 |  | | | | | Payload and Launch Processing
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07.25.05
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25 July 2005
Space Shuttle Discovery is at Launch Pad 39B undergoing final
inspections and preparations for tomorrow's Return to Flight launch
attempt at 10:39 a.m. to the International Space Station. The
countdown clock is in a scheduled built-in hold at T-11 hours (Time
Minus 11 hours) and will pick up at 5:44 p.m. EDT tonight.
Loading of the Power Reactant Storage Distribution system is complete.
This is the operation where the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for
the fuel cells is loaded on Discovery. The fuel cells provide power
to the electrical systems while the Shuttle is in orbit. The
byproduct is drinking water. The Rotating Service Structure will be
rotated away from Discovery this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. in
preparation for launch.
The STS-114 crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Friday. Since
Friday, Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot Jim Kelly have been
practicing orbiter approaches and landings in the Shuttle Training
Aircraft. The crew is scheduled to wake up just after midnight
tonight and will leave Crew Quarters for the launch pad at 6:49 a.m.
tomorrow.
Solid Rocket Booster retrieval ships Liberty Star and Freedom Star
departed from KSC yesterday and are traveling to their location for
launch, about 140 nautical miles downrange of the launch pad.
Today, the L-1 day weather forecast shows that the probability of
weather prohibiting the launch of Discovery is 40 percent, with the
probability of weather prohibiting tanking at only five percent.
Temperature at launch time is forecast at 84 degrees and a relative
humidity of 77 percent.
14 July 2005
Space Shuttle managers say the launch of NASA's Space Shuttle Return
to Flight mission, STS-114, will take place no earlier than Sunday,
July 17. If Space Shuttle Discovery does launch Sunday, it would lift
off at 2:14 p.m. EDT.
Mission Management Team and engineering meetings took place last night
and today at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Team members reviewed data
and possible troubleshooting plans for the liquid hydrogen tank
low-level fuel cut-off sensor. The sensor failed a routine prelaunch
check during the launch countdown yesterday afternoon, causing
mission managers to scrub Discovery's first launch attempt. The
sensor protects the Shuttle's main engines by triggering their
shutdown in the event fuel runs unexpectedly low. The sensor is one
of four inside the liquid hydrogen section of the External Tank (ET).
A new official launch date will be scheduled once a troubleshooting
plan is complete and engineers are working on a solution. Space
Shuttle Program managers plan a series of meetings tomorrow to
discuss the problem and finalize the troubleshooting plan.
The launch control team began troubleshooting while the liquid oxygen
and liquid hydrogen were drained from the ET last night. The No. 2
liquid hydrogen sensor in the External Tank's liquid hydrogen tank
continued to read "wet" and did not transition to a "dry" indication
once the tank was completely drained. Following detanking operations,
the same commands that were sent during the launch countdown were
repeated while draining. While going through commands, sensor No. 2
continued to show "wet" instead of "dry." The firing room then
reissued commands and the sensor went to "dry" as it should have.
Another round of commands was sent and sensor No. 2 performed as
expected, with all sensors in the "dry" state.
Space Shuttle Discovery remains at Launch Pad 39B. The Rotating
Service Structure was rotated back around the vehicle last night.
The STS-114 crew, led by Commander Eileen Collins, remains at Kennedy
Space Center while engineers assess the problem. During their 12-day
Return to Flight mission to the International Space Station,
Discovery's seven crew members will test new techniques and equipment
designed to make Space Shuttle missions safer. They'll also deliver
supplies and make repairs to the Space Station.
12 July 2005
The countdown to launch Discovery remains on schedule for Wednesday at
3:51 p.m. EDT.
Just one day prior to the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery, closeouts
and procedures are finalized for the liftoff of the Return to Flight
mission, STS-114, to the International Space Station. The countdown
clock is in a scheduled built-in hold at T-11 hours (Time Minus 11
hours) and will pick up at 11 p.m. EDT tonight.
At about 5 p.m. today during routine closeouts at the launch pad, the
cover of Discovery's window number seven, one of the overhead crew
cabin windows, fell about 65 feet and hit a carrier panel on the left
Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pod, damaging several tiles. The
tiles were on a single carrier panel, which fits over the area. A
spare carrier panel was taken to the pad and used to replace the
damaged panel. The replacement procedure took about an hour to
complete.
This operation impacted the planned roll back of the Rotating Service
Structure from 7 p.m. to about 8:30 p.m.
The launch on Wednesday will not be impacted as a result. The
countdown is in a planned, built-in hold at the T-11 hour mark. No
other issues are being tracked by the launch team.
Loading of the Power Reactant Storage Distribution system is complete.
This is the operation where the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for
the fuel cells is loaded on Discovery. The fuel cells provide power
to the electrical systems while the Shuttle is in orbit. The
byproduct is drinking water. Setup and checkouts of the Space Shuttle
Main Engines have begun.
Tomorrow morning as early as 5:30 a.m. EDT, the External Tank will be
filled with about 500,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid
hydrogen. To fill the tank takes about three hours.
Today, the L-1 day weather forecast shows that the probability of
weather prohibiting the launch of Discovery is 40 percent, with the
probability of weather prohibiting tanking at only five percent.
Temperature at launch time is forecast at 86 degrees and a relative
humidity of 70 percent.
The STS-114 crew spent today in various briefings including an
Astronaut Support Personnel ingress briefing. This morning, Commander
Eileen Collins and Pilot Jim Kelly flew several landing approaches at
the Shuttle Landing Facility in the Shuttle Training Aircraft.
The Solid Rocket Booster retrieval ships Liberty Star and Freedom Star
departed from KSC at about 12:30 p.m. and are traveling to their
location for launch, about 140 nautical miles downrange of the launch
pad.
11 July 2005
Following the start of the countdown clock last night at 6 p.m., technicians and the launch team began to work final procedures and closeouts for Space Shuttle Discovery's launch to the International Space Station on mission STS-114. Launch remains on schedule for 3:51 p.m., July 13.
Preparations are complete for the loading of the Power Reactant Storage Distribution system. This is the operation where the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for the fuel cells is loaded on the orbiter Discovery. The fuel cells provide power to the electrical systems while the vehicle is on orbit. The byproduct is drinking water.
Today, the L-2 day weather forecast shows that the probability of weather prohibiting the launch of Discovery is 30 percent, with the probability of weather prohibiting tanking at only five percent. Temperature at launch time is forecast at 86 degrees and a relative humidity of 70 percent.
The STS-114 crew will spend today in various reviews including a payload systems briefing. Earlier this morning, Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot Jim Kelly flew several landing approaches at the Shuttle Landing Facility in the Shuttle Training Aircraft.
The Solid Rocket Booster retrieval ships Liberty Star and Freedom Star will depart from KSC tomorrow at noon and travel to their location for launch, about 140 nautical miles downrange of the launch pad.
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