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Author
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Topic: STS-122: December 9, SCRUB!
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-18-2007 05:24 PM
   
After Tuesday's test of Atlantis' external tank, shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said it confirmed that the sensors themselves are not the problem. The preliminary results point to a section of the ECO system's wiring known as a "feed-through" connector.The data will be presented to managers on Wednesday with recommendations on how to proceed. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-19-2007 06:51 PM
Shuttle program managers approved a plan Wednesday to remove foam around a connector on Atlantis' external tank based on the analysis of data from yesterday's tanking test.Managers are scheduled to convene again December 27 to discuss the issue and potential remedies. NASA also delayed the mating of solid rocket boosters and an external tank for February's STS-123 mission, in the case access to that tank's sensor system is also required. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-27-2007 05:18 PM
Further testing and analysis of the ECO fuel sensor system has indicated that a three part feed-through connector is the root cause of the false readings that led to scrubbing the December 6 and December 9 attempts to launch shuttle Atlantis. The connector passes electric signals from sensors inside the external tank to shuttle electronics outside the tank. Shuttle managers decided on Thursday to remove portions of the connector and redesign the interface by soldering the pins to sockets at the external-to-feed-through side of the connector prior to installing the replacement into the external tank. It is unknown how long it will take to complete the modifications and reapply foam to the tank. Managers will assess the progress of the work before determining a new target launch date for Atlantis. "This is probably going to not allow us to fly on January 10," shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said during an afternoon teleconference. "We're probably going to be a little bit after that." |
Mr Meek
Member Posts: 353
From: Chattanooga, TN
Registered: Dec 2007
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posted 12-28-2007 12:14 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Shuttle managers decided on Thursday to remove portions of the connector and redesign the interface by soldering the pins to sockets at the external-to-feed-through side of the connector prior to installing the replacement into the external tank.
Funny how some things about electronics hold true no matter what the application. Whether you're a hobbyist building a guitar amp kit at home or NASA attempting to launch the most complex machine ever devised, a soldered joint is always more secure than a friction fit. We may have come a long way from Mercury/Redstone, but it still takes the same "Go fix it" tech mentality to get the spacecraft off the ground. I, for one, am glad to see that a program often mired in politics and nonsense still has moments reminiscent of the "good old days" where guys with slide rules and soldering irons helped turn test pilots into explorers. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-03-2008 05:52 PM
The space shuttle program is protecting January 24 as the earliest launch date for Atlantis. As work progresses, that date will be modified as required, said John Shannon, deputy manager for the shuttle program, during a media teleconference held today. The schedule depends on test results and modifications to the external tank's fuel sensor system feed-through connector. Should more time be necessary, the launch could occur during the first week of February (specifically February 2-7). The connector is undergoing testing at Marshall Space Flight Center, where it can be subjected to the same conditions it saw during the earlier launch attempts. Technicians at Kennedy Space Center will modify a replacement connector for the one that was removed. Metal pins inside the connector will be soldered to the socket. The new connector is scheduled to be in place by January 10. "We're fairly confident that if the problem is where we think it is, that this will solve that," Shannon said. |
East-Frisian
Member Posts: 586
From: Germany
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 01-04-2008 01:35 AM
Launches and landings end of January sounds not good. Remember all the disasters of the past. |
eilisk
Member Posts: 100
From: London
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 01-05-2008 09:19 AM
I was hoping to get to Florida in February for a couple of weeks, actually to try to see STS-123, but it looks like STS-122 will now almost fit into my own launch window.  Does anyone have any idea exactly what a "protected" launch date means? Due to work and so on we cannot fly out any earlier than the 28th Jan, so we're going to try and book as late as possible and hope for the best. Luckily there's a load of things to do as well in Florida if we can't see the launch.  All the best
Eilis |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-05-2008 12:04 PM
quote:
Originally posted by eilisk:
Does anyone have any idea exactly what a "protected" launch date means?
NASA must reserve use of the launch range as well as plan for the availability of its contractors and employees to be able to launch on any given day. As January 24 is the earliest day managers feel they could be ready to launch, they protected that date such that it would even be a possibility were their plans to proceed without any issue.As it happens though, the chances of their launching any time before the first week in February are very slim. |
art540
Member Posts: 432
From: Orange, California USA
Registered: Sep 2006
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posted 01-05-2008 12:21 PM
What happened to words such as reserved or allocated for range dates? How long has protected been used? Is it a NASA term but the range calls it another name? |
cspg
Member Posts: 6210
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006
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posted 01-11-2008 12:20 AM
New launch date: Feb. 7 (depending on the launch of a Progress cargo ship planned on the same day...)Chris. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-11-2008 02:23 PM
NASA release quote:
NASA Announces Space Shuttle Launch TargetsNASA Friday announced Feb. 7 as the target launch date for shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission to the International Space Station and mid-March for the launch of Endeavour on STS-123. Liftoff of Atlantis from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., will be at 2:47 p.m. EST. A decision by the Russian Federal Space Agency to move up its Progress launch from Feb. 7 to Feb. 5 enables both STS-122 and STS-123 to launch before the next Russian Soyuz mission in early April. This allows astronauts assigned to the space station's Expedition 16 crew to complete the tasks they have trained for, including support of the launch and docking of Jules Verne, the first European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle. Targeting Feb. 7 also allows time to complete modifications to the engine cutoff sensor system that postponed two shuttle launch attempts in December.
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-24-2008 04:09 PM
According to Florida Today, when NASA makes its next attempt to launch Atlantis, only 3 out of 4 working ECO sensors will be needed for the countdown to proceed. NASA has set a media briefing for no earlier than 2 p.m. CST on January 30, following a meeting that will set an official launch date for STS-122. Launch is currently targeted for February 7. NASA also set today the target date for STS-123: March 11, with a liftoff of time of 2:31 a.m. EDT. Once the new date is announced, this thread will be closed and a new one started for the next attempt. |
cspg
Member Posts: 6210
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006
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posted 01-25-2008 03:47 AM
On a related note, NASA's web site has a strange STS-122 press kit change. It's still listed as a 15mb file but once downloaded it's only 5.9Mb (file name: 203212main_sts122_presskit3.pdf). The earlier version, presskit2.pdf was indeed a 15.4Mb file. Haven't checked why the discrepancy in the file sizes...Chris. |
Kirsten
Member Posts: 536
From: Delft, Netherlands
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 01-28-2008 05:08 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
NASA has set a media briefing for no earlier than 2 p.m. CST on January 30, following a meeting that will set an official launch date for STS-122. Launch is currently targeted for February 7.
Already last week, ESA sent out invitations to press members to attend launch events on 7 February at several ESA sites. Kirsten |
LCDR Scott Schneeweis
New Member Posts:
From:
Registered:
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posted 01-29-2008 03:28 PM
May be premature... NASASpaceflight.com reporting that the shuttle payload bay door cannot be secured in vertical due to an observed crimp in one of the freon coolant hoses feeding the radiator. ------------------
Scott Schneeweis
http://www.SPACEAHOLIC.com/ |
Topic Closed
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