View Full Version : [Space] NASA - STS-121 - Discovery
NASA STS-121 - International Space Station
STS Program Mission: STS-121 (115th flight, 32th OV-103 flight)
ISS Program Assembly Flight: ULF1.1
Orbiter: Discovery (OV-103)
Launch Pad: 39B
Mission duration: 11 days
Landing site: KSC
Inclination/Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Payload:
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM)
Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC)
Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC)
Crew:
Commander Steve Lindsey
Pilot Mark Kelly
Mission Specialist Mike Fossum
Mission Specialist Lisa Nowak
Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson
Mission Specialist Piers Sellers
Mission Specialist Thomas Reiter
Live Coverage:
NASA TV - Real Media: http://www.nasa.gov/ram/35037main_portal.ram
NASA TV - Windows Media: http://www.nasa.gov/55644main_NASATV_Windows.asx
NASA TV - Real Audio:
http://www.nasa.gov/ram/55643main_NASATV_Audio_Only.ram
Nasaspaceflight.com:
Discovery - More Than Just a Space Flight
By Chris Bergin, 6/25/2006 12:19:00 AM
Shuttle Discovery's July 1 launch from the Kennedy Space Center won't just be to test out the modifications made to the External Tank, it won't even be just a re-supply mission to bring food and clothing to the International Space Station.
A Johnson Space Center (JSC) full mission outline of flight day activities and logistical elements has been acquired and listed into this article, as part of NASASpaceflight.com's extensive coverage of STS-121.
Crew
Shuttle Crewmembers, from left:Stephanie D. Wilson, mission specialist 3. Michael E. Fossum, mission specialist 1 (EV2). Steven W. Lindsey, commander. Piers J. Sellers, mission specialist 4 (EV1). Mark E. Kelly, pilot. Lisa M. Nowak, mission specialist 2. Discovery will also bring a third crewmember to the ISS, ESA Astronaut, Thomas Reiter.
Flight Day List
Day 1: Launch. Obtain imagery and impact sensor data during ascent. Downlink external tank umbilical photos and wing leading edge system data. Power up and initialize Shuttle arm; deploy KU antenna.
Day 2: Checkout Shuttle arm prior to survey activity. Inspect Shuttle wing leading edge (both wings) and nose cap. Checkout two EVA suits.
Crewmembers will perform wing leading edge and nose cap inspections using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System attached to the Shuttle arm; downlink the sensor data to the ground for evaluation; similar inspections will be performed on Flight Day 4. The Orbiter Boom Sensor System configuration has three sensors: the Laser Dynamic Range Imager, the Integrated Sensor Inspection System Digital Camera, and the Laser Camera System.
Day 3: Perform 360-degree pitch maneuver to photograph Shuttle tiles. Dock Shuttle to ISS; hand-off attitude control to ISS. Unberth Orbiter Boom Sensor System with ISS arm; hand off to Shuttle arm. Transfer critical middeck cargo to ISS.
ISS Crewmembers will inspect Shuttle tiles using ISS cameras during the rendezvous R-bar Pitch Maneuver. Shuttle crew cabin will be surveyed using Shuttle arm with real time KU downlink.
Day 4: Install Multi-Purpose Logistics Module on Node 1. Prepare for EVA 1. Perform Orbiter Boom Sensor System focused inspection survey. Transfer logistics and Shuttle middeck items.
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, Leonardo, will make its 4th trip to ISS to deliver more than two tons of equipment, supplies, spare parts and crew supplies: 3 Resupply Stowage Racks (RSRs). 5 Resupply Stowage Platforms (RSPs). 1 Express Transportation Rack (ETR). Minus Eighty-Degree/Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). 1st rack of the Oxygen Generation System (OGS).
MELFI will provide the capability to preserve science samples. OGS will eventually provide enough oxygen to support six crew members.
After Leonardo is unloaded, used equipment and trash will be transferred from ISS for return to Earth. The logistics module will be detached from the ISS and positioned back into Shuttle's cargo bay for return.
Day 5: Perform EVA 1 from ISS Joint Airlock (6 hours 30 min.) Perform Orbiter tile repair worksite stabilization tests. Restore 1 of 2 failed ISS mobile transporter umbilical guides. Transfer logistics items.
Crewmembers will begin maintenance of the ISS Mobile Transporter by either safing or replacing an automatic cable-cutter unit, housed in the Interface Umbilical Assembly. The Trailing Umbilical System cable which provides power, command, data and video connections to the Mobile Transporter will then be re-routed back through the Interface Umbilical Assembly. The cable was moved out of range of the cable cutter during Expedition 12 to prevent accidental severing.
Crewmembers will test a manned orbital boom to determine the stability of the Shuttle?s robot arm when equipped with a 50-foot extension. Crewmembers on the end of the Shuttle arm will perform simulated EVA inspections and repair movements as the arm is moved to various positions while the loads are being measured.
Results will be used to develop load-minimizing techniques, worksite stability requirements, and associated hardware in order to accomplish EVA inspection and repair of the Shuttle tiles.
Day 6: Prepare for EVA 2; checkout EVA suits #3 and #4. Transfer logistics and Shuttle middeck items.
Day 7: Perform EVA 2 from ISS Joint Airlock (6 hours 30 min.) Remove and replace mobile transporter umbilical and guide. Transfer pump module to the external stowage platform. Transfer logistics items and maintenance spares to ISS.
Crewmembers will remove and replace the Nadir Trailing Umbilical System (TUS) reel assembly which had an unexplained failure when its automatic disconnect system inadvertently fired and severed the cable.
Day 8: Prepare for EVA 3 (if mission extended). Transfer logistics and Shuttle middeck items.
Day 9: Perform EVA 3 (6 hours 30 min) if consumable dependent extension is achieved. Perform crack repair on damaged samples. Photograph wing leading edge and tile repair samples. Perform final logistics transfers; crew off-duty time (If EVA #3 takes place, all subsequent tasks will move 1 day to the right).
Crewmembers will perform Reinforced Carbon-Carbon/tile crack repair on eight damaged samples using Non-Oxide Adhesive (NOAX). Heat resistant putty-like material, applied with caulk gun to repair coating loss and fill fine cracks. Crew will capture imagery of tile repair samples in Sample Box Assembly and wing leading edge.
Digital still camera will be tested to determine its usefulness at detecting tile subsurface delaminations; tests will determine if camera is flown as standard equipment on future flights.
Day 10: Reberth logistics module and Orbiter Boom Sensor System in payload bay. Perform late inspections on port wing leading edge. Complete middeck transfers.
Day 11: Close hatches; perform docking system leak checks; undock from ISS. Stow Orbiter Boom Sensor System in Shuttle cargo bay. Perform late inspections on starboard wing leading edge and nose cap.
Day 12: Stow Shuttle cabin. Checkout re-entry systems.
Day 13: Prepare for deorbit and landing at Kennedy Space Center.
Mission Objectives
Verify return to flight efforts and analysis in launch environment. Inspect Shuttle wing leading edge and tiles. Demonstrate Orbiter Boom Sensor System as a repair work platform. Increase ISS crew size from 2 to 3. Replace ISS Mobile Transporter failed umbilical. Replace Microgravity Science Glovebox window.
Transfer resupply and outfitting to ISS: Nitrogen. Crew provisioning and food. 3 US EVA spacesuits. 1st rack of the Oxygen Generation System. Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS rack. Critical Spares.
Discovery will carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), Leonardo, with equipment to resupply the ISS. The Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC) will support delivery of hardware required to perform Thermal Protection System (TPS) repair during an EVA.
The Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) will be used to transport the Early Ammonia Thermal Control Pump Module Assembly (PMA) and the Trailing Umbilical System Reel Assembly (TUS RA). Additional cargo includes the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS), Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), and the Orbiter Docking System (ODS).
Expedition Firsts
Transition from 2 crew to 3 crew. ESA astronaut flying as cosmonaut (long duration crew member). Monitor operation and status of ESA Columbus Control Center.
Deliver and checkout the 1st rack of the Oxygen Generation System. Deliver and activate refrigerator/freezer. Resume ISS assembly with Flight 12A.
Equipment and Supplies on STS-121 for ISS Expedition 13 On-board Experiments
ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts' Central Nervous System):
Measures the exposure of crewmembers to cosmic radiation to further our understanding of the impacts of radiation on the human central nervous system and visual system. Provides an assessment of the radiation environment in the ISS. Livio Narici, Ph.D., University of Rome ?Tor Vergata? and INFN, Rome, Italy.
CFE (Capillary Flow Experiment):
A suite of fluid physics flight experiments to investigate capillary flows and flows of fluids in containers with complex geometries. Results will provide computer models that may be applied by designers of low gravity fluid systems in future spacecraft. Mark Weislogel, Ph.D., Portland State University, Portland, OR.
DAFT (Dust and Aerosol Measurement Feasibility Test):
Tests the effectiveness of a device that counts ultra-fine dust particles in a microgravity environment. A precursor and risk mitigation activity for the next generation of spacecraft fire detection hardware. David Urban, Ph.D., Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH.
Journals (Behavioral Issues Associated with Isolation and Confinement):
Crew journals and surveys are studied to help evaluate the most important factors for coping with isolation and long duration space flight. Jack Stuster, Ph.D., Anacapa Sciences, Incorporated, Santa Barbara, CA.
MISSE-3 and 4 (Materials International Space Station Experiment - 3 and 4):
Part of an ongoing experiment and will be installed during an EVA. Test beds attached to the outside of the ISS containing materials and coatings are being evaluated for the effects of atomic oxygen, direct sunlight, and extremes of heat and cold. Allows development and testing of new materials to better withstand the rigors of space environments. Many of the materials may have applications in the design of future spacecraft. William H. Kinard, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA.
MISSE-5 (Materials International Space Station Experiment -5):
Part of an ongoing materials testbed experiment and will be retrieved during an EVA. Robert Walters, Ph.D., Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC and William Kinard, Ph.D., Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA.
Nutrition (Nutrition Status Assessment):
Allows for a more complete assessment of space flight impact on crew nutritional status, bone health, and rehabilitation by expanding on the current Clinical Nutrition Assessment. The data collected will allow for the evaluation of the efficacy of current and potential countermeasures. Scott Smith, Ph.D., Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.
POEMS (Passive Observatories for Experimental Microbial Systems):
Will evaluate the effect of genetic variation within model microbial cells. Enhances understanding of the growth and ecology of microorganisms in space. Michael Roberts, Ph.D., Dynamac Corporation, Kennedy Space Center, FL.
Renal Stone (Renal Stone Risk During Space Flight:
Assessment and Countermeasure Validation): Tests the efficacy of potassium citrate as a countermeasure to renal stone formation during long-duration space flight. Kidney stone formation is a significant risk during long duration space flight that could endanger crew health. Peggy A. Whitson, Ph.D., Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.
SAMS-II (Space Acceleration Measurement System-II):
An intermittent study of the small forces (vibrations and accelerations) on the ISS that result from the operation of hardware, crew activities, as well as dockings and maneuvering. Results will be used to generalize the types of vibrations affecting vibration-sensitive experiments.
SEM (Space Experiment Module):
Students conduct research on the effects of microgravity, radiation and space flight on various materials. Encourages students to probe into the physics of radiation, microgravity and space flight through planning, performing and analyzing materials experiments on board the ISS. Ruthan Lewis, Ph.D., Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.
SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites):
Bowling-ball sized free-flying spheres test control algorithms for spacecraft by performing independent formation flight and docking maneuvers inside the ISS. The results are important for satellite servicing, vehicle assembly, and formation flown interferometers. David W. Miller, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
Stability (Stability of Pharmacotherapeutic and Nutritional Compounds):
Past space flights have suggested that the space environment can reduce the potency of medicines and the nutritional value of foods commonly used by space explorers. Determine the magnitude of these effects on the stability of medicines and food to develop improved storage, countermeasures, and preserve items for future long duration expeditions to the Moon and Mars. Scott Smith, Ph.D. and Lakshmi Putcha, Ph.D., Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.
SWAB (Surface, Water and Air Biocharacterization):
Human presence in space, permanent or transient, is accompanied by the presence of microorganisms. Will provide better understanding of the microbial flora thorough microbial risk assessment to the crew and the spacecraft for human exploration to the Moon and Mars. Used to advanced molecular technologies and better understand the types of organisms that the crew could encounter, their sources, and the potential risks to the crew. Duane L. Pierson, Ph.D., Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.
Tropi (Analysis of a Novel Sensory Mechanism in Root Phototropism): Video tape, sample and analyze plants sprouted from seeds to determine which genes are responsible for successful plant growth in microgravity. May lead to sustainable agriculture for future long duration space missions. John Kiss, Ph.D., Miami University, Oxford, OH.
FIT (Fungal Pathogenesis, Tumorigenesis, and Effects of Host Immunity in Space):
Investigate susceptibility to fungal infection, progression of radiation-induced tumors and changes in immune function in sensitized Drosophila (fruit fly) lines. Sharmila Bhattacharya, Ph.D., Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA and Deborah Kimbrell, Ph.D., University of California-Davis, Davis, CA.
Latent Virus (Incidence of Latent Virus Shedding During Space Flight):
Study Astronauts to determine frequencies of reactivation of latent viruses and clinical diseases after exposure to the physical, physiological and psychological stressors associated with short duration space flight. Duane L. Pierson, Ph.D., Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX and Satish K. Mehta, Ph.D., Enterprise Advisory Services, Incorporated, Houston, TX.
MAUI (Maui Analysis of Upper Atmospheric Injections):
Observe exhaust plume of the Space Shuttle to assess spacecraft plume interactions with the upper atmosphere. Rainer Dressler, Ph.D., Hanscom Air Force Base, Lexington, MA.
PMZ (Bioavailability and Performance Effects of Promethazine During Space Flight):
Examine bioavailability and performance impacting side-effects of Promethazine as a motion sickness medication taken by the Space Shuttle astronauts. Lakshmi Putcha, Ph.D., Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.
RAMBO (Ram Burn Observations):
Observes Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System engine burns to improve plume models. Sensors will observe selected rendezvous and orbit adjust burns. William L. Dimpfl, Ph.D., Aerospace Corporation. Los Angeles, CA.
Sleep-Short (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure During Space Flight-Short):
Examine effects of space flight on the sleep-wake cycles of the astronauts during Space Shuttle missions. Charles A. Czeisler, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA.
