Tag: STS-133
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STS-133: Discovery aiming for Feb 1 rollout – Crewmember Kopra injured
Shuttle Discovery is aiming to roll back out to Pad 39A on February 1, following what will be the completion of numerous “radius block” modifications to the circumferance of her External Tank (ET-137). NASA managers are also evaluating impacts to crew training – and potentially the launch date – following the injury sustained by STS-133’s…
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ET-137 deep into repairs and modifications – ATV-2 likely to aid launch date
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) technicians and engineers are working hard to replace, repair and modify numerous stringers on Discovery’s External Tank (ET-137), as NASA managers negotiate with their European partners on the upcoming ATV-2 mission, with an aim to allow Discovery to track a February 24 No Earlier Than (NET)…
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STS-133 launch slip impacts HTV-2 and ATV-2 missions
Following the further delay of the STS-133/ULF-5 mission into late February, International Space Station (ISS) Program Managers are readjusting the mission plans for Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle-2 (ATV-2) “Johannes Kepler” and Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle-2 (HTV-2) “Kounotori”. Both vehicles will be present at the ISS during the STS-133 mission, which should provide for some stunning…
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STS-133: PRCB recommends 103 ET-137 stringer mods – Launch date slipping
Thursday’s Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) meeting overviewed the status of Discovery’s External Tank (ET-137), with recommendations made to install radius blocks on over 100 stringers. A new launch date will be entered as a Change Request (CR) next week, based on negotiations with the ISS on the ability to achieve either a February 24…
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ET-137 stringers to be modified – LO2 flange foam liberation assessed
NASA managers have made a key decision to modify 34 stringers on the LO2 flange area of the tank – following the observation of several cracks around its circumference. The radius block modification is designed to mitigate potential foam liberations from the flange, an incident that has never been seen before via flight history. STS-133 Latest: The…
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Wrapping Up 2010: Safety and Success with an eye toward the Future
As NASA enters 2011, preparations are underway for an exciting new venture in space operations with the development of commercial transportation services to the International Space Station, the creation of a 21st Century launch facility at KSC, and development of a new Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle for NASA – all as the U.S. and world space…
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STS-133: Managers to decide on ET-137 stringer modifications next week
Following a Space Shuttle Program (SSP) meeting on Thursday, a decision on carrying out modifications to STS-133’s External Tank (ET-137) won’t be made until next week, as engineers inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) carry out repairs to a number of additional cracks, found during Non Destructive Evaluation (NDE) scans of the intertank flanges. ET-137…
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STS-133: Discovery aiming for January 13 rollout for February launch target
With Discovery now back inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a preliminary timeline has listed January 13 as a preliminary target to return to Pad 39A in order to make the opening of the next available launch window, which opens on February 3. NASA managers will meet on December 30 to discuss the forward plan…
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STS-133: Discovery arrives back inside VAB – GUCP investigation results
Discovery’s return to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) – in order to gain extra data on the health of the stringers on areas of her tank (ET-137) which can’t be scanned out at the Pad – was completed early on Wednesday. Efforts to return Discovery to the VAB comes just days after a successful Tanking…
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Discovery/ET-137 Tanking Test complete – Flight Rationale data drive
Engineers have gathering detailed data on the thermal and stress environments of the External Tank’s intertank stringers at the LOX flange and LH2 flange areas, NASA managers completed fueling Discovery’s External Tank with nearly 535,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, with a smooth Tanking Test is culminating in a GLS (Ground Launch Sequencer)…