MAF:

Working under the motto of “Finish Strong”, the Michoud managers, engineers and technicians proved to be the unsung heroes of the final phase of the Space Shuttle Program (SSP).

Fighting back from the tragedy of Columbia’s loss, caused by a piece of hardware from one of their own External Tanks – as much as a series of events outside of their control contributed to the disaster – the MAF team and center became one of the focal points for the implementation of Return To Flight (RTF) modifications – L2 link.

Initially, this proved to be anything but smooth sailing, with the first tank to fly since Columbia’s launch liberating a large slice of its PAL (Protuberance Air Load) ramp during Discovery’s STS-114 ascent – resulting in further changes via the complex science of mitigating foam loss during the ride uphill.

Further finite modifications were made to the tank’s Thermal Protection System (TPS) as the fleet began to up the pace, itself a massive challenge, with each change to a highly refined system carefully studied and refined further.

One such example was the modifications made to the LH2 Ice Frost Ramps (IFRs), which were fine-tuned over a number of flights, based on their performance during actual launches. The LO2 IFRs were also monitored through to the end of the program.

These numerous changes, in tandem with an improving flight rate, resulted in additional challenges, such as achieving the delivery dates for the tanks based on the projected flight manifests created by the Flight Assignment Working Group (FAWG) – L2 Link.

Via the mix of ingenious management brainstorming at numerous Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs), the dedication of the Michoud workforce working seven days a week and solid leadership from Lockheed Martin’s ET boss Wanda Sigur, refined delivery dates supported the desired manifest – as seen ahead of the flagship STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

Click here for numerous ET news articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/et/

More importantly – not least in the case of Atlantis’ Hubble mission – the tanks started to enjoy a run of increasing success in the mitigation of foam liberation from the critical areas of the tank, resulting in mainly “clean” orbiters – no serious TPS damage caused by foam loss) – especially in the latter missions for the fleet.

Michoud even managed to add a tank to the manifest, namely ET-122, allowing for the addition of STS-135, a mission which has proved to be extremely vital for the International Space Station’s logistical health, especially during what has proven to be a problematic year for the Russians.

ET-122, damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when it was located in Cell-A of MAF’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), required a large amount of work, both from a repair standpoint, but also via the requirement to implement the numerous RTF modifications.

And Katrina didn’t just damage the tank, but also displaced large amounts of the MAF workforce, some of whom were technically homeless at the time NASA needed them the most during the comeback from negative delivery dates.

Sadly, most of that workforce fell foul of NASA’s ongoing transition, as much as most saw it coming since the decision was made to retire the Shuttle fleet once ISS assembly was complete - although the since-cancelled Constellation Program (CxP) was a hammer blow to the facility. Just a handful of ET engineers remained at MAF by the end of August, with the rest of what is now a small workforce working on Orion and other contracts.

The official end of ET work at MAF resulted in the spare tanks – such as ET-94 – no longer being serviced by Lockheed Martin. They have been turned over to the ownership of Jacobs Technologies.

A number of workers might of been saved, had NASA administrator Charlie Bolden announced the Space Launch System (SLS) when lawmakers had requested it. MAF leaders had hoped for an end to the delays earlier this year, extending the period prior to the handing of WARN notices to a number of workers several times, before finally losing patience.

Now the SLS program is up and running, MAF are hoping to be involved in the resulting contracts, with one of the main contractors likely to be building the core stage, Boeing, already noted to have utilized the facility for their SLS-related Pathfinder tank. Meanwhile, other major weld tooling has been placed into storage.

MAF At The Movies:

Ironically, some of the remaining workforce found themselves with job sheets that had nothing to do with the space program, as they spent some of their days removing equipment to make space for a string of production companies to use the facility to film parts of their blockbuster films, per L2 information.

The first of which was GI Joe 2 (Retaliation) – which has now completed filming inside MAF, ahead of its summer 2012 release date.

This movie stars Bruce Willis – who is no stranger to space hardware, following his staring role in the blockbuster movie Armageddon, which filmed at numerous NASA centers, including the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

Universal Pictures will arrive in January to film two movies (the titles of which are being kept secret), while Disney and MGM are also in the process of negotiating the use of MAF’s 101 building for filming purposes.

Despite the major handover to Jacobs, Lockheed Martin still had control of final assembly position 3. However, current MAF employees have been told to clear out all equipment to make room for yet another studio. At this time all four final assembly positions, the entire VAB, and the 420 building at Michoud are now classed as movie sets.

It has also been noted that the BP oil company has also taken control of BLDG 451 – otherwise known as the LH2 proof test building – to store the blow out preventer that caused the Gulf oil spill in 2010.

It is hoped that sometime in 2012, MAF will see the work being carried out on the Orion which will fly on the Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) being joined by work on commercial vehicles and the SLS, as opposed to providing a large indoor facility to Hollywood.

