A redesign to the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Thrust Vector Control (TVC) Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) fuel pump will be implemented on STS-134 and STS-133 – currently the final two “scheduled” shuttle flights. The redesign will eliminate the highest – although extremely unlikely to occur – “critical 1″ failure scenario, which holds the potential of [...]
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With just under one week to go before the opening launch attempt for Space Shuttle Endeavour and the STS-130 crew, the Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR) have thoroughly reviewed all open and nonconformance outstanding issues with the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and Reusable Solid Rocket Motors (RSRMs) ahead of the first shuttle mission of the year.
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Capping off a highly successful year for the Space Shuttle Program, the STS-129 flight of Atlantis last month has undergone its final, official post-flight assessment: the all-important In-Flight Anomaly (IFA) review. In all, STS-129 was a clean flight, particularly for the vehicle’s Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs).
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Shuttle managers have concluded the key review of STS-129’s mission, in turn providing a baseline for STS-130’s Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs). The STS-129 IFA (In Flight Anomaly) review provided an in-depth post flight overview of all shuttle hardware, from the orbiter, to the External Tank, Space Shuttle Main Engines, and boosters – the latter of [...]
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Ares I-X has launched on the second attempt at 11:30am Eastern, and although the First Stage and the Upper Stage Simulator (USS) appeared to recontact after separation (later confirmed that no recontact took place) - managers are claiming the flight to be a success. Sources also claim one of the FS’ parachutes failed, with the booster splashing down with two working [...]
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With STS-128 and Discovery officially cleared by the SOMD (Space Operations Mission Directorate) FRR for an opening launch attempt on Tuesday, August 25 at 1:36A.M. EDT, NASA’s ongoing effort to ensure that all aspects of the Space Shuttle system are safe to fly was not dedicated just to the External Tank, as managers thoroughly reviewed [...]
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With around three weeks until the launch of STS-128, Discovery has finally arrived at Pad 39A, following a dramatic 10 hour-plus rollout on Tuesday. Once at the pad, engineers will incorporate around a week’s worth of changeouts associated with the left Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), following issues with a Check Valve Filter Assembly (CVFA) – [...]
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NASA officials have cleared Space Shuttle Endeavour for launch on June 13 at 7:17a.m. This mission, the STS-127/2J/A flight, will complete assembly of the Japanese Kibo Laboratory complex during the 16-day journey to space. With this approval for flight comes one of the final steps of flight rationale for Endeavour’s Reusable Solid Rocket Motors (RSRMs) [...]
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With launch of STS-125 now less than a week away, NASA managers have thoroughly reviewed the performance of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) from the previous missions, approving several safety and performance upgrades to aid Shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour on their STS-125 and STS-400 missions respectively.
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Even though shuttle managers are preparing for two missions in the space of a month, efforts on the downstream flights are at various stages of processing and planning, all the way through to STS-135 – which is currently the LON (Launch On Need) placeholder for what is currently the last shuttle mission – STS-134 – [...]
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The usual ballet of reviews to ensure safe flight has moved through another key stage, following the full review of STS-119’s IFAs (In Flight Anomalies). With the next two missions heading to different orbital destinations, part of the IFA review will go towards STS-125’s upcoming Flight Readiness Review (FRR), and the ISS related section forwarded [...]
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Discovery continues to perform without any issues of note as her crew completed the task of remotely deploying the 1B and 3B solar arrays from the newly installed S6 integrated truss structure on the International Space Station (ISS). The operation was a huge success for both arrays, which are now fully deployed on the Station.
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A waiver to be issued for STS-119 on the RSRB (Reusable Solid Rocket Motor) Aft exit cone linear shaped charge (LSC) – which is designed to sever exit cone from the booster shortly before impact with the ocean.
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An assessment into the holddown post failure on STS-126’s launch has found that debris that is not captured by the Debris Containment System (DCS) is capable of impacting the vehicle during launch. A solution to STS-126’s anomaly is currently being certified for STS-119.
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Engineers will meet in the middle of January to push forward with a redesign of the Holddown Post (HDP) Debris Containment System (DCS), in time for the launch of STS-119 – following an investigation into a debris incident during STS-126’s launch.
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As NASA’s triumphant 2008 year comes to a close – a year that saw four Space Shuttle construction flights to the International Space Station (ISS) - engineers around the United States are working hard to ensure a safe and successful 2009, starting with the launch of Discovery’s STS-119 mission in February, via lessons learned from STS-126.
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The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) has returned Endeavour to Florida on Friday, following a cross country ferry trip that has seen large crowds greet the duo in Texas and Louisiana. Meanwhile, shuttle managers have completed a post mission IFA (In Flight Anomaly) review of STS-126, with highlights including information on a holddown post issue.
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STS-126 will see the flight debut of two new sets of instrumentation, aimed at gathering more detailed data on RSRM (Reusable Solid Rocket Motor) behaviour during the first stage of launch. The resulting data will benefit the efforts to understand and mitigate Thrust Oscillation on Ares I.
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