NEEMO:

The mission was set to begin on October 17. However, poor weather in the region delayed “splashdown” to NET (No Earlier Than) Thursday, with the teammembers currently under a tornado watch. The team have still been working through their pre-mission “training week”, taking advantage of all the assets now at the location.

NASA astronaut and former International Space Station (ISS) crew member Shannon Walker will lead the 15th expedition. The Crew includes Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi and Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques from the 2009 NASA astronaut class.

Steven Squyres of Cornell University and scientific principal investigator for the Mars Exploration Rover Project, will join James Talacek and Nate Bender of the University of North Carolina, Wilmington – who are both professional aquanauts.

NASA astronauts Stan Love, Richard Arnold and Mike Gernhardt, all veteran spacewalkers, will participate in the NEEMO mission from the DeepWorker submersible, which they will pilot.

The DeepWorker is a small submarine used as an underwater stand-in for the Multi Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV), which is currently the leading concept to be the main NEO exploration vehicle on site at the asteroid, utilizing its robotic arms and crew airlock.

These submarines arrived at the Key Largo local via the Liberty Star, one of the ships which was tasked with recovering the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) from the Atlantic after a shuttle launch.

All elements of the underwater mission will mirror what is currently planned for a deep space mission, involving the Space Launch System (SLS) superior lift capability to loft any of all of the hardware into orbit, the Orion (MPCV) crew vehicle (x2), the MMSEV, and a Deep Space Hab (DSH).

The DSH is a required element of the mission, as the crew will expect – at least via the “Flexible Path” NEO mission examples – to spend half a year in space, of which around 14 days will be spent conducting the mission goals at the asteroid.

Also see NASASpaceflight.com’s Flexible Path Review:
Part 1: Battle of the Heavy Lift Launchers – Monster 200mt vehicle noted
Part 2: Manned mission to construct huge GEO and deep space telescopes proposed
Part 3: NASA Flexible Path Evaluation of 2025 human mission to visit an asteriod
Part 4: Taking Aim on Phobos – NASA outline Flexible Path precursor to Man on Mars

With NASA’s Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) involved in simulating their role of “Plan, Train, Fly” (PTF) – which starts with mission outline planning, right through to working the mission proper – a graphical representation of the deep space mission was made available via their outline presentations (L2).

Mission scenarios are portrayed in graphics showing a spacewalker using a grid of “excursion lines”, accompanied by the MMSEV, whilst an Orion loiters in close proximity, itself attached to a DSH module and a second Orion.

NEEMO 15 will work on three major elements of a NEO mission, such as how to anchor to the surface via the “excursion lines”; how to move around; and how best to collect data.

This will allow for the evaluation of different anchoring methods and how to connect the multiple anchors to form pathways. The aquanauts and engineers will evaluate different strategies for deploying instruments and moving along a surface without gravity.

Per MOD documentation, four asteroid mission scenarios are being studied at a planning level, listed as Condition 4 through 7, opening with three crewmembers heading out into deep space – one remaining in the Deep Space Hab (DSH), while the remaining two conduct an EVA on the NEO, prior to moving up to the involvement of a MMSEV hosting the two crewmembers excursion to the asteroid’s surface.

The Condition 6 and 7 mission profiles are based on a crew of four, with one scenario seeing three crewmembers work inside the SEV at the asteroid, whilst one remains in the DSH. The other scenario involves all four crewmembers heading to the asteroid, in two SEVs.

While the underwater environment provides the nearest training scenario possible – with deep coral reefs 19 meters below the surface - enforced simulation scenarios will include the expected delay in real-time communications between the crew in deep space and Mission Control.

NEEMO’s mission includes a remote Mission Control Centers (MCC) – established both in Key Largo and building 30 room 211 at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) – which will exercise time delay communication protocols, along with advanced planning and timeline development tools.

The remote MCC is the same equipment trailer as that being used for NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS) and the international Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP) simulations, which are also focused on NEO training, along with Mars surface missions.

Jeremy Hansen and Jeanette Epps, members of the 2009 astronaut class, are the capsule communicators for the mission. Hansen is from the Canadian Space Agency, and Epps from NASA.

“NEEMO 15 will require complex choreography between the submarines and aquanauts living and working in their undersea home,” said Bill Todd, NEEMO project manager.

“Researching the challenges of exploring an asteroid surface in the undersea realm will be exciting for fans of exploration pioneers Cousteau and Armstrong alike.”

While SLS and Orion mission architecture remains under design at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) – which may now include more of an initial interest in the Moon - NASA’s overall plan continues to note a mid 2020s mission to a NEO, which would provide deep space evaluation of the hardware ahead of an eventual mission to Mars or one of its moons - such as Phobos.

The NEO mission will involve humans travelling further into space than ever before.

(Images: L2 Content, NASA, NEEMO)

(As the shuttle fleet retire, NSF and L2 are providing full transition level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles.)

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NEEMO – NEO:

Owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and managed by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Aquarius operates 3.5 miles off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It is deployed next to deep coral reefs 19 meters below the surface.

While it is in regular use by numerous scientists – such as marine biologists – 14 missions have already been conducted by NEEMO, which involves NASA crews – known as aquanauts – spending up to three weeks living underwater.

Of the 14 missions, 1 to 13 were used primarily for astronaut training, while NEEMO 14 tested equipment and operational concepts for space exploration. The May tests included MOD staff, who evaluated EVA tools, a Suit Port Alignment Guide, dive system configurations, and communications architecture at Aquarius.

NEEMO 15, scheduled for October 17-26, 2011, will continue this trend by testing equipment and operations required for exploration of Near-Earth Asteroids (Ne As).

For this mission, MOD will be fully involved, as the tests ramp up the simulation of EVAs on an asteroid, otherwise known as a Near Earth Object (NEO). Although NASA’s future plan is far from clear, a deep space mission to an asteroid is often cited as a stepping stone to an eventual Mars mission.

“From October 17-29th a crew of six aquanauts will live at the Aquarius underwater habitat in Key Largo, Florida. Mission will test techniques, tools, planning, and communication protocols in a simulated microgravity environment for human exploration of Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs),” noted an expansive MOD overview presentation (available on L2), which was produced on August 10.

“Focus on development of EVA tools and techniques for translation and geological sampling.”

The presentation provides an interesting insight into some of the techniques which would be employed on the first manned visit to an asteroid.

Mission scenarions are portrayed in graphics showing a spacewalker using a grid of “excursion lines”, accompanied by the MMSEV (Multi Mission Space Exploration Vehicle), whilst an Orion (MPCV) loiters in close proximity, itself attached to a deep space hab module and a second Orion.

“EVA Ops concepts for evaluation include: Networks of excursion lines. Crewmember anchoring and restraint techniques. Crewmember restraint on SEV robotic arm. Rock sample collection and containment tools,” the presentation added.

“Manned deepwater submersibles acting will simulate Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV).”

Whilst the simulated missions are being conducted, remote Mission Control Centers (MCC) – established both in Key Largo and building 30 room 211 at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) – will exercise time delay communication protocols, along with advanced planning and timeline development tools.

The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) in Houston is also being put to good use, allowing for the evaluation of tools which will be sent to the Florida exercises.

The cooperation between NASA MOD and NEEMO benefits both parties, with NEEMO gaining the vast experience of EVA training and execution conducted by the Houston team, whilst MOD broadens its unique mission experience and gains insight into the provisions required for exploration missions.

“NEEMO Benefits: Tools and operational concepts developed will be able to leverage a generation of successful EVA experience which has been earned in the Mission Operations community,” the presentation explained. “Understanding of human capability to operate tools, suits, and perform tasks during EVA. Ability to relate simulated underwater EVAs to a zero-g environment. Identification of simulation artifacts.

“MOD Benefits: Demonstrate capability to integrate a unique mission in MCC. Experience gained by providing mission control services to a program with unique data, video, command, and software requirements will be beneficial when marketing our capability to external partners.

“Early operational involvement in tools and ops concept testing improves efficiency, while reducing redesign iteration cycles prior ISS DTOs (Detailed Test Objectives) and exploration missions. EVA anchoring and geological sampling tools. Comm Delay and Autonomous Crew Planning.”

Although the final approval for the involvement of MOD is dependent on approving what is likely to be a relatively small amount of funding, the vast experience that can be gained from – as listed – a reduced gravity simulation, with SEV-analog vehicles, in an extreme environment, with flight-like environment for crew and comm delay ops concept testing, would provide an opportunity to build the baseline for a future NEO mission.

As far as potential NEO missions, the only documented targets – with any “mission related” detail – can be found via NASA’s unreleased post-Augustine Commission “Flexible Path” presentation (L2) and the 726 page Space Shuttle Program (SSP) SD (Shuttle Derived) HLV (Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle) assessment presentation (L2).

