STS-119 - Discovery - Kennedy - 15.03.2009 23:43 UTC

[Salo]

http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/2009/01/live-at-ksc-crew-reviews-pad-escape.shtml

Live at KSC: Crew Reviews Pad Escape
 Shuttle Discovery's seven astronauts this morning have braved blustery winds at Kennedy Space Center from the 195-foot level of launch pad 39A's Fixed Service Structure.

That's where the crew will enter the orbiter Wednesday morning during a countdown dress rehearsal for their targeted Feb. 12 launch to the International Space Station.

It's also where the astronauts would rush to a system of slide wire baskets that would hurtle them to the ground if they needed to escape a fire or other emergency.

The crew this morning learned how to use the basket system, which has never been needed during a mission.

The second of three days of training at KSC continues with briefings in the Launch Control Center.

Discovery's crew is led by mission commander Lee Archambault, and includes pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists Joe Acaba, Richard Arnold, John Phillips, Steve Swanson and Koichi Wakata.

Out at the launch pad today, the crew will also examine their mission's primary payload from the Payload Changeout Room.

Discovery's payload bay doors are scheduled to close at midnight around cargo, a nearly 31,000-pound, $300-million truss segment being delivered to the space station.

The truss segment is the 11th and final piece of the station's backbone, and will unfurl the final pair of power-generating solar arrays.

Also today, Archambault and Antonelli will continue practice landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft, a jet modified to handle like an orbiter on descent.
 

IMAGE NOTE: Click to enlarge the image. Discovery mission specialist Steve Swanson is shown practicing a dismount from a slide wire basket at launch pad 39A during training in 2007 for the STS-117 mission. Mission specialist Danny Olivas assisted. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.

posted by James Dean at 10:01 AM

[Чебурашка]

Запуск Discovery STS-119 перенесён на (не ранее) 19 февраля 2009

[Чебурашка]

Запуск Discovery STS-119 перенесён на (не ранее) 22 февраля 2009.

Проблема всё та же... Рассматривается вариант переноса запуска на 2 месяца  вправо

[Salo]

Discovery Launch Now Back To Feb. 22
http://www.rian.ru/science/20090207/161241302.html

Шаттл "Дискавери" стартует к МКС 22 февраля - НАСА

МОСКВА, 7 фев - РИА Новости. Запуск шаттла "Дискавери" к МКС вновь отложен, теперь на 22 февраля, сообщает в пятницу агентство Рейтер со ссылкой на представителей НАСА.

Предварительно запуск был запланирован на 12 февраля, но отложен в связи с проблемами в основной двигательной установке.

В пятницу представитель НАСА заявил, что инженерам нужно дополнительное время, чтобы закончить тестирование клапанов, которые уравнивают давление подачи топлива из внешнего топливного бака к двигателям шаттла.

Ранее сообщалось, что один из клапанов получил повреждения во время предыдущего полета в ноябре.

В настоящее время на пусковой площадке, куда был установлен шаттл, ведется заключительный этап работ по подготовке космического челнока к полету. Экипаж "Дискавери" проводит тренировки в космическом Центре НАСА имени Джонсона в Хьюстоне (штат Техас). Астронавты завершают изучение полетного плана и отрабатывают на тренажерах маневры по взлету и посадке шаттла.

[Salo]

14.02.2009 / 11:35    Запуск "Дискавери" вновь перенесен

     Запуск шаттла Discovery к Международной космической станции (МКС) в очередной раз перенесен. Как сообщили в пятницу в NASA, он состоится не ранее 27 февраля.

     - К.И.

[Krolik]

Интересно, кроме панелей СБ они хоть что-то для снабжения МКС возьмут ?

[Чебурашка]

Интересно, кроме панелей СБ они хоть что-то для снабжения МКС возьмут ?

Читаем press-kit: http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/304681main_STS-119_Press_Kit.pdf
В частности, оттуда:

6. Transfer mandatory quantities of water from Discovery to the space station
7. Transfer and stow critical cargo items to the space station
...
16. Prepare and install Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Proximity Global Positioning System antenna B on Japanese  Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized
Section

И много чего ещё...