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SLS Work:

August has been a relatively busy month for SLS, with NASA centers and contractors almost ignoring the delaying tactics in Washington DC, by pushing on with planning work surrounding the winning configuration of the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV) – as much as NASA’s top brass continue to avoid announcing it.

At the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the new SLS DAC (Design Analysis Cycle) cycle officially started this month, a process which will take the vehicle design to the SRR (System Requirements Review)/Checkpoint Review in October.

Managers have already presented their teams with kickoff charts, showing what is now the well-known Shuttle Derived (SD) HLV, along with pointers towards a forward plan to develop the Upper Stage design simultaneously with the core stage.

While no Upper Stage hardware will be built at this stage, given the lack of funding, the current process of developing the US with the Core will provide an engineering advantage, given the integrated vehicle loads can be developed in a way which will allow the Core Stage to be designed for the appropriate Upper Stage from the outset.

With SLS concept development providing support of the SRR/SDR (System Design Review) and core stage procurement activities, the path is laid out for the SLS to progress to the PDR (Preliminary Design Review) stage. Once the core stage prime contract is awarded, the work will transition to more of an insight and vehicle integration role.

Boeing – who officially class themselves as “pursuing work on NASA’s Space Launch System to provide heavy lift capability for exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit” – have already completed testing their manufacturing processes via a sub-scale tank, known as the “Pathfinder”.

For SLS/HLV Articles, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/hlv/

The Boeing team at MAF in New Orleans, class the Pathfinder as a “major milestone toward the future of space exploration”, adding the tank is a “key demonstration of NASA’s readiness to immediately transition into the Space Launch Systems (SLS) program”.

The Pathfinder Liquid Oxygen tank is a 5.5 meter diameter lightweight aluminum lithium design, demonstrating state of the art manufacturing and welding approaches developed as part of the Upper Stage Production Contract (USPC), allowing engineers to work on a 5.5m tank – per development on Ares I’s Upper Stage – via technologies and techniques will be applied to the 8.4m diameter SLS.

“State of the art production tools, developed by Boeing in partnership with NASA and the University of New Orleans National Center for Advanced Manufacturing, provided efficiencies not previously available at MAF for this type of manufacturing. The pathfinder is also representative of a Liquid Oxygen tank that is extensible to the Space Launch System,” noted a Boeing overview (available on L2).

“The use of a Liquid Oxygen tank originally designed for Upper Stage Production Contract enables an efficient transition of subsystems such as the Main Propulsion System and Thrust Vector Control from USPC to Space Launch Systems.

“Work on the Space Launch Systems enables Boeing to expand into a natural adjacency, leveraging decades of experience in manned space flight into possible future business.”

Interestingly, further evaluations have recently begun into the MPS which will ride with SLS, with the potential for the three retired Shuttle orbiters to donate their MPS’ for the opening three flights. (Another article will follow on this evaluation next week).

The lightweight aluminum-lithium design features a spun-formed dome, a gore panel dome, and a barrel welded together with two circumferential self-reacting welds. The team managed to complete the fabrication six weeks ahead of schedule.

“Preparing the Pathfinder for production (was) a major step toward production of the nation’s next generation human-rated launch systems,” said Steve Ernst, Boeing’s Exploration Launch Systems Manufacturing Development leader on the Boeing information

“The completed work is a balance between safety, reliability and cost forged by an innovative NASA-Boeing partnership that is paving the way for SLS.”

The information also notes how Boeing worked with NASA’s MSFC in developing the manufacturing processes, in order to prepare the Boeing engineers and technicians with the skills and techniques necessary to employ state of the art techniques for safe, reliable, and cost efficient production of future launch vehicles.

“(This was a) significant advancement of MAF activation by completing key training and certifications for task leaders and weld operators; establishing detailed approaches and processes for kitting, staging, and shipping and receiving; and emphasizing a significant focus on a healthy safety culture and process with the completion of job hazard analyses and lift plans.”

Boeing also confirmed that in order “to support Congressional direction to NASA for development of the Space Launch Systems”, Boeing prioritized work in its existing USPC and Instrument Unit Avionics contracts to work on items that advanced the technical baseline of technologies and manufacturing approaches for the new Heavy Lift Launch system.

“We recognized that we needed to identify opportunities to earn value for NASA and reduce risks associated with the transition to SLS,” added Rick Navarro, Boeing Michoud Site director.

“Working with NASA, this vision resulted in developing the concept to manufacture the Pathfinder tank which not only enabled the team to demonstrate technologies extensible to SLS, it also focused the team on establishing the necessary Boeing production infrastructure at Michoud to prepare for SLS production.

“As a result, the team at Michoud found a way to start up operations and begin a functional production system.”

