Space Shuttle Status Report

[Orstio]

Allard Beutel
Headquarters, Washington                       May 21, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-4769)

Jessica Rye
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 321/867-2468)

SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING STATUS REPORT: S04-12

     The Space Shuttle fleet is housed and processed at
NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla. The order the Space
Shuttles are listed in this report does not necessarily
reflect the chronological order of future missions.

Discovery (OV-103)

Processing of Discovery continues in the Orbiter Processing
Facility (OPF) for its Return to Flight mission, STS-114, to
the International Space Station (ISS). Following the
installation of the left-hand Orbital Maneuvering System pod
on the vehicle, technicians began installing the thrusters.

The Forward Reaction Control System is scheduled for delivery
to the OPF early next week. The four Rudder Speed Brake (RSB)
actuators and panels have been reinstalled on the vehicle
following a complete inspection, bead blasting and painting
of the panels. Bead blasting is a process using a pressurized
pneumatic gun containing silica carbide, plastic pellets or
glass beads to remove primer, paint and corrosion from
orbiter vehicle surfaces.

Atlantis (OV-104)

Atlantis was powered up in support of mission processing for
its future flight to the ISS. The four RSB actuators were
removed from the vehicle and X-rayed at the Titan X-ray
Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. All four
actuators showed the gears were assembled in the proper
orientation. At the vendor, the actuators are undergoing a
complete inspection.

Thermal Protection System blanket installation continues on
Reinforced Carbon-Carbon nose cap. The nose cap was removed
from the vehicle and sent back to the vendor for thorough
Non-Destructive Engineering evaluation and recoating. The
blankets are being reinstalled prior to technicians re-
hanging the nose cap on the vehicle.

Endeavour (OV-105)

Endeavour is in its Orbiter Major Modification period, which
began in December 2003. Electrical modifications continue in
the crew module. Wire inspections are ongoing in the
Environmental Control and Life Support System bay.

Right-hand radiator No. 1 installation is scheduled for
today, with right-hand radiator No. 2 scheduled for no
earlier than the middle of next week.
Previous Space Shuttle processing status reports are
available on the Internet at:

http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/status.htm

For information about NASA's Return to Flight efforts on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/news/highlights/returntoflight.html

For information about NASA and agency programs on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov


-end-

[Orstio]

Allard Beutel
Headquarters, Washington              June 10, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-4769)

June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256/544-0034)

RELEASE: 04-190

SUCCESSFUL TEST LEADS WAY FOR SAFER SHUTTLE SOLID ROCKET
MOTOR

     NASA's Space Shuttle program successfully fired a full-
scale Reusable Solid Rocket Motor today, testing
modifications that will enhance the safety of the Space
Shuttle.

A slightly different propellant grain was tested. The new
design improves flight safety by decreasing the risk of
cracks in the propellant during storage and transportation,
according to Jody Singer. Singer is manager of NASA's
Reusable Solid Rocket Motor Project, Space Shuttle Propulsion
Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.

"Even though the modification is only a slight change from
what we have flown on the Shuttle, it still requires a
rigorous certification and verification process that includes
testing," said Mike Rudolphi, manager of the Space Shuttle
Propulsion Office. "NASA has long adhered to the maxim, 'Test
what we fly; fly what we test,'" added Rudolphi. "This test
is one in a series of tests performed to ensure this
modification will perform as we expect," he said.

The propellant grain modification is one of 76 test
objectives. Twenty-four of the objectives allow the Project
Office to reevaluate materials, components and manufacturing
processes in use, such as nozzle bondlines, liner-to-housing
bondlines, internal insulation, pressure transducers, and
solvents.

The test will also provide information on a proposed safety
enhancement to the motor's nozzle. A new bolted assembly on
the nozzle's joint 5 is being tested for strength.

The full-scale stationary test was performed at ATK Thiokol
Propulsion Division, an Alliant Techsystems Inc., company in
Promontory, Utah. ATK Thiokol manufactures the Space
Shuttle's Reusable Solid Rocket Motor.

Static firings of flight support motors are part of the
ongoing verification of components, materials and
manufacturing processes required by the Space Shuttle
program. Flight support motors are tested annually to
evaluate, validate and qualify any proposed improvements or
changes to the motor. The two-minute test duration is the
same length of time that the motors perform during Space
Shuttle flights. The motor is one of the four Shuttle
propulsion elements.

Data from the test will be analyzed and the results for each
objective provided in a final report. The flight support
motor's metal case segments and nozzle components will be
refurbished for reuse.

This is the second test motor firing in less than a year for
the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor Office. A five-segment
engineering test motor demonstrated in October 2003 pushed
the motor to its limits so engineers could validate the
safety margins of the four-segment motor used to launch Space
Shuttles.