[Dude]

14.02.2009 / 11:35    Запуск "Дискавери" вновь перенесен

     Запуск шаттла Discovery к Международной космической станции (МКС) в очередной раз перенесен. Как сообщили в пятницу в NASA, он состоится не ранее 27 февраля.

     - К.И.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US space agency NASA has again postponed the launch of the space shuttle Discovery, saying it will not occur before February 27.

The launch, initially scheduled for February 12, had already been delayed until February 19.

NASA said Friday it will hold a news conference on February 20, following a review of space shuttle Discovery's readiness for flight and an assessment of shuttle flow control valve testing.

[anik]

27 февраля запуск не состоится, новая дата старта может быть объявлена 25 февраля.

NASA Defers Setting Next Shuttle Launch Date
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/feb/HQ_09037_STS-119_Postponed.html

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- During a thorough review of space shuttle Discovery's readiness for flight, NASA managers decided Friday that more data and possible testing are required before launching the STS-119 mission to the International Space Station.

Engineering teams have been working to identify what caused damage to a flow control valve on shuttle Endeavour during its November 2008 flight.

"We need to complete more work to have a better understanding before flying," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington who chaired Friday's Flight Readiness Review. "We were not driven by schedule pressure and did the right thing. When we fly, we want to do so with full confidence."

The shuttle has three flow control valves that channel gaseous hydrogen from the main engines to the external fuel tank. Teams also have tried to determine the consequences if a valve piece were to break off and strike part of the shuttle and external fuel tank.

The Space Shuttle Program has been asked to develop a plan to inspect additional valves similar to those installed on Discovery. This plan will be reviewed during a meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Afterward, the program may consider setting a new target launch date.

[Александр Репной]

NASA в четвертый раз отложило запуск шаттла "Дискавери"
 
Национальное аэрокосмическое агентство США (NASA) вечером в пятницу 20 февраля в четвертый раз отложило запуск шаттла "Дискавери" к Международной космической станции, сообщается на сайте NASA.
Очередной перенос старта, отмечает Reuters, состоялся по той же причине, что и все предыдущие: специалисты Агентства намерены потратить больше времени на проверку клапанов, поддерживающих давление в топливных баках корабля во время его выхода на орбиту.

Во время последнего старта "Дискавери" один из трех клапанов был поврежден, и ученые хотят удостовериться, что при повторении подобной ситуации экипаж корабля не пострадает.

Шаттл изначально должен был стартовать еще 12 февраля, однако впоследствии старт трижды переносился, и новой датой запуска было названо 27 февраля. На какую дату старт шаттла перенесен теперь, пока неизвестно.

http://lenta.ru/news/2009/02/21/delay/

Ну вот,в очередной раз... :?

[Salo]

21.02.2009 / 11:03    Старт "Дискавери" вновь отложен
     
После 13-часового обсуждения стартовой готовности менеджеры NASA приняли решение в очередной раз отложить запуск корабля многоразового использования Discovery по программе STS-119. Пуск шаттла теперь должен состояться в интервале между 14 марта и 6 апреля. Точная дата старта пока не опредлена.

     - К.И.

[Salo]

Видимо с точностью до наоборот:
http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/2009/02/update-new-discovery-plan-next-week.shtml

Friday, February 20, 2009
Update: New Discovery Plan Next Week
 Space shuttle program managers will develop a plan by Wednesday that they hope allows them to fly Discovery - and later missions - while working to redesign valves in the shuttles' main propulsion system.

Once targeted for Feb. 12 and most recently Feb. 27, a Discovery launch may not be possible before a "cutout" for a Russian Soyuz mission to the International Space Station that runs from March 13 to April 6. The shuttle might not be able to launch during that window.