Boeing teams at the Kennedy Space Center also assisted the MAF Boeing team in establishing the necessary stock of production supplies for the production of the Pathfinder, while the the team at Boeing’s Huntington Beach operations played a key role in development and fabrication of tooling that was used for the Pathfinder.

Other Boeing sites such as San Antonio, Heath, and Charleston also assisted in defining and obtaining the necessary infrastructure to monitor production activities. A number of suppliers, stretching from the northeast United States to the west coast, also supported the Pathfinder effort.

The Pathfinder milestone comes at a time of painful transition for MAF, with WARN notices – extended several times in the hope NASA would finally push forward with its SLS contract awards – finally activated, resulting in the official end to ET operations at the facility.

Just a handful of ET engineers will remain at MAF after Friday, with the rest of what is now a small workforce working on Orion and other contracts.

The official end of ET work at MAF has resulted in the spare tanks – such as ET-94 – no longer being serviced by Lockheed Martin. They have been turned over to the ownership of Jacobs Technologies.

It is unknown what Jacobs will do with the ET hardware. However, their MSFOC group has begun unwrapping ET “major weld” tooling, placed into storage after the final ET was constructed.

These tools are the 5018 and 5019 (LO2 Weld and LH2 Weld) machines – which have been in preservation for a couple of years – and are the major weld fixtures for the LO2 tank and LH2 tanks (horizontal). Currently, the 5019 LH2 fixture has been unwrapped, with the LO2 5018 machine set to follow.

Once the tools are back in place, Lockheed and Boeing engineer will take measurements of the tools to evaluate their conversion from arc plasma welding to stir friction welding.

This also appears to be preparation work for the construction of SLS tank hardware.

(Images: Via MSFC, Boeing, MAF and L2 content - driven by L2′s new SLS specific L2 section, which includes, presentations, videos, graphics and internal updates on the SLS and HLV available no where else on the internet).

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Constellation Turmoil:

Constellation’s schedules have been slipping at an alarming rate over the past few years, with the last PMR (Program Milestone Review) confirming a 12 month slip in the IOC (Initial Operational Capability) to March, 2015. This date relates to Orion 2, with Orion 4 – currently classed as the first crew rotation for the International Space Station (ISS), otherwise known as FOC (Full Operational Capability) – launching one year later in March, 2016.

While these dates continue to be the official timeline, internal reviews have found those schedules to be “broken”, with CxP departments across the program reporting they are at “zero percent confidence” for keeping to the March, 2015 (IOC) timeline.

While continued changes to the designs of Ares and Orion are part of the natural development cycle, issues such as Thrust Oscillation and vehicle performance have come at a price for both schedule and costings, despite fine work from the engineering teams tasked with mitigating the issues.

CxP attempted to protect the schedule and budgetary pressures by offsetting these additional strains by deleting test items – notably on the Upper Stage. However, this only proved to cause further disconnects throughout the program.

Issues with the Ares I Upper Stage engine, J-2X, have also been noted, although no specific information has been made available due to the classified nature of certain vehicle elements.

“Disconnects” have been previously noted on various stages of the vehicle, such as with a key Launch Abort System (LAS) test, cancelled with just 24 hours notice due to additional testing requirements being cited by the Orion program, adding months to the realigned test schedule, which in turn added further strain to the already heavily-delayed Orion PDR (Preliminary Design Review).

Orion contractor Lockheed Martin were already complaining last year about continued changes to the requirements of vehicle, which is likely to undergo another major change during the upcoming summit meeting, after it was noted the switch from a crew of six to four will be a lead item for discussion.

Several vehicle systems have been progressing through their development cycle to plan, but have subsequently suffered via waiting for related systems to catch up due to technical challenges, or return to a steady funding cycle, in turn causing a schedule mismatch “ripple effect” through the master timeline.

The summit will attempt to realign all the individual schedules, find potential funding ‘get-wells’, and create a viable timeline to try and bring Ares and Orion back into the March 2015 IOC target. However, confidence this can be achieved without a major boost to Constellation funding is classed as low.

Gap Reduction:

The serious nature of the “broken” schedules have been known for a few months, with an immediate slip of six months added internally to the master schedule, during a period when CxP were evaluating acceleration options. This occurred prior to the latest estimate of a slip of between 12 to 18 months – in total – on top of the current schedule.

Those acceleration options have since fallen by the wayside, with the worst case cost estimate coming in at around $7 billion just to bring the program back to the 2007 tatget of a 2014 launch of Orion 2. The priority now is to attempt to find a “magic solution” of bringing Ares/Orion in with a shot of making the March, 2015 IOC date. Avoiding further slips to the right is the goal, as opposed to acceleration of the schedule.

