Tag: STS-119
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Columbia – her legacy honored via safety management
Six years after the tragic loss of Columbia and her crew, the efforts to improve the safety of the space shuttle continue to honor their memory. With the shuttle arguably the safest it’s ever been, the safety modifications to vehicle hardware and procedures are only half the story. A liberated piece of External Tank’s insulating…
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STS-119: FCVs set for weekend installation – surprise visitor for Endeavour
Discovery is scheduled to receive the replacement Flow Control Valves (FCVs) over the weekend, ahead of a key flight rationale meeting at the Agency level Flight Readiness Review (FRR) next week. Meanwhile, a small bird managed to find its way into the Payload Bay of Endeavour. STS-119 Pad Flow: Processing at the pad remains on…
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FRR Reviews Discovery’s Flight Dynamics ahead of STS-119
With Discovery now in the final two week stretch before launch on STS-119, the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) has reviewed many critical aspects of Discovery’s upcoming flight, including rendezvous options with the International Space Station (ISS), the mission’s flight design and dynamics, and the associated Launch On Need (LON) mission which would be supported by Endeavour. Orbital Phasing:…
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STS-119: Discovery preparing for FCV changeouts and closeouts
Discovery remains on track for her February 12 launch, pending the successful replacement, testing and flight rationale for the spare three Flow Control Valves (FCVs), due to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday. Discovery is ready to accept the valves, as the vehicle continues the process of closeouts for flight. The pad flow…
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Orbiter related Ice liberation threat discussed ahead of STS-119
Following a run of “clean” flights during 2008 – thanks to continued progress in reducing foam liberation from the External Tanks – the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) Flight Readiness Review (FRR) focused on the threat of ice liberation during ascent for 2009’s opening mission, STS-119. This follows a near miss with a large piece of…
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STS-119 FRR outlines Discovery’s mission to the ISS
With Space Shuttle Discovery enjoying a smooth and relatively issue free processing flow at Launch Pad 39A, NASA managers have completed two of the three mandatory Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs) that will clear Discovery and her seven member crew for launch in mid February. Among the various items discussed by the FRR included a detailed…
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STS-119 SSP FRR meeting concludes – FCVs and water recycler spares
The Space Shuttle Program (SSP) Flight Readiness Review (FRR) concluded the key milestone meeting for the STS-119 mission, set to launch on February 12. The replacement of Discovery’s Flow Control Valves (FCVs) is the one constraint to flight. STS-119 is also set to carry spares for the failed hardware in the Urine and Water Processing…
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Discovery awaits payload installation – FCV a constraint to launch for FRR
The giant S6 integrated truss segment is set to be installed into Discovery’s payload bay over the weekend, as the shuttle continues to press through the opening stages of the S0009 pad flow. Meanwhile, the Flow Control Valve (FCV) issue has been classed as the only constraint to launch, as engineers work through flight rationale ahead…
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Discovery completes rollout ahead of STS-119 – FCV latest
Shuttle Discovery has completed her three mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Pad 39A, as preparations for STS-119 start to ramp up for the February 12 launch target – which includes the building of flight rationale for the three replacement Flow Control Valves (FCVs) that will be installed into Discovery. Discovery departed…
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STS-119: Discovery departs for early morning crawl to Pad 39A
Shuttle Discovery has departed from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at 5am Wednesday morning, for a dawn crawl to Pad 39A ahead of STS-119’s launch next month. There she will join her payload, which has been installed into the Payload Changeout Room (PCR). Platforms that have surrounded Discovery and the stack were removed in steps, ahead…