Shuttle Sails Into Night Sky

August 29, 2009

Shuttle Discovery soared off its seaside launch pad at 11:59 p.m. EDT Friday, ending a trio of launch delays with a brilliant burst of flames and a thundering roar that shattered the dead-of-night calm and temporarily turned the dark Florida sky as bright as day.

With the moon setting in the west, Discovery blazed a trail east over the ocean, heading toward an orbital perch 220 miles above the planet. Docking at the space station is expected Sunday night.

Bad weather and a suspect fuel valve delayed Discovery’s start on NASA’s 128th shuttle mission, a 13-day voyage to help get the station ready for full-time science operations. Friday was another cagey day with the weather, but the sky cleared long enough for NASA to get Discovery off the launch pad.

“This time Mother Nature is cooperating ... We wish you and your team good luck and Godspeed,” launch director Pete Nickolenko radioed to Discovery commander Rick Sturckow shortly before liftoff. 

Joining Sturckow, 48, aboard Discovery was pilot Kevin Ford, 49, flight engineer Jose Hernandez, 47, European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang, 52, Pat Forrester, 52, Danny Olivas, 44, and Nicole Stott, 46. 

(Credit: SpaceFlightNow.com)

Fuel Flowing For 3rd Launch Try

August 28, 2009

After a brief delay to wait out encroaching storms, NASA began filling shuttle Discovery's fuel tank for a third time, hoping skies will be clear for an 11:59 p.m. EDT liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

Previous launch attempts this week were nixed by bad weather and a technical problem with a valve in the ship's fuel tank. NASA hopes the troubles are behind it. The opportunity to launch Discovery ends after Sunday and doesn't return until mid-October.

NASA is eager to get through its final seven shuttle missions and complete the $100 billion International Space Station, a project of 16 nations. Whether the station holds up to its promise of delivering cutting edge research may determine whether funds to continue the program beyond 2015 are forthcoming. 

No Shuttle Launch Tonight, Next Attempt 11:59 p.m. Friday

August 27, 2009

NASA is postponing shuttle Discovery’s resupply mission to the International Space Station for a third time to give engineers more time to review tests of a potentially faulty valve in the ship's fuel tank.

Launch had been targeted for 12:22 a.m. EDT Friday. The next opportunity to fly is at 11:59 p.m. EDT Friday. It's unusual for the shuttle to have two launch opportunities in the same day. Launch times are determined by when the space station flies over the shuttle’s launch site at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which happens about once every 24 hours. The launch period moves up by about 23 minutes each day.

The suspect valve, which is needed to drain fuel from the shuttle’s tank, apparently failed while the shuttle was being fueled for second launch try earlier this week. Bad weather stymied NASA’s first launch attempt Tuesday.

NASA halted fueling, drained the tank and ordered tests to determine if the valve was actually broken or if sensors that monitor the equipment were to blame. Engineers cycled the valve five times without incident, but NASA decided to take another day to study the issue.

The shuttle is stocked with laboratory equipment, food, supplies and spare parts for the station. NASA has until Sunday to get Discovery off the launch pad, or it will likely delay the mission until October due to a scheduling conflict for mandatory Air Force launch support services in Florida and the arrival of a Japanese cargo ship and a Russia crew capsule at the station in mid-September and early October, respectively.

Discovery’s flight is scheduled to last 13 days and includes three spacewalks to install a new ammonia coolant tank and prepare the outpost for its final connecting hub.

(Photo: Bad weather on Tuesday, suspect valve on Wednesday. Credit: NASA)

No Launch for Discovery Wednesday

August 25, 2009

NASA called off its second attempt to launch shuttle Discovery due what appeared to be a broken valve in the shuttle’s fuel tank. 

The shuttle was being fueled for a launch attempt at 1:10 a.m. EDT (0510 GMT) Wednesday when the valve, which would be needed to drain the tank, apparently failed. Launch director Pete Nickolenko halted fueling while engineers assessed the problem.

“It appears we have a broken fill-and-drain valve,” said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel, who was providing live commentary during fueling. “It may not be broken, it may be an indicator that was not giving a proper reading .. but you do the prudent thing and that is to not launch at this time.”

