Space Shuttle Status Report

[remcook]

new mission underway! some slight damage to the shuttle, which they plan to fix.

[Astronuc]

new mission underway! some slight damage to the shuttle, which they plan to fix.

  I remember reading about some debris coming off Atlantis, but then I lost the article.

I hope Atlantis's heat shield in undamaged and intact for the return.

[Orstio]

From what I gathered on the news, the tear in the blanket is on a part of the shuttle that doesn't get too hot -- but I assume that's under normal operating conditions.

[Astronuc]

Atlantis has been cleared for landing.  Let's hope it comes home safely!

The STS-117 crew is getting an extra day in space thanks to poor weather conditions at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Space shuttle Atlantis has five landing opportunities available Friday, with the first at 2:18 p.m. EDT in Florida.

Thunderstorms in the vicinity of Kennedy forced flight controllers to wave off both opportunities Thursday. Controllers and the Spaceflight Meteorology Group will closely monitor forecasts for Friday’s opportunities in Florida and at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The first opportunity Friday is on Orbit 218 and calls for a deorbit burn at 1:16 p.m. The second is on Orbit 219, with the deorbit burn at 2:52 p.m. and landing at 3:54 p.m. at Kennedy.

If Florida weather does not cooperate, three opportunities are available at Edwards. The first is on Orbit 219. Thursday afternoon, the crew adjusted Atlantis’ orbit to set the stage for this opportunity, which has the deorbit burn occurring at 2:46 p.m. and landing at 3:49 p.m.

The second opportunity for the California base is on Orbit 220. The deorbit burn would occur at 4:21 p.m. and landing at 5:24 p.m. The final opportunity is one orbit later which calls for the deorbit burn to occur at 5:58 p.m. and landing at 6:59 p.m.

NASA

[slam32]

From this link, we can know more about it.

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/status/2005/index.html








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[Sarah90]

I don't believe/accept this rubbish about intoxicated astronauts... I mean...Honestly! http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts118/070726frr/ENDEAVOUR HEADS FOR LAUNCH AMID TROUBLES AT NASA
------------------------------------------------
Wrapping up a two-day flight readiness review, NASA has tentatively
cleared the shuttle Endeavour for blastoff on a station assembly flight
featuring educator-astronaut Barbara Morgan. NASA's inspector general,
meanwhile, is investigating the apparent sabotage of an electronic black
box. And managers had no immediate comment on a report citing alleged
alcohol abuse by astronauts.

[Orstio]

There seems to be enough concern to warrant investigation, at least, Sarah:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070728/ap_on_sc/nasa_s_culture_clash

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA, once again, the problem is its culture — a habit of dismissing the concerns of knowledgeable underlings.
 
Four years ago, it involved higher-ups ignoring engineers who feared possible catastrophic damage to the shuttle Columbia. The engineers were right.

This time, it's NASA doctors and even astronauts getting the brushoff when voicing worries that some astronauts have drunk too much alcohol before flying.

"I think things have changed, but some things remain the same," said Douglas Osheroff, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who investigated the Columbia disaster in 2003.

[Sarah90]

I still find this hard to believe... What makes it difficult to believe is that NASA would allow their programmes to be endangered by such !  How could/would it be possible ?   Why ?

And, how will we get to Mars with this...if it's true?!?

[Astronuc]

NASA has time to fix the problem, which should not have occurred in the first place.

NASA needs mandatory 'fitness-for-duty' requirements.  An astronaut should not be drinking (that is drinking several alcoholic beverages in one sitting) while in training just before a mission, and especially, an astronaut should not be getting drunk on a regular basis.

Astronauts' Behavior Prompts NASA Policy Debate
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12309233

All Things Considered, July 27, 2007 · After astronaut Lisa Nowak went on a bizarre cross-country trip that ended with an attempted assault on a romantic rival, NASA promised to review its efforts to monitor the mental health of the astronaut corps.

Now, the agency has released two reports on the issue — one of which says the agency allowed two astronauts to fly 12 hours after they had gotten drunk.

I know a lot of good people who work at NASA and the actions of a few should not be allowed to tarnish the entire organization.  NASA's administration certainly does need to deal firmly with those who actions may compromise safety of others.

[Orstio]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070806/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A computer sabotaged by a disgruntled worker for a NASA supplier has been repaired and loaded aboard the space shuttle Endeavour for a Wednesday liftoff.
 
A top NASA manager said Monday it was apparently an isolated event and that there was no reason to believe anyone had tampered with anything else on the spacecraft.

"We have found no other areas of concern," space shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said. "We have thoroughly reviewed all the parts made by that contractor and gone back through our records to make sure that all the orbiter systems on board Endeavour thoroughly check out."

[Astronuc]

It's more of a worry.

NASA Finds Gouge on Endeavour's Belly
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12519384

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. August 10, 2007, 9:31 p.m. ET · NASA discovered a worrisome gouge on Endeavour's belly soon after the shuttle docked with the international space station Friday, possibly caused by ice that broke off the fuel tank a minute after liftoff.

The gouge — about 3 inches square — was spotted in zoom-in photography taken by the space station crew shortly before Endeavour delivered teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan and her six crewmates to the orbiting outpost.

"What does this mean? I don't know at this point," said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team. If the gouge is deep enough, the shuttle astronauts may have to patch it during a spacewalk, he said.

Hopefully, it's not serious.  If it is, hopefully it's repairable.

[Astronuc]

Well, this is the damage -

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-118/html/s118e06229.html

S118-E-06229 (12 Aug. 2007) --- Using the shuttle robotic arm and 50-foot-long Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), the STS-118 crew photographed this close-up view of damaged tile on the underside of the Space Shuttle Endeavour during a focused inspection of the shuttle's heat shield while docked with the International Space Station.

[Astronuc]

NASA Preps for Space Shuttle Decision
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12842960

All Things Considered, August 16, 2007 · NASA officials are scheduled to announce Thursday if they will repair a small gash in the heat shielding of the underside of the space shuttle Endeavour. They are cautiously optimistic that they will not have to repair the gash.

They say the small gash isn't any threat to the crew's ability to return home safely. The question is, what exactly will happen to that spot when Endeavour comes home and experiences the extreme heat of re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.

The agency doesn't want to end up having to do time-consuming repairs that could delay the shuttle's next flight. After doing some complicated computer modeling, officials said it's looking like they maybe could leave the gash alone. But they're still looking over data from computer models and experimental tests and weighing the risk of not fixing the gash against the risks of trying to fix it in a spacewalk.

Earlier this morning

NASA to Decide Endeavour Repair
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12833886
 by David Malakoff

Morning Edition, August 16, 2007 · NASA says it will decide whether astronauts need to take a spacewalk to repair damaged tiles on the belly of the space shuttle Endeavour. Engineers will seek to decide if the gash will endanger the shuttle during the extreme heat of re-entry.

[Astronuc]

Endeavour returns home safely.     

 

[remcook]

yay!