In a briefing late Friday at Kennedy Space Center, NASA managers said they wanted to do more work to understand the root cause behind the failure of a valve that maintains pressure in the shuttle's orange external tank, by allowing or restricting the flow of hydrogen gas to it.

They said they came close to a decision to launch Discovery, but some engineers questioned assumptions and data from the extensive valve tests conducted across the country in recent weeks, which produced a mountain of fresh data to digest.

"There was a just a sense of unease that we did not quite have the rigor that we typically expect for a question like this," said John Shannon, shuttle program manager.

 A small piece broke off a valve during Endeavour's launch last November without doing any damage.

But managers worried about a repeat of that event, possibly involving a bigger chunk of valve.

That could result in an explosion or main engine shutdown that could have disastrous consequences for the crew of seven astronauts.

Shannon said the weeks of testing and Friday's marathon flight readiness review, which began at 9 a.m. and concluded before a 10:30 p.m. press briefing, had the goal of making sure that "we didn't just get lucky" on that STS-126 mission.

 The area of most concern is within the orbiter's aft section, inches from where the three valves - one for each main engine - pop up and down to increase or decrease the flow of hydrogen gas.

Meanwhile, work to redesign the valves has already begun. The redesigns could be relatively minor tweaks to their shape or changes in materials that could take four to six months, or a more comprehensive change that could take a year or more.

But officials don't expect the issue to keep shuttles from flying.

"I think the overall philosophy is, while we're working this redesign, we'll have a strategy that allows us to continue to fly with the valves we've got, and we'll do that in parallel," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space operations.

Shannon said some additional tests and better explanation of their results would help present a convincing rationale for flying, showing a "statistically defensible set of data that tells the story" that probabilities of a valve failure are low and could be survived.

Gerstenmaier said the valve problem has essentially existed since the first shuttle flight in 1981, but modern imaging and computer modeling technology now enabled teams to do a more thorough inspection than ever of microscopic cracks.

And lessons learned from the loss of Columbia's crew in 2003 ensured that engineers didn't assume the problem was minor because of Endeavour's safe result.

The managers said there was no indication yet that later shuttle flights, including a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission targeted to launch May 12, would need to be pushed back.

Nine shuttle missions remain to be flown before the fleet is retired next year, eight of them to the space station.

"This is just one of those things, in a very complicated vehicle, you're going to have issues like this," said Shannon. "We're gong to make sure we do it right."

Once it has launched, Discovery is scheduled to fly a two-week mission to install a final piece of the space station's central truss and deploy a last set of huge solar array wings.

posted by James Dean at 11:43 PM

[Salo]

http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/2009/02/nasa-hatching-go-forward-plan-for.shtml

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
NASA Hatching Go-Forward Plan For Discovery

 NASA managers could decide as early as today whether to try to launch Discovery in March or postpone its International Space Station assembly mission until April.

At issue: Whether it's safe to launch the shuttle with suspect main propulsion system valves whose failure - in a worse case scenario -- could trigger catastrophe in flight.

A go-ahead could lead to a launch attempt around March 7. A decision to redesign the valves could lead to a lengthy delay.

NASA must launch Discovery by March 13 to complete its station assembly mission before an already scheduled crew rotation at the outpost. Otherwise, the earliest launch date would be around April 7.

"They're going to finalize the plan," Kennedy Space Center spokeswoman Candrea Thomas said Tuesday.

In either case, NASA contractor technicians today will begin to replace three valves designed to control the flow of gaseous hydrogen from Discovery's three main engines to its 15-story external tank during flight.

About the size and shape of small, pop-up lawn sprinklers, the valves are key to keeping pressure within the tank at proper levels as propellant within it is exhausted at a rate that would empty a backyard swimming pool in 25 seconds.

Too much pressure could trigger a relief valve and dump combustable gaseous hydrogen overboard - a potentially explosive fire hazard. Too little pressure could lead to a premature engine shutdown.

One of the valves on Endeavour failed in flight last November. Extensive tests are being carried out at several NASA centers to determine whether the valves present an unacceptable risk to the shuttle and its crew.