The SD HLV presentation – which mainly focuses on the use of the “Sidemount” HLV , but includes the Inline SD HLV as now confirmed as the design for SLS - lists a 304 day mission to Near Earth Object 2001 GP2, which would require a departure from Earth in 2019.

That mission timeline is – of course – all-but ruled out by the continued funding challenges and direction delays to a definitive Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) architecture plan, at both the political and agency level.

However, NASA’s Flexible Path presentation cited a mission to Near Earth Object 1999AO10, which require a launch date of January 2, 2026. NASA managers have recently noted that a NEO mission would likely occur in the middle of the next decade, making this target a viable example.

Per the Flexible Path findings, this mission would last only 155 days (versus 304 days for the NEO 2001 GP2 mission).

Also see NASASpaceflight.com’s Flexible Path Review:
Part 1: Battle of the Heavy Lift Launchers – Monster 200mt vehicle noted
Part 2: Manned mission to construct huge GEO and deep space telescopes proposed
Part 3: NASA Flexible Path Evaluation of 2025 human mission to visit an asteriod
Part 4: Taking Aim on Phobos – NASA outline Flexible Path precursor to Man on Mars

This 1999AO10 mission also revolves around the use of two HLVs, although they would likely have to launch within a relatively short period of time. Currently, the preliminary schedules for the Space Launch System (SLS) show such a mission date could be achievable, but the flight rate would require drastic alteration – at least for this NEO mission scenario.

The first HLV launch – per the Flexible Path approach – would place the Earth Departure Stage (EDS) and an “inflatable design Habitat” into orbit first. The higher propellant load Orion/SM (Service Module) is then placed in LEO on the second launch. This is a different sequence to that proposed in the SD HLV presentation, which launches the EDS on the first launch - after Orion, SM and Hab have already been launched.

There may be potential get-well to any issues with the HLV flight rate, such as finding an alternative Launch Vehicle for the Orion launch, and potentially the MMSEV – which is not directly referenced in either of the presentations for the NEO missions.

Per this scenario, the crew would spend 14 days working at the asteroid, which would include the collection of samples and potential “explosive seismic study of the NEO’s interior”.

Both of the referenced NEO missions also list the use of robotic pre-cursor missions – as much as the all of the mission examples remain notional until NASA’s exploration path has been clearly designed.

(Images: L2 Content, NASA, NEEMO)

(As the shuttle fleet retire, NSF and L2 are providing full transition level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles. 

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Expedition 28 EVA:

Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Alexander Samokutyaev are the crewmembers who conducted the spacewalk. Volkov, completed the third spacewalk of his career having previously conducted two spacewalks in 2008, was designated EV-1, and Samokutyaev, who was making his first ever spacewalk, was designated EV-2. Both Volkov and Samokutyaev sported the Russian Orlan-MK spacesuits marked with blue stripes.

Once the hatch of the Docking Compartment-1 (DC-1) “Pirs” was opened at 2:50 PM GMT, Volkov and Samokutyaev egressed the station to begin 5 hours and 57 minutes of scheduled tasks.

The first order of business for Volkov and Samokutyaev was to deploy a free-flying satellite. Known by the names of ARISSat-1 and Radioskaf-V, the 57 pound satellite was built using off-the-shelf components by Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the NASA Office of Education ISS National Lab Project, the Amateur Radio on ISS (ARISS) working group, and RSC-Energia.

It is designed as a prototype for a series of similar satellites that will carry up to four student experiments and transmit their data back to Earth via amateur radio. ARISSat-1 only carries one student experiment however – an atmospheric pressure sensor built at Kursk University in Russia.

Additionally though, in order to mark the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s spaceflight, it will transmit via amateur radio commemorative audio messages in 50 different languages, and still-frame Earth views from four onboard cameras.

Launched to the ISS aboard Progress M-09M/41P on January 28th, ARISSat-1 was originally scheduled for deployment during RS EVA-28 on February 16th, so that it could broadcast the commemorative messages during the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s launch on April 12th.

However, analysis showed that if it were deployed on EVA-28, then the satellite’s batteries would have depleted before April 12th, and so the decision was made not to deploy the satellite during EVA-28, but instead to briefly turn the satellite on inside the ISS on April 12th so that it could transmit its commemorative messages.

During the EVA, the satellite was manually jettisoned in a retrograde (aft) direction from the ISS, so that it will not pose a debris threat in the future. The satellite will eventually run out of power and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

This was supposed to be the first task of the spacewalk. However, after noticing only one – instead of two – antennas on the device, controllers asked to defer the task until later in the EVA to check the configuration.

After confirming one antenna was missing, controllers decided to press ahead and deploy the satellite, which was confirmed at 1:43pm Central time. There will be a 50 percent loss in performance due to the missing antenna.

Prior to this later-than-scheduled deploy, Volkov and Samokutyaev moved on to their second task – the installation of the BTLS-N (Onboard Laser Communications Terminal) monoblock experiment to the portable multipurpose workstation on the Starboard side (plane IV) of the Service Module (SM) Work Compartment (RO) large diameter section.

The BLTS-N will test high-speed test laser-based communications between ISS experiments and Earth at speeds of up to one-hundred megabytes per second.

The spacewalkers were also tasked with the removal of the AO-VKA antenna from the SM RO small diameter section. The AO-VKA antenna was used during the Mini Research Module-2 (MRM-2) “Poisk” docking in November 2009, but is no longer needed and so will be brought back inside the ISS.

Also completed by the spacewalkers was the photography of the WAL6 antenna of the Proximity Communications Equipment (PCE) antenna feeder unit on SM RO small diameter section.

The WAL6 antenna has been showing signs of degraded performance, and so the imagery will be used by engineers on the ground to determine the condition of the antenna and potentially determine a root cause.

Due to the problems with ARISSat-1′s delayed deployment, the major objective of the EVA – the three-hour relocation of the Strela-1 crane from DC-1 to MRM-2 – was cancelled from the EVA.

The two Strela cranes on the ISS are designed to move large components around outside the Russian Segment of the ISS. Their telescopic boom design allows them to extend, and they can be pointed toward a desired location by an astronaut controlling it from outside the station.

Both Strela cranes have been located on DC-1, with Strela-1 on the Starboard side and Strela-2 on the Port side.

The Strela relocation is required since DC-1 will need to be undocked from the ISS and disposed of in late 2012/early 2013 in order to free up the SM Nadir docking port for the arrival of the Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM).

Since the Strela cranes will be useful throughout the lifetime of the ISS, they must find a new home before DC-1 is disposed of.

The task – which will now take place on a later stage EVA – will involve the use of the Strela-2 crane, which will remain at its current location on DC-1 for now. After a special post is installed onto the end of Strela-2 (at a 90 degree angle to the boom), Strela-2 will be pointed at Strela-1, and the post will grapple Strela-1.

Once Strela-1 is detached from DC-1, Strela-2 will maneuver Strela-1 to the Port side of MRM-2 (which is right above Strela-2) using its telescopic ability. Strela-1 will then be installed onto MRM-2 and ungrappled from Strela-2.

With this major task cancelled, Volkov and Samokutyaev briefly returned to DC-1 to retrieve the Biorisk-MSN experiment, which will then be installed onto a handrail outside DC-1.

The Biorisk experiment will investigate the effects of bacteria and fungus on materials used in spacecraft construction, and how solar activity may affect the growth of such microbes.

The final tasks of the spacewalk saw Volkov and Samokutyaev photograph the SKK #1 materials exposure container on MRM-2, and the Komplast panel #11 on the Functional Cargo Block (FGB).

Another task carried out was the photography of a set of pictures showing influential Russian space figures Yuri Gagarin, Sergei Korolev, and Konstantin Tsiolkovski floating in the vacuum of space.

Once those tasks had been completed, Volkov and Samokutyaev headed back inside DC-1 to conclude the six hours, 23 minutes EVA, with ingress and hatch closure marked at 9:19 pm GMT (4:19 pm Central).

For the duration of the EVA, ISS Commander Andrey Borisenko and Flight Engineer-3 (FE-3) Ron Garan were isolated inside MRM-2, to which their Soyuz TMA-21/26S spacecraft is docked.

FE-6 Mike Fossum and FE-5 Satoshi Furukawa had access to every part of the station that is forward of the SM, since their Soyuz TMA-02M/27S spacecraft is docked at MRM-1, which in turn is located at the FGB Nadir port.

This “lockout” was necessary since all hatches leading to the SM Transfer Compartment (PKhO), to which DC-1, MRM-2 and the FGB are docked, must remain closed so that the PKhO can be used as a back-up airlock in the event that DC-1 cannot be repressurised.

