NASA’s 15 Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) are being transported to the Stennis Space Center (SSC), as they transition towards their future role with the Space Launch System (SLS). The highly reliable RS-25Ds – nine of which flew with the last three Space Shuttle missions – will eventually be succeeded by the expendable RS-25E, early [...]
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All good things must come to an end. And thus was the grand finale of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. It was year of exceptional highs and emotional scenes as Discovery, Endeavour, and Atlantis closed out their remarkable careers with same style, grace, mission success, and safety that all had come to know from [...]
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Following the highly successful launch of the STS-133 mission, NASA and its contractors have reviewed the vehicle’s performance for any In-Flight Anomalies, or IFAs, on the systems of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and Reusable Solid Rocket Motors (RSRMs). In all, the standard investigations have revealed a very clean performance in both categories, with only one [...]
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Although Discovery has finished her space flight career in style, she still has many months of processing ahead of her – as deserving work follows a pre-planned schedule towards her eventual ferry away from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Her final mission was flawless, earning managerial praise for the teams tasked with “finishing strong” during [...]
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Discovery has completed her final – and flawless – mission in space with a return to her home port of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Two KSC opportunities existed on Flight Day 14 (End Of Mission), but excellent weather in Florida allowed a go for the deorbit burn to be given, prior to [...]
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To say that the final voyage of Discovery has been anything but unbelievably remarkable and awe-inspiring would be to lessen the spirit of STS-133. Now, as she spends her final day in orbit of Earth, Discovery is preparing for reentry. Paraphrasing the Admiral (Bill Adama) himself: “Discovery has not failed us. She will not fail [...]
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In an emotional farewell, Discovery has undocked and departed from the International Space Station (ISS) for the final time in her career. The undocking occurred at 6:00am Central Time, ahead of a stunning flyaround of the orbital outpost. As the two vehicles grow the distance between each other, the STS-133 crew completed Late Inspections on [...]
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With Discovery enjoying her final docked mission – with glowing praise from her crew during nearly every media event – the workhorse of the fleet is providing no headaches for her engineering teams on the ground during her swansong flight. No issues of note are being worked on the orbiter in one of the “cleanest” [...]
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The STS-133 crew are working through their second and final spacewalk dedicated to several misc. tasks that will help place the International Space Station in the best possible shape for future construction missions as well as the post-Shuttle era. Meanwhile, thanks to Discovery’s excellent performance, the Mission Management Team (MMT) have discussed adding a second [...]
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With the first spacewalk (EVA) of the mission behind them, Discovery’s crew has further completed one of the mission’s primary objectives: the installation of the PMM (Permanent Multipurpose Module) Leonardo, the final U.S. permanent pressurized module, to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, a proposed flyabout by a Russian Soyuz has been formally cancelled.
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As Discovery continues to sail through her STS-133 mission with flying colors, astronauts Steve Bowen and Al Drew have completed the mission’s first of two EVAs (Extravehicular Activities). The first STS-133/ULF5 spacewalk included the retrieval of a failed Pump Module and MLI (Multi-Layer Insulation) blanket work on the Z1 truss. Meanwhile, sister orbiter Endeavour has [...]
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The Damage Assessment Team (DAT) confirmed Discovery’s clean ascent into space by clearing the orbiter from a Focused Inspection, as STS-133′s mission continues to proceed flawlessly. With a host of robotic operations picking up shortly after Discovery arrived at the orbital outpost for the final time, the crew are heading toward the opening spacewalk – [...]
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A healthy orbiter Discovery and her crew have completed a stunning R-bar Pitch Maneuver (RPM) and docking to the International Space Station. Additionally, Discovery’s extremely clean ride to orbit signals the outstanding work of numerous engineers to clear a potential contamination concern within the External Tank following the inadvertent opening of a backup Fill and [...]
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Now safely on orbit, Discovery has completed inspections on her Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) panels – the main task of STS-133′s Flight Day 2 (FD 2). Only two minor indications were registered by her sensor equipment embedded into her Wing Leading Edge (WLE) during ascent, while two noticeable debris events are of no concern from [...]
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Discovery has completed her final ascent into space, following a 16:53 Eastern launch from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Controllers managed to launch the veteran orbiter with just seconds to spare, as the count was held at T-5 minutes to fix a range issue. A foam liberation impact on the orbiter late in ascent is highly [...]
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Engineers have successfully cleared all of Discovery’s minor issues, allowing the veteran shuttle to head towards the upcoming key countdown milestones. While all eyes will be on her External Tank (ET-137) on Thursday, previous issues during November’s countdown – such as the Main Engine Controller (MEC) problem – have not reoccurred.
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For over 29 years engineers, space enthusiasts, and people around the world have marveled at the technological and scientific achievement that is the Space Shuttle fleet. During this time, the most complex machines ever built have proven themselves invaluable in transforming mankind’s understanding of planet Earth and the space beyond. And for 26 of those 29 years, [...]
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With the countdown clocks now ticking down for the launch of STS-133 at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) have been hard at work this past week, reconfiguring the station for the arrival of Discovery this Saturday. The reconfiguration period is set to continue this week, as the [...]
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NASA is gearing up for what will be a jammed packed STS-133, along with the possibility of a Soyuz fly-around during Discovery’s docked mission still under consideration. To this end, NASA has created a plan to protect Discovery OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor System) sensor packages during the proposed maneuver. The vehicle’s Wing Leading Edge Impact Detection [...]
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As had been expected over the last 24 hours, managers at the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) approved the February 24 launch date target for Discovery’s final trip into space on the STS-133 mission. With flight rationale for the modification to the External Tank (ET-137) stringers the main discussion, ATV-2′s docking – just hours before Discovery [...]
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