X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (X-SAR) experiments.

The crew also performed a Space Tissue Loss investigation and several Get Away Special experiments before returning to Earth on April 20 at Edwards AFB, CA at 12:55 EDT for a total MET of 11days 5hrs 49mins 30secs.

After her return to the Kennedy Space Center, Endeavour was processed for STS-68. After just over a month and a half in the OPF, Endeavour was moved to the VAB on July 21 and out to Pad-A on July 27. This marked the first time that Endeavour was stack on an MLP other than MLP-2.

On August 18, 1994, Endeavour’s launch countdown proceeded nominal. At T-31secs, the Ground Launch Sequencer handed off control of the countdown and Endeavour’s systems to Endeavour’s five General Purpose Computers (GPCs). At T-6.6secs, Endeavour’s GPCs sent the commands to ignite the three SSMEs in reverse sequence (Engine 3, Engine 2, Engine 1).

At T-3secs, all was nominal, and the three SSMEs were moved to their lift-off positions. At T-2secs, all was still nominal, and Endeavour’s GPCs sent commands to arm the twin Solid Rocket Boosters for ignition.

One-tenth of a second later, at T-1.9secs, the High Pressure Oxidizer Turbopump (HPOT) on SSME-3 exceeded its redline discharge temperature operating limit, tripping a Redundant Set Launch Sequencer (RSLS) abort.

Endeavour’s GPCs reacted immediately and issued simultaneous commands to shutdown SSME-3 and inhibit the ignition sequence of the Solid Rocket Boosters. Once the inhibit command was received and acknowledged from the SRBs, the GPCs ordered the safing of the SRBs to prevent an accidental ignition.

Once this was in place, commands to shutdown SSME-2 and SSME-1 were issued. As such, SSME-2 and SSME-1 fired past the planned T0 time and were only shutdown once it was assured that the SRBs would not ignite.

The RSLS abort for Endeavour/STS-68 at T-1.9secs is the closest the Space Shuttle has ever come to launching without actually launching. It was the fifth and to date FINAL post-SSME start RSLS abort in Shuttle Program history.

Post-abort inspections revealed that one of two sensor channels that measure the discharge temperature on the HPOT on SSME-3 registered a redline temperature at the time of the RSLS abort while the other channel was showing a near redline condition.

The HPOT temperature at the time of the RSLS abort was 1,563-degrees R. The redline RSLS abort limit for the HPOT at T-1.9secs in the countdown is 1,560-degrees R.

Endeavour was rolled off Pad-A on August 28 and returned to the VAB where all three of her SSMEs were replaced. She was returned to Pad-A on September 13. This second pad flow was uneventful and resulted in an on time liftoff on September 30 at 07:16:00.068 EDT.

During the 11-day ’round-the-clock mission, Endeavour’s crew worked with SIR-C and X-SAR – making their second trip to space to study to Earth’s environment. The mission was collectively known as the Space Radar Laboratory 2 (SLR-2) flight.

The crew also worked with a Commercial Protein Crystal Growth Experiment, the Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor, and mouse-ear cress seedling growth in the CHROMEX-05 experiment.

The crew also successfully engineered an in-flight maintenance procedure to restore adequate cooling to the crystal growth experiment.

Endeavour landed successfully at Edwards AFB, CA on October 11 at 13:02.09 EDT.

Upon her return to the Kennedy Space Center, she spent just over three months in the OPF processing for STS-67. She was moved to the VAB on February 3, 1995 and out to Pad-A on February 8. The mission’s Launch Readiness Review was held on Feb. 13 with the FRR following on February 15.

The 3-day countdown began on February 27 at 02:00 EST.

Launch on March 2 was delayed for one minute at the T-5min mark when controllers needed additional time to verify the health of the B-supply secondary heater on Endeavour’s Flash Evaporator System – the system that supplies cooling to Endeavour systems prior to payload bay door opening on orbit.

Following this delay, Endeavour lifted off at 13:38.34 EST 2 March 1995. This marked the first Space Shuttle launch using the new Air Force Range Control Center.

Over the course of the near 17-day mission, dubbed Astro-2 – the second Spacelab mission dedicated to astronomical observations in the ultraviolet spectral regions – Endeavour’s crew used the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope, the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope, and the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment to collect data on over 600 targets ranging from objects inside the solar system to individual stars, nebulae, supernova remnants, galaxies, and active extragalactic objects.