However, per ISS flight rules, all crewmembers inside the ISS must have access to their Soyuz spacecraft in case an emergency occurs, and so all crewmembers must be on the same side of the hatch as their respective Soyuz spacecraft.

The next spacewalk (RS EVA-30) is currently scheduled to be conducted sometime in February 2012 – meaning that this EVA will be the last scheduled EVA of 2011, and the last scheduled EVA for six months.

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

With the Space Shuttle now retired, the tempo of spacewalk activity is expected to decrease markedly, with two or three Russian spacewalks, and only one US spacewalk being conducted annually.

Tasks previously conducted by US spacewalkers will now be conducted robotically by the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (SPDM) “Dextre” – which itself is set to conduct a series of complex tasks in the coming weeks, which will be covered in a future article here on NASASpaceflight.com.

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

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Flight Day 5 – Stage EVA:

Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Rex Walheim, and Sandy Magnus have begun the 5th flight day of their STS-135 mission to the International Space Station.

Waking up at 0256 EDT, the STS-135 flight crew joined their six ISS counterparts in final preparations for the only EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) – spacewalk – of the docked Atlantis mission.

However, this EVA is different than any other performed during the docked portion of a Space Shuttle mission to the ISS.

This EVA will not be performed by any Shuttle crewmembers, ISS crewmembers Mike Fossum (EV-1) and Ron Garan (EV-2) will perform the spacewalk.

To accomplish this, final EVA preparations began with In-Suit Light Exercise (ISLE) preparations by Fossum and Garan – with assistance of two other crewmembers.

The ISLE procedure was first tested during EVA-3 of the previous STS-134/Endeavour mission this past May.

After these preparations were complete, the spacewalking prep team began purging the two EMUs (Extravehicular Mobility Units) while STS-135/ISS crewmembers began transfer operations of equipment from the newly-mounted MPLM Raffaello to the ISS.

Approximately 15 minutes after EMU purge, Fossum and Garan began the ISLE to prepare their body’s for the EVA.

The ISLE replaces the traditional night-before campout in the Quest Airlock of the ISS – a procedure that also prepared spacewalking crews for their excursions.

Around two hours of ISLE prebreathe activities, Fossum and Garan transferred to the crew lock portion of the Quest, where crew lock depressurization followed.

Following depressurization, Fossum and Garan officially took their EMUs to battery power – an event which officially began the EVA slight later than originally scheduled.

After egressing the Quest Airlock, Garan and Fossum spent the first hour of the EVA undertaking setup operations for their first task: Pump Module (PM) transfer from its storage location on the ISS to its return to Earth position in Atlantis’s Payload Bay (PLB).

For Garan, this involved translating over the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System, or robot arm) and setting it up a foot restraint on one end of the arm. For Fossum, setup activities included installation of COLTS.

Then, about an hour after stepping outside the ISS, both Garan and Fossum began a half-hour procedure to remove the PM FRAM from External Stowage Platform -2.

After this was accomplished, Ron Garan – on the end of the SSRMS – grabbed ahold of the PM while Fossum made the final release of the FRAM.

Garan then maintained his grip on the PM and maneuvered on the end of the SSRMS from the ISS into the aft end of Atlantis’s PLB. Fossum translated down to and into the PLB on his own.

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

Once Garan and Fossum were in position, they mounted the PM FRAM onto the LMC (Lightweight Multipurpose Support Structure Carrier) in the aft end of the PLB. The transfer and berthing of the PM took approximately 1hr.

Once that task was accomplished, Garan was maneuvered to the top side of the LMC. Fossum also moved to this location. 

Fossum then detached the Robotics Refueling Mission (RRM) payload while Garan grabbed ahold of it.

After its removal from the LMC, Garan then moved back to the ISS toward the Enhanced ORU (Orbital Replacement Unit) Temp Platform (ETOP). Both Fossum and Garan attached the RRM to the ETOP.

This operation was scheduled to take Garan and Fossum 3hrs 45mins into the EVA, as proved to be the case as the duo matched the planned timeline almost by the minute.

Garan then dismounted from the SSRMS and Fossum moved in to “clean up” the arm – which involved removing the foot restraint at its end.

While Fossum carried out the task, Garan moved on to retrieve MISSE-8 (Materials on ISS Experiment -8) and installed it onto Express Logistics Carrier -2 (ELC-2).

MISSE-8 is the Optical Reflector Materials Experiment Ram/Wake (ORMatE-III R/W). This operation took 1 hour 15minutes.

Around 45mintes of SSRMS cleanup, Mike Fossum moveed on to start the first of several “get ahead” tasks.

After his work on MISSE-8, Garan also began performing “get ahead” tasks.

In order, the Program Approved “get ahead” tasks for this EVA were: PMA-3 (Pressurized Mating Adaptor 3) thermal cover installation, and the FGB (Function Cargo Block) PDGF (Power Data Grapple Fixture) 1553 cable installation.

Also included were the FGB PDGF groundwire reconfiguration; Port CETA (Crew Equipment Translation Aid) cart reconfiguration; SSRMS end-B elbow CLPA (Camera/Light/Pan tilt Assembly) replacement; S1 FHRC P-clamp removal; and Gap spanner installation.

While not all of these “get ahead” tasks had to be performed, the trouble-free spacewalk allowed the duo to finish the last even EVA during a shuttle mission in style, with no outstanding task.

Approximately 45 minutes before the end of the EVA, Fossum and Garan began EVA clean-up operations before translating back to the Quest Airlock.

The EVA ended after 6hours and 31minutes.

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

(Images: Via L2 content and NASA.gov. Further articles on STS-135 will be produced during and after her mission, driven by L2′s STS-135 Special Section which is following the mission at MMT/MER level, surrounded by a wealth of FRR/PRCB/MER/MMT and SSP documentation/pressentations, videos, images and more.

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The Final Space Shuttle Spacewalk:

With Flight Day 12 (FD-12) for Endeavour and her STS-134 crew come four important and truly historic milestones: the final EVA/Spacewalk of the Space Shuttle Program, the final Station construction EVA by non-ISS crewmembers (as currently scheduled), the permanent transfer of Endeavour’s Orbiter Boom Sensor System from the Shuttle itself to the International Space Station, and the 1000th hour of spacewalking time dedicated to construction of the International Space Station.

After waking up at 1956 EDT, Mike Fincke and Greg Chamitoff emerged from the Quest Airlock where they spent the night “camping out” for their final foray into the vacuum of space.

After a brief, 30-minute hygiene break, Fincke and Chamitoff returned to Quest to begin final preparations for their spacewalk, or EVA – Extra-Vehicular Activity. Once the crew lock of Quest was depressurized to 10.2 psi, spacesuit purge was conducted as the spacewalking duo donned their tell-tale white EMUs (Extravehicular Mobility Units).

Once the crew lock was completely depressurized, Fincke and Chamitoff took their EMUs to battery power and officially began the final Space Shuttle crew spacewalk in history at 4:02 Central time.

However, per the mission timeline, just before the duo took their spacesuits to battery power, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), or robot arm, reached out from the Station and grappled Endeavour’s OBSS – which itself was grappled by the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS).

Fincke and Chamitoff began their EVA excursion with an egress from the Quest Airlock on the Station. At this same, per the written EVA timeline, the Endeavour crew commanded the SRMS to ungrapple the OBSS – marking the official handoff of Endeavour’s long-serving and extremely important OBSS from Endeavour to the Station, and by extension from the Space Shuttle Program to the International Space Station Program.

Interestingly enough, the handoff of Endeavour’s OBSS to the ISS marked the final element of Space Shuttle flight hardware to be permanently deployed on and attached to the ISS – bringing a full circle to Endeavour’s career as the Space Shuttle orbiter that both began construction of the International Space Station and completed U.S. assembly of the iconic orbiting laboratory.

Moreover, this marked Endeavour, two times over, the only Space Shuttle orbiter to launch with an OBSS and not return with it.

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

The previous mission to do so was STS-123/Endeavour in March 2008. During that flight, Endeavour’s crew (of which Greg Johnson was a part of as well) also performed a docked late-inspection of OV-105’s Wing Leading Edge Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels before deploying their OBSS on the Station for use by the next Shuttle mission: STS-124/Discovery.

After exiting the ISS, Fincke and Chamitoff moved out to the S0/S1 truss and provide visual and audio commentary/directions as the SSRMS is used to lower and berth the OBSS to its already installed stanchions.

Once SSRMS manoeuvring ops were complete, Fincke and Chamitoff began OBSS post-berth securing operations.

