Tag: STS-129
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Shuttle fleet in smooth processing on both sides of the United States
Discovery is on track for her weekend cross country trip back to the Kennedy Space Center, whereboth her sisters are deep in processing for their upcoming missions. Post flight evaluations into Discovery’s STS-128 mission will converge at the In Flight Anomaly Review (IFA) at the end of the month, though initial findings continue to point…
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Endeavour heads into countdown – Atlantis window damage cleared
Endeavour is now proceeding through the complex ballet of S0007 Launch Countdown operations for Saturday’s launch attempt of STS-127 to the International Space Station (ISS). Meanwhile good news has been reported on the damage sustained by Atlantis’ Window 5 (Pilot window), with mold impression results revealing the defects do not breach the unacceptable depth threshold,…
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NASA updates requirements for STS-129 mission – window still under evaluation
With Atlantis deep in processing for STS-129 – and damage evaluations continuing on window 5’s pressure pane – engineers in OPF-1 (Orbiter Processing Facility 1) continue to prepare Atlantis for her scheduled November 12, 2009 launch to deliver the Express Logistic Carriers 1 and 2 (ELC-1 and ELC-2) to the International Space Station. Vehicle Hardware and Flow Updates: According…
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Knob removed, Atlantis window inspection begins – longerons in cart accident
Engineers have successfully removed the work light knob – embedded between the pressure pane on Atlantis’ pilot window and the dashboard panel – late on Monday night, after pressurizing the orbiter to aid its liberation. Meanwhile, a cart full of payload bay equipment has fallen off a truck, leading to evaluations on the state of…
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Window damage on Atlantis threatens six month delay to STS-129
Meetings have been taking place on Wednesday into evaluating damage to the pressure pane on Atlantis’ number 5 window, after a work light knob was observed to be embedded between the pane and the dashboard panel. The damage can only be fully assessed once the knob is removed, with the threat of a six month…
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Root cause found on Atlantis’ STS-125 ASA issue – SSMEs removed
Engineers have found the root cause of the Aerosurface Servoamplifer (ASA) channel 1 failure on Atlantis, after an expansive failure analysis effort found a short in the wiring. Atlantis is being processed for STS-129, following the highly successful STS-125 mission to Hubble. As part of her turnaround, the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) that helped…
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Atlantis returns to OPF for STS-129 processing – Endeavour SSME contamination
Atlantis has returned to Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-1) in preparation for her flow towards the STS-129 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Marking a busy period for the fleet, Discovery is receiving her SSMEs (Space Shuttle Main Engines) for STS-128, while Endeavour’s SSMEs are being evaluated – after corrosion/contamination was seen on tubing associated…
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Downstream processing and planning – preparing the fleet through to STS-135
Even though shuttle managers are preparing for two missions in the space of a month, efforts on the downstream flights are at various stages of processing and planning, all the way through to STS-135 – which is currently the LON (Launch On Need) placeholder for what is currently the last shuttle mission – STS-134 –…
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NASA updates milestones for Atlantis’ STS-129 mission
With Atlantis and Endeavour now in their dual processing flows for the STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA managers have updated plans for shuttle Atlantis’ next mission – STS-129 – via the Launch Site Flow Review (LSFR). Highlighting the ever-fluctuating nature of the Space Shuttle Program (SSP), STS-129 was originally scheduled to fly…
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STS-119/Discovery rollover date changed as 2009 shuttle schedule realigns
Only around five weeks will separate Endeavour’s return home from her STS-126 mission, and when Discovery is due to rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) ahead of STS-119. Discovery’s upcoming milestones are part of a realigned plan for the 2009 missions. However, STS-119’s launch date advancement has been disapproved by shuttle managers. The S6…