NASA’s Management Mission Team (MMT) meeting has concluded with the approval to proceed with a launch attempt on Friday for STS-115.
There will be one more meeting during the launch countdown, however, pending motor 2 phase analysis. The final Go/No Go confirmation for Shuttle Atlantis is expected to come after that analysis is presented.
**L2 STS-115 Coverage: L-2 and L-1 MMT Notes. ALL related handbooks, from Final Flight Plan to EVA Presentations (550mb of 115 presentations downloadable)**.
KEY EVENTS: (Colour code: Red ‘No Go’ – Green: ‘Go’)
External Tank Weather Orbiter Range.
60-plus presentations from MMT meetings now available, plus 10 new images of FC1, and the ‘engineering-ly brilliant’ e-mail from STS-93 EGIL Tim North and OVERVIEW FOR MMT. Sept 8 Launch Overview Spreadsheet available.
Key Points/Newsflashes: Meetings taking place (Central Time): Decision pending. GO for launch – pending 12am EDT meeting. MMT review article and launch countdown article to follow early AM UK time.
Main Article
The test will ‘analytically verify steady state operations of running H2 motor on 2 phases indefinitely,’ noted a NASA memo. However, Shuttle manager Wayne Hale expects that ‘small test’ to pass.
The main issue, the phase issue with Fuel Cell 1 – which is a 30 year old hardware component – has now been classed as acceptable to fly with, although there were some dissenting voices during the MMT.
‘The team came to the conclusion today that the issues with Fuel Cell number 1 are probably acceptable to fly with,’ noted Hale.
‘Today we had another fun and interesting MMT meeting – and if you ever want to see the new NASA compared to the old NASA you should have been over there today.
‘There was a chance for everyone to participate, all the data was laid out on the table for everyone to examine, from the top of the agency to the junior engineers.
‘We had a vigorous debate and we had many people give their opinions and arguments and at the end of the day when the MMT was polled it was not quite unanimous, but nearly unanimous that we go ahead and attempt to fly.’
Target launch time is 11:40:47 EDT. A Live Countdown article and related update pages will be published in the coming hours.
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