Category: Space Shuttle

NASA marked a major milestone for the Space Shuttle’s Return to Flight, as the redesigned External Tank rolled out today from the barge that carried it to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla.

The tank was taken to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for a final checkout. It will eventually be attached to the twin Solid Rocket Boosters and the Space Shuttle Discovery for its Return to Flight mission, STS-114.

“With the arrival of the External Tank, all of the elements of the Space Shuttle system are in place for Return to Flight,” said Michael Kostelnik, deputy associate administrator for International Space Station and Space Shuttle programs. “This improved tank will be the safest we’ve ever flown. The modifications we have made will ensure the Shuttle completes its long-term mission of assembling the International Space Station,” he said.

NASA and Lockheed Martin Corp. spent nearly two years modifying the 15-story, rust-colored tank to make it safer. Among dozens of changes is a redesigned forward bipod fitting to reduce the risk to the Shuttle from falling debris during ascent. Reducing the debris risk was a key recommendation of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

“Although we can never completely eliminate insulating foam coming off the External Tank, we have absolute confidence we have eliminated the type of debris that caused the loss of Columbia,” said Bill Parsons, Space Shuttle program manager. “This tank is safe to fly the Return to Flight mission.”

The External Tank arrived at KSC after a 900-mile journey at sea. It departed NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Dec. 31. It was transported via Pegasus, NASA’s specially designed barge. The Solid Rocket Booster retrieval ship Liberty Star brought the barge to Port Canaveral yesterday. The barge was moved by tugs to the KSC Turn Basin, the tank off-loaded and transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building.

“The team here at KSC is tremendously excited to receive the final Shuttle element for the Return to Flight mission,” said Mike Wetmore, director of Shuttle processing at KSC. “We have an experienced team in place that will complete the final checkout and processing of the tank and prepare it for its final journey out to the launch pad before flight.”

In the VAB, the tank will be raised to a vertical position. It will be lifted high up in the transfer aisle into the “checkout cell,” where the tank’s mechanical, electrical and thermal protection systems are inspected. The tank will also undergo new processes resulting from its re-design, including inspection of the bipod heater and External Tank separation camera.

The tank will be prepared for “mating” to the Shuttle’s Solid Rocket Boosters. When preparations are complete, the tank will be lifted from the checkout cell, moved across the transfer aisle and into High Bay 1. It will be lowered and attached to the boosters, which are sitting on the Mobile Launch Platform.

The arrival of the External Tank, the largest element of the Space Shuttle system, follows other recent Return to Flight milestones, including the “stacking” of the Solid Rocket Boosters in the Vehicle Assembly Building and installation of the Space Shuttle Main Engines into Discovery. The External Tank is the only Shuttle component not recovered after launch and reused.

The Return to Flight mission is targeted for a launch window beginning in May. The seven-member Discovery crew will fly to the International Space Station primarily to test and evaluate new procedures for flight safety, Shuttle inspections and repair techniques.

The Space Shuttle Propulsion Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the tank project. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., New Orleans, is the primary contractor.

Video b-roll and sound bites of the tank shipment and arrival will be broadcast on NASA TV. Satellite coordinates and NASA TV schedules are available at: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information on NASA’s Return to Flight efforts, including fact sheets and photos about the tank shipment, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight

Original Source: NASA News Release

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

Discovery (OV-103)
Powered-up orbiter system testing in the Orbiter Processing Facility continues to progress on schedule for Discovery’s Return to Flight mission (STS-114) to the International Space Station. The Space Flight Leadership Council met today and determined the new launch planning window is May 12 to June 3, 2005.

Technicians continue testing and checkout of both the Remote Manipulator System, or Space Shuttle robotic arm, and the starboard manipulator positioning mechanisms. Installation of the new wing leading edge sensors and relay units continues. Ku band target tracking tests are complete.

Atlantis (OV-104)
Atlantis remains in its extensive power-down period, during which technicians are performing Return to Flight modifications. The majority of the baseline wire inspections are complete. Structural inspections and arc track wire inspections continue throughout the vehicle.

With all radiators mounted for flight, technicians completed installations of the radiators’ flex hoses in support of orbiter power up. Work is progressing well with the flex hose conversion to hard lines in the waste water management system, and the flex hose modifications in the potable waste water system.

