Space Shuttle lift off

[Dieselman]

Surely there is some risk form repairing the shuttle while in space and maybe that risk is greater than the one presented by the damaged tile.

 

[glojo]

Surely there is some risk form repairing the shuttle while in space and maybe that risk is greater than the one presented by the damaged tile.

I'm on your side and the damage would mean working on the underside of the shuttle which makes it even more dangerous.

To me this is a case of 'The Bosses' earning their pay packets. They have studied the evidence, carried out NUMEROUS tests and have made an educated, informed decision.

After the Columbia disaster I read some e-mails from the senior engineer in charge of the area where the shuttle was damaged. He KNEW the shuttle was damaged by falling debris, he told the senior management of his suspicions, they over-ruled his concerns. He then approached the US military and arranged for a satellite to take pictures of the shuttle in an attempt to verify his concerns. At the very last minute the military consulted NASA to confirm the number of pictures required and senior management cancelled the mission because of the unauthorised approach. The engineer pleaded with his superiors but all to no avail. Just imagine how he must have felt during re-entry when he saw the temperatures rising? All the management involved in that disgraceful incident were replaced. As far as I know the engineer retired on ill health.

This damaged tile has been scanned with laser equipment, a replica tile has been constructed and numerous tests have been carried out to ensure it is safe to leave it. The decision has been made.

John

 

[comports]

somewhat after the horse has bolted as I'm just back from my hols but we did take a trip up to cocoa beach to watch the lift off.

Not sure if anyone here has had the chance before but it was amazing to actually watch it live..

 

[supercharger]

can anyone let me know when the shuttle is scheduled to return to earth


supercharger

 

[glojo]

can anyone let me know when the shuttle is scheduled to return to earth


supercharger

Yup two attempts tomorrow in Florida, the first I believe will be about 4:32pm our time.

Regards
John

Now looks like 5-30pm forgot summer dooberries

 

[glojo]

All back safe and sound. NASA is now making a decision about the safety of future flights. The next shuttle mission is scheduled for October BUT that is subject to the safety review regarding the tiles.

John

 

[comports]

And what a lovely smooth one it was.. Great piloting

 

[grober]

tile damage

Here's a picture of the worst tile damage. Looks pretty bad but apparently replacing it was worse than leaving as is. Now where did I put that ISOPON 40?

 

[glojo]

Here's a picture of the worst tile damage. Looks pretty bad but apparently replacing it was worse than leaving as is. Now where did I put that ISOPON 40?

The amazing thing was they produced an exact replica of this damaged tile and were so confident about it not needing to be repaired. All credit to the ground staff, but will the next mission take place on the specified date?

Endeavour is due to return to the Space Station in February next year.

John

 

[glojo]

Just been listening to the press conference and they raised some very good points. The damaged tile will be removed and compared to the one that was used in the simulator. the ammount they will learn from this will be enormous.

They then corrected the termology being used by the media regarding the 'repair' of the damaged tile.

The word 'repair' was not the right word. The correct word would have been modification. They would have modified the damaged tile and only if the re-entry had been succwessful could they then claim to have repaired it? I thought that extremely thought provoking and imediately realised where they were coming from. They went on to say that the modification could have made things worse, whereas all there tests indicated that if they left things alone, the space craft could safely re-enter the Earths atmosphere.

If they carry out all the planned space shuttle missions then the International Space Station will be completed! Ouch.

Regards
John

 

[glojo]

Contraversial post

During the night I was thinking.......

I wonder if the crew of the space shuttle take some 'happy Go Lucky' pills prior to re-entry? I hopefully do NOT include either the pilot, Commander or perhaps the engineer, but the rest of the crew?? It has been disclosed that US military pilots take amphetamines to stay awake on longer missions. This was disclosed at the court martial of the F-16 pilots when they killed the Canadian troops.

I have made this suggestion because one of the crew failed to come out of the space shuttle when it landed. The official line for this has always been that they are having problems re-adapting to the Earth's gravity. This is always the publishd reason and I have never given it a second thought, but it might be extremely stressful for some folks to just sit there waiting for a big poof! The whole craft shakes, vibrates, rattles etc and I suppose it is possible to crack under the stress.

I just wonder if the missing crew member was 'zonked out'?

 

[grober]

I would doubt if they all took drugs routinely. However if one of the crew was showing signs of acute stress/ fear - in their behaviour, what they were saying or simply from the body monitor telemetry- elevated blood pressure pulse rate etc mission control may have instructed them to take suitable medication to help them cope with must be a very "rough ride" at the end of the mission. This might have also played a part in their early re-entry a day early, although the hurricane was given as the reason.

 

[glojo]

I would doubt if they all took drugs routinely.

Totally agree,
I think the reasons for coming home a day early were genuine. There had been major concerns regarding the hurricane and plans had been made to completely shut down the whole of the Florida Space Centre although this has now been cancelled due to the hurricane easing off.

Regarding my statement regarding amphetamines. I will only say taking drugs to stay alert is not uncommon.

John

 

[smartbrabus]

Discovery is due to launch in about 50 minutes... gentlemen, fire up your NASA TV browsers

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

 

[ShinyF1]

From BBc News:

Several miles away, space shuttle Discovery has been fueled with about 500,000 gallons of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will power the main engines during the climb to orbit. Launch is scheduled for 11:38 a.m.

I wonder what its carbon footprint is??

 

[grober]

 

[DITTRICH]

Although o2 and h2 burn to produce h2o I bet the energy used to split the water into its components (electrolysis) came mostly from good old fossil fuels. of course if it was all done using solar power then arguably the footprint would be zero for the fuel anyway.

Les

 

[ShinyF1]

Although o2 and h2 burn to produce h2o I bet the energy used to split the water into its components (electrolysis) came mostly from good old fossil fuels. of course if it was all done using solar power then arguably the footprint would be zero for the fuel anyway.

Les

..yes that's what I meant????

 

[grober]

SRBs

I would be worrying more about the SRBs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Solid_Rocket_Booster

 

[glojo]

Discovery is due to launch in about 50 minutes... gentlemen, fire up your NASA TV browsers

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

rats,
had visitors this afternoon and missed it, thanks very much though for reminding me. I'm going to be addicted to NASA TV for the next day or threee.

Regards
John