Unlike the similar STS-123 EVA to attach the OBSS to the station, this mission will not feature OBSS “keep alive” activities for the dedicated sensor packs on the boom’s scanning end. Since the sensors will no longer be needed for any Space Shuttle orbiter TPS evaluations, the sensors will be allowed to “die” and decay.

After initial securing operations are complete, Fincke and Chamitoff translated over to the P6 truss and retrieved a stowed Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF), which they brought back to the OBSS at the S0/S1 truss.

Once back at the OBSS, Fincke and Chamitoff started to remove the boom’s End Effector Grapple Fixture – the grapple fixture which, until now, allowed the Endeavour’s SRMS to grapple and control and interface with the OBSS.

However, this Shuttle-ready interface unit on the OBSS is not compatible with requirements of the Station’s SSRMS. Thus, the EFGF was removed from the OBSS and stowed on the Station’s Tool Stowage Assembly.

Chamitoff was then tasked with installing the PDGF onto the OBSS – which will allow the SSRMS to grapple the OBSS at its end point and allow for maximum reach and utility of the OBSS as a Station-based asset for future ISS crews.

After this, Greg Chamitoff began an inspection of the OTP before joining Mike Finke at Canadian-built Dextre (or the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator). During their work on Dextre, Fincke and Chamitoff released a retention system on the spare robotics arm.

Interestingly enough, the final Space Shuttle crew to perform work on Dextre was a crew of Endeavour. Endeavour was the orbiter that delivered Dextre to the International Space Station on the STS-123 mission.

After this, Fincke and Chamitoff performed a few “get ahead” tasks before cleaning up and ingressing the Space Station, but not before Chamitoff paid tribute to Endeavour, the ISS and the thousands of workers involved in constructing the orbital outpost.

“This is the last flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour and it’s also the last spacewalk of shuttle crewmembers and for station assembly,” noted the spacewalker from the “top” of the Station.

“It’s kinda fitting that Endeavour is here, ’cause Endeavour was the first shuttle to begin construction of the station, and so it’s fitting that she’s here for the last mission for station assembly. 

“During this EVA we passed collectively over 1000 hours of spacewalks that is part of station assembly.

“Mike and I have the honor here to share this last spacewalk and of course for all the folks working on the ground, thousands of people helped build this – working in the shuttle and station program – we’re floating here on the shoulders of giants.

“This space station is the pinnacle of human achievement and international cooperation. Twelve years of building and 15 countries and now it’s a cornerstone in the sky and hopefully the doorstep to our future.

“So congratulations everybody on assembly complete. Ok, time to go home.”

At the completion of EVA-4, officially marking the end of a 7 hour and 24 minute EVA, Mike Fincke is ~13hrs shy of breaking the all-time American/NASA astronaut endurance record for cumulative time spent in space. Currently, the record is held by now-Chief of the Astronaut Office Peggy Whitson. Fincke is due to surpass her 377-day record at ~8pm EDT Friday.

Space Shuttle EVA History:

Since Space Shuttle EVA operations began on the STS-6/Challenger mission in April 1983, astronauts have spent thousands of hours building a space station, helping maintain MIR, saving/upgrading/servicing the Hubble Space Telescope, servicing satellites in orbit, and learning new and innovative ways to work in the confines of a large, bulky pressure suit.

Of the 162 spacewalks performed over the life of the Space Shuttle Program, 121 of those have been performed since the STS-88/Endeavour mission in December 1998 – the mission that began construction of the International Space Station.

Before the era of the ISS, only 41 Space Shuttle spacewalks were performed: a handful in support of joint Shuttle/MIR operations, a few designed to test concepts for Space Station construction, and numerous EVAs to retrieve, repair, and re-release satellites in Low Earth Orbit – including 10 dedicated to Hubble.

However, not all of the 121 ISS-era spacewalks were in support of ISS construction. In fact, 108 of those 121 spacewalks have been conducted in support of construction of the International Space Station over the course of only 36 missions.

The remaining 13 (still a whopping number) were performed over the course of three missions (STS-103/Discovery, STS-109/Columbia, and STS-125/Atlantis) in support of maintenance and upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope.

In all, a whopping 23 EVAs were undertaken by the crews of just five Space Shuttle missions to save, service, repair, and upgrade the Hubble – our window on the universe.

But more striking here at the completion of EVA-4 for STS-134, is the coincidence – once again – with Endeavour.

Today’s spacewalk marked the 4th and final spacewalk of Endeavour’s STS-134 mission. The first time four spacewalks were conducted on a single mission was back on STS-49 in May 1992 – the maiden voyage of Endeavour.

Similarly, Endeavour was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to perform five back-to-back spacewalks on single mission – an achievement that has never been topped, only equalled.

Click here for Endeavour’s full history:
Part 1: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/04/space-shuttle-endeavour-a-new-beginning-part-i/
Part 2: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/04/ov-105-endeavour-a-long-standing-dream-realized/

Moreover, 161 of these 162 historic walks in space have been conducted with only two astronauts. Only one has ever been conducted with more than two astronauts; STS-49 (Endeavour’s maiden voyage) saw a three-person spacewalk on EVA-3 of that mission.

And while today represents a Shuttle crew’s last foray into the vacuum of space, we remember the skill and dedication of all individuals – both those in space and especially those on the ground… the hundreds of unnamed planners and trainers and supporters of our EVA undertakings – involved in all the spacewalks across the program.

But most importantly, as we mark the closing of another highly visible and significant chapter of the Space Shuttle Program, we take with us the lessons we have learned from our spacewalking enterprises, and we thank the thousands of men and woman around the world who have supported these valiant efforts in Low Earth Orbit.

(Images via L2 presentations, videos and images – plus L2 Historical and NASA.gov). Extensive coverage is being provided on the news site, forum and L2 special sections – the latter of which is the world’s best front row seat to Shuttle missions. With specific and extensive flight day coverage, from interactive “one stop” FD live coverage in the open forum, to internal documentation, photos, videos and content in the specific L2 FD areas).

Related posts:

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STS-134 EVA-3:

After waking at 6:56pm Central time, Endeavour’s crew returned to a heavy workload after two days which mainly consisting of off duty time, split by the historic Soyuz photography event – which they were scheduled to be sleeping through, though apparently weren’t – inbetween Flight Days 8 and 9.

After pre-sleep tasks, the crew helped the spacewalking duo through one of the new operations on the ISS, which tasked STS-134′s crew with one ISS-based spacewalk to be performed without the now-customary overnight campout of the EVA crew in the Quest Airlock.

Instead, a “new pre-breathe protocol will be used for the first time on EVA 3,” as previewed in STS-134 Flight Readiness Review (FRR) documentation (L2).

The In-Suit Light Exercise (ISLE) EVA Pre-Breathe Protocol is being used as a new way of pre-EVA conditioning the space crews set to head outside of the orbital outpost. While the goal was to debut the protocol for EVA-3, the FRR presentations note that the procedure will be evaluated “post EVA 3 to determine whether ISLE will be used on EVA 4.”

The procedure does not require overnight campout in the Quest Airlock or CEVIS exercise. It is anticipated that this procedure will help conserve oxygen usage aboard the ISS, which will save on vital upmass, which will be notably reduced once the shuttle fleet retire this year.

For the actual procedure, the two spacewalkers performed a 60-minute mask pre-breathe with the airlock depressed to 10.2 psi. They then donned their spacesuits (EMUs) and performed standard EMU purge before the airlock was repressurized to ISS ambient levels.

Following this, the EVA crew spent 100 minutes performing in-suit pre-breathe, 50 minutes of which will consist of light in-suit exercise with 50 minutes of resting (nominal) in-suit pre-breathe.

The crew had been trained in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) to limit their exertion and minimize cycling on the suits.

Feustel and Fincke then kicked off EVA-3 by egressing the Quest Airlock and headed into setup work at the Zarya module in preparation for the additional of a power and data grapple fixture to its exterior.

They translated to tools and equipment that were used to remove caps covering the installation location.

They then returned to the Quest airlock and bring out the grapple fixture and the interface equipment to which it will attach to, called the PAMA.

The size of the hardware required both spacewalkers to carry it together. The EVA also consisted of several photographic exercises.

Once they arrive back at Zarya, they installed the PAMA and the attached grapple fixture.  Now installed, the duo moved on to connecting numerous cables to set the up the system. The EVA lasted six hours and 54 minutes.

Controllers decided against a go ahead task of installing and routing external 1553 cables for FGB PDGF during the spacewalk, which is likely to be conducted during EVA-4.

That final EVA is on the schedule for STS-134 is to be conducted on Flight Day 12, which will involve Fincke and Greg Chamitoff will install the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) at the Starboard 0/Starboard 1 truss interface, swap out of the OBSS grapple fixtures, retrieval of the Port 6 truss segment power and data grapple fixture, and release of retention systems on the Dextre spare robotic arm.

Endeavour’s Status:

The youngest orbiter in the fleet continues to behave very well on orbit, despite leaving overnight messages of complaint for her crew once they had awoken.

The messages – which did not result in any alarms – related to a power supply issue on APU 2′s (Auxiliary Power Unit) Gas Generator, which had become intermittent. By the time controllers on the ground had started to discuss the next course of action, the power supply was seen to have recovered.

However, the action to switch the power supply to a second string continues to show nominal results, with monitoring to continue throughout the flight day. The issue has no relation to the APU heater string issues which caused the launch delay to allow for troubleshooting.

Otherwise, Endeavour is performing without any issues which hold the potential for a mission impact, with no engineering issues on her systems being worked.

“System Status: Subsystem performance is nominal. The PRSD (Power Reactant Storage and Distributation) O2/H2 manifold 2 isolation valves were cycled closed for crew sleep at 142:15:32 GMT and reopened at 143:02:25 GMT,” noted the latest Mission Evaluation Room (MER) information (L2).

“All Life Support systems performance is nominal. Total GN2 Qty: 308.6 lbm. Waste Tank Qty: 43.2 percent 74.5 lbm. Total Supply H2O Qty: 557.4 lbm.”

Despite a SSPTS (Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System) OPCU 1 (Orbiter Power Converter Units) Fault Isolator Trip charged as a “funny” – a classification for a minor issue – by the MER, cryo margins for Endeavour continue to show excellent margin.

“CRYO Margins (above 16+0+2 day mission) O2 limited: 1 day 15 hours (non-SSPTS). 3 day 8 hours (SSPTS on),” added the MER report, which in turn played into the ISS requesting a mission extension by one day.

“ISS has requested extending the mission one additional day. ISS could save significant Stage time by having the Shuttle stay another day and the SSP is looking at what the impacts would be to consumables and sub-systems,” noted MMT information (L2).

“EVA-3 is currently scheduled for Wednesday (FD10) followed by docked late inspection on Thursday (FD11).  If the additional day is approved, it is likely to be inserted on Thursday, moving EVA-4 to Friday.”

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

However, despite the aforementioned cryo margins and Endeavour’s excellent performance, the crew office noted concerns for STS-134′s crew on what is already a very long mission, given the request wasn’t based on a very strong mission requirement.

As a result, Tuesday’s MMT opted against the additional day.

(Extensive coverage is being provided on the news site, forum and L2 special sections – the latter of which is the world’s best front row seat to Shuttle missions. With specific and extensive flight day coverage, from interactive “one stop” FD live coverage in the open forum, to internal documentation, photos, videos and content in the specific L2 FD areas).

No related posts.

EVA-2: SARJ, Dextre, and ammonia coolant work:

After beginning their day at 2126 EDT, Endeavour’s flight crew got right to work preparing for the mission’s second EVA.

After a 50-minute hygiene break for Drew Feustel (EV-1) and Mike Finke (EV-2), the two returned to the ISS’ Quest Airlock for EVA preps, spacesuit purge, and spacesuit prebreathe activities.

Following Crew lock depressurization, Feustel and Finke took their EMUs (Extravehicular Mobility Units) to battery power - officially beginning EVA-2 for the STS-134 flight, marked at 1:05am Central Time.

After egressing the International Space Station, Feustel and Finke spent the first 30mins of the EVA performing EVA setup activities and translating out the P3/P4 truss. Once there, the spacewalking spent approximately 15mins performing re-routing operations on the P3/P4 truss.

At this point, Feustel and Finke went their separate ways, with Feustel beginning the hour-long process of filling the P5/P6 EAS jumper.

Meanwhile, Finke spent 20 minutes filling the Ammonia Tank Assembly before moving on to the one hour-long task of removing covers on the port SARJ (Solar Alpha Rotary Joint).

Click here for SARJ Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sarj/

This cover removal, for which Drew Feustel will join Mike Finke after he finishes his P5/P6 EAS jumper work, will precede lubrication activities of the SARJ itself - which is a large rotary wheel designed to turn the outer portions of the Station’s truss so that the eight solar array sets can track the sun and collect as much solar energy as possible to power the Station.

During cover removal, Finke noted at least two bolts flew off the cover when they were removed with his Pistol Grip Tool (PGT). Amazingly, Finke caught both bolts as they popped out. “The bolt flew off, I have it in my hand,” noted Finke, with Feustel responding with a “Wow!”

A loose washer was also observed, floating undernearth the cover. Efforts are being made to secure the washer, which – had it entered the SARJ mechanism – could have caused potential problems for moving hardware associated with the Race Ring.

As a result of the observations – which may point to the bolts and washers on the covers being worn down by removal – only half of the covers are being removed for what became partial lube task, and the PGT was used for only part of the cover removal, with the bolts then being removed by hand.

As first noted in mid-2007 on the starboard SARJ, evaluations into problems with the starboard SARJ began after vibrations and power fluctuations were noted by ground controllers and ISS crewmembers, which led to an inspection of the hardware during STS-120′s EVAs in October 2007.

With observations of metallic shavings - consisting of 1505 Nitride material - on the hardware, engineers concluded the debris was the result of grinding on the Race Rings.

With a similar issue then noted on the port SARJ, concerns grew with the starboard SARJ when Mike Fossum observed a depression, or pit, on the Race Ring during his EVA inspection on STS-124 in June 2008.

Plans were then created to replace the Trundle Bearings Assemblies (TBAs) and grease/lube the Race Ring during STS-126′s EVAs. The results were highly encouraging.

As noted by managers in an update after the STS-126 TBA replacement and Race Ring lubrication, “Status briefing on the initial quick look results of the Starboard SARJ rotations and disturbances seen after the ring was lubricated and the TBAs were changed out: The disturbances seen by starboard SARJ motion have greatly decreased based on the two orbits of autotrack that were performed immediately post R&R.

“The team requested an extended autotrack to obtain more data and determine if the disturbances drop even lower after a long period of operation and distribution of the grease due to rotation.”

Managers then created a forward plan to lubricate the Race Rings of both SARJs over Shuttle missions throughout 2009 and 2010 - with one of those planned flights (STS-134) eventually finding itself in 2011.

After cover removals are complete, Feustel was tasked with taking detailed photographs of the SARJ and collect samples for analysis once Endeavour returns to Earth. However, camera issues were noted, so it’s unknown how many useful photos were taken.

Following directly from the SARJ cover removals, Mike Finke was tasked with the first of two SARJ lubrication activities for the EVA. By now, the EVA was running late due to the bolt issue with the covers, leading to a “big picture” plan to extend the EVA by another hour - as both spacewalkers said they felt good to continue.

Meanwhile, Feustel left Finke to his work and move on to his EAS setup/vent operation. After this, Feustel turned his attention to cleanup operations for the ammonia vent tools.

Finke completed the first SARJ lubing five minutes as Feustel worked the ammonia tool cleanup task. Finke then moved on to stow the P3/P4 jumpers - during which Feustel joined him for the remainder of the activity.

Feustel moved to the ATA and performed a venting operation while Finke tackled the S1 truss Radiator Grapple Bar Stow Beam operation.

While Finke was performing this 1hr 10min operation, Feustel installed a CLA cover on Dextre, or the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator. He then performed a lubing operation on Dextre with the aide of the Station’s Remote Manipulator System arm.

During the S1 Radiator Grapple Bar Stow Beam and Dextre operations, the port SARJ was rotated 200 degrees, a 45 minute operation.

After finishing their two previous activities, Finke and Feustel moved back to the port SARJ and perform the second lubrication of the joint for the EVA.

The two astronauts spent the final part of the EVA reinstalling the SARJ covers, cleaning up their worksite and tools, and translating back to the Quest Airlock to re-enter the ISS.

“That was an awesome EVA,” Commander Kelly noted, as the duo came to the end of their epic EVA, ahead of preparations to get the duo out of their spacesuits. Due to the length of the EVA, the crew moved into their pre-sleep shortly after they rejoin the rest of the crew.

Flight Day 8 will be mainly an off duty day. Monday will also mark the historic Soyuz “flyabout”, with the next article focusing on the once-in-a-lifetime event.

TPS Clearance Overview:

Following Endeavour’s brilliant ascent on Monday morning, information on the health OV-105′s Thermal Protection System (TPS) began pouring in from Endeavour’s computers, with the first indication of health coming from the Launch +12hrs (L+12 hours) Wing Leading Edge Impact Detection System (WLEIDS) report.