European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) (ESA)
FACILITY SUMMARY:
EMCS provides a facility where small organisms (plants, microbes, insects, amphibians) can grow in variable gravity conditions (0.001G to 2.0G) using a rotating centrifuge. It was designed for multi-generation experiments and studies on gravity effects on early development and growth in a variety of organisms.
EMCS will facilitate long-term plant growth studies, including multi-generation studies (seed to seed), early development events in plants, gravity influence on early development and growth (g-level threshold research) and how plants perceive and respond to gravity as they grow.
FACILITY OPERATION:
SEMCS consists of a gas tight incubator containing two centrifuges with space for 4 Experiment Containers on each rotor; the life support and water supply system, and the illumination and the observation system are located on the rotors.
Once on ISS, the turning of the rotors can be used to apply a gravity effect between the normal microgravity and 1G experienced on Earth.
Minus Eighty Degrees Laboratory Freezer (MELFI)
FACILITY SUMMARY:
This multi-purpose freezer significantly enhances the research capabilities of the US Laboratory on ISS.
Supports a wide range of life science experiments by preserving biological samples (such as blood, saliva, urine, microbial or plant samples) collected onboard ISS for later return and analysis back on Earth.
Samples from the ISS Medical Project will be stored in MELFI and contribute to multiple studies of the effect of space flight on human health in support of the Vision for Space Exploration.
FACILITY OPERATIONS:
The freezer is based on the Brayton Thermodynamic Cycle which uses nitrogen as a working fluid. It includes four nitrogen-cooled dewars which can be controlled independently to keep samples at any of three different temperatures: -80, -26 and +4?C (-112, -15 and 39?F).
demonbl@ck
28-06-2006, 00:33
o ma roba in italiano mai!!!?? :D
duchetto
28-06-2006, 01:51
Discovery visibile dall'Italia
Nel caso in cui lo Space Shuttle Discovery verrà lanciato sabato 1 luglio 2006 alle 21:49 italiane, esso sarà visibile ad occhio nudo nei cieli di buona parte dell’Italia, pochi minuti dopo il lancio. Gli orari del transito in varie città della penisola sono indicati nello schema più in basso. Come si può notare, gli orari cambiano pochissimo da una città e l’altra. Questi orari sono validi solo nel caso in cui il Discovery venga lanciato sabato 1 luglio. Attualmente ci sono molte preoccupazioni circa la possibilità di condizioni meteorologiche al di fuori dei limiti di sicurezza sia per sabato 1 luglio che per domenica 2 luglio. Gli ufficiali meteorologici del Kennedy Space Center riportano il 40% di probabilità di pioggia per sabato e il 60% di domenica. Nel caso in cui il lancio venga rinviato, il sito riportato sotto fornisce le successive finestre di lancio possibili.
In the case of the Space Shuttle Discovery is launched Saturday, 1st July 2006, at 9:49 pm (CEST), it will be visible with naked eye from the most part of Italy, few minutes after launch. Timings of the transit above few Italian cities are reported in the chart below. As it can be noticed, timings changes slightly from one city to another. These timings are exact only in the case of Discovery will be launched Saturday, 1st July. Currently there are many concerns about the possibility of weather conditions outside the launch criteria, both on Saturday 1st July and Sunday 2nd July. Weather officers at the Kennedy Space Center reports about 40% chance of rain on Saturday afternoon and 60% on Sunday. If the launch is scrubbed, in the website reported below are indicated the later launch windows.
Bolzano Appears 22h08m12s 4.8m az: 297.5d WNW Transit 22h11m36s -2.5m az: 25.8d NNE h:70.6d; dist:205.4km alt:194.2km Disappears 22h12m52s -0.8m az:109.0d ESE h:17.0d
Milano Appears 22h08m00s 5.6m az:302.5d WNW Transit 22h11m22s -1.3m az: 24.7d NNE h:37.1d; dist:310.8km alt:193.0km Disappears 22h12m52s -0.3m az: 94.1d E h:12.6d
Firenze Appears 22h08m33s 5.8m az:308.1d NW Transit 22h11m54s -0.7m az: 26.7d NNE h:27.8d; dist:399.2km alt:195.6km Disappears 22h12m52s -0.6m az: 77.2d ENE h:17.3d
Roma Appears 22h09m02s 5.9m az:314.8d NW Transit 22h12m20s -0.1m az: 28.1d NNE h:19.6d; dist:532.8km alt:197.7km Disappears 22h12m52s -0.3m az: 53.4d NE h:17.5d
Napoli Appears 22h09m28s 5.7m az:317.5d NW Transit 22h12m46s 0.1m az: 29.6d NNE h:18.3d; dist:567.5km alt:199.6km Disappears 22h12m52s -0.0m az: 34.5d NE h:18.2d
RiccardoS
28-06-2006, 08:54
Discovery visibile dall'Italia
Nel caso in cui lo Space Shuttle Discovery verrà lanciato sabato 1 luglio 2006 alle 21:49 italiane, esso sarà visibile ad occhio nudo nei cieli di buona parte dell’Italia,
....
Bolzano Appears 22h08m12s 4.8m az: 297.5d WNW Transit 22h11m36s -2.5m az: 25.8d NNE h:70.6d; dist:205.4km alt:194.2km Disappears 22h12m52s -0.8m az:109.0d ESE h:17.0d
Milano Appears 22h08m00s 5.6m az:302.5d WNW Transit 22h11m22s -1.3m az: 24.7d NNE h:37.1d; dist:310.8km alt:193.0km Disappears 22h12m52s -0.3m az: 94.1d E h:12.6d
Firenze Appears 22h08m33s 5.8m az:308.1d NW Transit 22h11m54s -0.7m az: 26.7d NNE h:27.8d; dist:399.2km alt:195.6km Disappears 22h12m52s -0.6m az: 77.2d ENE h:17.3d
Roma Appears 22h09m02s 5.9m az:314.8d NW Transit 22h12m20s -0.1m az: 28.1d NNE h:19.6d; dist:532.8km alt:197.7km Disappears 22h12m52s -0.3m az: 53.4d NE h:17.5d
Napoli Appears 22h09m28s 5.7m az:317.5d NW Transit 22h12m46s 0.1m az: 29.6d NNE h:18.3d; dist:567.5km alt:199.6km Disappears 22h12m52s -0.0m az: 34.5d NE h:18.2d
e per Rovigo quando passa? :ciapet:
ach... sembra che la traiettoria sia da Nord a Sud... io proprio quel sabato sera dovrei essere al mare a vedere le stelle... ma mi sa che dalla costa adriatica mica riesco a vederlo... :(
mitico, ottime info.
Da Spaceflightnow.com:
Discovery astronauts fly to Florida for launch
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: June 27, 2006
Commander Steve Lindsey and his six crewmates - pilot Mark Kelly, flight engineer Lisa Nowak, spacewalkers Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum, Stephanie Wilson and European astronaut Thomas Reiter - flew to the Kennedy Space Center today for final preparations before launch Saturday on a space station servicing mission.
Arriving aboard two-seat T-38 jet trainers, the astronauts touched down on the shuttle's 3-mile-long runway at mid morning, landing one at a time in a staggered sequence.
"We're really excited to be here, ready to go do this for real," Lindsey told reporters at the runway. "We've been training for a long time, we're as prepared as we're going to be. The vehicle is ready and everything's looking 'go.' So weather permitting, which I'm pretty confident in, we're going to be airborne on July 1."
Discovery's launch from pad 39B is targeted for 3:48:37 p.m. Saturday, roughly the moment Earth's rotation carries the shuttle into the plane of the space station's orbit. Afternoon showers are expected, but NASA has not yet issued an official forecast.
"I'm hoping the weather's going to improve a little bit in the next few days and we'll get off on time," said Sellers. "It's great to be here at last."
Discovery's flight is only the second post-Columbia mission and the first launch in nearly a year as NASA has struggled to overcome ongoing problems with the foam insulation on the shuttle's external fuel tank.
The goals of the 115th shuttle mission are to deliver more than 5,000 pounds of supplies and equipment to the space station; to repair a stalled robot arm transporter needed for continued assembly; and to deliver European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter to the outpost as a full-time crew member.
Reiter is on board Discovery under a commercial contract between the European and Russian space agencies. He will join station commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeff Williams for a long-duration stay aboard the outpost, boosting crew size back to three for the first time since the immediate aftermath of the 2003 Columbia disaster.
"I'm the one who will be left behind on the station," Reiter joked today. "After years and years of training, I think this is a remarkable moment. I think we all are confident our launch will signify the continuation of assembly of the station, returning to a three-man crew and utilizing the station for its (intended) purpose."
Discovery's countdown to launch is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Da Spaceflightnow.com:
Weather outlook iffy for weekend shuttle launch
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: June 28, 2006
The shuttle Discovery is in good shape and on track for launch Saturday, but forecasters are predicting a 60 percent chance of electrically charged anvil clouds and afternoon showers Saturday, Sunday and Monday that would prevent takeoff.
Florida's summertime afternoon weather is always subject to change on short notice and as of this writing, launch managers plan to press ahead for what will be only the second shuttle flight in three years.
"Our teams have been working tirelessly during the last year to make this shuttle flight and all our shuttle flights, obviously, as safe as possible for the crews," said NASA test director Jeff Spaulding.
"As we approach our nation's 230th birthday, I'm proud to announce that the launch vehicle, the launch team and flight crew are ready to launch and continue our mission of completing the space station."
Discovery's countdown is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. today, leading up to a launch attempt at 3:49 p.m. EDT Saturday, roughly the moment Earth's rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the international space station's orbit.
Spaulding dismissed concerns about the weather, pointing out that on more than one occasion NASA was able to proceed with a launch despite forecasts as bad as 90 percent no-go.
"I think as always, if we have an opportunity to launch, the management team will sit down and make an evaluation and then make a go at trying to get off the ground," he said. "That's always our plan, to try to get off if we have an opportunity. Obviously these forecasts, while they sound a little bit gloomy, we've certainly launched with higher predictions than this, etc.. As always, we'll evaluate the weather real time and make a decision on the day of launch."
Engineers plan to load Discovery's electricity producing fuel cell system with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen Thursday afternoon. Once loaded, Discovery will have five days to get off the ground before a two-day stand down to top off the hydrogen tanks. The oxygen supply will be good for 12 days.
If Discovery can take off during the first three days of its window, enough hydrogen and oxygen will be available to permit a one-day mission extension and the addition of a third spacewalk to test heat-shield repair techniques. But after Monday, enough hydrogen likely will have boiled off in the fuel cell system to preclude an extra day.
Spaulding said no decisions have been made on whether NASA would make three launch attempts in a row to get Discovery off. The usual practice is two attempts in a row and then a day off to give the launch team a break. If that policy holds up, NASA will be able to make four attempts in five days before standing down for 48 hours to top off the hydrogen tanks.
Afternoon showers and thunderstorms are the rule on Florida's east coast in the summer months and Kathy Winter, an Air Force weather officer, said this week is no exception. While a ridge will push afternoon storms inland this weekend, electrically charged anvil clouds will pose a threat to Discovery's launch.
"Those thunderstorms, even though they'll be pushing inland, we'll be seeing anvils coming back from those thunderstorms and those are also dangerous when it comes to triggering a lightning strike. So our main concern is going to be those anvils coming back from those thunderstorms."
In addition, an inverted trough, or wave, to the west will bring more moisture into the area "and because of that, we could also see some isolated showers and cumulus clouds in the area of the launch pad and within 20 nautical miles of the shuttle landing facility," she said.
The weather is expected to be acceptable for at least one emergency runway in Spain or France, along with a backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California throughout the weekend.
NASA's problem is the possibility of rocket-triggered lightning during launch and/or showers and low clouds that could prevent a safe return-to-launch site abort.
NASA flight rules require a "go" forecast for RTLS, meaning no worse than scattered clouds below 5,000 feet, visibility of at least four statute miles and crosswinds less than 15 knots. A shuttle cannot be cleared for launch if thunderstorms, lightning or rain are within 23 miles of the runway.
Beh, sono partiti anche con previsioni del tempo peggiori (come e' anche stato detto..) A loro basta mezz'ora di sole per partire ;)
Beh, sono partiti anche con previsioni del tempo peggiori (come e' anche stato detto..) A loro basta mezz'ora di sole per partire ;)
ma prima del Columbia, il punto ora sono le restrizioni dettate dal rapporto del CAIB.
certo, vogliono essere sicuri di poter filmare tutto con la miglior illuminazione possibile.
Speriamo bene per sabato! ;)
morpheus85
29-06-2006, 12:29
http://ilrestodelcarlino.quotidiano.net/art/2006/06/27/5422393 :eek:
RiccardoS
29-06-2006, 12:40
http://ilrestodelcarlino.quotidiano.net/art/2006/06/27/5422393 :eek:
non preoccuparti morfè: NON è un ufo. :ciapet:
morpheus85
29-06-2006, 13:13
non preoccuparti morfè: NON è un ufo. :ciapet:
edit: E' stato identificato...
E' un vecchio satellite americano lanciato nel 1963
(ANSA) - MOSCA, 27 GIU - E' stato identificato l'oggetto che sembrava dovere entrare in rotta di collisione con la stazione orbitante internazionale (Iss). Si tratta di un vecchio satellite americano lanciato nel 1963, e la sua traiettoria, assicurano gli esperti russi, non rappresenta un pericolo per la Iss. 'La possibilita' di urti e' zero - ha detto un portavoce del centro spaziale russo di Koroliov - e quindi abbiamo deciso, d'accordo con la Nasa, di non fare alcuna correzione di rotta per la stazione'
ricordiamo che per le notizie sulla ISS esiste un thread apposito.
:read:
razziadacqua
29-06-2006, 15:54
AHHHHHHHHH una cosa del genere andrebbe ad aggiungere un altra tacca tra i fenomeni assurdi che ho visto!!!DEVO VEDERE ASSOLUTAMENTE QUESTA COSA!
GioFx!Ci sono aggiornamenti su orario di lancio e orbita?E/o un modo per capire se sarà visibile pure dalla costa adriatica?
uC.ArTaX
30-06-2006, 08:50
o ma roba in italiano mai!!!?? :D
Ne approfitto per pubblicizzare il migliore forum italiano sull'astronautica
www.forumastronautico.it
Ci sono tonnellate di thread su progetti passati presenti e futuri (vedere la sezione "Progetto Aries e Moonlight scenario"), speriamo di accogliere tutti gli appassionati italiani, con conoscenze tecniche (che sono sempre presenti) oppure no (non sono fondamentali alla comprensione e sono sempre spiegate chiaramente)
Venite a farci un salto!
