STS-114

Professur said:
There it is. No rescue mission. No more scheduled launches. Two and a half years, and millions of dollars wasted. Way to go NASA.
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Worst comes to worst and they can't get'er down right now. 114 becomes a semi-permanent part of the ISS and the Russians ferry the 'nauts home. :shrug:
 
Professur said:
There it is. No rescue mission. No more scheduled launches. Two and a half years, and millions of dollars wasted. Way to go NASA.
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A twelve cent piece of foam rubber shits down the most advanced space agency in history. God I love governtment agencies.


[hint]superglue
 
Professur said:
Here's one to keep you up at night. Right now, the astronuts up there know that 2 pieces of insulation broke off the external tank during launch. There was also a bird strike, but that's neither her nor there. How would you feel about NASA engineers right about now?

Here's another. They're inspecting the shuttle right now, for any "dings" (their word, not mine). How would you feel (as an astronut onboard) should they find major damage (or any damage, for that matter). Could you just go on with the mission?

How about if you found damage on a mission that didn't (as this one does) include a trip to the ISS? Could you just carry on, knowing that makeshift repairs are all that's gonna see you to the ground?
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Rethink this to include the cancellation of any possible rescue mission, and the grounding of the entire fleet .... the day after they let you fly on a rocket with a known wonky gas guage. They've gotta be feeling like Microsoft customers right about now.
 
If your on a pirated version of XP
don't install KB892130
"Windows Genuine Advantage"
when it asks you to!
 
NASA Spies Smaller Foam Debris From Discovery's Tank

HOUSTON – One of several small pieces of foam that popped free from Discovery’s external tank during launch may have struck the orbiter, but likely caused no significant damage, shuttle managers said Thursday.

“We think that little piece of foam at that altitude did not cause damage of concern,” said Wayne Hale, NASA’s deputy shuttle program manager, during a press briefing here at Johnson Space Center (JSC), adding that he fully expects the orbiter will be free of any debris concerns as data is processed. “I expect that on Flight Day 6, we’re going to get the go ahead to fly as is.”

Earlier today, NASA officials said they were confident that Discovery’s heat shield is intact and the orbiter fit for an Earth return, but are awaiting additional analysis.

After two days of image analysis, analysts have tracked several small pieces of foam insulation as they popped free from the tank very near the origin of a larger, 0.9-pound chunk that missed Discovery as it fell, shuttle officials said.

They originated from an ice frost ramp, very close to another ramp that shed the larger foam chunk, and separated from the tank about 20 seconds after the bigger piece, Hale said. There is no definitive evidence – based on surveys conducted Wednesday with a sensor-laden orbital boom and sensors inside the wing – that the foam debris made contact with Discovery’s right wing leading edge as it fell away, he added.

But even if the small foam piece did strike the orbiter, it would have hit with only 1/10th the energy needed to cause damage, according to debris transport analysis, Hale said.

Nevertheless, shuttle officials would like to know why the additional foam pieces fell away at all and will study the incident. NASA plans to address the current foam loss issue before launching another shuttle into space.

Hale said that Discovery’s mission management team (MMT), which he chairs, will now hand off the external tank work to others and shift their focus onto verifying the shuttle’s thermal protection system comprised of heat-resistant tiles and reinforced carbon carbon panels (RCC) along its wings and nose cap.

Earlier today, the STS-114 crew and space station astronauts worked together to photograph Discovery’s belly, obtaining high-resolution images of the orbiter’s belly-mounted tiles to be reviewed by specialists on Earth. The image survey came a day after Discovery’s astronaut crew deployed the shuttle’s 50-foot (15-meter) orbital boom sensor system (OBSS) to scrutinize the orbiter’s wing leading edges for any hint of damage.

“We are very satisfied with the results we are getting,” Hale said of the shuttle’s tile-lined belly.

The measures are designed to search for damage like that which crippled the Columbia orbiter in 2003. The orbiter broke apart during reentry on Feb. 1, 2003, after suffering wing damage from external tank foam at launch.

Steve Poulos, NASA’s orbiter projects office manager, said Discovery is a “very clean orbiter” that sustained about 80 percent fewer impacts than past shuttle flights.

The OBSS detected very slight scuffs to some of Discovery’s RCC panels – one such incident leaving a mark smaller than the dot atop the letter ‘i’ – but additional passes are needed to catch every view flight controllers want, Poulos added.