Flex hoses are used throughout the vehicle for numerous purposes where there is movement between two fixed ends, or where flexibility is desired for ease of installation and/or replacement.

Endeavour (OV-105)
Space Shuttle Endeavour is in its Orbiter Major Modification period, which began in December. Electrical modifications continue in the crew module. Three-String Global Positioning System wire routing in the avionics bay and flight deck continues.

Clean up continues from the bead blasting performed to remove minuscule corrosion from the wing leading edges. 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.

Workers also are beginning to set up the protective tents in preparation for painting the wings prior to reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels.

Previous Space Shuttle processing status reports are available on the Internet at:
NASA KSC News

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

Original Source: NASA News Release

Radar tracking data gathered during the Delta II launch of the MESSENGER spacecraft earlier this month has provided promising results that may benefit NASA’s Space Shuttle Program and Discovery’s Return to Flight.

A pair of radars installed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at a site north of Haulover Canal tracked the launch phase of the Delta II, including separation of the nine solid rocket boosters and jettison of the first stage and the payload fairing, the “nose” of the rocket that protected the MESSENGER spacecraft during launch.

“This test was quite successful for us in proving a concept,” said NASA project manager Tony Griffith. “The use of high-resolution wide band and Doppler radars allows us to observe almost any possible debris during ascent and means we can observe the Space Shuttle without regard to limitations of visibility, cloud cover and darkness.”

More importantly, the tandem radars “saw” — in significant detail — ice shedding from the Delta first stage, ejection of the solid rocket booster nozzle throat plugs, and contents of their exhaust. These are normal Delta launch events. For the Space Shuttle Program, the test showed that the radars, working together, were effective in visualizing the vehicle elements in high resolution and the ability to attain speedy interpretation of the images for initial data analysis after a Shuttle launch.

The antennas have been on loan to NASA from the USNS Pathfinder, a U.S. Navy instrumentation ship. The 30-foot-diameter C-band wideband radar antenna and the smaller X-band Doppler radar worked together to image the Delta in flight. The Navy operated the radars for NASA during the MESSENGER launch. NASA was responsible for analyzing the imagery.

“This turned out to be a successful and mutually beneficial partnership with the Navy that we will pursue,” Griffith said.

Later this fall, a 50-foot-diameter C-band wide band radar will be installed on this site for a similar Return to Flight application and for use by the Navy. The radar is being relocated to KSC from the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico.

The radars used for the test are being returned to the USNS Pathfinder, though the C-band radar used in this test could return as a backup for Return to Flight, if available from the Navy. NASA is evaluating the procurement of two X-band Doppler radars for use on ships downrange, including one of the solid rocket booster retrieval ships.

Original Source: NASA News Release

NASA is moving ahead with plans to redesign a part of the Space Shuttle external fuel tank that investigators believe played a critical role in the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. The Space Shuttle program will soon begin manufacturing and installing an improved bipod fitting, which connects the external fuel tank to the Shuttle during launch.

A Critical Design Review Board of NASA managers, engineers and aerospace contractors last month approved the new design, a significant milestone in the effort to return the Shuttle to safe flight. The approval allows workers to begin incorporating the new fitting on External Tank No. 120, the tank slated for flight on the next Shuttle mission, designated STS-114.

Investigators believe that during Columbia’s launch in January 2003, insulating foam from the bipod area fell off the external tank and damaged the left wing of the Space Shuttle. The new design addresses the Columbia Accident Investigation Board recommendation to reduce the risk to the Shuttle from falling debris during liftoff. It eliminates the foam covering from the bipod fitting and replaces it with four rod-shaped heaters. The heaters will serve the same primary function as the foam, preventing ice buildup on the tank’s bipod fittings.

“This is a fix that really gets to the root of the technical problems that caused the loss of Columbia,” said Michael Kostelnik, NASA’s Deputy Associate Administrator for International Space Station and Space Shuttle Programs. “By eliminating this debris source, as well as potential debris from other areas, we are making the Shuttle a safer spacecraft.”

The External Tank Project Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., first began developing redesign concepts for the bipod fitting after insulating foam from the left bipod ramp area detached during the October 2002 launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis.