Ci sono aggiornamenti su orario di lancio e orbita?E/o un modo per capire se sarà visibile pure dalla costa adriatica?
il lancio è previsto per domani alle 3:49 EST (21:49 CET) ed essendo diretto alla ISS l'inclinazione/altitudine è 51.6°/122 NM (vedi sopra).
Da Spaceflightnow.com:
Mission management team 'go' for Saturday launch
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: June 29, 2006
Afternoon thunderstorms delayed work to load the shuttle Discovery's fuel cell system today, but engineers expect to make up the lost time later this evening and mission managers said the orbiter will be ready for launch Saturday, weather permitting, on the second post-Columbia mission.
"I'm very happy to report that we just had our launch-minus two-day mission management team review and other than some questionable weather, we have no constraints to launch," said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team. "It's been a long year, with a lot of hard work by all of the team members to get to this point and I just want to say I'm extremely proud of the team and we are ready to go for Saturday and do what NASA does best."
Liftoff from pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center is targeted for Saturday at 3:49 p.m. EDT. But forecasters continue to predict a 60 percent chance of afternoon showers and electrically charged anvil clouds that could delay launch tries Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Launch Director Mike Leinbach said NASA's strategy will be to make back-to-back attempts Saturday and Sunday, if necessary, take a day off and then try again Tuesday and Wednesday. After that, the launch team would stand down for two days to reload fuel cell hydrogen. Launch managers are hopeful the weather will cooperate before that point rolls around.
"I'm very confident the hardware we've put on the pad is the best hardware we have and I'm just looking forward to a great flight," Shannon said.
Discovery's flight is somewhat controversial because of NASA Administrator Mike Griffin's decision to press ahead with launch over the objections of his chief safety officer and the agency's chief engineer. Both men were no-go for flight because of concern about a recently discovered failure mechanism that could result in foam debris falling away from so-called ice-frost ramps on the external tank. The debris poses an impact threat to the shuttle's fragile heat shield.
The ice-frost ramps are officially classified by NASA as "probable/catastrophic" in the agency's integrated risk matrix, meaning that over the course of 100 flights, there is a 50-50 chance the foam could break away and lead to a catastrophic failure.
But Griffin argued the risk is to the shuttle - not the crew - because in a worst-case scenario, the astronauts could move into the international space station to await rescue by another shuttle crew. Given a 2010 deadline to finish the space station and retire the shuttle fleet, Griffin said he decided to accept the risk posed by the ice-frost ramps and to proceed with assembly.
Shannon defended Griffin¹s decision, saying the objections of Bryan O'Connor, director of Safety and Mission Assurance, and Chris Scolese, NASA's chief engineer, had been "mis-characterized a little bit" in the media.
"The way I would put it, and I have attended every one of these meetings, when people are asked in your specific area, which is engineering or the safety group as well, would you change the ice-frost ramps? The answer came back yes," Shannon said. "But whenever Mike Griffin and (spaceflight chief) Bill Gerstenmaier go through the rationale for flight and you start really poking into the numbers for the ice-frost ramp and the real risk that it poses, I think we had just about 100 percent agreement that yes, we understand.
"As engineers, we would not fly with this condition ... but we have looked at all the data, it does not look to be something you have to go fix right now, we understand the rationale to go fly. We kind of handicap people by asking them just to vote for their specific area. I think when you lay out the whole story, the whole picture, we got almost 100 percent understanding."
But it was NASA's own engineering community that classified the ice-frost ramps as "probable/catastrophic," the only red-level threat in the risk matrix. In fact, Discovery's flight is the first in shuttle history to be cleared for launch with a system officially deemed an unacceptable risk.
"I have no idea if it's really yellow or red," Shannon said. "What I'd say is we don't have enough information to very accurately characterize that. Some people think it's in the red because they don't know, and that's one way you might characterize it.
"I am very comforted by the fact that we have not seen foam losses that would be catastrophic, regardless of what time they're released. I'm comforted by the fact that the geometry of the underlying metal under the foam seems to be such that a mass loss of that size is not possible. So those things make you feel better, but is that real science that you can hang your hat on and say that's really guaranteed or not? We're in a learning environment."
Shannon said the open debate over the issue showed NASA has changed its culture since the Columbia disaster. But in this case, engineers do not have enough solid information to reach solid conclusions.
"So then you're left to opinions," Shannon said. "The debate is the important piece and I think that was fulfilled in spades."
NASA has been criticized in the past for proceeding with flights in the absence of solid engineering data about troublesome systems.
Astronaut Stephen Robinson, who flew aboard Discovery for the first post-Columbia mission last July, said he agree the ice-frost ramps need fixing, but he said he tends to worry more about the high-speed rotating machinery in the shuttle's main engines and hydraulic system.
Asked how the public should interpret the actual risk posed by the ice-frost ramps, he said "it's difficult to tell the risk of something that hasn't happened before, isn't it? That's the biggest problem in our whole business. How do you characterize the risk of something that's never occurred even once."
"Now we have never had, for instance, a problem with the thing we worry the very most about, which are the big machines that are moving very fast during the launch phase," he said. "These are the engines and all the pumps and compressors and the hydraulic power units. Those we worry about a tremendous amount every single launch. We've been extremely fortunate ... that nothing has ever occurred with those. Worrying about ice-frost ramps doesn't even stack up to those kind of things."
Engines have shut down before launch and once, in July 1985, in flight. But in all cases, the engines shut down safely and in the 1985 abort to orbit, the crew was able to accomplish most of the mission objectives.
"The ice-frost ramp is something we've learned a lot about, it's one of the many things we should worry about, but it cannot keep us from launching, it cannot keep us from reaching orbit successfully," Robinson said. "The absolute worst it could do is shed some foam. We don't think it could shed foam big enough to critically hurt us and not be able to come home. So from a crew safety point of view, I completely back the administrator that it's the correct thing to do.
"From worrying it's something that could hurt the shuttle and maybe the long-term reusability of the shuttle, I completely back our safety community and Bryan O'Connor that that is something to worry about. But you have to put it into perspective. There are many things to worry about in a shuttle launch and we should be worrying about them all. I think you can have confidence that NASA has made the right decision. The dissent you're seeing is absolutely normal. ... Remember how much we talked about culture change after Columbia? This is culture change."
Summing up the ice-frost ramp debate, Robinson said he worries "more about rotating machinery going at tremendous rates, I really do. I'm a mechanical engineer and a pilot and those are the things that worry me the most. But I have a wide spectrum of things to be concerned about when it comes to safety and you have to decide that the risk is minimized. I think the risk for this flight is minimized. It's not gone. We're going to accept the risk we currently know about and we're going to go fly and see how the changes we have made, how much safer they've made us."
razziadacqua
30-06-2006, 09:30
il lancio è previsto per domani alle 3:49 EST (21:49 CET) ed essendo diretto alla ISS l'inclinazione/altitudine è 51.6°/122 NM (vedi sopra).
Mh.Onestamente cmq nn ci ho capito tanto.Cioè,non riesco ad usufruire di codesti dati onde tracciare l orbita dello Shuttle nel cielo,in pARTIcolar modo da Pesaro...cmq già sapere che è diretta verso la ISSA è utile assai specie con http://www.heavens-above.com/ Certo che avere una dannatissima effemeride o carta con le zone di visibilità come per le eclissi,non farebbe schifo.
razziadacqua
30-06-2006, 09:51
Come pensavo Heavens Above è stato molto utile
Pass Details
Date:
Saturday, 01 July, 2006
Satellite:
ISS
Observer's Location:
Pesaro ( 43.9000°N, 12.9170°E)Local Time:
Central European Summer Time (GMT + 2:00)
Orbit:
335 x 349 km, 51.6° (Epoch 30 Jun)Sun altitude at time of
maximum pass altitude:
-9.9°
EventTime
Altitude
Azimuth
Distance (km)
Rises above horizon
21:55:32
0°304° (NW )2,124
Reaches 10° altitude21:57:35
10°312° (NW )1,290
Maximum altitude
22:00:22
41°26° (NNE)513
Enters shadow
22:02:56
11°97° (E )1,229
Penso che se la ISS manco farlo a posta quella sera sarà visibile e passerà con quella traiettoria,lo Shuttle non sarà tanto distante..cmq 10° di Alt sono pochini bene...sarà molto bassa la cosa.
Se vi interessa avere questo genere di info vi consiglio di registrarvi al sito,inserire coordinate precise per la vostra zona.
Le quantità di info dispponibili sono molte realtive a tutti i tipi di Flare(iridium,ISS,HSS...) dove fra l altro potete avere cartina del cielo e traiettoria.
e per Rovigo quando passa? :ciapet:
ach... sembra che la traiettoria sia da Nord a Sud... io proprio quel sabato sera dovrei essere al mare a vedere le stelle... ma mi sa che dalla costa adriatica mica riesco a vederlo... :(
A Rovigo non ci passa perchè hanno paura di come guidano i rovigotti :ciapet: :D
Bene, ci siamo:
T-6 hrs
E' ripreso il countdown, rimane un ultimo hold a T-9 mins.
Countdown Timeline
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/fdf/121countdown.html
C'è su nasatv? Mi passi il link per favore?
Trovato, era in prima pagina :fagiano:
Ma a che ora italiana è il lancio?
0300 GMT (11:00 p.m. EDT Fri.)
The cocoon-like rotating service structure peeled away from space shuttle Discovery this evening, revealing the spaceplane on launch pad 39B as technicians made final preparations to begin pumping a half-million gallons of supercold rocket fuel into the external tank just before 6 a.m. Liftoff is set for 3:48:41 p.m. EDT.
Discovery's astronauts are asleep right now. They'll be awakened at 5:15 a.m. to begin launch morning activities. Departure from the crew quarters for the ride to the launch pad is scheduled for 11:48 a.m.
We will provide live play-by-play reports on the countdown starting at about 5:30 a.m. in advance of fueling operations commencing.
.......
Riepilogo degli eventi più recenti:
GOX vent arm has been extended
http://giofx.altervista.org/sts-121/01-chan3large.jpg
RSS Weather Protection System panel has been retracted
http://giofx.altervista.org/sts-121/02-RSSRetract1.jpg
http://giofx.altervista.org/sts-121/03-rss1.jpg
http://giofx.altervista.org/sts-121/04-rss2.jpg
http://giofx.altervista.org/sts-121/05-RSSRetract2.jpg
http://giofx.altervista.org/sts-121/06-RSSRetract3.jpg
http://giofx.altervista.org/sts-121/07-RSSRetract4.jpg
http://giofx.altervista.org/sts-121/08-RSSRetract6.jpg
http://giofx.altervista.org/sts-121/09-chan3large.jpg
http://giofx.altervista.org/sts-121/10-06pd1309-m.jpg
Trovato, era in prima pagina :fagiano:
Ma a che ora italiana è il lancio?
21:49
Da SpaceFlightNow.com:
Discovery on track for launch as options are outlined
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: June 30, 2006
The shuttle Discovery's countdown is on track today for a launch attempt Saturday at 3:49 p.m., weather permitting. Forecasters continue to predict a 60 percent chance of unacceptable weather Saturday, Sunday and Monday due to electrically charged anvil clouds within 23 miles of the launch area and a possibility of showers.
Thunderstorms Thursday afternoon delayed work to load Discovery's internal tanks with liquid oxygen and hydrogen for the ship's electricity producing fuel cells. But the launch team had eight hours of built-in hold time Thursday to make up for any delays and by this morning, the countdown was back on track.
Based on the actual load, flight controllers now believe Discovery may have enough power generation capability to permit a one-day mission extension - and a third spacewalk to test wing leading edge repair techniques - even if launch is delayed to July 4. Based on earlier predictions, July 3 appeared to be the cutoff for a mission extension, barring extensive crew conservation procedures. In any case, no decision will be made on a possible mission extension until well into Discovery's mission.
NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding said today the launch strategy calls for making back-to-back attemps Saturday and Sunday, if necessary, before standing down a day to give the team a break. Two more attempts could be made Tuesday and Wednesday before a two-day stand down to top off the internal hydrogen and oxygen tanks. Discovery's launch window closes July 19.
Spaulding said the possibility of making three launch attempts in a row Saturday, Sunday and Monday has not been ruled out. But if NASA went down that road and didn't make it, launch would be delayed another four days to refill launch pad fuel tanks and to top off the fuel cell system.
Here is the remainder of Discovery's countdown in text format. Note: NASA times the countdown to the opening of the shuttle's 10-minute launch window, not the actual launch time, and rounds down to the nearest minute. The latest estimate shows the launch window opens at 3:43:38 p.m. All events in the countdown prior to the release of a final hold at the T-minus nine-minute mark are based on the window open time of 3:43 p.m. The countdown will resume at the T-minus nine-minute mark based on the actual launch time, which is roughly the moment Earth's rotation carries the pad into the plane of the space station's orbit. As of today, the estimate is 3:48:38 p.m.