According to the L+12hrs WLEIDS executive summary (L2), “All WLEIDS ascent summary data was downloaded and down linked successfully. Ten (10) half second windows of detailed G time histories were downloaded in order to confirm the implication of cases above 1 Grms.

“In total, there are two indications; one Category IV indication on the starboard wing, and one Category III indication on the port wing. Both indications occurred on the 11/12 interface” - meaning they occurred at the interface region between Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) Wing Leading Edge panels 11 and 12 on both the port and starboard wings.

Furthermore, “Overall, background levels for STS-134 (were) very similar to background levels of previous missions. No data anomalies (were) identified, and all (WLEIDS) units triggered on Main Engine Ignition within 0.13 seconds of each other.”

Both WLE impact indications met all six impact reportable criteria to be considered areas of interest/potential impact indications and not just normal RCC WLE settling “noises” created as the vehicle accelerates through Earth’s dense lower atmosphere.

Of the two potential impact indications, the largest was the indication from the starboard wing - which registered a Grms indication of 2.54 in Damage Likelihood Category IV.  Damage Likelihood Category IV is defined as a damage probability ratio between 1/200 and 1/100.

The second potential impact, the one on the port wing, registered on the WLEIDS with a Grms of 1.34 in Damage Likelihood Category III. This was a double transient event with the first transient falling in Damage Likelihood Category I: a damage probability ratio greater than 1/1000.

The second transient contained a damage probability between 1/500 and 1/200.

Flight Day 2′s (FD-2’s) inspection of the WLE via the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) observed absolutely no areas of damage on the RCC at the locations identified as potential impacts sites by the WLEIDS.

The following day, on FD-3, Endeavour performed her customary R-bar Pitch Maneuver (RPM) to allow the crew on the International Space Station to photography her underbelly TPS. (Image used, 125mb “super belly” RPM photo stitch (L2))

Following this maneuver, the TPS Damage Assessment Team (DAT) released a preliminary report on the vehicle’s TPS health during FD-4. “Imagery review complete: ET doors verified closed. Five items on the lower surface have been evaluated - all QA completed. All lower surface tile (superficial) damages - four cleared by PDAT and one by comparison with OOIC.”

No gap filler protrusion were noted during RPM photography image review, and no upper surface discrepancies were identified either. FD-2 inspections confirmed that the T0 umbilical region of Endeavour suffered no damage during T0 umbilical release at liftoff.

However, the FD-4 presentation noted two areas of TPS underbelly damages that could not be cleared by the DAT and might require a Focused Inspection by Endeavour’s crew.

The first location was a multi-tile damage site on the inboard elevon with an estimated 3D damage depth of 0.3 +/-0.1 inches. The damage location itself was 6.52 inches in length x 2.32 inches in width +/-0.15 inches. Total tile thickness in this region is 1.636 inches.

This area, while initially a Focused Inspection candidate, was cleared for reentry by the DAT through an amazing series of analyses that proved that positive structural and thermal margins would be maintained in this region during entry.

Thus, the need to perform a Focused Inspection on this area was eliminated.

(Animated GIF created by NSF member Lee Jay Fingersh via the several hundred hi res RPM images available in L2).

The second area of damage that did eventually require a Focused Inspection was classed as a “large damage site.”

According the FD-4 TPS Subsystems Status presentation - available for download on L2 - “RPM Imagery: Visual indications of RTV (filler bar) and dark line (abrupt change in depth).”

The RPM imagery showed indications of “ledges/drop offs” in the TPS cavity with decreasing TPS tile thickness close to the edge of the tile.

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

Based on RPM imagery, the TPS tile damage depth was estimated at 0.6 inches +/- 0.1 inches with reduced confidence toward the tile edge.

This estimated damage depth corresponded nearly identically to the damage depth prediction on STS-118/Endeavour - the only other occurrence of deep tile damage on an orbiter post-Columbia.

On STS-118, RPM imagery yielded a predicted tile damage depth of 0.5 inches. Upon Focused Inspection of the area, the damage depth was revealed to be around 1.0 inch.

Due to these factors, the DAT and imagery support personnel were split on their interpretation of the RPM data. As such, the DAT formally recommended proceeding with a Focused Inspection of the “large damage site” on Endeavour.

Following the Focused Inspection on Saturday, the TPS DAT and Mission Management Team officially cleared Endeavour’s entire TPS for reentry.

(Extensive coverage is being provided on the news site, forum and L2 special sections – the latter of which is the world’s best front row seat to Shuttle missions. With specific and extensive flight day coverage, from interactive “one stop” FD live coverage in the open forum, to internal documentation, photos, videos and content in the specific L2 FD areas).

Related posts:

1. Endeavour and her SCA piggyback ride arrive in Louisiana, via JSC flyover The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) and Endeavour departed from Edwards...
2. STS-126: EVA-1 opens major effort to repair SARJ on Station Spacewalkers Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (EV1), and Stephen Bowen (EV2) have completed...

EVA-1/FD-5 Overview:

After waking up at 2226 EDT, Endeavour’s crew got right to work preparing for the mission’s first of four spacewalks.

Upon repressurizing the Quest Airlock (where Drew Feustel and Greg Chamitoff spent the night) from its overnight 10.2 psi campout pressure, the spacewalking duo enjoyed a brief hygiene break before re-entering the airlock which was promptly depressurized back to 10.2 psi.

Spacesuit purge was then conducted about two hours after the completion of this hygiene break, and spacesuit pre-breathe commenced shortly after the spacesuit purge was complete.

Following ISS crew wake up, depressurization of the crew lock got underway. Once the crew lock was depressed, the outer hatch was opened and Feustel and Chamitoff took their spacesuits to battery power – officially beginning the EVA.

After exiting the ISS, Feustel and Chamitoff spent about 20mins setting up their various tools. Then, Feustel translated to the MISSE (Materials on ISS Experiment) 7 experiment and removed it from its current location on the Space Station and replace it with the MISSE 8 experiment.

During this time, Chamitoff translated over to the P3 truss where he worked on installing a light onto the CETA cart. After this, Chamitoff translated across the ISS’s Integrated Truss Structure to the Starboard SARJ (Solar Alpha Rotary Joint), where he installed a cover in the SARJ cover 7 position.

Meanwhile, at the tail-end of Chamitoff’s work on the SARJ, Feustel translated over to the P3/P4 truss and began work on ammonia jumper line installation.

Feustel then move on to install another ammonia jumper across the P5/P6 truss while Chamitoff stowed the P4 ammonia jumper.

Feustel next moved on to install the P6 EAS jumper before the spacewalking team tackled the Lab EWC antenna operation. However, due to a problem with Chamitoff’s CO2 sensor, 45 minutes-worth of the task has been moved to EVA-3′s timeline.

Feustel and Chamitoff split up and worked on mating various P3/P4 and P1/P2 connections for the duration of the EVA, which was the last task of the EVA.

EVA cleanup activities followed for Chamitoff, Quick Disconnect tool bag reconfiguration tasks for Feustel. After a total EVA time of 6 hours 19 minutes, Feustel and Chamitoff re-entered the Quest’s crew lock and repressurized the airlock itself.

The crew will then spend the remainder of the day conducting post-EVA servicing operations before heading to bed at 1326 EDT.

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

Endeavour Status:

Endeavour continues to perform extremely well during what is her final scheduled mission for NASA.

Mated with the International Space Station (ISS), the youngest orbiter in the fleet continues to draw power from the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS) without issue, allowing for her cryo margins to provide excellent mission length ability.

“Subsystem performance is nominal. The PRSD (Power Reactant Storage and Distributation) O2/H2 manifold 2 isolation valves were cycled closed for crew sleep at 138:17:51 GMT and reopened at 139:03:55 GMT,” noted the latest status (L2) via the Mission Evaluation Room (MER).

“Oxygen tank 4 pressure continues to increase due to nominal heat leak; the pressure in now at 800 psia. Fuel cell 1 H2 flowmeter continues to read high and erratic (not unusual). The fuel cells continue to operate nominally at low power levels in combination with the SSPTS.

“CRYO Margins (above 16+0+2 day mission) O2 limited: 2 day 4 hours (non-SSPTS). 4 day 14 hours (SSPTS on).”

However, despite the prospect of both a Focused Inspection and a Soyuz Flyabout being included in an already packed mission, the Mission Management Team (MMT) have no plans to extend the mission past the current 16+0+2 duration at this time, mainly in the thanks to the excellent work by the planning team on the ground, according to MMT chair LeRoy Cain.

TPS Status:

While it has to be emphasized there is no risk to the vehicle or her crew, teams evaluated the potential need for a Focused Inspection on Endeavour’s Thermal Protection System (TPS).