The situation with Ares is known in key areas of the Agency, with a “9th Floor” NASA HQ effort already taking place to evaluate the viability of cancelling Ares I, and replacing the launch vehicle with an EELV (Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle) – such as an Atlas V Heavy or a Delta IV Heavy – whilst moving the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) effort towards concentrating on Ares V.

NASA managers have alternative options, including COTS-D, which would initiate SpaceX into bringing their Dragon manned vehicle on line as a bufferzone during the gap. However, while NASA are supportive of SpaceX’s efforts, sources claim it would take a major leap of faith to hand the task of buffering the gap to such a ‘new’ space flight company.

Shuttle Extension:

Building up a head of steam is shuttle extension, with wide-scale support at both the program and political level. Initially curtailed by former NASA administrator Mike Griffin – who was firmly in the Ares camp – the strongest wording in favour of extension, at a program level, was seen this week on the Shuttle Stand-Up/Integration report, on L2.

“Last week, around 200 prime contractors and suppliers went to Washington D.C. and got briefs from the Hill and key NASA people,” noted the report. “They went over to the Hill and talked to over 100 Congress representatives or their staffers.

“The message was that the Shuttle is operating well and is safe to fly.”

That “message” directly counters Mr Griffin’s efforts to warn against extending the shuttle, after citing safety numbers that intimated a disaster was on the cards if the vehicles flew past 2010. It also makes the point the shuttle is an operating vehicle, whereas the alternatives remain out of sight.

The report goes on to note the need to avoid CxP from falling yet further behind its originally schedule – whereas previous statements have alluded to the possibility of acceleration – which is no longer viable without additional billions being pumped into the program, potentially the same amount it would take to extend the shuttle by two years.

“To close the gap it would be necessary to hold the funding to make sure the CxP does not move any further to the right, and to add additional funding if Congress deems it necessary to fly into 2011 and 2012,” added the report. “It was well received but these are tough budget times.”

There are conflicting numbers on how much it would cost to extend the shuttle program, with various options available. Most of the options opt for two orbiters flying though the extension, with one grounded as a ‘near flight ready’ orbiter that can supply spares to her two sisters.

Program milestone charts acquired just this week by L2 confirm that the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) ‘additional’ tanks have been set up the purpose of pre-empting extension, with opening work completed on at least two brand new tanks past the yet-to-be-approved STS-134.

A refurbished ET-122 is also available for STS-135 – currently the Launch On Need (LON) tank for STS-134.

Should extension receive the required funding, MAF would be able to build new tanks, as all the shuttle related tooling has been protected via the outlines in the recent Senate Bill. However, a decision will need to be made soon, with layoffs of key skill set workers already taking place in New Orleans, and a systematic shutdown of shuttle related contractors soon to head past the point of no return.

The end of April has been deemed as D-Day for the shuttle program’s potential to extend. However, the in-built protection from the Senate Bill is understood to have gained enough time for the cut-off to be as late as the summer.

A lot will depend on what the next NASA administrator prefers, and more so the political will to find the best solution to ensure the United States does not suffer from a lack of domestic manned launch capability for over half a decade.

L2 members: 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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Ares I-X:

The delay to Ares I-X is not believed to have been caused by SSP’s “wish” to utilize Pad 39B for accommodating Endeavour as the STS-400 LON (Launch On Need) rescue support for Atlantis, but rather a continued fallout from a lack of funds within the Constellation Program, sources note. As a result, Ares I-X may yet be delayed further.

Memos ahead of the decision had referenced that the Single Pad option would be largely determined by Ares I-X being ready to launch “on time” – which was previously slated for July 11 – as a data point for the evaluations. Media materials associated with the mission recently changed their launch date from July to “the summer”.

Ares I-X’s final hardware has been arriving from Utah, and processing has been proceeding to plan, as the test vehicle segments are built-up via flows called “super stacks” inside the VAB’s High Bay 4.  It is not known how many issues remains with Ares I-X, following its negative Critical Design Review (CDR) last year.

Ground testing will also take place at Pad 39B on March 25, when MLP-1 (Mobile Launch Platform) heads over from Pad 39A. STS-119 represented the last use of the MLP-1 for the SSP. A brief ceremony and turnover to the Ares I-X team will take place at the foot of Pad B next week.

STS-400/Dual Pad:

However, the ‘release’ of Ares I-X placing demands on Pad 39B for the short-term future surrounding STS-125 will result in Endeavour taking up residence as the STS-400 Launch On Need (LON) rescue support for Atlantis’ STS-125.

It is understood that NASA plan to officially announce the decision to use both pads for STS-125 and STS-400 at the conclusion to STS-119.

As seen before the previous delay to the STS-125 mission, Endeavour was rolled on to Pad 39B, for the contingency of launching within days of a serious problem with Atlantis on orbit.

This is required due to the unique nature of a Hubble servicing mission, where Atlantis will be unable to provide her crew with the “safe haven” of the International Space Station (ISS).

Instead, Atlantis would undergo a level of powerdowns, and become a lifeboat for her crew, prior to the launch of Endeavour with a four crew subset – which would head to rendezvous with Atlantis, where the two orbiters would grapple via their robotic arms, prior to a transfer of the STS-125 crew to the rescue orbiter.

One open question related to the lightning mast that has since been removed from the top of Pad 39B’s Fixed Service Structure (FSS).

However, engineers responsible for the construction of the 600 ft tall towers for Ares I have created a plan where two of the towers (1 and 2) will ably protect Endeavour. The wiring has already been “strung” between the two towers.

Ares I Schedule/Shuttle Extension:

When those towers are used to protect Ares I on the pad remains unknown, with the projected debut launch date for the new vehicle at the mercy of downstream funding.

Unless there continues to be a gutting of the test schedule for the Ares I vehicle, the FOC (Full Operational Capability) date – otherwise know as Orion 4 and the first crew rotation mission to the International Space Station (ISS) - is threatening to slip on upcoming PMRs (Program Milestone Reviews), with a worst case scenario of 2017.

While downstream schedules are fluid, and will be ultimately based on the potential of additional funds being made available to NASA for either an ‘advancement’ of the Constellation schedule, or for a shuttle extension past 2010, Ares/Orion schedules have already slipped over 18 months since conception on their own accord, mainly via technical challenges associated with Ares I.

Shuttle extension itself was claimed to be dead in the water last month, following a fiscal 2010 NASA budget outline released by the Obama Administration. This even led to shuttle manager John Shannon noting extension efforts were to stop on a Shuttle Stand-up/Integration report soon after.

However, such statements have since been retracted, following high level intervention to emphasis the outline was not a policy statement, and as such NASA should continue to protect shuttle extension ability past the end of April, ahead of an ultimate decision this summer.

That protection has filtered down into the related areas of the shuttle community, with the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) releasing ET-122 for use as the LON tank for STS-134 – which is awaiting funding to carry the AMS to the ISS.

ET-122 - as seen for the first time in the latest FAWG (Flight Assignment Working Group) manifest – has been allocated to STS-135, with Atlantis, as LON support for STS-134. This assignment fills the entire 2010 schedule.

STS-135 also provides a roadmap for extension into at least 2011, with further tanks ready to be produced my MAF, should they receive direction from the SSP.

“ET-138 is the last tank under contract for build,” noted MAF just last week on the Stand-Up report. (ET-122 was already built, but was damaged during hurricane Katrina). “ET-139 will be built, but at this time only the three major components will be assembled – it may be completed at a later date.”

If direction was received to build ET-139, it would provide LON support for STS-135, or become the primary tank for STS-136. Also in pre-emption of a possible extension, MAF have part builds of two more tanks, ET-140 and ET-141 already completed over the last few months.

STS-125:

Atlantis was due to rollover at around 7am on Monday to the VAB – pending favorable weather conditions – for her upcoming STS-125 flight to the Hubble Space Telescope.

However, the expected rollover time was postponed for the interim, due to drizzle in the local area. Atlantis finally started to depart the OPF (Orbiter Processing Facility) at around 11:30am local.

Rollover was completed around 45 minutes later, ahead of being placed on the sling that will transport her over to her awaiting ET/SRB stack.

“All vehicle work has been completed. The vehicle is on the OTS (Orbiter Transport System) to support rollover to the VAB on March 23,” noted processing information on L2. “In the VAB, on the ET/SRB stack, we are changing out the 7-inch QD (Quick Disconnect). The goal is to have the QD re-installed prior to orbiter mate on Monday.

“Working toward a roll out to Pad 39A date of March 31. Pad A assessment showed nominal conditions (post STS-119 launch). On the SRB flame trench left wall, there is a small area (2.5 X 5 feet) that will need repair – this is an older section that was not part of the recent refurbishment.”

Despite Atlantis previously been ready past the point of the SSP FRR (Flight Readiness Review) stage, before the mission was postponed due to the on orbit issues with Hubble, managers are still evaluating late changes to minor mission elements for the May 12 launch.

“An OPO (Orbiter Project Office) technical tagup was held to discuss a potential hardware addition to STS-125/HST-SM4,” added the latest Shuttle Stand-Up/Integration report on L2. “We are currently flying the IMAX camera in the bay and the hand-held camera in the cabin.

“To get good cabin video, a worklight is needed. There is a COTS light that is flying on ISS currently, but some of the internal wiring does not meet the smart short requirements needed to certify it for Orbiter. On Station, it is only used for 45 minutes at full power, but unlimited time at half-power.

“After reviewing this data, it was deemed safe to fly for the mission. A safety briefing will be brought forward to the community.”