HH:MM......EVENT
06/30/06
01:10 PM...Communications system activation
01:40 PM...Crew module voice checks
02:50 PM...Flight crew equipment late stow
06:00 PM...Rotating service structure to park position
07:50 PM...Ascent switch list configuration
10:53 PM...Resume countdowns
10:53 PM...Terminate pad tours
07/01/06
12:03 AM...Fuel cell activation
12:53 AM...Pad clear of non-essential personnel
12:53 AM...Mission control in launch comm configuration
01:23 AM...Solid rocket booster joint heater activation
03:08 AM...Final fueling preps; launch area clear
03:53 AM...Begin 2-hour built-in hold
04:03 AM...Safe-and-arm PIC test
04:28 AM...External tank ready for fueling
04:43 AM...Mission management team tanking meeting
05:00 AM...NASA television coverage begins
05:53 AM...Resume countdown
05:53 AM...Liquid oxygen (LO2), hydrogen (LH2) transfer line chilldown
06:03 AM...Main propulsion system chill down
06:03 AM...LH2 slow fill
06:33 AM...LO2 slow fill
06:38 AM...Hydrogen engine cutoff sensors go wet
06:43 AM...LO2 fast fill
06:53 AM...LH2 fast fill
08:08 AM...LH2 topping
08:48 AM...LH2 replenish
08:53 AM...LO2 replenish
08:53 AM...Begin 3-hour built-in hold
08:53 AM...Closeout crew to white room
08:58 AM...External tank in stable replenish mode
09:08 AM...Astronaut support personnel comm checks
09:38 AM...Pre-ingress switch reconfig
10:10 AM...Crew photo opportunity
11:19 AM...Crew weather briefing
11:19 AM...Astronauts begin donning pressure suits
11:53 AM...Resume countdown
11:59 AM...Crew departs O&C building
12:29 PM...Crew begins strapping in
01:18 PM...Astronaut communications checks
01:44 PM...Hatch closure
02:18 PM...White room closeout
02:33 PM...Begin 10-minute built-in hold (T-minus 20 minutes)
02:35 PM...NASA test director countdown briefing
02:43 PM...Resume countdown (T-minus 20 minutes)
02:44 PM...Backup flight computer (BFS) loads OPS 1 software
02:48 PM...Kennedy Space Center area clear to launch
02:54 PM...Begin final built-in hold (T-minus nine minutes)
02:59 PM...RTLS runway verification
03:04 PM...NASA test director launch status verification
HH:MM:SS
03:39:38 PM...Resume countdown (T-minus nine minutes)
03:41:08 PM...Orbiter access arm retraction
03:43:38 PM...Launch window opens
03:43:38 PM...Hydraulic power system (APU) start
03:43:43 PM...Terminate LO2 replenish
03:44:38 PM...Purge sequence 4 hydraulic system test
03:44:38 PM...Inertial measurement units (IMUs) to inertial
03:44:43 PM...Aerosurface profile (steering test)
03:45:08 PM...Main engine steering test
03:45:43 PM...LO2 tank pressurization
03:46:03 PM...Fuel cells to internal reactants
03:46:08 PM...Crew lears caution-and-warning memory
03:46:38 PM...Crew closes visors
03:46:41 PM...LH2 tank pressurization
03:47:48 PM...Soplid rocket booster joint heater deactivation
03:48:07 PM...Shuttle flight computers take control of countdown
03:48:17 PM...Booster steering test
03:48:31 PM...Main engine start (T-6.6 seconds)
03:48:38 PM...Booster ignition (LAUNCH)
03:53:38 PM...Window closes
21:49
Allora posso chiudere Media player :asd:
The mission management team has given a "go" to begin fueling shuttle Discovery this morning as planned.
Managers convened their "pre-tanking meeting" at Kennedy Space Center around 4:45 a.m. to review the progress of work at launch pad 39B and the weather before giving engineers approval to begin fueling Discovery. The loading of the shuttle's external fuel tank will take nearly three hours to complete.
There are no significant technical issues being worked by the launch team and the weather forecast has improved a bit. Meteorologists now expect a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time today.
0601 GMT (6:01 a.m. EDT)
The chilldown thermal conditioning of the propellant lines and Discovery's internal plumbing is underway. The chilldown preps the systems for the shock from the super-cold cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuels that will be pumped into the external tank this morning.
0959 GMT (5:59 a.m. EDT)
Fueling operations have begun! The launch team is beginning the steps in the procedures to start fueling.
0953 GMT (5:53 a.m. EDT)
T-minus 6 hours and counting. The countdown has resumed from the two-hour built-in hold.
0946 GMT (5:46 a.m. EDT)
The start of fueling is expected to begin in the next 15 minutes. Countdown clocks are holding as scheduled at the T-minus 6 hour mark. The count will resume at 5:53 a.m. EDT and head to the T-minus 3 hour mark where a three-hour hold is planned.
0953 GMT (5:53 a.m. EDT)
T-minus 6 hours and counting. The countdown has resumed from the two-hour built-in hold.
Non mi torna mica l'orario delle nove di sera con questo T-minus 6 hours alle 9.53 GMT... :confused:
Non mi torna mica l'orario delle nove di sera con questo T-minus 6 hours alle 9.53 GMT... :confused:
L'ora del countdown non coincide con quella reale. Il countdown comincia a T-43 (nella realtà a T-70) ore, appena dopo il Call To Stations (che devono dare il "Go/No Go"), e termia a T-0 (con il liftoff).
All'interno del countdown ufficiale ci sono poi 7 "built-in-holds", cioè periodi di sospensione tecnica del countdown... inoltre ovviamente ci possono essere delle sospensioni non previste nel caso sia necessario tempo per valutare ed eventualmente sistemare eventuali problemi (troubleshooting contingency time).
Per approfondire consiglio questa pagina della NASA:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/countdown101.html
1223 GMT (8:23 a.m. EDT)
The liquid hydrogen system has entered into replenish mode to keep Discovery's tank topped off through the rest of the count. Liquid oxygen tank filling has another 20 or minutes left to go.
1217 GMT (8:17 a.m. EDT)
Filling of the liquid hydrogen tank has reached the 98 percent mark. Topping of the tank is beginning. The liquid oxygen loading is continuing.
1200 GMT (8:00 a.m. EDT)
Good morning from sunny Kennedy Space Center where we are beginning our complete live reports throughout the mission of space shuttle Discovery.
Fueling is entering the final hour of the three-hour process. No leaks or concentrations of liquid oxygen or liquid hydrogen have been detected in the shuttle's aft compartment. And the engine cutoff sensors, which were a source of trouble during the last mission, are functioning fine today.
Officials continue to discuss the heater problem on one of Discovery's vernier engine thrusters. The level of significance for this issue is unclear right now, if the problem cannot be resolved during the count.
1049 GMT (6:49 a.m. EDT)
There are actually two tanks inside the shuttle's orange bullet-shaped tank. The liquid oxygen tank fills the top third of the external tank. It will be filled with 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen chilled to minus 298 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 183 degrees Celsius). The liquid hydrogen tank is contained in the bottom two-thirds of the external tank. It holds 385,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen chilled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 253 degrees Celsius).
The cryogenics are pumped from storage spheres at the pad, through feed lines to the mobile launcher platform, into Discovery's aft compartment and finally into the external fuel tank.
Fueling operations are progessing smoothly this morning. The liquid hydrogen tank is about a quarter full and the liquid oxygen tank is 20 percent full.
The loading began in slow-fill mode for each tank. That process continued until the tanks were five percent full, then the fast-fill took over.
1047 GMT (6:47 a.m. EDT)
The engine cutoff sensors in the external tank are working normally. The hydrogen sensors were replaced in the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Meanwhile, technicians are examining a vernier engine heater issue, but that's not something of major concern, a NASA spokesman says.
1253 GMT (8:53 a.m. EDT)
T-minus 3 hours and holding. Countdown clocks have entered a planned three-hour built-in hold in advance of today's launch of space shuttle Discovery. This is a standard hold in every shuttle countdown. However, NASA has extended it from the usual two hours to three hours to give the final inspection team more time to complete their ice and debris checks of the shuttle after fueling. The team will be sent to pad 39B to begin the inspections once fueling of Discovery is completed.
Also awaiting dispatch to the pad is the orbiter closeout crew, which is the team that will assist the astronauts during boarding.
1254 GMT (8:54 a.m. EDT)
Filling of Discovery's external fuel tank was called complete at 8:53 a.m. EDT. The tank has been pumped full with 528,000 gallons of supercold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
But given the cryogenic nature of the oxidizer and propellant, the supplies naturally boil away. So the tanks are continuously topped off until the final minutes of the countdown in a procedure called "stable replenishment."
With the hazardous tanking operation completed, the Orbiter Closeout Crew and Final Inspection Team will be heading to the pad to perform their jobs. The closeout crew will ready Discovery's crew module for the astronauts' ingress in a couple of hours; and the inspection team will give the entire vehicle a check for any ice formation following fueling.
1320 GMT (9:20 a.m. EDT)
The Final Inspection Team is beginning its two-hour observations of the shuttle vehicle.
1317 GMT (9:17 a.m. EDT)
The Orbiter Closeout Crew has arrived in the White Room on the end of the Orbiter Access Arm catwalk that runs from the launch pad tower to Discovery's crew module. They will make final preparations to ready Discovery for the astronaut's arrival about three hours from now.
senzasoldi
01-07-2006, 16:00
Scusate ho letto che c'è una webcam ma come faccio a collegarmi?
1453 GMT (10:53 a.m. EDT)
The countdown is still holding at the T-minus 3 hour mark. Clocks are slated to resume ticking in 60 minutes.
The analysis and debate about the faulty heater on one of Discovery's vernier steering thrusters continues. That heater is not working, which makes the maneuvering jet considered failed for the mission. Although there are other thrusters that can compensate for the loss of the L5L jet, managers must decide if they want to launch knowing some of the redundancy is gone.
1425 GMT (10:25 a.m. EDT)
The inspection team is responsible for checking Discovery and the launch pad one last time prior to liftoff. The team is comprised of engineers and safety officials from NASA, United Space Alliance and tank-builder Lockheed Martin. At the conclusion of their two-hour tour-of-duty, the team will have walked up and down the entire fixed service structure and mobile launcher platform.
The team is on the lookout for any abnormal ice or frost build-up on the vehicle and integrity of the external tank foam insulation.
The team uses a portable infrared scanner that gathers temperature measurements on the surface area of the shuttle and can spot leaks. The scanner will be used to obtain temperature data on the external tank, solid rocket boosters, space shuttle orbiter, main engines and launch pad structures. The scanner can also spot leaks of the cryogenic propellants, and due to its ability to detect distinct temperature differences, can spot any dangerous hydrogen fuel that is burning. The team member also is responsible for photo documentation.
The team wears the highly visible day-glow orange coveralls that are anti-static and flame resistant. Each member also has a self-contained emergency breathing unit that holds about 10 minutes of air.
No significant problems or concerns have been reported by the inspection team so far.
1412 GMT (10:12 a.m. EDT)
Dressed in red shirts featuring the STS-121 mission emblem, Discovery's seven astronauts are gathered around the dining room table for a pre-launch snack. They were awakened at 5:15 a.m. EDT to begin the launch day activities at Kennedy Space Center.
After a bite to eat, commander Steve Lindsey, pilot Mark Kelly and flight engineer Lisa Nowak will receive a briefing on the weather forecast for KSC and abort landing sites in California, New Mexico, Spain and France. Then they will join their crewmates in the suit-up to don the launch and entry spacesuits in preparation for heading to pad 39B.
1401 GMT (10:01 a.m. EDT)
NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham says mission managers have "high hopes" the vernier thruster problem on Discovery's left-hand orbital maneuvering system pod can fly as-is and the situation be managed in space without impact to the flight. A heater on the L5L thruster failed just after being activited this morning.
Scusate ho letto che c'è una webcam ma come faccio a collegarmi?
non una webcam, NASA TV. Tutto nella prima pagina.
1535 GMT (11:35 a.m. EDT)
All seven astronauts have donned their day-glow orange launch and entry partial pressure spacesuits. After final adjustments and pressure checks, the crew plans to depart the suit-up room and take the elevator down to the ground level of the Operations and Checkout Building to board the AstroVan for the trip to launch pad 39B. We expect to see the crew walk out of the O&C Building around 11:58 a.m. EDT.
1554 GMT (11:54 a.m. EDT)
Shuttle launch weather officer Kathy Winter reports that current observed conditions at Kennedy Space Center are "no go" due to cumulus and anvil clouds overhead. The weather will be closely monitored throughout the afternoon as conditions evolve and change.
1600 GMT (12:00 p.m. EDT)
Commander Steve Lindsey and his six fellow crewmates have emerged from the Kennedy Space Center crew quarters to board the AstroVan for the 7-mile ride from the Industrial Area to launch pad 39B on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
1610 GMT (12:10 p.m. EDT)
The AstroVan is passing the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building where Discovery was attached to its external tank and solid rocket boosters and the adjacent Launch Control Center. The Press Site is located across the street, and reporters have run outdoors to watch at the passing convoy. This is a launch day tradition to say farewell and good luck to the astronaut crews.
1615 GMT (12:15 p.m. EDT)
The local weather conditions are back "go" again. Some clouds were violating the launch rules a short time ago.
1618 GMT (12:18 p.m. EDT)
Discovery's crew arrived at launch pad 39B at 7:07 a.m. The AstroVan just came to a stop on the pad surface near the Fixed Service Structure tower elevator that will take the seven-person crew to the 195-foot level to begin boarding the shuttle this morning.
senzasoldi
01-07-2006, 18:58
non una webcam, NASA TV. Tutto nella prima pagina.
Trovato ..la pagina non si apriva ..forse l'indirizzo non è esatto. :D
1803 GMT (2:03 p.m. EDT)
The pre-flight alignment of Discovery's Inertial Measurement Units is underway and will be completed by the T-minus 20 minute mark. The IMUs were calibrated over the past few hours of the countdown. The three units are used by the onboard navigation systems to determine the position of the orbiter in flight.
Meanwhile, the S-band antennas at the MILA tracking station here at the Cape will soon shift from low power to high power. The site will provide voice, data and telemetry relay between Discovery and Mission Control during the first few minutes of flight. Coverage then is handed to a NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite in space.
1801 GMT (2:01 p.m. EDT)
The "go" has been given to close the shuttle's crew compartment hatch. The hatch is swinging shut now.
1800 GMT (2:00 p.m. EDT)
The official target launch time remains unchanged according to the latest update on the space station's orbit. The launch window opens at 3:44:40 p.m., with the desired liftoff time of 3:48:41 p.m.. The window closes at 3:53:02 p.m..
1757 GMT (1:57 p.m. EDT)
The Orbiter Closeout Crew has removed all non-flight items from Discovery in advance of closing the hatch for flight.
Trovato ..la pagina non si apriva ..forse l'indirizzo non è esatto. :D
non funziona? a me si, e cmq li ho presi direttamente dal sito.
1826 GMT (2:26 p.m. EDT)
The shuttle's backup flight control system (BFS) computer has been configured. It would be used today in the event of emergency landing.
Also, the primary avionics software system (PASS) has transferred to Discovery's BFS computer so both systems can be synched with the same data. In case of a PASS computer system failure, the BFS computer will take over control of the shuttle vehicle during flight.
1833 GMT (2:33 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 20 minutes and holding. The countdown has paused for a 10-minute built-in hold. Launch remains scheduled for 3:48:41 p.m. EDT, if the weather improves. Clouds over the Cape remain unacceptable for launch.
