Shuttle Flights On Hold Due to New Foam Loss Problem

July 16, 2009

About the last thing NASA needs right now is a new problem to solve, but that’s exactly what landed on its plate following Wednesday’s launch of Endeavour on a space station construction mission.

It’s a new twist on an old nemesis -- the insulating foam on the shuttle fuel tank. NASA redesigned the tanks after losing shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew in 2003 due to a heat shield breach triggered by a piece of foam debris that fell off the fuel tank and hit the ship’s wing during launch.

Endeavour’s launch was marred by the loss of several pieces of foam from a new area of the tank, a part that had not previously been a problem.

“We have a bit of a mystery on the foam loss,” shuttle program manager John Shannon told reporters on Thursday. "It's from an area that we typically don’t expect foam to be lost."

Shuttle soars on 6th launch try

July 15, 2009

Update: 6:11 p.m. 

Space shuttle Endeavour made its long-delayed 8.5-minute flight into orbit today to complete construction of Japan's Kibo laboratory at the International Space Station. 

NASA waited out three days of bad weather before skies cleared enough for Endeavour's 6:03 p.m. blastoff. 

The flight previously was postponed by hydrogen fuel leaks.

The crew is scheduled to spend the rest of the month in orbit, conducting five spacewalks at the station to install Japan's experiments platform and preparing the station for operations after the shuttle fleet is retired next year. 

Update: Beautiful launch!

Update 5:56 -- Clear to launch .. "The weather is finally cooperaing so it is now time to fly," launch director Pete Nickolenko radioed to the crew shortly before liftoff. "Persistence pays off. Good luck and god speed."

Update 4:35 p.m. : Looks like NASA has a real shot at it today -- all the weather concerns have been lifted. Right now there are no impediments for launching at 6:03 p.m. EDT. 

Lightning, thunderstorms, rain ... looks like another launch day in Florida.

NASA is hoping this time around the clash of the sea breezes, stemming from opposite sides of the peninsula, will be positioned a little more inland, leaving a hole for Endeavour to fly through on its way to the space station. 

Never a good sign when you need umbrellas to get to the press site, but perhaps the clouds will blow over before 6:03 p.m. when NASA needs a 20-nautical mile patch of clear skies to launch. Florida weather is notoriously dynamic.

The crew appears in good spirits as they make their way into the shuttle. Lunch was a simpler affair this time around -- no lobsters on the menu on Wednesday. Grilled cheese sandwiches, BLTs and tenderloin steaks top the list. 

(Launch day blues at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA)

Next Launch Attempt for Endeavour on Wednesday

July 13, 2009

Update: Well, I have an addendum to my post about covering 100 shuttle launches  -- never count your missions until they're off the ground. 

Another long and tedious day at the Kennedy Space Center, watching the clouds roll in, having your hopes raised when the sky clear, then like a game of cat-and-mouse, a triple killer at the end of the day: lighting, electric fields warnings and thunderstorm clouds. And so, it's launch scrub No. 5 for Endeavour on NASA's 127th shuttle mission, and a 48-hour stand-down. 

Shuttle Fueled, No Leaks

July 12, 2009

Update: Scrub for today -- thunderstorms, clouds over shuttle launch site. Next opportunity: Monday 6:51 p.m. EDT

Update: Endeavour's seven astronauts are aboard the shuttle and NASA is not working any problems that could delay launch at 7:13 p.m. EDT.

NASA completed filling shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank with 500,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen that will feed its three main engines during the 8.5-minute climb to orbit. Unlike the last two previous launch attempts, there were no leaks of the hydrogen venting system, clearing NASA to proceed with a launch at 7:13 p.m. EDT.

The crew, led by two-time shuttle veteran Mark Polansky, is awake and just finished lunch. Polansky dined on steak and lobster tails. Mission specialists Chris Cassidy and Timothy Kopra opted for steak and mashed potatoes, Tom Marshburn ate lobster and salad and the rest of the crew -- pilot Doug Hurley, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette and lead spacewalker David Wolf -- ate cheeseburgers. 

Shuttle Cleared for 3rd Launch Try

Confident a series of lightning strikes near the launch pad on Friday did no harm, NASA managers on Sunday cleared space shuttle Endeavour for a third launch attempt on a mission to deliver a porch to the International Space Station for external science experiments. 

Liftoff is targeted for 7:13 p.m. and meteorologists are predicting a 70 percent chance conditions will be suitable for launch. 

Shuttle Launch Reset for Sunday

July 11, 2009

Update: 

NASA is reporting 11 lighting strikes within .3 nautical miles of the the launch pad, including two at 110 volts. The shuttle is protected from direct strikes by lighting masts and catenary wires that divert currents to the ground, so while there's no concern that the shuttle was hit by lighting, engineers do need to comb through its hundreds of electrical systems to make sure nothing was affected by electromagnetic fields related to the strikes. Of particular concern are the pyrotechnic devices that separate the shuttle's twin solid rocket boosters from the external fuel tank two minutes into flight and the electrical systems on the orbiter.

NASA hopes to have the checkout complete in time to begin fueling the shuttle around 9 a.m. on Sunday for a launch attempt at 7:13 p.m.

NASA has canceled today's planned launch attempt of space shuttle Endeavour to allow more time for engineers to assess any possible damage from lightning strikes at the launch pad Friday night. Next launch attempt is on Sunday at 7:13 p.m. EDT 

NASA Delays Start of Fueling for Shuttle Launch

NASA managers are meeting to assess if shuttle Endeavour is ready to begin a 16-day mission to the International Space Station. Fueling was to have begun at 10:14 a.m., but NASA held off to assess whether a series of lighting strikes at the launch pad Friday night caused any damage. If the all-clear is given, fueling should begin shortly before 11 a.m. 

The shuttle remains targeted for liftoff at 7:39 p.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center. 

Together, To Mars

July 08, 2009

Forty years after Neil Armstrong's giant leap for mankind, the United States and Europe took a small step toward a permanent partnership for Mars exploration. 

In a joint statement issued today, NASA's space science chief Ed Weiler and the European Space Agency's director of science and robotic exploration David Southwood, said they had agreed to create a Mars Exploration Joint Initiative, (known, of course, by the acronym MEJI) that "will provide a framework for the two agencies to define and implement their scientific, programmatic and technological goals at Mars."

Probe Returns First Pictures of the Moon

July 04, 2009

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has returned its first images of the moon. 

NASA Selects Nine New Astronauts

June 29, 2009

So what does an agent with the CIA, two Air Force officers with the Pentagon and a couple of medical doctors have in common? Apparently, NASA believes they have the mettle for future space travel.

The agency has selected nine people to join its elite astronaut corps, though they likely won’t be flying anytime soon. The space shuttles are due to be retired next year and a replacement isn’t expected to become operational until about 2015. A few lucky souls may snag seats on the Russian Soyuz capsules, which will be ferrying space station crewmembers to and fro during the hiatus.

The Astronaut Class of 2009 is the first new hires in five years. The nine candidates are expected to report to the Johnson Space Center in Houston this summer to begin a year of basic training. At its peak, NASA added 35 astronauts to the corps (44 if you include nine astronauts from other countries that trained with the group at JSC).

Astronaut pay ranges from $59,493 annually to $130,257, in accordance to federal government pay grades, which are based on academic achievements and experience.

NASA says more than 3,500 people applied for the jobs. The new hires are: