Tag: STS-127
-
Captain Cassidy – From Navy SEAL to Chief of the Astronaut Office
US Navy Captain Chris Cassidy, once described as “Chuck Norris, minus the restrictions of gravity”, has become the new Chief of the Astronaut Office. Capt. Cassidy amassed 182 days in space, conducted six EVAs and flew on both Shuttle Endeavour and the Russian Soyuz – the latter transporting him during his a long-duration ISS mission…
-
Shuttle Scrubber: SLS working to avoid GUCP leaks
With a deep heritage between the Shuttle’s External Tank and the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage, a NASA team recently evaluated recommendations to mitigate against leaks of the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) – the cause of launch day delays for three Space Shuttle missions – on the monster rocket. The GUCP: The GUCP…
-
Adhesive tape caused STS-127 SSME nozzle leaks – STS-130 SSME milestone
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engineers have found the application of “tacky tape” – used to seal the throat plugs on the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) since the 1990s – was the initial root cause of 340 leaks on Endeavour’s number one engine during STS-127’s ascent. Meanwhile, three SSMEs are scheduled to be installed on…
-
Investigation called after STS-127 SSME 1 found to have 100s of leaks
A failure investigation team has been created for Endeavour’s Number One Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) that was used during STS-127, which was found to have hundreds of leaks in its nozzle tubing during post-flight inspections. The engine – which was passed to fly after suffering from contamination at the pad ahead of flight – thankfully enjoyed a nominal performance…
-
STS-128: Launch Countdown operations begin for Discovery
STS-128 entered into S0007 (launch countdown) operations at 11pm on Friday evening, as engineers at Launch Pad 39A are nearly complete with both standard and non-standard pre-launch processing operations. Meanwhile, NASA managers continue to review past-vehicle and hardware performance ahead of Tuesday morning’s scheduled liftoff – with the L-2 Mission Management Team (MMT) set to…
-
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…
-
Endeavour lands back in Florida – Ice noted during FCS checkout
Endeavour has concluded her STS-127 mission by returning to her home base at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. She landed at 10:48am local time on Flight Day 17 of the highly successful mission to the International Space Station (ISS). One item of interest – relating to observed debris near the vehicle – was…
-
Endeavour completes Late Inspections – Candidate found for ET-131 foam loss
Following the conclusion of STS-127 docked phase of the mission, Flight Day 15 involved a Late Inspection survey on Endeavour’s Thermal Protection System (TPS). Meanwhile, an investigation into the foam losses from External Tank ET-131 during Endeavour’s ascent has indentified a leading candidate for why a large amount of foam shed from the Intertank. STS-127 Latest: Endeavour…
-
STS-127 ends replanned EVA-5; Pad 39A ready to support Discovery
STS-127 has concluded it’s fifth and final EVA, following the pacy completion of EVA-5’s tasks. Meanwhile, at Launch Pad 39A, engineers have completed turnaround procedures to prepare the pad for the arrival of the STS-128 payload on Friday and Discovery early next week. EVA-5: As is the case with the ever-changing nature of manned space…
-
STS-127: EVA-4 completes Battery R&R – Progress M-67 launches to ISS
Chris ‘Chuck Norris’ Cassidy and Tom Marshburn have completed EVA-4 to finalize the replacement of the P6 batteries, following the earlier termination of EVA-3. Meanwhile, a Russian Progress resupply vehicle has launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying 2.5 tons of cargo to the International Space Station. Russian launch: The Russian Progress M-67 resupply vehicle…