During this built-in hold, all computer programs in Firing Room 4 of the Complex 39 Launch Control Center will be verified to ensure that the proper programs are available for the countdown; the landing convoy status will be verified and the landing sites will be checked to support an abort landing during launch today; the Inertial Measurement Unit preflight alignment will be verified completed; and preparations are made to transition the orbiter onboard computers to Major Mode 101 upon coming out of the hold. This configures the computer memory to a terminal countdown configuration.
1837 GMT (2:37 p.m. EDT)
A good seal on Discovery's crew hatch is confirmed. The cabin pressurized for flight, and the pressure checks have been completed.
1840 GMT (2:40 p.m. EDT)
Over at the Shuttle Landing Facility, astronaut Mike Bloomfield is shooting approaches to the runway in the Shuttle Training Aircraft. He is evaluating the weather conditions in the event Discovery is forced to perform a Return to Launch Site abort shortly after liftoff.
1842 GMT (2:42 p.m. EDT)
Mission Management Team chairman John Shannon has ruled that the failed heater on one of Discovery's vernier thruster is not a constraint to flight.
1843 GMT (2:43 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 20 minutes and counting. The countdown has resumed after a 10-minute hold. Clocks will tick down for the next 11 minutes to T-minus 9 minutes where the final planned hold is scheduled to occur. The hold length will be adjusted to synch up with today's preferred launch time of 3:48:41 p.m.
1848 GMT (2:48 p.m. EDT)
Pilot Mark Kelly is configuring the displays inside Discovery's cockpit for launch while commander Steve Lindsey enables the abort steering instrumentation. And Mission Control in Houston is loading Discovery's onboard computers with the proper guidance parameters based on the projected launch time.
1848 GMT (2:48 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 15 minutes. Now one hour away from launch of Discovery, if the weather clears.
1850 GMT (2:50 p.m. EDT)
The Main Propulsion System helium system is being reconfigured by pilot Mark Kelly. Soon the gaseous nitrogen purge to the aft skirts of the solid rocket boosters will be started.
1853 GMT (2:53 p.m. EDT)
The Orbiter Closeout Crew is departing the pad.
1854 GMT (2:54 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 9 minutes and holding. Countdown clocks have gone into the planned 45-minute built-in hold. Today's launch remains set for 3:48:41 p.m. EDT. There are no significant technical problems being reported, but the weather remains a real concern. Anvil clouds are violating the launch rules right now.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/fdf/images/121countdown.gif
A T-00.01 prendo il comando io :D
senzasoldi
01-07-2006, 21:25
Ho capito male o hanno fermato il countdown a - 9 minuti per le nubi ?
no, la sospensione a T-9 min è l'ultimo built-in-hold prima del lancio.
Ho capito male o hanno fermato il countdown a - 9 minuti per le nubi ?
No, mi sembra che sia fermo per i fatti suoi. Se vedi nella tabella del mio post sopra c'è un intervallo ai -9...
1925 GMT (3:25 p.m. EDT)
Weather remains observed and forecast "no go" for launch. The situation will be monitored during the rest of this planned hold.
1924 GMT (3:24 p.m. EDT)
Ascent flight director Steve Stich in Houston reports that weather at the abort landing site here in Florida is the only concern for the Mission Control.
1921 GMT (3:21 p.m. EDT)
Everything from a technical standpoint is ready for launch. But NASA launch director Mike Leinbach says the weather team is tracking the anvil clouds from a thunderstorm about 30 miles west of the pad that prevent liftoff today.
Certo che su Nasatv sembra tutto sereno... non credevo che bastasse una nuvoletta per far saltare il lancio.
La sospensione a T-9 è necessaria per determinare la rotta di volo in base all'ora di lancio esatta e per caricarla sui General Purpose Computers dell'orbiter, e per eseguire un ultimo check completo di tutte le stazioni ed avere da esse e quindi dal controllo volo il go per il lancio.
1930 GMT (3:30 p.m. EDT)
The Mission Management Team has been polled by chairman John Shannon for readiness to proceed with the countdown. No constraints were reported, however weather was not part of that poll.
1926 GMT (3:26 p.m. EDT)
"I don't hold a lot of hope," ascent flight director Steve Stich says about the weather due to the close proximity of thunderstorm anvil clouds.
1926 GMT (3:26 p.m. EDT)
"I don't hold a lot of hope," ascent flight director Steve Stich says about the weather due to the close proximity of thunderstorm anvil clouds.
eh no! sto aspettando ad uscire per il lancio, adesso partono anche con la grandine! :mc: :D
La sospensione a T-9 è necessaria per determinare la rotta di volo in base all'ora di lancio esatta e per caricarla sui General Purpose Computers dell'orbiter, e per eseguire un ultimo check completo di tutte le stazioni ed avere da esse e quindi dal controllo volo il go per il lancio.
I GPC :D
Certo che su Nasatv sembra tutto sereno... non credevo che bastasse una nuvoletta per far saltare il lancio.
Chiedi all'equipaggio del Apollo12 che si beccò un fulmine durante il lancio... :D
cmq ci sono nubi con possibili temprali entro 20 NM dal pad, a sud-ovest, mentre verso est è sereno... il punto è che in caso di RTLS (Return To Launch Site) le attuali condizioni sono fuori dal LCC (Launch Commitment Criteria) per l'avvicinamento e l'atterraggio.
1935 GMT (3:35 p.m. EDT)
NASA launch director Mike Leinbach is conducting his poll.
1934 GMT (3:34 p.m. EDT)
The final readiness poll of the team by NASA test director has been completed. Weather is "no go."
Chiedi all'equipaggio del Apollo12 che si beccò un fulmine durante il lancio... :D
cmq ci sono nubi con possibili temprali entro 20 NM dal pad, a sud-ovest, mentre verso est è sereno... il punto è che in caso di RTLS (Return To Launch Site) le attuali condizioni sono fuori dal LCC (Launch Commitment Criteria) per l'avvicinamento e l'atterraggio.
Suvvia, un po' di ottimismo ci vorrebbe in questi casi :D
1936 GMT (3:36 p.m. EDT)
The plan will be extend this hold a few more minutes to wait for the weather to miraculously improve. The launch window closes at 3:53:14 p.m.
1936 GMT (3:36 p.m. EDT)
The Range is now reporting there's a boat in the restricted in the waters off the coast that must be cleared before launch.
:D
1936 GMT (3:36 p.m. EDT)
The Range is now reporting there's a boat in the restricted in the waters off the coast that must be cleared before launch.
:D
Noooo :muro: Tirategli un siluro! :muro:
Ancora quattro minuti di speranza :sperem:
Ho capito male o ha detto che riprovano domani?
1941 GMT (3:41 p.m. EDT)
SCRUB. Launch director Mike Leinbach has called a scrub for today's countdown. Weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center are unacceptable for launch during the narrow launch window this afternoon, forcing a 24-hour postponement. Sunday's target launch time is 3:26 p.m. EDT.
"It's not a good day to launch," ascent flight director Steve Stich radioed from Mission Control-Houston.
Cazz... chissà se riesco a vederlo col collegamento umts... in teoria sì, chissà...
Ho capito male o ha detto che riprovano domani?
Si, ad ogni "scrub" si riprova a 24 di distanza (per ovvi motivi) solo che per chiari motivi di modifica della durata del giorno viene anticipato il lancio ogni giorno di 10 minuti.
pure qui a novara ci sono nuvole,
rinviate rinviate il lancio così forse potrò vedervi :D
senzasoldi
01-07-2006, 21:46
Allora è ufficiale? Hanno rimandato tutto a domani?
Si, ad ogni "scrub" si riprova a 24 di distanza (per ovvi motivi) solo che per chiari motivi di modifica della durata del giorno viene anticipato il lancio ogni giorno di 10 minuti.
Ecco, non riesco lo stesso a vederlo, sarò in macchina a quell'ora stramaledizione :muro:
Tuttavia è difficile anche domani, perchè il tempo è previsto pressapoco come oggi, forse peggiore, e peggiore lo sarà lunedi, con il 70% di probabilità che siano violate i criteri di lancio.
A questo punto è molto facile aspettarsi un vero tentativo martedì prossimo, in concomitanza con la partita eheh... :D
Allora è ufficiale? Hanno rimandato tutto a domani?
Si.
Tuttavia è difficile anche domani, perchè il tempo è previsto pressapoco come oggi, forse peggiore, e peggiore lo sarà lunedi, con il 70% di probabilità che siano violate i criteri di lancio.
A questo punto è molto facile aspettarsi un vero tentativo martedì prossimo, in concomitanza con la partita eheh... :D
Poco male :p
Ma adesso che fanno, risvuotano i serbatoi?
Poco male :p
Ma adesso che fanno, risvuotano i serbatoi?
ovviamente, il problema è che lo scrub non ci voleva perchè, sebbene sia certificata per 9 cicli (che corrispondono al caricamento o lo svuotamento), l'ET si è visto anche lo scorso anno che dopo due cicli si creano delle pericolose fratture negli strati interni della protezione termica e che sono i maggiori indiziati per il distacco nel volo.
Da SpaceFlightNow.com:
Weather scrubs Discovery launch
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 1, 2006
Launch of the shuttle Discovery on a long-awaited space station servicing and resupply mission was called off today because of cloud cover and the threat of lightning over the Kennedy Space Center.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060701scrub/weather.jpg
Clouds prompted Discovery's launch scrub. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now
Commander Steve Lindsey and his six crewmates had hoped to blast off at 3:49 p.m. to kick off only the second post-Columbia shuttle mission - NASA's first shuttle flight in nearly a year - but cloudy weather forced NASA Launch Director Mike Leinbach to extend a final hold in the countdown in hopes of an improvement.
It was not to be.
"NTD, launch director, (on channel) 212. Sir, we've been fighting the weather for quite some time," Leinbach told NASA test director Jeff Spaulding. "It doesn't look like we're going get a go. ... I Just don't feel good about the launch weather."
Leinback then called flight director Steve Stich in mission control, Houston.
"Launch Director, this is Houston Flight," Stich replied. "Mike I concur. This is a dynamic day and I think we're just playing it too close here. We've got (electrically charged) anvils within 20 miles and over the launch trajectory, it's not a good day to launch."
"Copy and concur," Leinbach replied. "Discovery, Launch Director. Well Steve, sorry to break your string, but we're not going to make it today. So appreciate your support, both the crew and the whole launch team and the team worldwide trying to get this vehicle off the ground today. But it's not a good day to launch the shuttle, so we're going to try again tomorrow."
"We copy all and concur," Lindsey called from Discovery. "It wasn't our time today, we'll launch when we're ready and hopefully, tomorrow will look better."
It was a frustrating disappointment to Lindsey and his crewmates, who have been training for this flight for nearly two years. But cloudy weather is normal this time of year in central Florida and the scrub, while disappointing, was not a major surprise.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060701scrub/tminus9.jpg
The launch was scrubbed during the T-minus 9 minute mark in the countdown. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now
Lindsey, pilot Mark Kelly, flight engineer Lisa Nowak, spacewalkers Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum, Stephanie Wilson and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter will spend the day at the Florida spaceport and turn in later this afternoon to await an early wakeup call Sunday.
The launch window Sunday opens at 3:21 p.m. and closes at 3:31 p.m. The preferred in-plane launch time is 3:26 p.m. The launch window Monday opens around 2:55 p.m. for a launch attempt around 3:00 p.m. The forecast for Sunday calls for a 60 percent chance of unacceptable weather and 70 percent no-go Monday.
Discovery has enough on-board liquid oxygen and hydrogen to power the ship's electricity producing fuel cells for four launch tries over five days. Leinbach said earlier the preferred strategy would be to make launch tries Saturday and Sunday, stand down on Monday to give the team a break, and then to make two more attempts Tuesday and Wednesday. After that, engineers will have to stand down for 48 hours to top off Discovery's on-board hydrogen supply.
The goal of the mission is to deliver 5,100 pounds of equipment and supplies to the international space station and to stage two and possibly three spacewalks, including one to repair a stalled equipment transporter that is vital to continued assembly of the outpost.
Just as important to the European Space Agency, Discovery is ferrying Mir-veteran Reiter to the lab complex to boost crew size back to three for the first time since downsizing in the wake of the Columbia disaster.
Reiter is on board Discovery as part of a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. He is scheduled to return to Earth in December with the crew of a visiting space shuttle.
Discovery's launch window extends to July 19. If the shuttle is not off the ground by then, the flight will slip to late August and a launch currently targeted for that window would slip into October at the earliest.
gianpaolo ho sbagliato, in questo lancio ogni giorno si anticipa di 20 minuti circa, per la correzione dovuta al cambiamento del rendevouz con la ISS.
gianpaolo ho sbagliato, in questo lancio ogni giorno si anticipa di 20 minuti circa, per la correzione dovuta al cambiamento del rendevouz con la ISS.
Sì vabbè, fa niente, tanto è ancora peggio: dovrei partire troppo presto da FE per essere a FO per l'ora del lancio di domani, sarò sicuramente in macchina... amen, a 'sto punto spero che lo rimandino ancora :bastard inside: :D
che devi andare dalla morosa a fare... la scienza è più importante e il resto può attendere... :O
:ciapet:
che devi andare dalla morosa a fare... la scienza è più importante e il resto può attendere... :O
:ciapet:
Macchè morosa, devo tornare a Forlì a lavorare :D
Se fosse la morosa l'avrei già messa in attesa... infatti anche questa sera sono uscito dopo :asd:
Macchè morosa, devo tornare a Forlì a lavorare :D
hai ragione... avevo letto che andavi da FO a FE... :stordita:
Se fosse la morosa l'avrei già messa in attesa... infatti anche questa sera sono uscito dopo :asd:
:D
razziadacqua
02-07-2006, 12:15
Ma porca di quella...!!!!!!!
:incazzed: :incazzed: :incazzed: :incazzed: :incazzed: :ncomment: :ncomment: :muro:
Più deficente io ad attrezzarmi come un cecchino per beccare sto cacchio di Shuttle!!..:Devo ammettere che qualche colpo gliel'ho mandato :stordita:
razziadacqua
02-07-2006, 12:18
Dimenticavo.
Mi domandavo ora,adesso come adesso,con i nuovi parametri di lancio,sarà ancora possibile osservarlo dall italia?
E sopratutto,come e dove saperlo?
Visto che l info a riguardo che avevate postato non sono riuscito a trovarla nel sito originale manco a morir di un colpo...
Dimenticavo.