In the history of the space shuttle program, most orbiter averaged about 150 nicks, dings or other damage to its heat-resistant tiles per flight, Hale said, adding that some of that damage admittedly occurred during descent as the landing gear deployed. Of that average 150 incidents, about 31 are typically larger than an inch in size, he added.

Shuttle tile specialists have picked out about 26 specific points where Discovery’s belly tiles appear to have been dinged during flight. All but one of those – an apparently chipped tile noticed during video captured during launch – are smaller than 1/2 inch in size, and they are all expected to be cleared of concern by July 31, the sixth day of Discovery’s STS-114 mission, NASA officials said.


Some of those tile dings may be chosen for follow-up looks with the OBSS on Friday, though tile specialists were still discussing that issue late Thursday, NASA officials said.

Meanwhile, Hale said he has sent e-mails to Discovery’s crew expressing his concern for the foam shedding seen on launch day.

“I told them, frankly, that I was mortified of the external tank’s foam loss, and that we’re going to fix it before we fly again,” Hale said.
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You're mortified, Hale? I should think so. I'm quite sure the families of some of those astronuts you've got up there are mortified too. You're gonna fix it before you fly again? Wasn't that what you were already supposed to be fixing?

source
 
Winky said:
If your on a pirated version of XP
don't install KB892130
"Windows Genuine Advantage"
when it asks you to!
Click to expand...


actually, you can still update. just disable WGA from working. in IE, go to TOOLS>MANAGE ADD-ONS and switch to show addons that have been used by IE. find Windows Genuine Advantage and then choose DISABLE. close IE and go back in and then you can do windows update again.
 
could someone explain what's so risky about space walks?

If they had no rope to came back I'd understand the risks involved (in fact it would be insane to do it). :shrug:
 
That's fun. A guy just glides up to the bottom of the shuttle and pulls bits out with his fingers. That's gotta inspire confidence.
 
Luis G said:
could someone explain what's so risky about space walks?

If they had no rope to came back I'd understand the risks involved (in fact it would be insane to do it). :shrug:
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Space debris...there's an awful lot of crap just floating around up there and at the speed that they're going relative to the earth, something as small as a grain of sand hits with greater impact than a bullet.
 
Luis G said:
could someone explain what's so risky about space walks?

If they had no rope to came back I'd understand the risks involved (in fact it would be insane to do it). :shrug:
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Solar radiation, micro meteorites, suit failures, blindness, dropping anything, getting locked out, cracking tiles, shall I continue?
 
The early spacewalking pioneers equated it with running a marathon because of the sheer stress of trying to do even the most simple of tasks. You work through fat gloves and a claustrophobic helmet and have to be constantly aware that even slight brushes against anything cause you to float off... your tools to float off. You spend 80% of your energy just trying to keep focus. Modern magnets and tethers only help so much.
 
Not to mention the rubber band across your chest, to help you breath without 15psi of atmosphere around you.
 
Dunno. I would think that such a simplistic approach would be beneath NASA. They've shown an adoration for the hopelessly complex and redundant.
 
unclehobart said:
Dunno. I would think that such a simplistic approach would be beneath NASA. They've shown an adoration for the hopelessly complex and redundant.
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Yeah,but nobody/entity knows more about waste. :lloyd:
 
unclehobart said:
Dunno. I would think that such a simplistic approach would be beneath NASA. They've shown an adoration for the hopelessly complex and redundant.
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Reminds me of the millions spent on the 'Space pen' ... a piece of mechanical engineering that could write in zero-gravity, under water, upside-down etc etc... The Russians just use a pencil :) :rofl:
 
Space flight is a risky job. It always amazed me that when thousands of soldiers die it doesn't even make the country flinch but when handful of astronauts bite the dust it stops the whole program?
 
ekahs retsam said:
Space flight is a risky job. It always amazed me that when thousands of soldiers die it doesn't even make the country flinch but when handful of astronauts bite the dust it stops the whole program?
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Me too, but I get castigated every time I bring it up. :shrug:
 
It's because astronuts are heros. Rocket scientist, courageous. Angelic. Better than the best.

Soldiers are just grunts.

People dream of becoming astronuts. Few dream of wallowing in the muck as grunts.
 
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