A full review of the mission will start with a second SSP FRR to take place on April 20-21, while the Agency FRR – which will confirm the launch date – is set for April 30.

Less than two weeks after Atlantis arrives at Pad 39A, Endeavour will rollover for mating with the recently combined ET/SRB stack in the VAB. Her rollover date is currently set for April 10.

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.

Related posts:

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ET-131 will ride with Endeavour, currently tasked with both the STS-400 LON (Launch On Need) support for Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope – currently scheduled for May – and Endeavour’s primary STS-127 mission.

STS-127, currently tracking a June 13 launch date, will complete the assembly of the Kibo Laboratory complex, with Endeavour carrying an array of payloads that will require a 15 day mission with five baselined EVAs.

Aside from installing the Japanese Experiment Module – Exposed Facility (JEM-EF), Endeavour’s crew will be tasked with replacing six batteries on the P6 truss.

The tank’s arrival was ahead of the required timeline by a couple of weeks, which earned thanks from shuttle manager John Shannon, who “congratulated the team at MAF for all of their hard work on getting this tank ready ahead of schedule.”

With four other tanks undergoing major production at the Lockheed Martin run facility, MAF find themselves in a much more comfortable position – compared to previous years since Return To Flight - despite the heavy schedule of downstream flights in 2009 and 2010.

However, ET program manager Mark Bryant noted his insistence that the engineering workforce should continue to ensure the tanks leaving the facility are of the best possible quality, regardless of the high flow of tanks required to complete the current shuttle manifest.

“It’s an ambitious schedule that will require continued high levels of performance from the team,” said Bryant, “performance that we are demonstrating every day in producing safe, high quality tanks.”

All four tanks used in the 2008 shuttle missions lacked any major foam losses, with STS-126′s year-closing flight with Endeavour enjoying a ride uphill with what is widely regarded as the cleanest tank to have ever flown during the eight and a half minute ascent into orbit.

The performance of the tank, ET-129, earned thanks for the MAF workforce from Endeavour’s crew, during their post flight visit to New Orleans.

“I got to space because of the hard work of each of you. It’s a team effort,” said STS-126 mission specialist Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper. “I was just the lucky one to take the ride up.

“Every job here at Michoud contributes to the success of a mission, not just the folks physically working on the tanks. From the person who prepares meals through the purchasing department, I thank you for your work and contributions to mission success.”

ET-129 proved to be a major effort ahead of its trip to Florida, with the tank eventually shipped ahead of its previous planned schedule in support of the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) options to accelerate STS-125, to be used for adding earlier launch opportunities for STS-126′s short launch window in November.

Due to the on orbit issues with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), STS-126 jumped a launch slot. However, the initial push to ship ET-129 to KSC in a timely fashion involved a three shift, round-the-clock, drive at MAF – which was also recognized by their NASA paymasters.

“Looking out across the crowd, there are a lot of folks here who put in a lot of dedicated hours and a lot of hard work to get ET-129 together and prepared for its launch,” said Chip Jones, NASA Michoud chief operating officer during a general assembly at the plant.

“On behalf of NASA, I would like to personally thank you for your dedication.”

Despite the successful turnaround into a smooth schedule for the upcoming tanks, challenges remain, not least via a potential extension of the shuttle manifest, and the requirement to create space for new tooling that will be used to build the Ares vehicles for the Constellation program.

ET-138 was set to be the last shuttle tank to be produced by MAF. However, with STS-134 close to being officially added to the manifest, managers have been working a plan to refurbish ET-122 – which was damaged during Hurricane Katrina, when it was hit by falling roof panels in the facility’s Cell A.

NASA has authorized Michoud Operations to perform a limited scope of work on ET-122 through April, with engineers inspecting the tank for damage to its pressure vessels and metal substrate.

“Transportation and Handling moved the tank to Bldg 420 just before Christmas, and technicians will perform shearography to inspect for possible concrete chips in foam,” noted MAF information.

“Technicians will also remove and replace Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen umbilicals; perform borescope inspections; strip foam from damaged areas of the Intertank; and clean its internal surfaces.”

Currently, the plan is to make this tank available for LON requirements associated with STS-134′s mission to carry the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station (ISS) – pending funding.

Also, in pre-emption of a possible extension being approved this summer, MAF have completed initial work on two additional tanks, ET-140 and ET-141, alongside a tooling plan that would allow utilization of new Ares machinery on additional shuttle tanks, as and when required.

The next tank due out of MAF is ET-132, which will fly with Discovery on STS-128′s logistics mission to the ISS. The tank is currently in final assembly, with “everything is proceeding nominally.”

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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STS-133 and STS-134:

According to planning documents on L2, STS-133 will now carry a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), while the “additional flight” of STS-134 – which is planning to carry the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), pending funding – continues to solidify its place in the forward planning.

