posted 08-02-2010 05:30 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by PowerCat:
While two replacement units are aboard, I'm sure it would have been better to not be down one unit already before the shuttle program closes.

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According to Suffredini, their projections are that three spares will cover the expected lifetime of the station. Even so, were another needed, it could be launched on JAXA's HTV or SpaceX's Dragon.

quote:

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Originally posted by OV-105:
Could the OOS unit be returned on 133 or 134 fixed and be reflown on 135?

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posted 08-03-2010 02:46 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Aeropix:
What other potential cargoes are they considering for STS-135?

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Managers are considering flying a cargo carrier as well, though any activities that would require a spacewalk are questionable given the size (four) of the crew.

There's been some speculation about flying a technology demonstrator, such as Ad Astra's VASIMR engine, but sources say that the hardware won't be ready in time. It is possible that hardware needed to support the engine, or other advance payloads, could fly -- freeing up future upmass on HTV, Dragon and Cygnus.

posted 08-21-2010 12:41 PM               

Awaiting word on whether one additional shuttle flight will be approved by Congress and the Obama administration, NASA managers are protectively considering June 28, 2011, for launch of shuttle Atlantis on a rescue mission if a major problem threatens the crew of the final planned shuttle flight in late February. If not, and if NASA gets the required funding, the agency would launch Atlantis on an actual space station resupply mission to close out the shuttle program...

NASA managers began processing an official "change request" Friday that would move the rescue/resupply flight to June 28, 2011. If the additional flight is funded, the mission designation would change to STS-135.

posted 09-03-2010 05:06 PM               

Protecting their options while awaiting word on funding for a final shuttle mission next June, NASA managers believe flight processing probably can continue through the end of the year with the shuttle program's current budget or under a continuing resolution. But after that, sources say, additional money will be required or the hoped-for flight may not be possible...

In notes from a recent shuttle management meeting, senior managers were told "we could be in limbo on STS-135 until the New Year starts, until we see what the CR (continuing resolution) language is, talk about funding, and talk more about mission content."

"The team should really focus on making sure we have preserved the options, and have done the work required to be able to fly," the notes said. "Actually getting the agreement among all the different stakeholders to go fly it is still a ways away."

posted 09-10-2010 08:52 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Delta7:
Will that information be available to the public, or a tightly guarded secret?

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posted 09-12-2010 01:01 AM               

Earlier design Soyuz craft were rated for one person occupation as Komarov flew solo and the plan was for Soyuz 2 to launch and transfer two crewmembers over. After Komarov's fatal reentry and delay with unmanned test flights, Soyuz 4 and 5 launched with two crewmembers transferring from Soyuz 5 to 4, leaving Cosmonaut Volynov to come back alone on his harrowing front first reentry. Soyuz 11 made 3 person flight without pressure suits on Soyuz craft academic.

One minor constraint wrinkle to the STS-135 crew (if they fly as 135) is the crewmembers will have to be likely fitted for Sokol pressure suits and seat liners (or have them already) and be small enough to fit in the craft in case the unthinkable happens and they do have to come home on Soyuz. Scott Parazynski got scrubbed from his Mir flight as he was too big to fit into the Soyuz TM design, but the internal size of the TMA based Soyuz was increased a little to allow for taller astronauts to fit in the couches. I would anticipate the mission specialists to be long duration ISS veterans, or at least in training for ISS flights and already fitted for Sokol suits. The pilots will be a question mark, unless there are already some ISS training astronauts who are still available for shuttle commands. Scott Kelly would be an obvious choice, except he will be otherwise occupied in orbit on the ISS.

posted 09-12-2010 03:18 PM               

I could see Hurley on the crew, with one mission completed and a stint as Ops Director at Star City. Possibly Nyberg, who was to have flown on STS-132.

posted 09-12-2010 03:34 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Hart Sastrowardoyo:
I could see Hurley on the crew, with one mission completed and a stint as Ops Director at Star City. Possibly Nyberg, who was to have flown on STS-132.

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posted 09-13-2010 08:14 AM               

I think there'll be at least one surprise. I agree that T. J. Creamer is a very good bet.

posted 09-13-2010 09:49 AM               

Greg Johnson
Kevin Ford (also a former Ops Director at Star City)
Terry Virts
Barry Wilmore

posted 09-13-2010 04:07 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by astro-nut:
We will wait until tomorrow to see who will get the last Shuttle flight.

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posted 09-14-2010 05:32 PM               

My guess for the CDR slot will be handed to Lee Archambault.

posted 10-03-2010 02:11 AM               

From The New American:

The NASA authorization bill, S. 3729, officially clears NASA to add one extra space shuttle flight to the two final missions already planned before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2011...

posted 10-03-2010 09:48 AM               

The bill passed was only an authorization act. A corresponding appropriations bill needs to be passed funding the mission. One of the objections by some House members to the Senate bill is that it authorized STS-135 without mandating it be funded.

posted 12-23-2010 01:34 PM               

An internal memo written by NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier, as republished by SpaceRef, confirms the space agency is still pressing ahead with plans to fly the STS-135 mission.

The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-267) directs NASA to conduct the above referenced mission. As of this date, the Congress has not cleared final FY 2011 appropriations for the Federal government, including NASA. However, the FY 2011 Continuing Appropriations Act provides funding for most Federal departments and agencies, including NASA, through March 4, 2011, at FY 2010 enacted levels. Funding made available in this measure will enable NASA to work towards the STS-135 mission.

For this reason, I ask that you continue planning and preparations efforts to execute this mission in late June 2011 as currently planned. This includes maintaining the requisite workforce to safely conduct this mission and extending contracts if necessary. We must focus on STS-135 as a real mission as well as a Launch-On-Need capability for the STS-134. Without clarity in focus now we reduce the probability of safely executing this critical mission. The purpose of this memorandum is to provide clear direction for the teams. STS-135 is critical to health of the International Space Station.

posted 01-11-2011 03:39 PM               

In terms of STS-135, we're going to change the focus a little bit. You know, we've been calling it STS-335, a contingency launch-on-need flight. We're going to start calling it now STS-135 and John [Shannon, space shuttle program manager] will do that either this week or next week in the PRCB [Program Review Control Board].

That doesn't mean a whole lot to folks on the outside but what it means to us is we're kind of mentally shifting gears to where we are going to start thinking about STS-135 as a real flight. Get our head back in the game, make sure there is nothing we are missing from a manifesting standpoint and we'll figure out the right time through that effort of when we want to go fly that flight.

As the manifest is laid out right now, it supports the June 28th date. We know technically, Mike [Suffredini, space station program manager] would like to move some things. We've got to go look at the overall budget, look at the workforce, look at staffing and figure out the right location to put that flight.

But you'll see us start talking about that flight as being more and more real. We're going to make sure we've got the tank ready. Make sure we've got the workforce to support all the way through the end of June. We'll make sure we've got the right training and right plans in place.

So you'll start seeing a shift to that from where we've been treating it kind of a contingency flight to actually we're going to start mentally thinking about it as more of a real flight. So you'll see that over the next couple of weeks as we start moving through the program boards.

We would prefer to have 135, if we were to get it, as late in the fiscal year as we can. Just from a spacing perspective and to make sure we have as many of the large ORUs [orbital replacement units] onboard as we can get.

Some of them are being manufactured. We've picked up the pace of manufacturing some of our larger ORUs in order to try to make that launch date.

So our preference has been towards the end of the fiscal year. We've been kind of chatting about a late August timeframe, if everyone else can support that.