Mi domandavo ora,adesso come adesso,con i nuovi parametri di lancio,sarà ancora possibile osservarlo dall italia?
E sopratutto,come e dove saperlo?
Visto che l info a riguardo che avevate postato non sono riuscito a trovarla nel sito originale manco a morir di un colpo...
Non ho capito perchè i nuovi criteri post-Columbia dovrebbero impedire la visibilità dell'ISS+shuttle.
1231 GMT (8:31 a.m. EDT)
T-minus 3 hours and holding. The count has just gone into a planned 3-hour built-in hold.
Weather conditions are currently "no go" due to showers coming ashore from the Atlantic Ocean, violating the anvil and lightning rules. "And so it begins," NASA spokesman George Diller says. The outlook for the 3:26 p.m. EDT launch time calls for a 70 percent chance of "no go" weather.
1229 GMT (8:29 a.m. EDT)
The Orbiter Closeout Crew and the Final Inspection Team have been cleared for travels to pad 39B to begin their launch morning jobs. The closeout crew will be readying the Discovery's cockpit for astronaut boarding later today; the inspection team will be examining the exterior of the shuttle vehicle for ice now that fueling is finished.
1224 GMT (8:24 a.m. EDT)
Liquid oxygen has gone into stable replenishment, joining liquid hydrogen that entered this mode a little while ago. So filling of Discovery's external has been completed.
1205 GMT (8:05 a.m. EDT)
The liquid hydrogen fuel tank has been filled up and the liquid oxygen is nearing completion of the fast-fill mode for today's launch opportunity of Discovery.
The launch weather team reports an area of showers is approaching the Cape and rain is expected at pad 39B in about 45 minutes.
1130 GMT (7:30 a.m. EDT)
Good morning from a cloudy Kennedy Space Center where fueling of space shuttle Discovery's external tank is still going smoothly. The three-hour tank filling process is about two-thirds complete now, and no troubles have been reported thus far.
The countdown is marching toward a launch at 3:26 p.m. EDT today. However, the weather forecast is not good. Meteorologists are saying there is a 70 percent chance that thunderstorms and anvil clouds will break the launch rules this afternoon.
The outlook is 60 percent "no go" for Monday and 40 percent "no go" on Tuesday.
If the weather forces another scrub today, the Mission Management Team would meet to decide whether to make a rare third consecutive launch attempt or give everyone a day to rest and try again Tuesday.
If Discovery is not off the ground by Wednesday, the onboard fuel cell hydrogen reactant supply used to generate electricity in space would need to be replenished, requiring a further delay.
1009 GMT (6:09 a.m. EDT)
Both liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fueling operations have progressed through the chilldown thermal conditioning and into the slow-fill mode. Once each tank is loaded slightly, the pumping rate increases to the fast-fill mode.
And the engine cutoff, or ECO, sensors in both tanks are working normally this morning.
We'll resume our live updates from Kennedy Space Center around 7:30 a.m.
0930 GMT (5:30 a.m. EDT)
Re-fueling of space shuttle Discovery with the half-million gallons of cryogenic rocket propellants began at 5:28 a.m. EDT this morning. It will take three hours to fill the ship's external fuel tank.
The weather forecast for today's planned 3:26 p.m. EDT launch indicates only a 30 percent chance of acceptable conditions. Forecasters are giving the bleak outlook due to the expected development of thunderstorms across Florida during the day.
No technical problems are being reported in the countdown and activities are proceeding for this second attempt to launch Discovery on mission STS-121.
SUNDAY, JULY 2, 2006
1329 GMT (9:29 a.m. EDT)
The field mills, which comprise a network of detectors around the Cape to measure the electrical charge in the air, is measuring "no go" conditions now.
1325 GMT (9:25 a.m. EDT)
Thunder now rumbling across the Kennedy Space Center -- and not of the launch kind. A storm that has brought heavy rain across Brevard County has moved northward to KSC.
1311 GMT (9:11 a.m. EDT)
And now the anvil cloud rule is "no go" again, too.
1300 GMT (9:00 a.m. EDT)
Latest check of the weather shows the lightning, cumulus cloud and thick cloud rules are being violated at this time.
Speriamo di vederlo 'sto lancio :sperem: ...domani :D
1354 GMT (9:54 a.m. EDT)
The rain is coming down here at the KSC Press Site.
http://giofx.altervista.org/sts-121/ksc-weather-20060702.jpg
1400 GMT (10:00 a.m. EDT)
As this area of weather moves over the launch site, the launch rules being violated are lightning, field mills, disturbed weather, cumulus clouds, anvil clouds, thick clouds, flight through precipitation and the cloud ceiling.
The only rules not broken at the moment are thunderstorm debris clouds, smoke plumes, launch wind and the temperature.
Peggio di ieri...
Senti, ma dato che parlavi di nove cicli di carico e scarico carburante, che fanno quattro giorni di tentativi, se si va oltre che fanno? Cambiano serbatoi? No, non ce la fanno mica...
Peggio di ieri...
Senti, ma dato che parlavi di nove cicli di carico e scarico carburante, che fanno quattro giorni di tentativi, se si va oltre che fanno? Cambiano serbatoi? No, non ce la fanno mica...
correggo rispetto a ieri: 2 cicli sono se si arriva al "prepress" durante gli ultimi minuti quando viene immesso elio nel serbatoio di ossigeno per stabilizzare l'evaporazione del propellente. se non si arriva a questo punto viene contato un solo ciclo. Quindi, al momento siamo ad uno solo.
Superati i cicli previsti andrebbe sostituita l'ET, ma credo vi sia una tolleranza.
1442 GMT (10:42 a.m. EDT)
Now that the shower has passed through, the skies have cleared overhead and the morning has become extremely hot and humid. But some of the weather rules remain "no go" due to the clouds to the east.
1430 GMT (10:30 a.m. EDT)
The astronauts are getting into their cumbersome launch and entry spacesuits. They plan to head for the pad in about an hour.
1424 GMT (10:24 a.m. EDT)
The flight through precipitation violation has been lifted.
1420 GMT (10:20 a.m. EDT)
The cloud ceiling and disturbed weather rules are back in "go" status.
razziadaqua, qui ci sono tutti i dati possibili sull'ascesa dello shuttle:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/fdf/images/121ascentdata.gif
senzasoldi
02-07-2006, 18:02
Rieccoci ..buongiorno a tutti.
Come andiamo oggi? previsioni?
Vedo che li stanno rivestendo delle tute.
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/chan1large.jpg
1605 GMT (12:05 p.m. EDT)
Weather remains "no go" at this time due to violations of the lightning, electrical charge potential, cumulus cloud and anvil cloud rules.
senzasoldi
02-07-2006, 18:16
Certo che riempire e svuotare un serbatoio di 143.000 galloni di idrogeno liquido non credo sia uno scherzo!
Certo che riempire e svuotare un serbatoio di 143.000 galloni di idrogeno liquido non credo sia uno scherzo!
Son tutti lì con la gomma e le damigiane :asd:
1714 GMT (1:14 p.m. EDT)
SCRUB! The weather has won for the second day in a row. Launch director Mike Leinbach just decided to stop the countdown for liftoff today due to the miserable weather conditions here at Kennedy Space Center.
Management has decided to replenish the hydrogen supply in the shuttle's electricity-producing fuel cells and make the next launch attempt on Tuesday at 2:38 p.m. EDT (1838 GMT).
Discovery launch delayed to Independence Day
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 2, 2006
For a second straight day, the shuttle Discovery was grounded because of cloud cover over the Kennedy Space Center today, delaying a long-awaited mission to service and resupply the international space station. Launch was rescheduled for around 2:38 p.m. on the July Fourth holiday.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060702scrub/lightning.jpg
Several lightning strikes were seen during today's countdown, including this view from the KSC Press Site. Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
Commander Steve Lindsey and his six crewmates had hoped to blast off at 3:26 p.m. to kick off only the second post-Columbia shuttle mission, but the weather wouldn't cooperate and launch director Mike Leinbach called off the countdown around 1:15 p.m., well ahead of the opening of Discovery's launch window.
"OK, Steve, we've talked to launch weather and landing weather and the ops manager and we've concluded we are not going to have a chance to launch today," Leinbach told the crew. "And so in order to preserve as much time for the scrub-turnaround as possible to get the PRSD (fuel cell system) topped off on board the ship and to give you guys the maximum opportunity on orbit to extend a day and get your third EVA, we've decided to terminate the count today, stand down for 48 hours, do a single commodity hydrogen reactant top off, targeting the next launch attempt for Tuesday afternoon."
"Yeah, we copy, and looking out the window it doesn't look good today and we think that's a great plan," Lindsey radioed from Discovery's flight deck.
By standing down early today and foregoing a possible launch try Monday, engineers will have time to refill on-board hydrogen tanks to power the shuttle's electricity producing fuel cells. After launch tries Tuesday and Wednesday, however, the team will need 48 hours to reload fuel cell oxygen.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060702scrub/scrub.jpg
Stormy weather prompted another Discovery scrub. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now
The forecast for Tuesday calls for a 60 percent chance of acceptable weather, but the outlook gets worse as the week wears on. Fuel cell reactants determine how long a shuttle can stay in orbit. Had Discovery gotten off Saturday, Sunday or Monday, Discovery would have had enough electrical power generation capability to permit a one-day mission extension for a spacewalk to test wing leading edge repair techniques.
By topping off the hydrogen supply, Lindsey and company should be able to get the mission extension if they get off Tuesday or Wednesday.
As it was, today was a second straight disappointment for the astronauts, who have been training for this flight for nearly two years. But the day began with forecasters predicting a 70 percent chance of bad weather and as it turned out, their pessimism was justified.
The launch window Tuesday opens around 2:33 p.m. and closes 10 minutes later. The preferred in-plane launch time is 2:38 p.m. The launch window and preferred in-plane launch time likely will change by a few seconds based on updated tracking of the international space station.
ma allora con questo ultimo posticipo del lancio ricaricano anche i serbatoi di H2 e O2 per le pile a combustibile dell'orbiter?
ma allora con questo ultimo posticipo del lancio ricaricano anche i serbatoi di H2 e O2 per le pile a combustibile dell'orbiter?
solo i serbatoi di H2... mentre le riserve di ossigeno sono più che sufficienti. Ricordo che questa operazione è necessaria solo per conservare la possibilità di estendere di un giorno la missione (da 13 a 14), così da consentire una terza EVA (attività extraveicolare o "passeggiata spaziale" per capirci).
:)
solo i serbatoi di H2... mentre le riserve di ossigeno sono più che sufficienti. Ricordo che questa operazione è necessaria solo per conservare la possibilità di estendere di un giorno la missione (da 13 a 14), così da consentire una terza EVA (attività extraveicolare o "passeggiata spaziale" per capirci).
:)
Certo, ;) mi pareva di aver capito che volessero riservarsi questa possibilita', e, avendo posticipato di due giorni il lancio fossero anche "obbligati" a fare il refill anche solo per la missione "base" (piu' ovviamente un margine per emergenza..)
EDIT: ho letto piu' attentamente tutti i post e "ovviamente" c'era la risposta alla mia domanda :D La prossima volta staro' piu' attento! :fagiano:
A proposito verra' piu' installato l'adattatore che consentira' allo shuttle di ricevere alimentazione elettrica dall'ISS?
azz.. questa non ci voleva!
Crack found in Discovery external tank insulation
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 3, 2006
Engineers inspecting the shuttle Discovery's external tank following Sunday's launch scrub found a crack in the tank's foam insulation near a bracket holding a 17-inch oxygen feed line in place. Some engineers believe the crack must be repaired but senior managers say a variety of options are on the table, from fly as is to making repairs.
Il resto dell'articolo:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060703crack/
esatto... brutta storia!
Dato che hai già linkato l'articolo di SFN, posto quello di Chris @ NasaSpaceFlight.com...
Discovery's tank suffers foam issue
By Chris Bergin, 7/3/2006 9:00:00 AM
The Mission Management Team (MMT) are meeting to discuss a course of action after a crack was found in Discovery's External Tank. There are rumours the problem is serious.
However, two other issues that have come to light during Shuttle Discovery's opening two attempts to launch on STS-121, but both are workable, according to officials and sources.
The crack, found on - or near - the 17 inch feedline bracket was spotted during an inspection carried out after the detanking of ET-119, following Sunday's scrub. A piece of foam was also found on the MLP (Mobile Launch Platform).
The MMT are set to hold their daily press conference later today. There are rumours that the repair cannot be carried out at the pad and will lead to a rollback - ending the opportunity to launch in the July window. Updates will follow.
Meanwhile, the failure of a heater on RCS (Reaction Control System) L5L, and an intermittent fault on a five percent LH2 ECO (Engine Cut Off) sensor, won't affect the July 4 launch attempt - should NASA decided to fly "as is" with the foam issue.
The ECO sensor in question is not critical to flight - and does not fall under the waiver that was issued in case of a repeat of STS-114's sensor issues.
'We watched it go from DRY back to WET - it toggled a few times before going dry - around the same time as the LOX 5% sensor,' noted a source.
NASA, however, are not concerned, noting it confirms their suspicions of the 'bad lot' from which the sensor in question came from. The main LH2 sensors in the bottom of the tank are from a new batch, following their replacement in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), prior to stacking with Discovery.
The failure of the heater on the RCS thruster is also not proving to be a problem for engineers to overcome, with a plan written up on compensating for the loss of the thruster on orbit.
While it is possible the stresses of ascent may bring the heater back on line, orbital positioning of the orbiter may 'warm' the thruster enough to be used.
Engineers at JSC (Johnson Space Center) tested the plan in the simulators - shortly after the heater was deemed as unworkable - to see how that would affect the rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS).
Sources note that if they need to deselect L5L, then the flight software down-modes the DAP (Digital Auto Pilot) to FREE (Free Drift Mode). This will make matters complex for the orbiter, but there is understood to be plans in place for worst-case scenarios.
Foam fix unlikely at launch pad
http://www.floridatoday.com/floridatoday/blogs/spaceteam/uploaded_images/foamfall-764738.jpg
A chunk of foam large enough to damage Discovery's heat shield fell off the shuttle's external tank during scrub-turnaround operations Sunday, prompting a meeting today to determine whether to press ahead with a launch attempt Tuesday.
Discovery and seven astronauts remain scheduled for launch at 2:37 p.m. Tuesday. But NASA's Mission Management Team will meet at 10 a.m. today to talk about the falling foam as well as a crack that was found in tank insulation.
