If the first half of 2009 for NASA demonstrated the agency’s unwavering attention to safety, NASA not only continued that trend – upholding the utmost safety standards in the Space Shuttle and International Space Station Programs – during the second half of the year but also placed itself and its various programs in a tremendous [...]
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As Atlantis’ launch date nears, engineers, Space Shuttle Program managers, and Agency personnel are continuing their analysis of the Main Engine Ignition acoustic environment on the Stinger pods of orbiter Atlantis – an analysis they are able to devote a great deal of time to thanks to an issue-free pad flow and excellent prior mission [...]
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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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The STS-129 stack has completed rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Pad 39A Wednesday, ahead of the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) season – which begins with the MOD FRR on Thursday – that will clear the vehicle to launch on November 12. The STS-128 In Flight Anomaly (IFA) review will make up a [...]
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Following the multiple Intertank foam debris liberations from Endeavour’s STS-127 External Tank (ET-131) in July, engineers at the Kennedy Space Center and the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in Louisiana undertook an ambitious campaign of Non Destructive Evaluations and Pull Tests on downrange tanks to ensure that these kinds of liberations would not occur again. Those [...]
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Discovery has returned to her home port of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on top of one of NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). The two day cross country journey involved two stops in Texas, and an overnight stay in Louisiana. She joins her two sisters who are deep in processing for the next two missions, [...]
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Discovery’s cross country journey back to Florida has begun its final leg , following refueling stops at Amarillo and Fort Worth, Texas, before arriving at Barksdale, Louisiana for an overnight stay. The superstar orbiter is expected to make it back to her home base of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Monday afternoon, as she rides on top of the converted [...]
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Discovery is on track for her weekend cross country trip back to the Kennedy Space Center, whereboth her sisters are deep in processing for their upcoming missions. Post flight evaluations into Discovery’s STS-128 mission will converge at the In Flight Anomaly Review (IFA) at the end of the month, though initial findings continue to point [...]
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Following her highly successful STS-128 mission, Discovery is undergoing smooth processing at the Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), located in the grounds of Edwards Air Force Base, with hardly any items of interest noted during opening Thermal Protection System (TPS) evaluations – which in turn will aid an uninterrupted turnaround for a potential departure from [...]
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With the weather failing to improve on the Florida coastline, Discovery has landed at the Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB) in California – where she will undergo initial deservicing prior to a ferry trip back to the Kennedy Space Center on the back of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). The deorbit burn took place at [...]
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After 13-days on orbit and a spectacularly successful logistics mission to boost the science capability of the International Space Station (ISS), Discovery and her seven member crew will spend an extra day on orbit, as unacceptable weather conditions over the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) failed to clear in time for both of the landing opportunities [...]
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Discovery is hoping she’s spending her final full day in space, with a targeted return to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Thursday. As part of the entry preparations, the main systems required for the return home have been checked out on Flight Day 13, with no issues found. Discovery’s Thermal Protection System (TPS) is [...]
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After eight full days of docked operations, Discovery has undocked from the International Space Station, bringing the joint operation phase of the 30th construction/utilization flight of the Space Shuttle to the orbiting outpost to a close. Later, Discovery’s crew will perform the customary OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor System) late inspection of their ship’s Wing Leading [...]
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Discovery is all set for her Tuesday departure from the International Space Station (ISS), following the reberthing of the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) into the orbiter’s payload bay and the hatch closure between to two vehicles. Tuesday’s undocking will be ahead of a new conjunction threat that is being monitored by ISS controllers.
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STS-128 has successfully completed the second of three spacewalks, which focused on the replacement of an Ammonia Tank on the International Space Station (ISS). Meanwhile the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) have given an expansive roundup of their rationale to clear Discovery for entry, which was approved by the Mission Management Team (MMT).
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NASA Managers debated advancing or delaying EVA-2, due to a now-removed conjunction threat to Discovery and the ISS - relating to part of an expended Ariane 5 upper stage - before deciding the spacewalk would remain on schedule. Unique operations to maneuver the Shuttle/Station stack are already on the drawing board, due to the issue with Discovery’s vernier thrusters, [...]
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With Discovery experiencing only minor hiccups thus far in her logistics mission to the International Space Station, astronauts Danny Olivas and Nicole Stott have completed the first of three EVAs (Spacewalks) for STS-128. Meanwhile, Shuttle engineers continue to analyze the failure of the F5R Vernier thruster on Discovery — which lead to the deactivation of [...]
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The Damage Assessment Team (DAT) are working hundreds of images taken during the orbiter’s RPM (Rbar Pitch Maneuver) on Flight Day 3 – with full clearance from a Focused Inspection (FI) now gained. Clearance for re-entry will take around another day. Also, images of the External Tank (ET-132) via the ET Umbilical Well camera show the [...]
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Discovery celebrated her 25th birthday in style by docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on Flight Day 3 of STS-128. During the Approach Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) phase of the mission, Discovery helped verify the performance of Neptec’s TriDAR vision system for unmanned AR&D via a Detailed Test Objective (DTO).
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The STS-128 crew have completed Flight Day 2’s activities, which focused on the opening inspections of Discovery’s Thermal Protection System (TPS), along with the checkouts of the orbiter’s docking systems ahead of Sunday night’s arrival at the International Space Station (ISS). Discovery launched Friday night on what is initially being described as a very clean ascent.
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