NASA engineers think valves that have flown on fewer flights are less susceptible to failure. The valves being removed from Discovery each have flown 12 times. Two of the replacements have flown four times; the third has flown five times.

Seven Discovery astronauts aim to deliver a set of American solar wings to the station. Launch time on March 7 would be about 10 p.m.

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts119/090224update/

March launch of Discovery possible, but not certain
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD

Posted: February 24, 2009;
Updated with decision to swap out valves

NASA managers today ordered engineers to replace suspect hydrogen flow control valves aboard the shuttle Discovery with valves that have less flight time in a bid to reduce the chances of in-flight cracks that could lead to debris in a pressurization line. If ongoing tests and higher fidelity computer models continue to show positive results, Discovery could be cleared for a delayed launch attempt by around March 12, sources said today. That would give NASA just two or three launch opportunities before standing down until April 7 to avoid conflict with a Russian Soyuz mission to the international space station.

A decision to set a new target launch date could come as early as Wednesday, but sources said it was not a done deal because engineers are still debating the root cause of the valve problem that has grounded Discovery. The results of ongoing tests, however, along with the predictions of more realistic computer modeling, may convince skeptics the shuttle's internal plumbing can withstand impacts from valve debris should cracks develop in flight.

While that remains to be seen, a brief update on NASA's web site late today indicated a plan for moving forward could be in place by Wednesday.

"Though the plan has not yet been completed, technicians will install flow control valves that have flown fewer times than the ones currently in Discovery's main propulsion system," NASA said in a statement.

"The plan should be finalized by Wednesday and once senior managers are in agreement, a Flight Readiness Review will be rescheduled to assess the readiness for launch and to set a formal launch target date."

The Discovery astronauts were allowed to break quarantine Friday after mission managers put the flight on hold and ruled out a Feb. 27 launch date. At the time, Launch Director Mike Leinbach said Discovery could be launched five days or so after a decision was made to proceed, assuming the shuttle was cleared for flight as is.

But the valves are being replaced and the crew still must put in a full week of quarantine time. Several sources said today it was unlikely Discovery could be ready for launch before March 12, and that assumes engineers and managers can get comfortable enough with the test data to press ahead without any design changes for the valves in question.

To avoid conflict with the upcoming launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying two fresh space station crew members and a tourist, Discovery cannot take off after around March 13 unless the Russians agree to delay their own launch. As of this writing, a shuttle launch on March 14 is possible, but it would require the crew to eliminate one of their four planned spacewalks and shorten the flight by a day.

The next available launch date after that would be April 7, the day the station's current commander, flight engineer and the tourist depart in an older Soyuz.

If Discovery launches in March, before the Soyuz "cutout," officials say the shuttle Atlantis will stay on schedule for launch May 12 on a long-awaited mission to service and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. If Discovery's flight slips to April, the Hubble mission likely would slip to around June 2.

Complicating the picture in the near term, United Launch Alliance plans to launch NASA's Kepler science mission aboard a Delta 2 rocket on March 5 and an Atlas 5 rocket carrying a military communications satellite on March 9. It does not appear the Kepler mission will be a factor in shuttle planning, but the Atlas flight is in direct conflict.

The Air Force Eastern Range, which provides radar tracking and other services for all rockets launched from Florida, supports one flight at a time and each mission gets at least two launch opportunities on successive days. As of this writing, there are indications the Atlas flight may slip a few days, but no such delay has yet been announced.

Even if the Eastern Range is clear for Discovery, a launch in March assumes no major repairs or redesign work are required to resolve concerns about the suspect hydrogen flow control valves. Originally scheduled for launch Feb. 12, the flight has been repeatedly delayed because of concern a valve could break in flight, sending metallic debris into a pressurization line.

The shuttle is equipped with three hydrogen flow control valves that work like pop-up sprinklers to route hydrogen gas to the external tank to keep the hydrogen section properly pressurized at 32 to 34 pounds per square inch during the climb to space.

During the most recent flight last November, a small piece of one valve poppet broke off in flight. It was the first such incident in the 124 shuttle flights to date, but testing and computer analysis indicates cracks in the valves have been a long-standing, but unknown, threat with at least one valve design.

Engineers are carrying out tests to determine what caused the valve to break; how cracks propagate and how large resulting debris might be; and to make sure the pressurization line is tough enough to withstand debris impacts from any future failures.

It's not yet clear whether cracks in the valves are the result of accumulated stress over multiple flights or the result of single-flight events related to unexpected harmonic and structural interactions between the pressurization lines in question and the orbiter.

Managers decided today to replace the current valves, which have flown 11 to 12 times each, with similar 1301-design units that have logged fewer flights. That will protect against multi-flight stress-related cracks and poppet failures. At the same time, older 1301 valves likely will be inspected to make sure there are no signs of cracks that could be age related. None are expected.

Engineers are hopeful more realistic computer models, based on actual impact tests, will show the odds of a catastrophic failure are remote, even in a worst-case scenario.

Testing to date seems to indicate a 90-degree bend in the external tank pressurization lines just five inches from the valves can withstand the sort of impacts one could expect in an actual failure. Earlier less positive assessments were based on knife-edge impacts from debris with worst-case velocities and unrealistically stable paths down the pipe. Using those assumptions, the pressurization line elbow bend could sustain impact velocities of around 560 feet per second.

It now appears the elbow bend may be able to withstand impact velocities higher than 900 feet per second - more than 600 mph - if the debris is relatively small and following a more realistic trajectory. But engineers do not yet know enough about how the valves can break to predict the maximum allowable size of any released debris.

Given the complexities involved, it is perhaps not surprising the issue is not yet clear cut and that additional time may be needed to resolve the matter one way or the other.

[Salo]

http://www.roscosmos.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=5520

25-02-2009 Специалисты НАСА снимают с «Дискавери» проблемные клапана
   Технические специалисты космического центра им. Кеннеди НАСА сегодня снимают три клапана контроля подачи газообразного водорода с линий в топливной системе КК "Дискавери". Из-за проблем с этими клапанами пуск шаттла, первоначально намеченный на 12 февраля, уже несколько раз переносился.
Клапана планируется заменить на менее "изношенные", те, которые совершили меньшее число космических полетов в составе системы "Шаттл".
Тем временем менеджеры программы продолжают анализировать данные тестов. По завершении анализа будет намечено очередное заседание комиссии по готовности к полету шаттла, а также определена новая дата старта "Дискавери" по программе STS-119 к Международной космической станции.

Пресс-служба Роскосмоса, по информации НАСА  

[Salo]

http://www.floridatoday.com/content/blogs/space/2009/02/nasa-aims-to-launch-discovery-march-12.shtml

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
NASA Aims To Launch Discovery March 12

 NASA just set March 12 as a new tentative launch date for Discovery -- a target that provides time to replace suspect main propulsion system valves and complete engineering analyses aimed at making certain the shuttle is safe to fly.

Liftoff time would be around 8:54 p.m. EDT. The agency is leaving open an option to move the launch up to March 11 if work between now and then goes well.

NASA in any case would have a back-up launch day on March 13 before the agency stood down for an already scheduled crew rotation at International Space Station.

NASA established the tentative date after putting in place a safety plan that should enable the agency to launch Discovery and a crew of seven astronauts safely.

NASA is replacing three suspect valves that control the flow of gaseous hydrogen into the shuttle's external tank during flight. The valves are key to keeping pressure within the giant tank at proper levels as propellant is exhausted by the ship's three main engines in flight.

One of three valves failed during Endeavour's launch last November, routing gaseous hydrogen into its external tank at a higher than normal rate. Post-flight inspections showed a piece of the lip of the valve - which is the size and shape of a small pop-up lawn sprinkler - cracked off during flight.