The newly designed heaters will be placed below the fitting, in covers made of a strong alloy composed of nickel, chromium and iron. They will sit on top of a copper plate sandwiched between the fitting and a hard, dense material that separates the heater from the tank.

The design will be retrofitted on the 11 existing tanks and incorporated into the manufacture of all new tanks. Lockheed Martin Space Systems will do the work at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Delivery of the retrofitted tanks to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is expected in October.

For still photos on the Internet of the redesigned bipod fitting, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight

Video b-roll of the new bipod will air on NASA Television during the Video File segment starting at noon EDT today. Beginning July 24, NASA Television will be seen in the continental United States on AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, Transponder 9, 3880 MHz, vertical polarization, audio at 6.8 MHz. If you live in Alaska or Hawaii, NASA TV will now be seen on AMC-7, at 137 degrees west longitude, Transponder 18, at 4060 MHz, vertical polarization, audio at 6.8 MHz.

For information about NASA TV, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

More information on NASA’s human space flight programs is available at:

http://www.nasa.gov

Original Source: NASA News Release

Engineers at NASA’s Stennis Space Center (SSC) in Mississippi have successfully tested one of the engines that will carry the next Space Shuttle into orbit.

The test today was the first on a complete Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) that will be used on the Return to Flight mission. The engine will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for installation on the Space Shuttle Discovery. The Return to Flight mission, designated STS-114, will launch no earlier than next March and will go to the International Space Station.

The test began at about 4:59 p.m. EDT. It ran for 520 seconds, the length of time it takes a Space Shuttle to reach orbit. Initial indications are all test objectives were successfully met.

“It’s good to see hardware processing for Discovery moving forward at Stennis and other NASA centers,” said Michael Kostelnik, deputy associate administrator for International Space Station and Space Shuttle Programs. “Clearly, we’re making real progress in safely returning the Shuttle to flight and enabling the Vision for Space Exploration.”

“This Return to Flight test is a testimony to the hard work of the NASA and contractor team that developed and continues to improve the SSME’s capability to take humans to low Earth orbit safely,” said Miguel Rodriguez, director of the Propulsion Test Directorate at SSC. “It is a huge source of pride to the NASA and Boeing team to be part of this great program.”

Developed in the 1970s, the Space Shuttle Main Engine is the world’s most sophisticated reusable rocket engine. A Space Shuttle has three main engines. Each is 14 feet long, weighs about 7,000 pounds and is seven-and-a-half feet in diameter at the end of its nozzle. It generates almost 400,000 pounds of thrust.

Engineers conduct rigorous testing to verify an engine is ready to fly. The most modern versions of the SSME include a new high-pressure fuel turbopump that was first used in July 2001.

“The Space Shuttle Main Engine that flies today has gone through major upgrades and is safer, stronger and more reliable than the one that flew on the first Shuttle flight in 1981,” said Michael Rudolphi, Space Shuttle Propulsion Manager.

The Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power division of The Boeing Co. of Canoga Park, Calif., manufactures the Space Shuttle Main Engines. Pratt and Whitney, a United Technologies Company of West Palm Beach, Fla., builds the high-pressure turbopumps. The Space Shuttle Main Engine project is managed by the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. SSC conducts engine tests.

For more information about NASA’s Return to Flight efforts, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight

Original Source: NASA News Release

Image credit: CAIB
The first pieces of Space Shuttle Columbia debris, loaned to a non-governmental agency for testing and research, are on their way from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla., to The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, Calif.

The Aerospace Corporation requested and will receive graphite/epoxy honeycomb skins from an Orbital Maneuvering System pod, Main Propulsion System Helium tanks, a Reaction Control System Helium tank and a Power Reactant Storage Distribution system tank. The company will use the parts to study re-entry effects on composite materials. NASA notified the Columbia crew’s families about the loan before releasing the items for study.

Earlier this year, Dr. Gary Steckel, senior scientist in the Materials Science Department in the Space Materials Laboratory at The Aerospace Corporation, viewed the items. “We believe these items are representative of the structural composite materials flown on Columbia. They will enable us to successfully meet our objective of calibrating analytical models for predicting reentry behavior of composite structures,” Steckel said.