The Space Shuttle Program (SSP) manifests are planning documents, created by the Flight Assignment Working Group (FAWG), which are used to work out requirements ahead of being baselined into the schedule.

The missions then undergo a series of reviews via the Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB), notably the Flight Definition and Requirements Directive (FDRD) review, as they officially line up in the shuttle schedule.

Neither STS-133 or STS-134 have moved into that baselining stage, with STS-131 the latest mission heading to the FDRD – meaning they are not yet official missions.

NASA and the contractor groups such as the United Space Alliance (USA) work off several schedules/manifests, in order to prepare flow timelines and create “need by” dates for the hardware that will fly on that particular mission, should that mission become baselined into the schedule.

STS-134, which first appeared on the FAWG manifest last year as the LON (Launch On Need) flight for STS-133, has now become the AMS (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer) flight on all three planning documents (FAWG, STS and ISS launch schedule, and USA’s ISS/STS and Eastern Range schedule – see left, available on L2).

According to those planning documents, STS-134 will fly with Discovery, on a NET (No Earlier Than) September 16, with AMS-02 and EXPRESS Logistics Carrier-4 (ELC). It may also include the Remotely Operable Electrical Umbilical-755 (ROEU), which is also gains a place in the planning document on STS-132 and STS-133.

STS-133 also changes from carrying two ELCs, to just one (ELC-3), with a MPLM – likely to be Leonardo – making up the vacant payload space/mass.

The mission is currently working to a NET of July 29, 2010, flying with Endeavour. Previous manifests in 2008 classed both STS-132 and STS-133 as only CLF (Contingency Logistics Flights), and technically they remain as such until they’ve proceeded through the baselining process.

Funding for STS-134 is yet to be arranged, although strong moves have already taken place at the Government level, which passed the a NASA Authorization Bill in late September of last year. The bill directs NASA to ‘take all necessary steps’ to add STS-134’s delivery of the AMS to the Station.

However, it contains a caveat for the NASA Administrator to cancel the flight within one year of its launch, if it is determined that it will cost significantly more than the existing cost estimate, or that it would create an unacceptable safety risk. In such an event, Congress would then have to reauthorize the flight, or the President would have to certify that it is in the national interest to fly the mission.

MAF’s Additional Tanks:

One old tank and two brand new tanks – all currently unmanifested on the planning documents – are being prepared for the opening salvo of additional flights that would be added in the event of shuttle extension.

Two new tanks have built up part of their aft domes, with “ET-140′s quarter panels for the aft dome are welded up, (and) ET-141′s two aft dome quarter panels welded up,” according to Lockheed Martin/MAF information on L2. “ET-122: Have begun some foam removal activities.”

The confirmation that ET-122 – the tank that was damaged during hurricane Katrina, and subsequently removed from the flight manifest – has returned to production means a total of three additional tanks, post STS-134, are in early stages of processing.

Tooling and floor space plans have also been created, in the event of extension, to ensure they do not conflict with requirements for the production of Constellation hardware.

“Will begin this week to remove 5001 tool (tool that welds the dome door panels into quarter section) following all ET-141 welds,” added the Lockheed Martin/MAF information. “Will pull that tool out to make way for the upper stage for Ares.

“This tool will be replaced by self-reacting friction stir welds should we undertake a Shuttle extension.”

A full status update on shuttle extension will be published on Thursday.

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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Ever since the tragedy of STS-107, the main focus on shuttle safety has been concentrated on reducing foam and ice liberation from the External Tanks, primarily during first stage – and early second stage – ascent.

2008 has marked a breakthrough year for MAF, with tank performance improving mission on mission, thanks to a variety of mitigation techniques that have been implemented at the New Orleans facility.

Most of those engineering changes to the TPS (Thermal Protection System) foam has been centred around the removal of as much foam as possible from the tank in areas that could liberate and strike the vehicle – most notably from the Ice/Frost Ramps that run down the side of the tanks.

With the post ET separation photography confirming the least amount of lost TPS on post RTF record, only three minor areas of TPS loss – backed up by an extremely clean orbiter, with no notable TPS damage suffered by Endeavour – ET confidence has been added ahead of the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) season for STS-119.

“Ascent: Nominal performance for all systems – no requirement violations. (3) foam debris events observed during review of imagery assets. (2) from LH2 tank acreage TPS and (1) from Intertank acreage TPS,” added the post flight IFA (In Flight Anomaly) presentation on L2, with a fourth minor area of TPS cosmetic damage also noted.

“Debris size, mass, and time of release were consistent with expectations and within risk assessment mass limits. ET-129 post-flight assessment complete and shows performance consistent with expectations and within requirements.

“(4) observations elevated as Post Flight Assessment Reports (PFARs) and assessed as IFA candidates. No new failure modes identified. No constraints or corrective actions required for STS-119/ET-127. No IFAs recommended for STS-126/ET-129.”