Managers did not immediately set a new launch date. NASA has until Sunday to get Discovery off the launch pad before the flight would likely be reset for October due to scheduling conflicts with other activities at the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. In addition, the International Space Station is preparing for its first cargo ship from Japan and cannot handle the shuttle and the new HTV vehicle simultaneously.

The first launch attempt Tuesday was called off due to a sudden turn in Florida's notoriously fickle weather.

A news conference will be held later this evening.

NASA Clears Shuttle For 2nd Launch Try

NASA is preparing the shuttle for a second launch attempt at 1:10 a.m. EDT (0510 GMT) Wednesday after a surprising turn in the weather stymied Tuesday’s planned liftoff.

The forecast for tonight is pretty good, with a 70 percent chance conditions will be suitable for liftoff.

The shuttle is loaded with science gear, equipment, experiments and supplies for the space station, which is nearing completion after more than a decade of construction. 

As assembly winds up, NASA and its partners in the program -- Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada -- and stepping up research projects,  such as an Italian-backed study on genetically engineered mice that is part of a bone-loss study.  Astronauts who have been away from Earth's gravity for extended periods of time lose bone mass, a condition similar to osteoporosis, which afflicts millions of people on Earth. The hope is that the station-based research leads to more effective treatments and preventative measures.

The transition to research on the station couldn't come at a more opportune time. The U.S. government is reconsidering what it wants to do with the human space program and extending the life of the space station beyond Sept. 30, 2015, has emerged as a top candidate among members of the panel tasked to come up with options for the Obama administration. The panel's final report is due Monday.

Discovery's flight is the last time the shuttle will be used to transport a station crew member to the station. Rookie astronaut Nicole Stott, 46, is scheduled to serve as one of the station's flight engineers until late November.

After the shuttle program ends, the station will be dependent on Russian, European and Japanese vehicles to deliver cargo, though none have nearly the lift capacity of the shuttle, which can haul 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg). Japan's HTV, which is scheduled for its debut flight next month, can carry 6 tons of cargo, Europe's ATV can lift about 7.5 tons and Russia's Progress holds 2 tons.

NASA also plans to buy commercial launch services from Space Exploration Technologies, Orbital Sciences Corp and other companies. The agency also is soliciting proposals for crew transport by commercial U.S. carriers. The only other countries besides the United States that fly people in space are Russia and China, which is not a member of the station partnership.

Weather Forces Launch Delay

August 24, 2009

1:25 a.m. - No launch tonight. Next opportunity: 1:10 a.m. EDT on Wednesday

12:30 a.m. - Rather dismal weather outlook for launch tonight. Main concern is lighting in the area. The crew is aboard the shuttle and the hatch is closed.

11 p.m.  - The seven astronauts slated to fly on Discovery are settling into their seats to await the final few hours of the countdown. Liftoff remains targeted for 1:36 a.m. EDT. Lightning storms have cleared from the area, though a few straggling clouds remain. 

4:40 p.m. - NASA has begun the three-plus hour operation to fill up shuttle Discovery's fuel tank for launch in the wee hours. 

Liftoff is set for 1:36 a.m. EDT from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

The shuttle is filled with a cargo pod holding more than seven tons of science gear, supplies and spare parts for the International Space Station, including a second treadmill named after Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert. 

Discovery's six-man, one-woman crew, headed by three-time flier Rick Sturckow, is scheduled to arrive at the launch pad shortly after 10 p.m. tonight. Already aboard are eight mice that will be taking up residence on the station for the next few months. Four of the critters have been genetically altered for an experiment scientists hope will give them fresh insights into why astronauts lose bone mass during long-duration stays in the gravity-free world of space. The research also may lead to more effective treatments for osteoporosis, a bone-destroying disease that afflicts millions of people on Earth.

The shuttle is scheduled to spend 13 days in orbit, including nine at the station, currently staffed by two Russians, two Americans, a Canadian and a European. Discovery rookie astronaut Nicole Stott will be joining the crew, taking the place of NASA astronaut Tim Kopra. She's the last station crewmember who will be hitching a ride on a space shuttle. From here on out, NASA plans to rotate station crews using Russian Soyuz spacecraft. 

The shuttles are being retired sometime late next year or early 2011 and with six-member crews now living on the station NASA says there aren't enough seats on the shuttle to smoothly handle crew rotations. 