Engineers fear a cracked valve could create shards that could rupture a gaseous hydrogen line, resulting in a loss of pressure to the external tank. That could trigger an engine shutdown in flight.

Too much pressure in the tank could force open a separate relief valve that would dump combustible gaseous hydrogen overboard - a potentially explosive fire hazard.

NASA engineers have determined that valves that have been used on fewer flights are less susceptible to failure, so managers ordered up the replacement of the three now on Discovery. Those valves each have flown 12 flights. Technicians are removing them tonight.

Two of the replacement valves have flown four missions; the third replacement has flown five times. They will be delivered to Kennedy Space Center next week and then installed in the orbiter.

If need be, engineers also could shore up gaseous hydrogen lines in places where bends make them more vulnerable and susceptible to damage.

Extensive testing, meanwhile, is continuing at several NASA centers around the country. The tests are aimed at determining how large a piece of debris might be created during a valve failure and how much damage that debris might do to gaseous hydrogen lines. Managers then must determine whether the valves present an unacceptable risk to Discovery and its astronaut crew.

Shuttle program managers will meet next Wednesday to gauge progress, and if all is going well, a formal flight readiness review would be held March 6.

As it stands, Discovery would have to launch by March 13 for its astronauts to complete a mission to deliver a new set of solar wings to the station and then depart the outpost before the March 28 arrival of a fresh resident crew.

Expedition 19 commander Gennady Padalka, flight engineer Michael Barratt and space tourist Charles Simonyi are slated to launch March 26 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Current station commander Mike Fincke, flight engineer Sandra Magnus and Simonyi then would return to Earth on April 7.

Should Discovery still be on the ground March 14 or later, NASA could negotiate with the Russian Federal Space Agency for a delay in a planned March 26 launch of Padalka and his crew. Or NASA could shorten the 14-day Discovery flight by scrapping one of four planned spacewalks. Either option might gain the agency an extra launch attempt.

[ExploreR]

NASA engineers have determined that valves that have been used on fewer flights are less susceptible to failure, so managers ordered up the replacement of the three now on Discovery. Those valves each have flown 12 flights. Technicians are removing them tonight.

Two of the replacement valves have flown four missions; the third replacement has flown five times. They will be delivered to Kennedy Space Center next week and then installed in the orbiter.

Объясните смысл этого действия ? Проверить насколько клапаны "многоразовые" ? Неужели нет новых клапанов ? За время, что известна проблема с клапанами, можно и новые было изготовить...

[Salo]

http://news.samaratoday.ru/news/165301/

НАСА назначило на 12 марта запуск "Дискавери"

НАСА предварительно назначило на 12 марта несколько раз переносившуюся дату запуска шаттла "Дискавери" к Международной космической станции /МКС/. Об этом объявили в среду представители программы пилотируемых полетов в американским космическом ведомстве.

 Первоначально "Дискавери" планировалось отправить к МКС еще 12 февраля. Однако старт несколько раз откладывался из-за необходимости проверки трех клапанов системы подачи топлива - сжиженного водорода - на "Дискавери". Специалисты опасались того, что, если край такого клапана оторвется при старте, это может привести к серьезным разрушениям. Сейчас проводятся работы по установке новых клапанов, которые, как считают инженеры, будут более надежными. На будущей неделе предполагается провести экспертную проверку клапанов, после чего и будет приниматься окончательное решение о запуске корабля в марте.

[Чебурашка]

Красивая картинка. Замена этих самых датчиков внутри шаттла Discovery

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=40031

[Salo]

05.03.2009 / 09:31    "Дискавери" должен стартовать 11 марта

     Менеджеры NASA вновь изменили дату старта корабля многоразового использования Discovery по программе STS-119. Теперь шаттл должен отправиться в полет 11 марта, а не 12, как это было назначено ранее.
     
     - К.И.

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090305/NEWS02/903050320/1007

Liftoff time next Wednesday would be 9:20 p.m.

Получается 12 марта в 5:20 утра по Москве?