Engineers think the foam fell from the liquid oxygen feedline that runs along the outside of the tank. It landed on the mobile launcher platform. The foam was seen falling when NASA moved the Rotating Service Structure back around Discovery at launch pad 39B on Sunday evening, according to an internal NASA e-mail obtained by Florida Today.
The crack is located an external tank feedline bracket and is an indication that layered foam there might have delaminated.
The 13-story structure did not contact the shuttle during the move. Witness statements were taken at the time of the incident and the foam pieces were taken to the Integration Console at Firing Room 4 in the Launch Control Center.
4 pollici.. 10 cm.
Grandicello comunque.. speriamo si sia staccato dalla struttura di supporto e non dall'ET
4 pollici.. 10 cm.
Grandicello comunque.. speriamo si sia staccato dalla struttura di supporto e non dall'ET
spero siano centimetri, non pollici...
sono pollici...
cmq sia, ecco qui l'Inspection Team Report:
STS-121 POST DRAIN SSV/MLP INSPECTION #2
KSC Ice/Debris Team
2 July 2006
The post drain inspection of STS-121, MLP-1, and Pad B FSS was conducted on July 2, 2006 from 1815 to 2015 hours under daylight conditions. Visibility was adequate for the inspection from most areas of the FSS and the MLP deck.
No MLP deck anomalies were detected, and the facility was in good condition.
No anomalies were observed on the SRBs.
Orbiter tiles, RCC panels, and SSMEs were in nominal configuration. The FRCS Tyvek (parachute-style) covers were intact.
The GOX vent hood was in the retracted position. GOX Vent Arm was retracted while we were on the 255’ Level. No anomalies were detected on the ET nose cone as the –Y vent louvers were nominal; however, a 1-inch dia spot of missing topcoat was found on the –Y LO2 Ogive Vent Seal footprint. The missing topcoat is located approx 5 inches aft of the XT-371 interface and centered below the –Y louvers. An IPR was initiated for this item.
The GH2 Ventline and the ET Ground Umbilical Carrier Assembly (GUCA) were observed to be in good condition. The ice/frost buildup on the aft side of the ET GUCA had completely melted.
Overall the External Tank appeared to be in good condition. Visible portions of the LO2 tank TPS looked acceptable as well as the LO2-I/T flange closeout – no TPS anomalies were detected during vehicle warmup. The LH2-I/T flange closeout also was observed to be free of defects. The Bipod Fitting closeouts and Jack Pad standoff closeouts were observed to be in nominal condition - no TPS divots resulted from vehicle warmup.
The inboard strut for the L02 Feedline Bracket assembly at XT-1129 was found to be cracked. The damage is approx 5-6 inches long and appears to originate near the where the strut connects to the feedline and extends toward the ET. The TPS crack is approx ¼ inch wide with an offset of approx ¼ inch. An IPR was initiated for this item. Inboard views of the remaining visible brackets did not reveal any similar damage. Outboard views of the feedline brackets revealed areas of TPS debris in the gap between the feedline and the bracket – this condition was noticed at XT-1129, 1377, and 1623. No obvious indications of crushed foam or debris was detected at the XT-1871 and 1978 brackets.
The Ice Frost Ramps did not exhibit any obvious defects. The stress relief crack on the –Y Vertical Strut forward-facing TPS had not completely closed by the time of our inspection and was still barely visible – approx 1/8 inch wide. The -Y Longeron Closeout and the new LO2/LH2 PAL Ramp footprint machined areas looked acceptable. The aft outboard bondline for the +Y Longeron closeout exhibited froth during cryo drain monitoring; however, the area on post-drain inspection did not reveal any TPS crack, bondline separation, or any other obvious TPS defect. There was still a light ice/frost buildup in the TSE shipping strut fitting access cavity. All PDL repairs on the ET were intact and none protruded beyond drawing trim lines.
Light ice/frost buildups remained in the –Z sides of the LH2 feedline bellows and recirculation line bellows, LH2 ET/ORB umbilical purge vents and pyro can vents, and LH2 umbilical cable tray drain hole. All ice/frost buildups on the LO2 ET/ORB Umbilical had melted. Moderate amount of ice/frost buildup remained on the lower EB fittings and in the ET/SRB cable tray expansion joints. No TPS defects were noted on any of these surfaces. The LO2/LH2 purge curtains were clean and free of ice/frost buildup.
The frostball formation present for both tankings at the +Y Vertical Strut-to-Aft Dome interface had melted. No indication of a TPS crack or other damage was evident.
A 1-inch froth line was observed on the –Z side of the LH2 Aft Dome Manhole Cover TPS closeout. This item was located in the vicinity of the frost spot that was observed on the first tanking. No crack or other TPS defect was visible.
In summary, two IPR conditions were initiated as a result of this walkdown – the TPS damage on the XT-1129 LO2 Feedline Bracket and the missing topcoat on the –Y GO2 Vent Seal footprint. No other flight hardware concerns were detected during the post drain inspection. Additional evaluation of the noted IPR areas will be performed prior to the next ET load attempt.
John Blue Juan Ramirez
NASA-KSC Lockheed-Martin KSC
Kevin Vega Ahmad Ekhlassi
NASA-KSC USA-KSC
speriamo si sia staccato dalla struttura di supporto e non dall'ET
no, può essere solo dell'ET, solo il serbatoio utilizza come TPS (Thermal Protection System) la schiuma.
Platorm for inspection would take additional day.
Processing will continue.
Running anaylsis with Systems engineering and ET project.
Another conference at 6:30 Eastern.
Looking to launch tomorrow.
If there's uncomfortable data, platform will be installed to inspect.
Mike Leinbach: Looking great on processing timelime. Ready to support a launch attempt tommorow.
0.0057 lbs is the weight (mass). 0.013 is the max allowables.
The foam shed is a three-inch piece, triangular in shape, and most importantly, less than half the weight NASA says could cause damage to the shuttle if it had come off during launch and hit Discovery.
OK, that's all. NO DECISION yet. Another meeting at 6:30 PM tonight ... it depends on hight resolution photos of the damage. But it's very possible they will launch as-is.
The news conference here at Kennedy Space Center just wrapped up. The bottom line: managers will meet at 6:30 p.m. EDT tonight to decide if Discovery can launch tomorrow as-is and if photos (taken with powerful optics from 25 feet away) are enough to alleviate any worries about the remaining foam on the bracket.
If hands-on inspection of the bracket is ordered, launch would slip to Wednesday because of the time needed for establishing work platforms to access this region of the fuel tank.
Should any repair be necessary, it is not clear what that would do to the schedule.
Luther Blissett
03-07-2006, 20:47
Secondo me la popolazione mondiale calerà di 7 unità.
e detta questa cazzata si può andare avanti...
Shuttle Discovery cleared for launch
The space shuttle Discovery has been cleared for a Fourth of July liftoff after engineers concluded a small piece of foam that broke off from the external fuel tank yesterday is not a serious problem. Tomorrow's launch window opens at 2:37 p.m. EDT (1837 GMT).
e detta questa cazzata si può andare avanti...
Fa il trollone ovunque, lascialo perdere...
A che ora dovrebbe partire oggi?
Se non ho capito male dovrebbe partire alle 18:38 (GMT)
Se non ho capito male dovrebbe partire alle 18:38 (GMT)
Allora me lo vedo qui in università :cool:
che ricordo con l'ora solare > 20:38 per noi!
che ricordo con l'ora solare > 20:38 ora locale!
Allora me lo vedo in gpsr :muro:
Allora me lo vedo in gpsr :muro:
Non puoi fermarti in ufficio?
Non puoi fermarti in ufficio?
Ma col cavolo, è già tanto che resti fino alle sette :D
No, poi a quell'ora ha già chiuso l'università, credo attacchino gli allarmi e io non ho le chiavi...
0820 GMT (4:20 a.m. EDT)
The Mission Management Team met for its standard pre-fueling meeting at 3:30 a.m. this morning and gave the approval to begin loading space shuttle Discovery's external tank as planned. The three-hour fueling process is expected to begin in about 25 minutes.
The weather forecast has improved dramatically for today's 2:37:55 p.m. EDT launch opportunity. Meteorologists are predicting an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions. Rainshowers will be the main area of concern.
0838 GMT (4:38 a.m. EDT)
FUELING UNDERWAY. The filling of space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank with a half-million gallons of supercold propellants has begun at launch pad 39B. The tanking operation commenced with the chilldown thermal conditioning process. That will be followed by the slow-fill mode to initially start loading the respective liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks within the giant external tank. Fueling then transitions to the fast-fill.
Ma col cavolo, è già tanto che resti fino alle sette :D
No, poi a quell'ora ha già chiuso l'università, credo attacchino gli allarmi e io non ho le chiavi...
e allora esci prima!
:read:
cmq anch'io fare VR-PD, esco alle 17:30... :D
PS: non correre! ;)
e allora esci prima!
:read:
cmq anch'io fare VR-PD, esco alle 17:30... :D
PS: non correre! ;)
In bicicletta? :D
No no, se esco alle sette sono a casa alle sette e un quarto, il problema è che a casa mia il cellulare praticamente non prende, spesso non ho nè copertura nè gsm nè umts, anche se c'è una posizione in camera da letto in cui a volte prende. Proverò da lì... ti dico solo che mi sono portato su una bussola per vedere da che parte potevo orientare una parabola e la bussola in casa funziona male :D
la bussola in casa funziona male :D
pure la bussola? :eek:
RiccardoS
04-07-2006, 11:54
quindi se parte alle 20.38, a che ora dovrebbe passare per di qua? :fagiano:
immagino ci sarà ancora troppa luce... :muro:
pure la bussola? :eek:
Sììì, è una cosa impressionante, in certe posizioni gira quasi di 90° rispetto a dove dovrebbe, non ci credevo quando l'ho visto :D Ma chissà con cos'hanno costruito quella casa... :wtf:
Sììì, è una cosa impressionante, in certe posizioni gira quasi di 90° rispetto a dove dovrebbe, non ci credevo quando l'ho visto :D Ma chissà con cos'hanno costruito quella casa... :wtf:
io ti batto... a casa mia la bussola funziona con 180° di tolleranza! :D
va a capire la fisica te! :boh:
che ricordo con l'ora solare > 20:38 per noi!
giusto prima della partita! :D
Sììì, è una cosa impressionante, in certe posizioni gira quasi di 90° rispetto a dove dovrebbe, non ci credevo quando l'ho visto :D Ma chissà con cos'hanno costruito quella casa... :wtf:
Ti fa lo stesso scherzo anche se sali sul tetto? :mbe:
Ti fa lo stesso scherzo anche se sali sul tetto? :mbe:
No, basta metterla fuori dalla finestra perchè i poli tornino al loro posto... :D
No, basta metterla fuori dalla finestra perchè i poli tornino al loro posto... :D
Allora sei gia' a posto, la parabola mica la monti dentro casa :D :D :D
Tornando in tema, dite che stasera si riesca a vedere lo Shuttle passare?
1202 GMT (8:02 a.m. EDT)
The Final Inspection Team observed no ice or frost on the liquid oyxgen feedline support bracket where the foam broke away Sunday.
"So that is good news that there has not been any ice buildup in that area where the insulation was lost or on that feedline bracket," NASA spokesman Geoge Diller says.
1155 GMT (7:55 a.m. EDT)
The Orbiter Closeout Crew has arrived in the White Room on the end of the Orbiter Access Arm catwalk that runs from the launch pad tower to Discovery's crew module. They will make final preparations to ready Discovery for the astronauts' arrival about three hours from now.
1153 GMT (7:53 a.m. EDT)
The inspectors are located on the 135-foot level of the Fixed Service Structure of the launch pad to examine the liquid oyxgen feedline support bracket that lost a small piece of foam after Sunday's countdown. The team is looking to see if any ice has formed in that divot.
1145 GMT (7:45 a.m. EDT)
The Final Inspection Team team has arrived at pad 39B along with the Orbiter Closeout Crew, which is the team that will assist the astronauts during boarding.
1142 GMT (7:42 a.m. EDT)
T-minus 3 hours and holding. Countdown clocks have entered a planned three-hour built-in hold in advance of today's launch of space shuttle Discovery. This is a standard hold in every shuttle countdown. However, NASA has extended it from the usual two hours to three hours to give the Final Inspection Team more time to complete their ice and debris checks of the shuttle after fueling.
1130 GMT (7:30 a.m. EDT)
The weather rules that were being violated for a short time this morning while a rainshower passes by pad 39B are now back in "go" status.
The launch time forecast calls for scattered clouds at 3,000 feet, visibility of 7 miles, easterly winds from 070 degrees at 11 gusting to 16 knots at the pad, a temperature of 82 degrees F, relative humidity of 79 percent and possible showers in the area.
Meteorologists are setting the odds of acceptable weather for the 2:38 p.m. launch time at 80 percent "go."
1129 GMT (7:29 a.m. EDT)
Filling of Discovery's external fuel tank was called complete at 7:28 a.m. EDT. The tank has been pumped full with 528,000 gallons of supercold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The process started at 4:33 a.m.
But given the cryogenic nature of the oxidizer and propellant, the supplies naturally boil away. So the tanks are continuously topped off until the final minutes of the countdown in a procedure called "stable replenishment."
With the hazardous tanking operation completed, the Orbiter Closeout Crew and Final Inspection Team will be heading to the pad to perform their jobs. The closeout crew will ready Discovery's crew module for the astronauts' ingress in a couple of hours; and the inspection team will give the entire vehicle a check for any ice formation following fueling.
1128 GMT (7:28 a.m. EDT)
Liquid oxygen has gone into replenish mode, completing the external tank filling for launch.
1126 GMT (7:26 a.m. EDT)
The liquid hydrogen tank is now fully loaded. The system has entered into replenish mode to keep the tank topped off through the rest of the count.
1122 GMT (7:22 a.m. EDT)
Fast-fill of the liquid oxygen tank just concluded. Topping of the tank is beginning. On the hydrogen side of things, loading continues.
1118 GMT (7:18 a.m. EDT)
Initial checks of the main engine controllers and the pyro controllers for the solid rocket boosters have been completed.
1105 GMT (7:05 a.m. EDT)
No leaks or concentrations of liquid oxygen or liquid hydrogen have been detected in the shuttle's aft compartment during fueling this morning. And the engine cutoff sensors that were a source of trouble during the last mission are operating normally today.