At 38.4 meters (126 feet) long and 3.6 meters (12 feet)
diameter, the Space Shuttle's Reusable Solid Rocket Motor is
the largest solid rocket motor ever flown and the first
designed for reuse. The motor has four 30-foot segments
filled with propellant. During liftoff, each motor generates
an average thrust of 1.2 million kilograms (2.6 million
pounds).

For information about NASA's work to return Space Shuttles to
safe flight on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/news/highlights/returntoflight.html


-end-


                     

[Astronuc]

Shuttle's Spring 2005 Launch Date Delayed
By PAM EASTON, AP

HOUSTON (Oct. 2) - The first shuttle flight since the Columbia tragedy has been pushed back by NASA because hurricane damage and implementation of new safety measures made a spring 2005 launch ''no longer achievable.''

March or April had been the tentative date selected by NASA's spaceflight council, which announced the delay Friday.

The council, in Houston to discuss the Oct. 14 launch of the next international space station crew from Kazakhstan, asked shuttle program officials to analyze whether a May or July date is more feasible, and to report back to their findings later this month, NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said.

Council members decided to rethink the launch date of Discovery because of damage caused by the hurricanes in Florida and NASA's promise to implement new safety measures for the shuttle program.

The hurricanes cost three weeks of shuttle-processing time, said James Kennedy, director of Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

In late August and early September, rain and high winds accompanying Charley and Frances caused widespread damage to NASA's launch site. Hurricane Jeanne later blew off 30 exterior panels from the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building.

The threat of Hurricane Ivan temporarily halted work on Discovery's redesigned external fuel tank at Lockheed Martin Corp.'s assembly plant in New Orleans, Beutel said.

The agency's three space shuttles themselves made it safely through the storms.

[Skyjim]

Yep, that's not surprising - they were tight as it was on that spring launch date.

If they had not immediately rolled the target back, THAT would have scared me.

Anybody care to bet on when the orbiters are retired?  Fairly obvious it isn't going to happen in 2010.  I doubt it will be before  2012 at the earliest.  With maintenance periods, I don't see more than four flights a year average absent any fleet standowns for inspections like the LH2 line cracks a couple of years ago.  I think that at least one of these standown events is virtually certain given the program history, and three to four would not surprise me in the least.  I'll bet that 4 flights in a given 12 month period might happen once in four years if we are VERY lucky.

There remain 8 flights to U.S. "core complete", plus another 8 flights carrying additional modules and equipment for Japan, Europe, Russia, and the U.S. - and that is ignoring logistics flights, which will need to occur unless additional ATV flights are purchased.  In the short term, say five years or so, I don't know that it is even possible to ramp the ATV flight rates up, even if U.S. funding were available right now for this - which it isn't!

So, figure a very conservative 4 MPLM flights beyond "core complete"  in addition to the 16 flights to get committed payloads flown.  20 flights, commencing in the third quarter of 2005 if the gods smile.  I'm going to throw out this as a guesstimate...

2 flights in 2005
(Though I have my doubts - note that the second flight's ideal launch interval post STS-114 will be in the hurricane season now that STS-114 has been rolled into midsummer.)

3 in 2006

3 in 2007

4 in 2008 (I threw in one year where everything goes right and two flights are managed with the first orbiter that flies that year)

3 in 2009

3 in 2010

2 in 2011

 Factor in tighter and more numerous inspections, added components like the ET heater and impact sensors in the RCC, a declining work force,  more restrictive constraints on launch conditions, and further aging of the orbiters, and you can bet that at least two of those flight years drops by 1 flight.  I think that is reasonable and will be astounded if things don't roll back even more.  I think the middle of 2012 is the earliest fleet retirement date I'd be willing to bet on.

Comments?

Jim 

[Astronuc]

The shuttle utilization may also depend on what happens with the ISS.  Will it be completed with all the modules?  There will certainly be pressure to get the foreign modules up and the remaining core.

I think the schedule proposed by Skyjim is realistic given recent history.

[Skyjim]

The agreement that came out of the partner conference (in July, I believe) committed to US core complete plus flying Kibo, the Kibo logistics module and exposed facility, Columbus, the Science Power Platform, Node 3, the Cupola, and the express pallets and "Canada hand".  Those are the source of the 8 flights I mentioned for post "core-complete".  Looks on more careful consideration like it's going to be 9 flights exclusive of MPLM /crew rotation missions, which might be at least partially replaced by added ATV flights if that is negotiated. I forgot the Centrifuge Module, which would make 9!