Researchers believe the testing will show how materials are expected to respond to various heating and loads’ environments. The findings will help calibrate tools and models used to predict hazards to people and property from reentering hardware. The Aerospace Corporation will have the debris for one year to perform analyses to estimate maximum temperatures during reentry based upon the geometry and mass of the recovered composite.

“NASA’s mission includes the development of technologies that improve the safety and reliability of access to space,” said NASA’s Deputy Administrator Fred Gregory. “By allowing the scientific community to study Columbia debris, researchers will have the opportunity to gain unprecedented knowledge about the effects of reentry.”

The request from The Aerospace Corporation was one of several “Request for Information” applications NASA received to study Columbia debris. The eight pieces of hardware were inventoried inside the KSC Vehicle Assembly Building, where Columbia’s debris is stored and prepared for shipment.

“The idea of studying pieces of Columbia came to me in the debris hangar soon after the accident,” said Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach. “It was clear to me we could learn a lot from it, and that we shouldn’t bury the debris as we did with Challenger’s.”

“To see the plan come together is personally rewarding,” Leinbach said. “I hope the technical community will learn as much as possible and put that knowledge to use to improve spacecraft and flight crew system designs in the future,” he said.

For information about NASA and return to flight efforts on the Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight

For information about The Aerospace Corporation on the Internet, visit:
http://www.aero.org/home.html

Original Source: NASA News Release

Image credit: NASA
2004-0519shuttle-sm.jpg view insert

Image credit: NASA
There have been several significant changes in NASA?s Space Shuttle return to flight effort since the last plenary meeting of the Return to Flight Task Group (RTF TG) in December. First, and most immediately, the schedule for the next launch was moved from September 2004 to March-April 2005. See Figure 1 below. This schedule change was prompted by three developments:

1. additional testing of the susceptibility of the Thermal Protection System (TPS), especially the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon, coupled with advanced analysis of the airflows around the Orbiter, External Tank (ET) and Solid Rocket Boosters indicated that the foam on a larger area of the ET should be stripped and reapplied;

2. some rudder speed brake actuators were discovered to have been incorrectly assembled during the original assembly over 20 years ago. Further, the gears in the actuators have generally suffered some damage with use and time. Therefore, all the actuators are being replaced or refurbished; and

3. design and building of a new camera/laser boom that would be used by the Space Shuttle?s robotic arm to help inspect for possible damage while in orbit.

This change in schedule means that NASA will have additional time to implement the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) return to flight recommendations before return to flight. In many cases this change also allows expected plans to be at least partially implemented. For example, the CAIB called for a detailed plan to, among other things, establish an Independent Technical Engineering Authority?it is expected those plans will now be implemented, at least for the Office of Space Flight, before next year.

The expanded time before the next launch also allows NASA additional time to select and perfect methods of, for example, inspecting the TPS for damage. Since the loss of Columbia, NASA has been engaged in a wide-ranging search for corrective and preventive measures of all types. In some cases, the time is approaching when decisions must be made as to the most promising alternatives and resources focused on this smaller set of possibilities?the garden must be thinned. In this sense, the additional time until launch can be seductive and leadership will need to be exercised to sort the many options under consideration.

The second major change since December is the announcement of President Bush?s initiative, or vision, for the future of human space flight. The President proposed to utilize the Space Shuttle to finish the International Space Station (ISS) and then retire the Shuttle. In its place would be continued reliance on international partners to service the ISS as well as the possibility of private sector development of launch vehicles. During the next decade, NASA would also begin to develop the capability to return astronauts to the moon, establish a presence, and move on to explore Mars within the next 20 years.

While the President?s vision has obvious implications for the long-run use of the Shuttle, its effects on the return to flight efforts have not been fully examined. However, no matter how long the Shuttle is used in the future, it must first be safely returned to flight. Therefore, except for potential competition for human resources, the new program should have minimal impact on the actual return to flight activities and the implementation of CAIB recommendations. Third, the Task Group determined that the contingency of utilizing the ISS as a shelter for Shuttle Crew Contingency Support in the event of potentially catastrophic damage on the next flight, is becoming increasingly important in NASA?s decision making for return to flight. Therefore, the Task Group formally notified NASA of its intent to assess this capability much as if it were a CAIB recommendation.

Finally, the Task Group instituted a ?sub-panel? to examine the implications of the increased flow of data resulting from many of the CAIB recommendations and other return to flight initiatives.