Seven areas were flagged via FD3 RPM imagery, requiring the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) to carry out their methodical analysis to evaluate the option of carrying out a Focused Inspection.

They immediately cleared four areas, ahead of a ding on Endeavour’s starboard Main Landing Gear Door (MLGD) also being cleared from any further inspections.

Two areas remained open from an assessment standpoint going into Friday, with one – on the inboard elevon – then cleared during Flight Day 5. The evaluations have been officially tagged as “MER-7 Tile Anomalies”.

“Summary: Imagery review complete. ET (External Tank) doors verified closed. Forward viewing angle and lighting sufficient. Five items on lower surface have been evaluated – All analysis completed. All lower surface tile damages,” noted a DAT overview to the MMT (numerous STS-134 DAT presentations available on L2).

“Seven damages identified. Five of the items have been cleared. Two remaining items in work. No downstream effects.

“No protrusions or upper surface discrepancies identified. No TPS damage identified at T-0 umbilicals.

“Focused Inspection Candidates: Inboard elevon tile damage. Damage depth from 3D measurement: 0.3 +/- 0.1”. Thermal analysis in work; Stress assessment to follow.

(Animated GIF created by NSF member Lee Jay Fingersh via the several hundred hi res RPM images available in L2).

“Large Damage Site. Structural definition complete. Worst case damage prediction assessments in work. Thermal results pending. Stress to follow.”

As explained by Mr Cain via one of his excellent overviews on the vehicle’s status, the DAT engineers expect to clear the inboard elevon damage from the need for a FI, but are less confident on being able to avoid a FI on the remaining area of interest, which is located between the starboard MLG and ET door. Clearing all areas with a FI remains a possibility.

“I feel pretty confident if, in fact, we’re not able to clear it by the morning, when we get the focused inspection data we’ll be able to clear this problem and not have to do anything,” noted Mr Cain on the main area of interest. “But having said that, we’re going to go do whatever is necessary and we’re going to follow the data all the way along.”

Although the ding’s appearance is – as explained by Commander Mark Kelly during on orbit interviews – by no means any worse than previously cleared damage, the photography of the area is slightly inconclusive, which may provide the main reason why a FI is still on the cards.

“RPM Imagery: Visual indications of RTV (filler bar) and dark line (abrupt change in depth). Three Dimensional data: Indications of ‘ledges/drop off’ in cavity. Decreasing thickness as you approach the edge,” added the DAT summary overview to the MMT.

“Three Dimensional Measurements: Maximum depth of damage is 0.6” +/- 0.1”. Reduced confidence as you approach tile edge.

“Historical Three Dimensional Accuracy: Good correlation between on orbit and post flight measurements. Confined to shallower damages (0.4” deep or less). Lone case of deep damage was STS-118. Poor prediction of deep portion (abrupt drop off). Predicted 0.5” VS FI depth of around 1.0” (partially due to shadowing).

“DAT and imagery support personnel split over imagery interpretation. DAT recommends proceeding with planning for FI.”

Work being conducted by the DAT engineers includes the utilization of their many analytical tools, along with their understanding of the underlying structure which the damage tile is designed to protect, and the use of flight history.

“Cavity definition: Utilize limited point cloud data from imagery lab to generate cavity. Create ‘shoe box’ cavity for use in thermal analysis. Two cavities (3-D and bounding 3-D),” was listed as forward work by the DAT on this specific area.

“Aeroheating: Run CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and engineering model to define cavity heating factors. Thermal analysis: Conservative cavity analysis (damage down to dense layer and exposed filler bar).

“Preparing model with more accurate damage dimensions. Stress Analysis. Waiting for Thermal results. Team 4 and repair support sites/personnel. Ready to support if “called up”.”

*UPDATE: DAT recommend Focused Inspection on remaining area of interest.

“Damage Assessment Team split over value of determining crack tile in damage site. Portion of team recommending Focused Inspection regardless of thermal results. DAT recommends execution of Focused Inspection,” noted Flight Day 5 MMT documentation (L2).

MMT concured with this finding.

A new article will be published later tonight overviewing the Focused Inspection plan and updated DAT information via L2 presentions.*

Flight history always plays a major role in TPS assessments, with STS-134′s ding no stranger to Endeavour from both a location, cause and appearance standpoint.

Only inches away from her STS-118 incident in 2007, the tile damage from that mission required a Focused Inspection, prior to being cleared for re-entry – a decision which was shown to be 100 percent correct, with hardly any ill effects observed on either the damaged tile or the underlying structure after examinations on the ground.

As was the case with STS-118, Mr Cain also explained that the damage is unlikely to have been related to a foam liberation event, with footage from the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) cameras now showing what appears to be an ice liberation from an ironically named Ice Frost Ramp (IFR).

Two events around T+70 seconds have been observed on the footage, one of which is highly likely to have caused the damage on Endeavour’s belly.

With a Focused Inspection confirmed, documentation (L2) had already been drawn up on the procedures for both the Inboard Elevon damage and the aforementioned primary damage site inspections via the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS). This will now be implemented.

New article for FD6 later tonight/Morning GMT.

(Images via L2 and NASA.gov. Extensive coverage is being provided on the news site, forum and L2 special sections – the latter of which is the world’s best front row seat to Shuttle missions. With specific and extensive flight day coverage, from interactive “one stop” FD live coverage in the open forum, to internal documentation, photos, videos and content in the specific L2 FD areas).

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Discovery Status:

Discovery’s final mission could not be going smoother, with the Mission Evaluation Room (MER) working no issues, with only a very short list of minor items of interest since she launched last week.

Aided by an overview by the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) – which shows Discovery’s Thermal Protection System (TPS) is in a pristine condition – the Mission Management Team (MMT) officially cleared the orbiter for Entry during Flight Day 6.

“MER Items: None. At yesterday’s MMT (FD 6), Discovery’s TPS was cleared for re-entry. The first landing opportunity at KSC is targeted for Tuesday, March 8 at 11:36 EST,” noted the MMT (L2), prior to new information on Flight Day 7 pointing to a potential extension of an additional day – not long after the original plus one day was added to allow for additional outfitting and transfers relating to the PMM (Permanent Multipurpose Module) Leonardo.

The ability, for what would effectively be the addition of two full days to the original flight plan, is based partly on the performance of Discovery’s Fuel Cells, and mainly on the load in the PRSD (Power Reactant Storage and Distributation) tanks.

Discovery is also aided by the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS), which allows for a lower demand on the fuel cells to consume the LOX/LH2, allowing the consumables last longer whilst docked.

With engineers continuing to monitor the usage rate, they can project how much time is available beyond what the baseline mission calls for, both with SSPTS and without SSPTS, with O2 generally the limiting factor. Such data is updated daily, allowing the MMT to decide on the best use of Discovery’s capabilities.

Any formal decision from the MMT - was expected on Thursday. (Thursday UPDATE: Decision – Approved).

STS-133 News Articles (over 110 articles): http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-133/

EVA-2 Overview:

After waking up at 0524 EST to the song “Speed of Sound” by Coldplay, a song played for Discovery’s all-star pilot Eric Boe, the combined Discovery/ISS crew got right to work this morning preparing for not only the mission’s second EVA (spacewalk), but also the internal configuration and transfer of item from the newest ISS module, Leonardo, to the Space Station.

After completing all their normal pre-EVA tasks – bar a slight delay relating to a damaged O-ring on one of the CO2-scrubbing LiOH canisters on Steve Bowen (EV 1) suit, the veteran spacewalker joined Al Drew (EV 2) into the Quest airlock, took their EMUs (Extravehicular Mobility Units) to battery power and officially began the last spacewalk to be hosted by astronauts from Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery.

With the official start time listed as 1042 EST, the duo followed egress with a 30-min setup period. Bowen and Drew then split up for a vast majority of the EVA.

For Bowen’s specific tasks, the veteran spacewalker first translated to the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) and spent an hour setting up and ingressing the foot restraint.

Then, approximately 1.5 hours into the spacewalk, Bowen maneuvered to the Columbus laboratory where he will spend ~30mins retrieving the LWAPA from the outside of ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) module.

After then taking about ~30mins to install the LWAPA, Bowen moved to Dextre, the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator from the Canadian Space Agency, to install the CLPA 1 (Camera Light Pan and Tilt Assembly 1).

Bowen continued his work on Dextre by removing the EP1, while evaluations took place inside the the ISS Flight Control Room (FCR) on the possibility of adding a quick task to return to the CP3 Camera Wedge – part of EVA-1 – to remove the obstruction of a misaligned black sun shade, which has been found to enter into the view of the camera lens. That task was successfully completed without issue.