I used this manifest:

 http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/future/index.html

I think that at least the first two MPLM flights beyond "core complete" - ULF-2 and UF-3 will be slam-dunks given the time it would take to get more ATVs into the pipeline, and the need to rotate lab racks from the three labs.  Remember, ATV has no recoverable downmass, so it won't totally replace the MPLM functions. Some lab racks are designed to be refurbished and reflown, a capability which would be lost absent shuttle logistics flights.  The bulkier ones won't even fit through the smaller hatches in Zvezda and  the PMA's and shuttle docking adapter, so careful planning will be required to maximize lab return while the MPLMs are still available.

It's going to be an interesting juggling act.

Jim

[remcook]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3967045.stm

may-june?

[Astronuc]

October 30, 2004 - NY Times
Test Flights for Shuttle Could Begin Next Spring
By WARREN E. LEARY
 
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 - NASA officials said on Friday that the space shuttle Discovery could take off for the International Space Station in May or June in the first of two test flights aimed at resuming normal shuttle operations.

The space agency had hoped to launch the Discovery in mid-March, but was forced to abandon that date after hurricanes in August and September damaged buildings and other facilities at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla., and temporarily closed the New Orleans plant where the shuttle's main fuel tank is prepared.

Shuttle managers then had to decide whether to aim for May or June or to wait until the summer. But on Friday, after meeting with other officials, William F. Readdy, NASA's associate administrator for space operations, said in a telephone news conference that "we're as confident as we can be" in the plan to launch the Discovery between May 14 and June 3.

The shuttle fleet - Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour - has been grounded since the re-entry accident on Feb. 1, 2003, that destroyed the Columbia and killed its crew of seven. Since then, the managers have been seeking to comply with the recommendations of an independent panel that was set up to monitor a safe return to flight.

Mr. Readdy said the remaining challenges included, "first and foremost," making and testing the shuttles' redesigned main fuel tanks. Insulating foam fell from a tank and damaged the Columbia on takeoff, leading to its destruction almost two weeks later. Work to eliminate critical debris falling from the tank is going well, he said, and the first of the new tanks should be delivered to the Kennedy Space Center by the beginning of next year.

Michael Kostelnik, NASA's deputy associate administrator for the shuttle and space station programs, said that problems with a new 50-foot inspection boom had largely been resolved. Shuttles will carry the boom to look for damage during flights. Problems with vibration and anchoring the boom have been solved, Mr. Kostelnik said, and the agency has started manufacturing working units.

Work on a sensor package for the end of the boom, which is an extension of the shuttle's robot arm, also is progressing well, he said.

Mr. Kostelnik said NASA had begun an internal study to examine what kind of space station would result if fewer shuttle flights were used in building it. To complete the full station agreed upon by the 18 nations sponsoring the orbiting laboratory, he said, 28 shuttle flights would be needed.

He said that the United States would honor its international agreements concerning the project, but that it was prudent to look at alternatives to the 28-flight plan in case circumstances changed.
======================================
Meanwhile here is a picture of a re-entry of a Shuttle Main Tank.  Launched from Florida it burns up over Hawaii!

[remcook]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts114/

a 10 part report on the shuttle return to flight

[Astronuc]

NASA Finishes Redesigned Shuttle Fuel Tank

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - NASA has finished building a redesigned space shuttle fuel tank that was reconfigured to eliminate the debris problem that doomed the shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts, agency officials said on Tuesday.

The first reconfigured tank is to be shipped by Friday from a NASA facility near New Orleans to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the space agency prepares for shuttle Discovery's launch in May or early June.

"We are very close. We can taste victory here on shipping the tank," said Sandy Coleman, external tank project manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

Meanwhile from NASA KSC:

STS-114 to Demonstrate Repair Techniques, Deliver Equipment to Space Station
The STS-114 crewmembers will deliver supplies to the International Space Station, but the major focus of their mission will be testing and evaluating new Space Shuttle flight safety, which includes new inspection and repair techniques.

STS-114 is classified as Logistics Flight 1. Among the Station-related activities are delivering new supplies and replacing one of the orbital outpost's Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 will also carry a Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2.

The crew is slated to conduct at least three spacewalks while at the ISS. The first spacewalk will demonstrate repair techniques of the Shuttle's Thermal Protection System. During the second, the spacewalkers will replace the failed CMG with one delivered by the Shuttle. On the third, they will install the External Stowage Platform.

[remcook]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts114/050106tankoffload/

"With the arrival of the External Tank, all of the elements of the Space Shuttle system are in place for Return to Flight,"

[remcook]

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/01/08/Worldandnation/Astronauts_say_they_r.shtml

"Astronauts say they're ready but realistic"

[remcook]

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ft_sts114_update_050108.html

[remcook]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4231121.stm#

[remcook]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/space/3046919

15 May is the day! hopefully....