The Task Group is encouraged by NASA?s progress since its last plenary in December. Throughout the organization, the people of NASA are engaged and dedicated to correcting the deficiencies that led to the demise of Columbia.

The RTF TG is conditionally closing out three CAIB recommendations. ?Closing out? a recommendation means that NASA has responded adequately to a specific CAIB return to flight recommendation. ?Conditionally? means that the close out is dependent on the delivery of final information and the assurance of NASA that it will keep the RTF TG up-to-date on any new developments pertaining to those recommendations. The three recommendations being conditionally closed out with this second interim report are:

3.3-1: Reinforced Carbon-Carbon Non-Destructive Inspection;
4.2-3: Closeout Inspection; and
6.3-2: NASA/National Imagery and Mapping Agency Memorandum of Agreement.

The Task Group will continue to monitor the implementation of these recommendations and NASA has agreed to notify the Task Group if there is any material change in status.

There has been substantial progress on virtually all of the 12 remaining return to flight recommendations. It is anticipated that several more recommendations will be substantially met by the time of the next RTF TG plenary in the summer.

One universal concern of the Task Group is the personnel requirements to meet the CAIB recommendations and return to flight. The various new organizations, from the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, to the Independent Technical Authority, to the Space Shuttle System Engineering and Integration Office all require talented staff drawn largely from the current NASA and contractor pool. At some point, the ability of the Space Shuttle Program to carry out its mission may be hampered by personnel shortages.

The most important work remains to be efforts to eliminate critical ascent debris. If it could be guaranteed that no critical debris would come from the ET, the immediate cause of the loss of Columbia would be rectified. But such a guarantee is impossible short of extensive testing in flight. Analytical and testing techniques will allow a level of comfort before launch and advances in Non-Destructive Inspection techniques may add to confidence. However, statistically significant results verifying ET debris conditions may not be accomplished even by the end of the Shuttle Program.

As such, on-orbit inspection and repair remain necessary to reduce the risk to future flights. Should one or both of these capabilities not be fully developed by the anticipated date of return to flight, the ability for the crew to await a rescue mission at the ISS will become an important consideration for the next launch.

Original Source: Stafford-Covey Second Interim Report (PDF)

Technicians working on the space shuttles discovered last week that some gears in the braking mechanism had been installed backwards, in some cases, nearly two decades ago. They had never been inspected since. Fortunately, the reversed gears were in one of the least stressful positions of the assembly; had it been installed in a high-stress position, it could have failed when the shuttle landed – probably leading to its destruction. New parts will be installed before the shuttle returns to flight next March.

Space shuttle director Michael Kostelnik announced this week that work to return the shuttle fleet to flight was going slower than planned, probably pushing the next launch to March or April 2005. The delays have largely been caused by the difficulty engineers are having ensuring that chunks of foam can’t fall off the shuttle tank – like the one that led to the destruction of Columbia last year. NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe had already commented to a Congressional science committee that a launch this year was unlikely.

Image credit: NASA

It looks like NASA is still a long way from getting the space shuttles ready to fly again, according to the interim report released today by the Return to Flight task group. Although NASA is addressing all 29 issues suggested by the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, the progress is reported as “uneven”. So far, none of the tasks have been completed. NASA is currently targeting September 12 for the date of the first shuttle launch after the Columbia disaster, but many experts think that date could be pushed back even further.

The Stafford-Covey Return to Flight Task Group will issue an interim report Tuesday, Jan. 20. The group is making an independent assessment of NASA’s implementation of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board Space Shuttle return to flight recommendations.

http://returntoflight.org

Co-Chairman Richard Covey will be available to answer questions from the news media at 2:30 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 21 at the Task Group office at 1740 NASA Parkway, Suite 101, Houston. A telephone bridge will be provided for media unable to attend in person. Interested media should call Shannon Bach at: 281/792-7523 no later than 11 a.m. EST. Jan. 21.

The 28-member task group is co-chaired by Covey, a former Space Shuttle Commander and retired Air Force Lieutenant General and former Apollo Mission Commander Thomas Stafford. The Task Group will continue to report results to NASA at appropriate intervals and will provide a final report to the agency approximately one month before the Space Shuttle’s return to flight.

Original Source: RTF TG News Release