Endeavour also carried in her middeck the Protein Crystal Growth Thermal Enclosure System Vapor Diffusion Apparatus-03 experiment, the Protein Crystal Growth Single Thermal Enclosure System-02, the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment-II, the Middeck Active Control Experiment, the Commercial Materials Dispersion Apparatus Instrumentation Technology Associates Experiments-03, and the Midcourse Space Experiment.

After 16days 15hrs 9mins 46secs in space, Endeavour returned to Earth, landing at Edwards AFB, CA at 16:47 EST 18 March 1995. To date, this mission stands as Endeavour’s longest flight – a record that could potentially be just barely broken on her final mission later this month (providing both mission extension days are used, as is one weather landing wave-off day).

After her return to Kennedy, Endeavour spent exactly three months in the OPF. After being mated with her External Tank for the mission, Endeavour and the STS-69 stack was rolled out to Pad-A on July 5. Liftoff was targeted for August 4, but was placed on hold as engineers and mission managers evaluated a problem discovered during post-flight inspections of STS-71′s Solid Rocket Boosters O-ring joint seals.

On August 1, Endeavour/STS-69 was rolled back from Pad-A due to the approach of Hurricane Erin. This was the 10th rollback in Shuttle Program history. Endeavour was returned to Pad-A on August 8 and a launch date of August 31 was set at the FRR.

On launch day, before fueling of the ET began, Mission Managers decided to delay the launch of Endeavour due to the failure (temperature spike) of one of three fuel cells (Fuel Cell #2).

After four days, the Fuel Cell was replaced and the launch countdown began again for a now-targeted September 7 launch.

On September 7, the Closeout Crew experienced problems with the seals on Endeavour’s crew module hatch. The hatch was reopened, closed again, and a good seal verified. After this was resolved, Endeavour successfully launched for the 9th time on September 7, 1995 at 11:09:00.052 EDT.

During the 11-day mission, Endeavour’s crew deployed and recaptured the Wake Shield Facility (a free flying satellite design to “grow thin films in a near perfect vacuum created by the wake of the satellite as it moves through space”), deployed and recaptured the Spartan 201 satellite (designed to investigate the interaction of the sun and its outflowing wind of charged particles), and performed the 30th EVA of the Space Shuttle Program – an EVA to test construction practices for the International Space Station and to test thermal improvements made to the EMUs, or spacesuits.

NASA teams recommend Early Release of Shuttle OPF-3

Chris Bergin — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 04:45:12 +0000

With Discovery safely back on the ground after becoming the first orbiter to successfully complete all of the missions assigned to her, NASA is beginning the process of shutting down processing operations in Florida. Specifically, NASA and the Space Shuttle Program are preparing to release Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 from service earlier than anticipated, thereby eliminating one of three OPFs capable of handling orbiter T&R (Transition and Retirement) processing.

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).

STS-119: FCVs set for weekend installation – surprise visitor for Endeavour

Chris Bergin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 03:48:08 +0000

Discovery is scheduled to receive the replacement Flow Control Valves (FCVs) over the weekend, ahead of a key flight rationale meeting at the Agency level Flight Readiness Review (FRR) next week. Meanwhile, a small bird managed to find its way into the Payload Bay of Endeavour.

STS-119 Pad Flow:

Processing at the pad remains on schedule for the February 12 launch target, with closeouts for flight continuing on the vehicle.

“S1287 Orbiter Aft Closeout: Aft Avionics bay closeouts are complete,” noted Friday processing information on L2. “SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engines) walk-downs are in work today.”

Only one issue of note is being worked, relating to Orbiter Electrical engineering noting a failed HI-POT TEST at pin x of 54P111, MEC (Main Engine Controller) 1 Interface. This was classed as a constraint for call-to-stations for Final Ordnance Installation.

Safety enhancements dominate STS-126 Flight Readiness Reviews

Chris Bergin — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 03:20:35 +0000

As Space Shuttle Endeavour continues to enjoy a smooth processing flow at pad 39A, Space Shuttle Program (SSP) managers have completed a series of Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs) ahead of the STS-126 launch in two weeks time.

Among the various departments presenting their reviews of Endeavour’s systems during the SSP FRR last week was the Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) board – bringing forth a wide range of presentations from Return To Launch Site (RTLS) abort safety upgrades to the introduction of a new Launch on Need (LON) mission configuration.

Launch Issues:

The first item presented to the SSP FRR by the SE&I related to the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) – specifically, a trending decrease in the Over Board Mixture Ratio (OBMR).

“STS-123 Post Flight Reconstruction showed lowest OBMR since RTF (Return to Flight). All available Fuel Bias was consumed (around 1200 lbs),” notes the Shuttle Program FRR document available for download on L2.