All areas of foam loss are understood, and relate to either cryopumping during ascent – a known condition, or small areas of manufacturing damage suffered due to “high traffic” of engineers working in certain areas of the tank.

Each area of interest gained expansive notes and data in the IFA presentation, before being closed as “known conditions”.

The tanks will always lose a certain amount of foam during ascent, and – as per former shuttle manager Wayne Hale’s comments on one of his many ET presentations – foam loss will never be zero.

However, with a few minor areas of additional modification due to be implemented on downstream tanks, the threat to orbiter safety has been – and will continue to be – greatly reduced, thanks to the fine efforts of the ET engineering community.

“The tank looked phenomenal. ET-129 really performed great,” wrote ET manager Mark Bryant. “Three small foam losses: On Intertank acreage forward of the Liquid Oxygen feedline fairing; on Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) tank acreage just aft of the ‘+Y’ bipod; and adjacent to the Station 1528 Ice Frost Ramp on the LH2 tank – all consistent with previous flight.”

Bryant added that MMT (Mission Management Team) chair LeRoy Cain, said of ET-129 “This is just flat (out) amazing,” when given the overview of the tank’s performance.

“LeRoy asked me to give kudos to our workforce; he was that pleased with the tank’s performance, (and) hence the condition of the Orbiter.”

Bryant also added that in a post-launch performance review one week after lift=off, observers noted that the ET electrical and propulsion systems performed as expected pre-launch and post-launch. The structural and Thermal Protection Systems also performed nominally post-launch.

STS-126 was Bryant’s debut launch as ET manager, which is one of the longest shifts on L-1, due to the early tanking of the ET and the obvious need to monitor the performance of the ECO (Engine Cut Off) sensors during that procedure.

Despite this, Mr Bryant noted he wasn’t nervous – thanks to assistance from Lockheed Martin’s highly regarded ET head Wanda Sigur and Chief Engineer Jeff Pilet – as the countdown proceeded down to the T-9 minute poll.

“Wanda checked in with me often, and actually I wasn’t that nervous. You’ve trained for this. You have great people around you doing their jobs,” he added. “Chief Engineer Jeff Pilet was, as usual, on top of things and kept me apprised of the tank’s condition and the Launch Support team. The Mission Support Room and Huntsville Operations Support Center were also on their game.

“When MMT Chairman LeRoy Cain conducted the roll call before coming out of the 9-minute hold, he called us first and I was able to confidently say, ‘Lockheed Martin (ET) is GO for launch.’”

As per NASA tradition a tie cutting ceremony was performed for Bryant’s first successful launch in his new position.

Other MAF challenges during 2008 related to being able to ship the tanks to Florida in time to support the manifest. At one point, several tanks were over a month down on their required shipping dates, before MAF managers utilized the results of several Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs), along with additional shifts for the workforce.

Before the delay to STS-125, all the tanks were back on schedule. And while the 2008 manifest remains fluid, 2009 has been relieved of all schedule concerns thanks to the hard work of the past 12 months.

Two tanks are currently in residence at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) – ET-127, previously set to fly with STS-125, but now flying with Discovery on February’s STS-119 mission, and ET-130 – which recently arrived to take the place as the Hubble Servicing Mission ET, should STS-125 remain on target for a May, 2009 launch.

At MAF, five tanks are undergoing major production, which reaches into the 2010 shuttle schedule. All these tanks are either on or ahead of schedule, which is the first time a set of downstream tanks have had their shipping date pressure removed from the equation since RTF.

“ET-131 (STS-127): The ET is in final assembly flow, with all operations proceeding nominally,” noted the Lockheed Martin/MAF status on ET production, on L2. “Will probably work only a couple of days during holiday outage. Still checking the February 22 date for delivery of tank.

“ET-132 (STS-128): The ET is in final assembly flow, with all operations proceeding nominally. Tank was laid down out of Cell A. Has been moved into Final Assembly 3; allows them to get into some dual tank flow.

“ET-133 (STS-129): Will perform LOX intertank flange closeout spray (which has already begun), no work required over holiday period.

“ET-135 (Currently STS-131) LOX tank was moved into Cell K. After cleaning, exterior of tank has been primed. Doing inspections on that priming now.

“ET-136 (Currently STS-132): Hydrogen tank moved out for proof testing. This will take about five to seven days, and then it will move into post-proof inspections (now completed).”

In a few months time, MAF expect to know the outcome of the Shuttle Extension status, which currently calls for at least five additional External Tanks to be built.

As part of the assessment, MAF managers have worked their funding requirements and floorspace plan, the latter relating to required handover of space to the Constellation program. Their results are understood to be favorable in support of an extension.

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.

No related posts.