With Discovery’s opening launch attempt on the STS-131 mission now officially set for Monday, April 5 at 6:21:22 a.m., final pre-countdown operations are underway at Launch Pad 39A as engineers complete last minute tasks to configure Discovery and the launch pad for S0007 (launch countdown) operations.
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The decision to call a Special PRCB (Program Requirements Control Board) meeting on Tuesday paid dividends, as several outstanding issues gained the required flight rationale – with all dissenting opinions removed – to allow for Friday’s Agency-level Flight Readiness Review (FRR) to give a “go” for STS-131 to proceed towards an April 5 launch date.
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With Discovery’s payload now installed into the orbiter’s Payload Bay, all eyes are on Friday’s Agency Flight Readiness Review (FRR). Several items of interest are under review, all of which have flight rationale decisions to allow STS-131 to launch on April 5. One item of interest with the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) already has flight [...]
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Friday’s Agency Flight Readiness Review (FRR) will have several dissenters pitching against flight rationale for STS-131′s launch, relating to the faulty helium isolation valve on the Right Reaction Control System (RRCS). While dissent is not uncommon – and more so welcomed – the Special Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) meeting still has strong support for [...]
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A full set of testing on the primary and secondary regulators on Discovery’s Right Reaction Control System (RRCS) – located downstream of the leaking helium isolation valve – has being classed as a success. The health of the system’s redundancy will boost the chances of managers approving flight rational at the upcoming Agency-level Flight Readiness [...]
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As work continues at Launch Pad 39A in terms of STS-131 payload arrival and transfer to the Payload Changeout Room, engineers are continuing to work an issue with Discovery’s PCMMU (Pulse Code Modulator Master Unit), which first experienced a “momentary failure” on March 5, that kicked off a round of engineering evaluations and troubleshooting efforts.
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An Engineering Review Board (ERB) meeting has taken place on Monday to discuss options relating to the leak on Discovery’s Right Reaction Control System (RRCS). Five troubleshooting procedures have failed to correct the issue with a helium isolation valve – with additional troubleshooting set to take place. Should those efforts also fail, flight rationale would be [...]
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A leak relating to Discovery’s RCS (Reaction Control System) Helium Isolation Value – on the Right Hand (RH) OMS (Orbital Maneuvering System) fuel system – is undergoing troubleshooting at Pad 39A. Due to redundancy, flight rationale may be accepted to fly STS-131 “as-is” – should blowdown procedures fail to correct the issue – otherwise rollback and [...]
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As expected, STS-131 has passed its latest milestone, with the approval to push forward to the Agency level Flight Readiness Review on March 26 – following the conclusion of the SSP (Space Shuttle Program) FRR this week. No issues of note are being worked on Discovery out at Pad 39A, as engineers work through hypergolic [...]
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Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) managers have been busy discussing the launch dates for what are currently the final flights of the manifest, although STS-131 remains on track for April 5. With STS-134′s Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) issue now confirmed to be a thermal leak observed during ongoing testing in Holland, STS-132 and STS-133 have [...]
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No major topics are expected at next week’s Space Shuttle Program (SSP) Flight Readiness Review (FRR), as Discovery continues to push towards her April 5 launch date. Processing is also proceeding well for May’s STS-132 flight with Atlantis, although Endeavour’s STS-134 mission is subject to program level meetings – starting next Monday – due a [...]
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Discovery has rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) just after midnight on Wednesday morning in preparation for her April 5 STS-131 launch date. With rollover to Pad 39A is completed, further repairs will take place on the stack’s External Tank (ET-135), following “avian induced damage” to the tank’s TPS (Thermal Protection System) foam.
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Following initially positive opening investigations into the possibility of allowing a Space Shuttle orbiter to be present (i.e. docked) to the International Space Station (ISS) during Russian Progress and/or Soyuz dockings and undockings, Space Shuttle Program and ISS Program officials have decided that more investigation and information is necessary before allowing this scenario to unfold.
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Discovery and External Tank ET-135 have completed mating operations with no issues reported, as STS-131 continues to enjoy a smooth flow towards rollout next week. Meanwhile, STS-132′s ET-136 is due to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) early next week, as managers discuss the “schedule crunch” of the final three “scheduled” shuttle missions.
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Endeavour has safely returned to her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-2), following the highly successful STS-130 mission – which concluded on Sunday night with a safe landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). Only hours after all three orbiters were reunited in the OPFs, Discovery bid her farewells and rolled over to the Vehicle Assembly Building [...]
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Despite STS-131′s slip to April, managers are continuing to push forward with plans to launch Atlantis on STS-132 the following month, on May 14. Dependant on Discovery launching in early April, Atlantis will target two launch windows – with a Soyuz-related Dual Docked Operations (DDO) constraint sandwiched inbetween.
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Rollover of Discovery is still pending, due to temperature constraints relating to several systems on the orbiter, resulting in new rollover date of February 22. Meetings are also likely to recommend to delay the launch until early April, to allow the Russian Soyuz TMA-18 to dock at the ISS – pending evaluations on the constraint [...]
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With less than two weeks until STS-130′s launch with Endeavour, managers are already setting up the readiness meetings for STS-131 – which is scheduled to launch the following month with Discovery. With Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs) overlapping the missions, engineers and managers will be working at full pace for several weeks.
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With Endeavour enjoying a smooth flow on Pad 39A, preparations for Discovery’s STS-131 mission in March are picking up the pace – with the milestone of External Tank (ET-135) mating with the twin Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) set to take place next Monday. Meanwhile, the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans has been handed [...]
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With Endeavour undergoing pad validation work – as engineers make the hundreds of connections to prepare her for launch in a month’s time – processing of her older sisters, Atlantis and Discovery, is pushing ahead. While STS-131′s boosters are being stacked inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), work has been completed on repairs to Atlantis’ [...]
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