Despite this critical situation, the presentation notes that Endeavour/STS-123 was not in any danger of a Low Level Cutoff – via the Engine CutOff (ECO) sensors – because the mission had a positive Ascent Performance Margin.

Furthermore, the presentation notes that a “review of previous flight data (indicates) a decreasing trend in OBMR beginning about STS-114.”
(CLICK HERE image for a video example of a Low Level Cutoff taken from the full L2-based MCC video.)

A Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) – which took place in July 2008 – not only confirmed the low OBMR readings, but also put forth a plan to mitigate this critical situation on future flights.

“MPS inventory is being updated per normal reconstruction processes – in work for STS-119 and subsequent flights.”

Since STS-126 will fly before this mitigation plan can be implemented fleet-wide, the SSP has designed a work-around option relating to the SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine) Control Mixture Ratio (CMR). As such, Endeavour will be the first vehicle to fly with a new SSME CMR of 6.049 mru.

With over 10,000 seconds of testing at this higher CMR already documented, the numerical data has given engineers and SSP managers confidence that the new CMR will mitigate the OBMR issue – which, since RTF, has been the most severe on Endeavour’s flights.

The second major topic of discussion in the SE&I presentation related to the new OI-33 software debuting on STS-126, as first noted in the MOD FRR presentations.

With this software upgrade, several noteworthy safety improvements to the RTLS flight profile will be achieved, the most significant being a 60 percent reduction in a Loss of Crew scenario.

“A RTLS abort has the most risk of any intact abort, with the External Tank (ET) Separation phase being the biggest threat,” notes the associated SSP FRR presentation.

Implementation of the OI-33 software provides several RTLS specific safety modifications including: Improved Reaction Control System jet selection logic, Rudder Speed Brake operations, improved steering commands during powered and mated coast phases of flight, and “trajectory design changes in the Alpha profile during the Powered Pitch Down phase (last 20 seconds of powered flight) to improve the initial separation condition” between the Orbiter and the ET.

In addition to these enhancements, the OI-33 software will increase the overall success rate for a RTLS abort without a GPC failure to 99.67 percent from 96 percent. The software will also increase the overall success rate for a RTLS abort with a GPC failure to 97 percent from 84 percent..

Another enhancement offered by the OI-33 software is Enhanced Crew Situational Awareness during ascent and entry.

The SE&I presentation notes that “two new graphical displays that enhance on-board situational awareness and no-comm abort selection capabilities” have been added to the bearing displays.

Also, the new software will “integrate data to provide on-board information on current vehicle location and performance” to the Commander and Pilot.

Debris Assessments and Imagery:

Another issue – or rather an update to an ongoing issue – is the debris assessment calculations for STS-126.

“Three debris risks remain at the 3/5 level for STS-126,” notes the FRR presentation. “ET redesigns and process-oriented debris mitigations since RTF have significantly reduced the risk to the vehicle” and crew.

With improved debris risk categorization techniques and continued improvements to the ET, a significant reduction in the “Infrequent/Catastrophic” risk category has been observed since shuttle launches resumed in 2005.

Nevertheless, debris is still a risk for Endeavour, with Lift-off Debris, Umbilical Ice, and Orbiter Putty Repair listed as the three remaining “Infrequent/Catastrophic” debris risks for the mission.

Furthermore, as with all missions, a complete review of the imagery hardware was reviewed to ensure that all necessary photographs can be obtained during Endeavour’s ascent.

The presentation notes that the ET camera and flash system in one of Endeavour’s umbilical wells is ready to support the mission, whether it launches in darkness or daylight; also, four new thermal imaging cameras and six visual-range cameras around Pad A are ready to support flame trench monitoring efforts when Endeavour launches.

For the visual-range cameras, “two high powered flood lights placed near each camera site (will) help illuminate the exit of the SRB flame trench,” notes the FRR presentation.

Also, two new HD cameras have been mounted on the Fixed Service Structure.

Information late this week also confirmed the installation of special sensors into the flame trench, which will monitor the condition of the repaired fondu frye concrete – following the serious damage suffered during STS-124′s launch.

During that launch, thousands of bricks were blown out of the flame trench, with infrared video showing multiple objects rising as high as the top of the Fixed Service Structure (FSS).

While shuttle manager John Shannon recently noted that the objects weren’t bricks – some were found on the MLP (Mobile Launch Platform) Zero Level. The debris include throat plugs from the SRBs and debris created by the SRB water baggies that are destroyed at T-0.

However, video evidence proved to be mainly inconclusive, due to the white out suffered by the brightness of the SRBs during the opening seconds of ascent.

The new imaging cameras will be better able to cope with this issue, providing additional video data in the event of a debris incident.

Launch on Need:

Also debuting with STS-126 is a change to the Launch on Need (LON) orbiter configuration.

“In the event of call-up, the STS-119 Base Mass Memory would be flown on OV-103 using STS-119 Base Load and associated products and flight specific I-load patches,” notes the presentation.

As such, should a LON situation develop during STS-126 (which is highly unlikely), NASA would use the “fly the next flight” approach. Essentially, Discovery would fly the full-up STS-119 mission profile, complete with the S6 Truss, to rescue the Endeavour crew.

Moreover, Discovery’s rescue mission would still conduct the Boundary Layer Transition Detailed Test Objective, a test that Discovery is currently undergoing modifications for in OPF-3.

As always, dissenting opinions within the SE&I were sought, but none were identified.

L2 members: All documentation – from which the above article has quoted snippets – is available in full in the related L2 sections, now over 4000 gbs in size.

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Endeavour arrives at Pad 39A – STS-125 damage assessment

Chris Bergin — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:49:44 +0000

Space shuttle Endeavour has been escorted on a mini tour of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) pads this morning, after she was transported off Pad 39B for a seven hour journey to Pad 39A.

The move was set to take place on Saturday. However, poor weather is expected in the local area this weekend - which threatened to delay Endeavour taking up residency at 39A – led to the decision to move the stack ahead of schedule.

The STS-126 payload (MPLM) was transferred to Pad A early on Wednesday morning, with the payload canister’s lowering from the Payload Checkout Room (PCR) – in order to make way for Endeavour – carried out ahead of the required schedule.

“Moisture associated with an area of disturbed weather over the Caribbean near Central America is still likely to move over FL with the threat of rain and possible severe weather late Thursday thru Saturday morning,” noted processing information on L2.

“Due to pending weather, preparations are in work to move Pad B to Pad A rollaround into Thursday. Payload canister lowering is a constraint to this move (now complete).”

Endeavour departed Pad 39B at around 08:30 local time, before heading to the fork in the crawlerway that branches off between the two shuttle pads, followed by the to move forward on to Pad 39A, for arrival at around 15:00. Due to overheating bearings, her arrival took an additional hour.

The Rotating Service Structure (RSS) will then close to the mate position between 18:00-19:00, as STS-126 prepares for the next launch preparation milestone – the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TDCT), which is scheduled to take place at from October 27 to 29.

Engineers will also check Endeavour’s left OMS Pod, following a contact issue between the RSS and the orbiter during retract operations. No visible damage has been observed after the incident – which was mitigated by the immediate halting of the RSS operation when the contact was spotted.

“Elephant hide (protective padded sheet) covering the side seal motor contacted the left OMS pod during RSS retract. The RSS retract was immediately halted and the RSS was taken back to the mate position to provide access,” noted Thursday morning processing information.

“The elephant hide was removed and RSS retract was then completed successfully. There was no visible damage to the left OMS pod. An engineering evaluation will be underway.”

Meanwhile, Atlantis is now safely back inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where she will remain – pending confirmation she won’t require de-stacking – for the next couple of months.

Due to the liberation of a stainless steel support rod from Atlantis’ FRCS (Forward Reaction Control System) ahead of her rollback from Pad 39A, evaluations are continuing to take place on the STS-125 stack.

Three areas of damage have been found on External Tank (ET-127), along with a ding on an aft booster separation motor.

“Performed a walkdown from B-roof to MLP (Mobile Launch Platform) 0 Level in VAB HB-3 with Lockheed Martin, NASA ET Mechanical, and Boeing,” noted information on L2.

“Two impacts were observed at (station) XT-1623, these locations are accessible from D Roof but would require some access since they are located about six feet out of arms reach.

“The first one was approximately five inches in length and the second one four inches in length both with an unknown depth. One impact was observed at XT-1800, this would be a challenging area to access since it is about six feet above the thrust strut knuckle and would most likely require access being built. This impact is approximately four inches in length but appears to have a shallow depth.

“All three areas will probably require a hands on assessment including red dye because of the nature of the damage and would be addressed per. Depending on the depth of the defects after assessment we would potentially have two options.

“If the defect is fairly shallow it could be as simple as a sand and blend, however if it extends to deep we would most likely be in a PDL foam repair situation.

“Damage was noted at LH (Left Hand) single BSM (Booster Separation Motor) TPS (Thermal Protection System), approx 1/4 inch ding.”

L2 members: All documentation – from which the above article has quoted snippets – is available in full in the related L2 sections, now over 4000 gbs in size.

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