Following his work on Dextre, Bowen moved to a different work station where he will begin an hour-long cleanup effort on the SSRMS to remove the foot restraint and returned the arm to its pre-EVA configuration.

Bowen’s final primary task with the SSRMS will be to install a CLPA cover onto the arm.

As time permitted, Bowen then performed the ”get-ahead” tasks on the P1 Radiator Grapple Stow Beam before performing one final task with Dextre: installation of a CLPA thermal cover.

Conversely, Al Drew spent the first hour after Station egress and EVA setup performing Vent Ops & Quick Disconnect Bag cleanup operations before translating to ELC-4 (Express Logistics Carrier 4) to remove Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) from the ExPCA.

Drew picked up the JSB as he translates to the P3 truss CETA cart area to install a light – an hour-long procedure.

Drew’s other major tasks saw him troubleshoot the P1 Radiator Grapple Stow Beam and then remove MLI blankets from Node-3 “Tranquility.”

Next, Drew installed a CLA thermal cover on a POA.

With Bowen working MLI on Node 3, Drew noted his helmetcam and lights package had come loose from his helmet. Bowen translated to Drew’s position and attempted to reattach the hardware. This effort failed, leading to the call for Drew to teminate his EVA – as much as it was very near the scheduled end – as Bowen returned to his final task, to relocate a Strela Adaptor.

The final 30mins of EVA-2 was spent performing EVA cleanup activities and verifying that all materials and tools had been retained and not floated off unnoticed into space. The EVA officially ended at 1656 EST.

After re-entering the Quest Airlock of the ISS, Bowen and Drew’s spacesuits were deserviced and an ISS daily planning conference took place at ~ 1805 EST.

The ISS crew then headed to bed at 2020 EST, followed by the Discovery crew at ~2053EST, prior to heading into a day mainly taken up by continued outfitting the PMM, a call from President Obama and some well deserved off-duty time. See live thread to review Thursday’s activities.

(Numerous articles will follow. L2 members refer to STS-133 live coverage sections for internal coverage, presentations, images and and updates from engineers and managers – which is now into full and extensive live Flight Day coverage during the mission. Images used: Lead via NASA.gov. Graphics via L2).

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EVA-1 Overview:

Flight Day 5 (FD-5) is underway for Shuttle orbiter Discovery and her six-member flight crew. Walking up at 0623 EST, Discovery’s crew got right to work this morning with Airlock repressurization to allow Steven Bowen (EV 1) and AL Drew (EV 2) a hygiene break following their overnight “campout” in the International Space Station’s (ISS’s) Quest airlock.

Following the ~50-minute hygiene break, Bowen and Drew reentered the Quest airlock, where the airlock was once again depressurized to 10.2 psi.

An ISS daily planning conference with the six-member ISS crew was held at ~0820 EST as part of the usual daily tag-up between flight controllers in numerous ISS control centers world-wide and the ISS crew.

Back to EVA-1 activities, EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) purge picked up, followed by EMU prebreathe activities for Bowen and Drew. Bowen and Drew moved into the Crew Lock; crew lock depressurization began about 50 minutes after EMU prebreathe activities picked up.

Bowen and Drew then moved to their EMUs to battery power ~30 minutes after the start of Crew Lock depress – officially marking the start of EVA-1 at 10:46 EST.

Following Quest Airlock egress, both Bowen and Drew spent the first 30 minutes performing EVA-1 setup operations before moving on to the 30-minute J612 cable installation to Node-3 “Tranquility.”

After this, Bowen and Drew split-up; Bowen translated over to the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) to perform SSRMS setup operations for ~30 minutes while Drew performed VTE bag cleanup on ESP-2 (External Stowage Platform 2).

Approximately 1.5 hours into the EVA, Drew began setting up the Vent tools (a 20 minute procedure) while Bowen, having ingressed the foot restraints on the end of the SSRMS, moved to the failed Pump Module where he began retrieval operations.

Following the vent tool setup ops, Drew joined Bowen at the Pump Module where her (Drew) will spend 1hr 25mins assisting Bowen with both Pump Module retrieval ops and Pump Module stowage on ESP-2.

Drew then left Bowen to perform the final 15 minutes of the Pump Module stowage ops by himself. During this time, Drew moved to the APFR from ESP-2 to the Z1 truss and work on the MLI (Multilayer Insulation) blankets on the Z1.

Three hours 30mins into the EVA, Bowen was scheduled to complete Pump Module activities and perform ~30mins of SSRMS cleanup operations. This took slightly longer due to a failure of the Cupola Robotic Work Station (RWS).

Meanwhile, Drew relocated a tool stanchion from APFR to the Quest Airlock.

Bowen and Drew then began the one hour CP3 camera wedge installation operation before moving on to optional “get ahead tasks” and then JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Message in a Bottle task.

With Bowen saying “let’s get it done,” the get ahead tasks for EVA-1 relating to the Starboard CETA cart rail stub installations was completed prior to clean up. The stowage of the S3 Mobile Transporter Stop & Tether Shuttle Stop was also completed.

The six hour 43 minute spacewalk wrapped up with EVA cleanup and Airlock ingress options.  Following ingress, the Airlock will be repressurized and post-EVA servicing will begin.

A wrap up ISS daily planning conference will then take place at ~1900 EST. ISS crew sleep will then begin at 2120 EST followed by Discovery crew sleep at ~2153 EST.

STS-133 News Articles (over 110 articles): http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-133/

Endeavour’s Quarter-mile Trip to the VAB – A Small Trip for a Big Mission:

With sister Discovery conducting her capstone mission at the ISS, orbiter Endeavour is in the process of being rolled to the VAB for mating with External Tank 122 (ET-122).

As has been the custom of late, Endeavour was rolled three-quarters of the way down the transfer road from her OPF (Orbiter Processing Facility) to the VAB and then stopped for several hours to allow her processing team, KSC workers, and media representatives the chance to revel in her glory, reflect on her career, and spend some precious time with youngest orbiter in NASA Shuttle fleet.

Tasked with the longest and most-complex of the final vehicle flights, Endeavour’s STS-134 mission will deliver two major cargo elements to the International Space Station, among which is the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer: the keystone scientific experiment for the orbital laboratory complex.

STS-134 is currently classed as a 14+2+1 day, 4 EVA mission that is scheduled to launch on 19 April 2011 at 1948 EDT – 5 minutes before sunset at the Kennedy Space Center.

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

Highlighting the amazing nature of the orbiter Endeavour and the care and dedication of her workforce, Endeavour began her roll to the VAB this morning with the lowest number of IPRs (In Process Reviews) of any orbiter for any OPF flow in Program history; only 19 IPRs were recorded during Endeavour’s entire OPF flow which began upon JSC handoff to KSC upon her landing on STS-130 on February 21, 2010.

Further emphasizing this outstanding vehicle is the fact that her 19th IPR was recorded on November 24, 2010 – a full three months before her final OPF flow ended.

In preparation for this morning’s rollover, Endeavour’s processing team completed all OPF work a week and a half ago, mating Endeavour to the Orbiter Transport System – a 72-wheeled vehicle specially designed for transporting the Shuttle orbiters – on February 15 and performing final landing gear retractions for flight on Feb. 16.

In the final days before Endeavour was mated to the OTS, her technicians and engineers performed final testing on her Internal Measurement Units (IMUs) and her Microwave Scanning Beam Landing System (MSBLS). Final MEDS (Multifunctional Electronic Display System) calibrations and weight & Center of Gravity calculations were also performed prior to OTS mate.

But Endeavour was not the only element of the STS-134 vehicle undergoing final preparations and work during the month of February; Endeavour’s External Tank, ET-122, was put through the wringer as dozens of MAF (Michoud Assembly Facility) engineers converged on the tank to perform the same Radius block installations to its LOX/intertank flange stringers as was performed on ET-137.

This work on the tank was completed last week, exactly as tank engineers said it would be.

Later today, Endeavour will be connected to the hoisting/mating sling, demated from and lifted off the OTS, positioned vertically, rotated 45-degrees, lifted up and over the VAB transom into High Bay 3, and then lowered beside her ET/SRB stack.

Endeavour is scheduled to spend a total of 10 days in the VAB undergoing mating and stack checkout out ops. Rollout to Pad-A is scheduled for the evening of March 9 at 2000 EST.

(Numerous articles will follow. L2 members refer to STS-133 live coverage sections for internal coverage, presentations, images and and updates from engineers and managers – which is now into full Flight Day coverage during the mission. Images used, Rollover pictures: MaxQ Entertainment/NASASpaceflight.com. EVA: NASA.gov – Graphics via L2).

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