NASA controllers grounded the shuttle fleet for at least two more months on Friday after they discovered small fuel line cracks – so far they’ve uncovered 11 in the four shuttles. All the cracks are very small, only a few millimetres in length, but NASA is worried that a piece of metal could chip off the fuel line and fall into a main engine during liftoff. This could have disastrous results. Two shuttle flights are currently on hold until the problem can be fixed.
NASA Finds Tiny Cracks in Shuttle Fuel Lines
NASA controllers decided to ground the shuttle fleet this week when they discovered tiny fuel line cracks. The first crack was uncovered during a routine examination of Atlantis, so the other shuttles were analyzed and additional cracks were found in Discovery as well. Industry experts applaud NASA’s decision to ground the fleet; since the Challenger disaster in 1986, NASA has put a greater emphasis on safety.
Endeavour Lands in California
After two extra days in space, Endeavour finally touched down at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Wednesday. The landing had been delayed because of thunderstorms at the Florida landing strip. During the shuttle’s 14 days in space, the astronauts delivered a new crew to the International Space Station and performed three spacewalks to install new hardware. The shuttle will now be mounted onto the back of a specially modified 747 and flown back to Florida to prepare for its next launch.
Endeavour in Space Another Day
Once again NASA postponed the landing of the space shuttle Endeavour because of foul weather in both Florida and California. The next opportunity will be on Wednesday, when the shuttle will try to land at Cape Canaveral at 1452 GMT (10:52am EDT). There’s one more window in Florida and three at California’s Edwards Air Force Base. The shuttle has enough supplies to remain in orbit until Thursday.
Thunderstorms Delay Shuttle Landing
Flight controllers decided to wave two landing attempts of the space shuttle Endeavour on Monday because of thunderstorms threatening the Cape Canaveral landing area. The shuttle will try again on Tuesday, but forecasters are predicting poor weather then too. Alternatively, the shuttle can land at Edward’s Air Force Base in California; however, it’s a more expensive option as Endeavour will need to be returned to Florida. The first landing attempt on Tuesday is scheduled for 1555 GMT (11:55am EDT).
Endeavour Undocks from the Station
The space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station on Saturday and prepared to return a team of astronauts who broke the American space endurance record – the crew of Expedition 4 will have been in space for 194 days when the shuttle returns to Florida on Monday. The new crew of two Russians and one American will remain on board the station until October.
Endeavour Docks with Station
The space shuttle Endeavour linked up with the International Space Station, providing supplies and a new crew – Expedition 5. Docking occurred at 1625 GMT (12:25pm EDT), slightly behind schedule because the shuttle approached the station more slowly than planned.
No More Delays, Endeavour Launches
Image credit: NASA
With the weather finally on side for NASA, the space shuttle Endeavour blasted off Wednesday afternoon from Florida’s Cape Canaveral. The shuttle launched at 2122 GMT (5:22 EDT) carrying the crew of Expedition 5 into orbit, bound for the International Space Station. Endeavour will dock with the station on Friday and relieve the 3-man crew of Expedition 4. Shuttle astronauts will also perform 3 spacewalks to install some additional components onto the station.
With improved weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center, Endeavour lifted off at 4:23 p.m. CDT today, beginning a complex mission to continue the assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station and bring a new trio of residents to the orbital outpost.
Aboard Endeavour are Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Paul Lockhart, Mission Specialists Franklin Chang-D?az and Philippe Perrin of the French Space Agency, CNES, along with Expedition 5 Commander Valery Korzun and Flight Engineers Peggy Whitson and Sergei Treschev. As Endeavour launched from Florida, the space station orbited 240 statute miles over the southern Indian Ocean west of Perth, Australia.
Aboard the ISS, Expedition 4 Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch are wrapping up their 182nd day in space, their 180th day on the station. Walz and Bursch will break the U.S. record for the longest single space flight ? 188 days ? set by astronaut Shannon Lucid in 1996. Another record was equaled today as Chang-D?az became only the second human to fly in space seven times, tying a mark set in April by Jerry Ross on the STS-110 mission.
Less than nine minutes after launch, Endeavour and its crewmembers settled into orbit and work began to prepare the shuttle for its planned 12-day mission.
Endeavour is scheduled to dock to the station Friday afternoon, setting the stage for the handover between the Expedition 4 and Expedition 5 station crews. Three spacewalks are scheduled during the mission by Chang-D?az and Perrin. The first two will help install and activate the Mobile Base System, a platform that will be mated to the Mobile Transporter on the S-Zero (S0) Truss. The new platform will allow the station?s Canadarm2 robotic arm to ?walk off? the Destiny Laboratory onto the Mobile Base System so it can be transported up and down the length of the ISS for future assembly tasks. On the third spacewalk, Chang-D?az and Perrin will replace a faulty wrist roll joint on the station?s robotic arm that has experienced an electrical problem in one of its two data and power channels.
The shuttle crew will go to sleep at 10:23 p.m., and will be awakened at 6:23 a.m. Thursday to begin its first full day in orbit. The next STS-111 mission status report will be issued Thursday morning after Endeavour?s crew is awakened.
Original Source: NASA News Release
Bad Weather Scrubs Endeavour Launch
Stormclouds above Cape Canaveral pushed back the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour on Thursday. NASA meteorologists had been predicting bad weather all week, so the scrub came as no surprise. The launch was pushed back to Friday evening, but even that launch date is at risk, as the stormy weather is expected to last through the weekend. When Endeavour does get into space, it will deliver Expedition 5 to the International Space Station, and return the previous crew back to Earth.
Endeavour Launch Time Announced
Space shuttle managers announced the launch time for mission STS-111 on Wednesday afternoon – Endeavour will launch from Cape Canaveral on Thursday evening at 2344 GMT (7:44pm EDT). Although it was known that the launch was scheduled for Thursday, the exact time was kept secret for security reasons. Endeavour will carry the crew of Expedition 5 to the International Space Station as well as install the new Mobile Remote Servicer Base System. The weather doesn’t look good though, and could very well scrub the launch.