Discovery's launch is the 128th in shuttle program history and the fourth of five missions planned for this year. After Discovery's flight, six missions remain to complete the station. 

NASA Clears Space Shuttle For Launch

August 20, 2009

I suppose the only thing stupider than preparing for the last disaster is to assume the last disaster was a fluke and live through a reoccurrence. Still, there’s a strong sense of locking the door after the barn has burned down when it comes to NASA’s obsession with foam popping off the fuel tanks when the space shuttles launch.

Granted, the stakes have never been higher. With just six missions remaining before the program ends, there will be no more chances to review, recover and fly again if there’s another accident. More than anything, the agency would like to retire the shuttle fleet with no more fatalities.

So, discussions about foam rule the day. NASA lives in the shadow of the mistakes it made with Columbia, which was done in by a 2.2-pound chunk of insulating foam that fell off its fuel tank during launch and hit the ship’s wing, breaching the heat shield.  The shuttle broke apart as it flew through the atmosphere for landing, 16 days later, killing the crew.

Several tank redesigns later, and still the topic de jour during this week’s review for shuttle Discovery’s launch Tuesday involved foam. The size of the pieces under discussion are on the order of .044 pounds -- about 1/50th the size of the piece that damaged Columbia. The talks went on for four days before managers, after hearing from engineers who wanted more tests, cleared the shuttle for launch.

“I feel extremely good about the results of the meeting,” shuttle program manager John Shannon told reporters at the Kennedy Space Center after the meeting. “ I think we have done absolute due diligence.”

Liftoff is scheduled for 1:36 a.m. EDT on Tuesday. The shuttle will be carrying supplies and spare parts for the International Space Station. NASA is trying to get the station stocked with everything it may need that can’t be launched on other vehicles before the shuttles stop flying, sometime late next year or early 2011.

(Astronauts slated to launch aboard space shuttle Discovery arrive at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida late Wednesday. From left, Nicole Stott, a rookie astronaut who will stay aboard the International Space Station to serve as one of its flight engineers; Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang; NASA astronauts Danny Olivas, Jose Hernandez and Patrick Forrester; pilot Kevin Ford; and Discovery commander Rick Sturckow. Credit: NASA)

Welcome To The Recession, NASA

August 13, 2009

A tedious final public meeting of the board reviewing the country’s human space program concluded with a sobering assessment of the future, at least for those wishing to see American flags on other bodies in the solar system. To put it bluntly: It ain’t gonna happen in our lifetimes without a big boost in NASA’s budget.

That’s not to say there’s not a silver lining, a couple actually. First off, we’re likely to make our international partners very happy because the only program that looks robust and viable for the foreseeable future is the International Space Station. For the most part, the Human Space Flight Review panel seems to favor extending its planned lifetime to at least 2020. 

It’s a logical choice considering that the complex isn’t even finished yet and currently is on the books for only five years of operating funds beyond its 2010 completion date. That’s less time than NASA has kept the rovers Spirit and Opportunity plucking around on Mars.  The space station will have consumed somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 billion by the time it’s finished, so it seems only prudent to try to get some return on the investment.

NASA, however, would like to move beyond operations 200 miles above Earth and has set its sights on the moon and Mars. The blueprint it’s been working toward had its legs cut out from under it, financially speaking, and it’s over.

“We can’t do this program in this budget,” board member Sally Ride told her colleagues on the Human Space Flight Review panel, which wrapped up what was expected to be its final public meeting in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. “This budget is simply not friendly to exploration.”

About $3 billion a year would be needed to get the exploration initiative back on track, though the earliest a return to the moon could occur is probably in the mid-2020s, rather than 2020, the agency’s initial goal.

The cards left on the table, however, offer a new path into space, one that might be well-tread by NASA, but is brand new to the rest of us. By extending the space station, the government can create a commercial market for rides to space. Once the space shuttles are retired, NASA will need a way to transport its astronauts and the only option now is to buy rides from the Russian government for close to $50 million a seat.

Buying rides commercially not only could create a more robust space station program, it could open travel options for tourism and other orbital expeditions.

It’d be a tough pill for NASA to swallow, one that has stymied almost every government bureaucracy, as it would require the agency to do the unthinkable: get smaller. Welcome to the recession, NASA.

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)