Tag: ET
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STS-129: Special flight deck Minicam set to film ET ramps during ascent
Last week’s Space Shuttle Program (SSP) Flight Readiness Review (FRR) has approved the installation of a special minicam pointing out of window 4 on Atlantis’ flight deck. The camera will film the forward portion of the External Tank (ET) during flight, in order to capture the behavior of the LO2 Ice Frost Ramps (IFRs) during…
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Review of STS-128 Ascent Imagery reveals remarkably clean External Tank
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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Atlantis tracking Tuesday rollover – Two more ETs due at KSC this year
STS-129 is pressing ahead with the next processing milestone, with Atlantis preparing to roll over from her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-1) for the short journey to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the shipping dates have been set for the next two External Tanks (ETs) – both scheduled to arrive at the Kennedy Space…
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STS-128: SSP FRR creates opening rationale for IFR acceptance
The LO2 Ice Frost Ramps (IFRs) will be modified to mitigate against foam liberation – pending design verification – from ET-133 onwards. However, ET-132 has gained the opening round of “rationale for acceptance” via the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) Flight Readiness Review (FRR), which will be verified by a Safety Panel and up for approval…
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STS-128: Managers head into FRR debate – Void in suspect IFR highlighted
The Space Shuttle Program (SSP) Flight Readiness Review (FRR) heads into a two day meeting on Tuesday, with the focus on the status of ET-132’s Ice Frost Ramps (IFRs). STS-128 may have to rollback for modifications to the ramps – if managers fail to agree on risk acceptance. Interestingly, documentation on the ramp that has…
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Risk assessment debate for STS-128 tank – Rollback is a potential option
Meetings are taking place through Friday to work on risk acceptance for two LO2 Ice Frost Ramps (IFRs) on Discovery’s External Tank (ET-132), following a full review of STS-127’s LO2 IFR liberation event during launch. If managers call for foam loss mitigation on the ramps, the STS-128 stack will rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building…
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Understanding ET-131’s rogue foam liberations leads to ET-132 confidence
Although no ill effects were suffered by Endeavour, the problems with her External Tank (ET-131) – both prior and during last month’s launch – called for investigations into the downstream tanks, the latest of which is due to fly with Discovery later this month. Thanks to those evaluations, additional confidence has been gained ahead of…
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Major Shuttle and ISS extension drive taking place at the Augustine Commission
With NASA authorization language already being drawn up behind the scenes by Congress, Augustine Commission ISS/Shuttle subgroup lead Dr Sally Ride – along with several key NASA and United Space Alliance (USA) managers – have embarked on a major push to extend the shuttle program, linking the move with the allowance for the International Space…
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STS-128: Discovery rolls to VAB on Sunday following ET-132 clearance
Shuttle engineers like to check, double check, and check again, whenever there’s a flight safety concern – and that was more than the case with the pull tests that have been conducted on External Tank ET-132, following an increased number of foam liberation events during ET-131’s ride to orbit with Endeavour. The test results show…
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GUCP troubleshooting continues as MMT push for launch on June 17
In a similar event to STS-119’s scrub, Endeavour’s launch has been delayed due to a significant leak registered in the region of the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP). Engineers will dismantle the troublesome hardware at the pad, with the aim to attempt a single launch opportunity on June 17. STS-127 Scrub/GUCP Leak: Tanking had been…