1055 GMT (6:55 a.m. EDT)
Testing of the space shuttle main engine controllers is now beginning in the countdown.
A small rainshower moving from the Atlantic Ocean is passing near launch pad 39B. That has meant the cumulus cloud, disturbed weather and flight through precipitation weather rules have gone red temporarily while the shower drifts by.
The weather forecast for launch time this afternoon calls for an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions.
1030 GMT (6:30 a.m. EDT)
Good morning from Kennedy Space Center for this Fourth of July launch of space shuttle Discovery. This third countdown attempt is going well so far, with fueling of the external tank about two-thirds complete. The start of fueling was officially clocked at 4:33 a.m. EDT.
Tornando in tema, dite che stasera si riesca a vedere lo Shuttle passare?
speriamo di si, ma il tempo lascia ben sperare... la possiblità di tempo buono è arrivata all'80% per l'ora del lancio... con la brezza marina che dovrebbe tenere al largo la perturbazione atlantica che interessa la zona in questio giorni.
1235 GMT (8:35 a.m. EDT)
Over the past few minutes, a technical problem has arisen in the countdown with the 100 amp circuit breaker that control all of the heaters on the solid rocket booster joints. A special red team is being assembled for deployment to the launch pad for troubleshooting. The circuit breaker panel is located on the mobile launch platform.
The problem has taken down the backup capability for the heaters, although the system is still operational on the primary side. NASA would like to have full redundancy and there is time in the countdown to do the repair now.
1347 GMT (9:47 a.m. EDT)
All of the weather rules are back in "go" status after a shower moved clear of the pad area.
1345 GMT (9:45 a.m. EDT)
Officials have decided against sending a repair crew to the launch pad to address the backup solid rocket booster heater circuit breaker problem. The system can work on the primary circuit breaker system. And obviously it is very warm outside today anyway.
1342 GMT (9:42 a.m. EDT)
The countdown is still holding at the T-minus 3 hour mark. Clocks are slated to resume ticking in 60 minutes.
RiccardoS
04-07-2006, 16:06
quindi se parte alle 20.38, a che ora dovrebbe passare per di qua? :fagiano:
immagino ci sarà ancora troppa luce... :muro:
*
:O
*
:O
non so rik, bisogna farsi due conti... ma c'è un altro thread aperto che parla proprio di questo. :)
RiccardoS
04-07-2006, 16:37
non so rik, bisogna farsi due conti... ma c'è un altro thread aperto che parla proprio di questo. :)
:fagiano:
cmq se doveva essere lanciato alle 21.49 ed essere visibile fra le 22 e le 22.15, allora se viene lanciato alle 20.38 sarà visibile poco prima delle 9. :( peccato che ci sia ancora troppo chiaro a quell'ora! :muro:
:fagiano:
cmq se doveva essere lanciato alle 21.49 ed essere visibile fra le 22 e le 22.15, allora se viene lanciato alle 20.38 sarà visibile poco prima delle 9. :( peccato che ci sia ancora troppo chiaro a quell'ora! :muro:
infatti, troppa luce ancora alle 20:38... ;)
1503 GMT (11:03 a.m. EDT)
The convoy has made the left turn from the crawlerway to head northward for pad 39B.
1500 GMT (11:00 a.m. EDT)
The AstroVan just passed the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building where Discovery was attached to its external tank and solid rocket boosters and the adjacent Launch Control Center. The Press Site is located across the street, and reporters have run outdoors to watch at the passing convoy. This is a launch day tradition to say farewell and good luck to the astronaut crews.
1449 GMT (10:49 a.m. EDT)
Waving small flags, commander Steve Lindsey and his six fellow crewmates just walked out of the Kennedy Space Center crew quarters to board the AstroVan for the 7-mile ride from the Industrial Area to launch pad 39B on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
1633 GMT (12:33 p.m. EDT)
Pressure and leak checks will be performed to ensure a good seal on the hatch for today's launch.
1630 GMT (12:30 p.m. EDT)
The crew module hatch has been sealed and latched for flight, the closeout crew reports.
1622 GMT (12:22 p.m. EDT)
The hatch is now swinging shut.
1620 GMT (12:20 p.m. EDT)
The "go" has been given to close the shuttle's crew compartment hatch.
1700 GMT (1:00 p.m. EDT)
The Ground Launch Sequencer mainline activation has been completed. The GLS is the master computer program that controls the final 9 minutes of the countdown, monitoring as many as a 1,000 different systems and measurements to ensure they do not fall out of pre-determined limits.
1642 GMT (12:42 p.m. EDT)
The pre-flight alignment of Discovery's Inertial Measurement Units is underway and will be completed by the T-minus 20 minute mark. The IMUs were calibrated over the past few hours of the countdown. The three units are used by the onboard navigation systems to determine the position of the orbiter in flight.
Meanwhile, the S-band antennas at the MILA tracking station here at the Cape will soon shift from low power to high power. The site will provide voice, data and telemetry relay between Discovery and Mission Control during the first few minutes of flight. Coverage then is handed to a NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite in space.
1706 GMT (1:06 p.m. EDT)
A good seal on Discovery's crew hatch is confirmed, the cabin is pressurized for flight and the pressure checks have been completed. The Orbiter Closeout Crew is departing the pad now. "We're outta here."
1722 GMT (1:22 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 20 minutes and holding. The countdown has paused for a 10-minute built-in hold. Launch remains scheduled for 2:37:55 p.m. EDT.
All weather conditions remain "go" at this time. Crosswinds at the launch site's emergency runway that would be used if Discovery aborts the mission could be an issue. The winds cannot exceed 17 knots.
During this built-in hold, all computer programs in Firing Room 4 of the Complex 39 Launch Control Center will be verified to ensure that the proper programs are available for the countdown; the landing convoy status will be verified and the landing sites will be checked to support an abort landing during launch today; the Inertial Measurement Unit preflight alignment will be verified completed; and preparations are made to transition the orbiter onboard computers to Major Mode 101 upon coming out of the hold. This configures the computer memory to a terminal countdown configuration.
1715 GMT (1:15 p.m. EDT)
The official target launch time remains unchanged according to the latest update on the space station's orbit. The launch window opens at 2:34:26 p.m., with the desired liftoff time of 2:37:55 p.m. The window closes at 2:41:39 p.m.
1710 GMT (1:10 p.m. EDT)
Commander Steve Lindsey is pressurizing the gaseous nitrogen system for Discovery's Orbital Maneuvering System engines, and pilot Mark Kelly is activating the gaseous nitrogen supply for the orbiter's Auxiliary Power Units' water spray boilers.
1709 GMT (1:09 p.m. EDT)
The shuttle's backup flight control system (BFS) computer has been configured. It would be used today in the event of emergency landing.
Also, the primary avionics software system (PASS) has transferred to Discovery's BFS computer so both systems can be synched with the same data. In case of a PASS computer system failure, the BFS computer will take over control of the shuttle vehicle during flight.
1737 GMT (1:37 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 15 minutes. Now one hour away from launch of Discovery.
Pilot Mark Kelly is configuring the displays inside Discovery's cockpit for launch while commander Steve Lindsey enables the abort steering instrumentation. And Mission Control in Houston is loading Discovery's onboard computers with the proper guidance parameters based on the projected launch time.
1738 GMT (1:38 p.m. EDT)
The Main Propulsion System helium system is being reconfigured by pilot Mark Kelly. Soon the gaseous nitrogen purge to the aft skirts of the solid rocket boosters will be started.
1752 GMT (1:52 p.m. EDT)
Launch of Discovery remains targeted for 2:37:55 p.m. EDT.
1743 GMT (1:43 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 9 minutes and holding.
1807:55 GMT (2:07:55 p.m. EDT)
Now 30 minutes away from launch time.
Two solid rocket booster recovery ships -- the Freedom Star and Liberty Star -- are on station in the Atlantic Ocean about 140 miles northeast of Kennedy Space Center, off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. They were deployed from Port Canaveral to support the launch.
The ships will retrieve and return the spent boosters to the Cape for disassembly and shipment back to Utah for refurbishment and reuse on a future shuttle launch.
Following the boosters' parachuted descent and splashdown in the Atlantic, the recovery teams will configure the SRBs for tow back to Port Canaveral.
1803 GMT (2:03 p.m. EDT)
Engineers report there is a potential for the liquid oxygen inlet temperature to be slightly too warm late in the countdown. The plan to remedy the situation, if it happens, is hold the clock at T-minus 31 seconds for about a minute to let the normal liquid oxygen drainback cool the temperatures to within limits.
Quincy_it
04-07-2006, 20:17
Sono sintonizzato sulla NASATV. :cool:
Almeno vedendo le immagini in tempo reale il tempo sembra molto buono.
1818 GMT (2:18 p.m. EDT)
Weather officials say all conditions currently observed and forecast for launch are acceptable!
Per cortesia è NASA, non Nasa (come dovremmo sapere è un acronimo)... :read:
Quincy_it
04-07-2006, 20:22
1818 GMT (2:18 p.m. EDT)
Weather officials say all conditions currently observed and forecast for launch are acceptable!
:yeah:
umts ora pro nobiiiiis... :sperem:
Quincy_it
04-07-2006, 20:24
Per cortesia è NASA, non Nasa (come dovremmo sapere è un acronimo)... :read:
Editato. :)
Speriamo che vada tutto bene :sperem:
Per cortesia è NASA, non Nasa (come dovremmo sapere è un acronimo)... :read:
Minchia, questa è da nobel per la rompicoglionaggine :D
Quincy_it
04-07-2006, 20:26
Tutte le varie "postazioni" hanno dato l'ok al lancio. :)
1825 GMT (2:25 p.m. EDT)
NASA launch director Mike Leinbach has finished his final poll. He has wished commander Lindsey and crew good luck and God speed. Launch is set for 2:37:55 p.m.
umts ora pro nobiiiiis... :sperem:
:ave:
:p
Minchia, questa è da nobel per la rompicoglionaggine :D
:fagiano:
1827:55 GMT (2:27:55 p.m. EDT)
Now 10 minutes from launch of Discovery.
1826:55 GMT (2:26:55 p.m. EDT)
Countdown clock will resume in two minutes.
Once the countdown picks up, the Ground Launch Sequencer will be initiated. The computer program is located in a console in the Firing Room of the Complex 39 Launch Control Center. The GLS is the master of events through liftoff. During the last 9 minutes of the countdown, the computer will monitor as many as a thousand different systems and measurements to ensure that they do not fall out of any pre-determine red-line limits. At T-minus 31 seconds, the GLS will hand off to the onboard computers of Discovery to complete their own automatic sequence of events through the final half minute of the countdown.
1828:55 GMT (2:28:55 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 9 minutes and counting. The ground launch sequencer is now controlling the final phase of today's countdown to launch of space shuttle Discovery at 2:37:55 p.m. EDT. The GLS will monitor as many as a thousand different measurements to ensure they do not fall out of predetermine red-line limits.
Quincy_it
04-07-2006, 20:30
Countdown ripreso!
- 8 minuti e 20 secondi.
1829:55 GMT (2:29:55 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 8 minutes and counting. Pilot Mark Kelly has flipped the switches in the cockpit of Discovery to directly connect the three onboard fuel cells with the essential power buses. Also, the stored program commands have been issued to the orbiter for the final antenna alignment and management for today's launch.
1830:25 GMT (2:30:25 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 7 minutes, 30 seconds. The ground launch sequencer is now pulling the orbiter access arm away from the crew hatch on the port side of the vehicle. The arm was the passage way for the astronauts to board Discovery a few hours ago. The arm can be re-extended very quickly should the need arise later in the countdown.
C'e' anche su Sky su Fox news e CNN
1831:35 GMT (2:31:35 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 6 minutes, 20 seconds. Pilot Mark Kelly has been asked by Orbiter Test Conductor Rudy Tench to pre-start the orbiter Auxiliary Power Units. This procedure readies the three APU's for their activation after the countdown passes T-minus 5 minutes.
1832:55 GMT (2:32:55 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 5 minutes. The "go" has been given for for Auxiliary Power Unit start. Pilot Mark Kelly is now flipping three switches in Discovery's cockpit to start each of the three APU's. The units, located in the aft compartment of Discovery, provide the pressure needed to power the hydraulic systems of the shuttle. The units will be used during the launch and landing phases of the mission for such events are moving the orbiter's aerosurfaces, gimbaling the main engine nozzles and deploying the landing gear.
Over the course of the next minute, the orbiter's heaters will be configured for launch by commander Steve Lindsey, the fuel valve heaters on the main engines will be turned off in preparation for engine ignition at T-6.6 seconds and the external tank and solid rocket booster safe and arm devices will be armed.
1832:25 GMT (2:32:25 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 5 minutes, 30 seconds. APU pre-start is complete and the units are ready for activation. The orbiters flight data recorders now in the record mode to collect measurements of shuttle systems performance during flight.
1835:25 GMT (2:35:25 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 2 minutes, 30 seconds. The external tank liquid oxygen vent valve has been closed and pressurization of the LOX tank has started.
Discovery's power-producing fuel cells are transfering to internal reactants. The units will begin providing all electricity for the mission beginning at T-50 seconds.
And pilot Mark Kelly has been asked to clear the caution and warning memory system aboard Discovery.
In the next few seconds the gaseous oxygen vent hood will be removed from the top of the external tank. Verification that the swing arm is fully retracted will be made by the ground launch sequencer at the T-37 second mark.
1834:55 GMT (2:34:55 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 3 minutes. Orbiter steering check now complete -- the main engine nozzles are in their start positions.
1834:25 GMT (2:34:25 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 3 minutes, 30 seconds. The main engine nozzles now being moved through a computer controlled test pattern to demonstrate their readiness to support guidance control during launch today.
1833:55 GMT (2:33:55 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 4 minutes. Activation of the APUs complete. The three units are up and running. The final helium purge sequence is under way in the main propulsion system. This procedure readies fuel system valves for engine start. In the next few seconds the aerosurfaces of Discovery will be run through a pre-planned mobility test to ensure readiness for launch. This is also a dress rehearsal for flight of the orbiter's hydraulic systems.
1835:55 GMT (2:35:55 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 2 minutes. The astronauts are being instructed to close and lock the visors on their launch and entry helmets.
At T-minus 1 minute, 57 seconds the replenishment of the flight load of liquid hydrogen in the external tank will be terminated and tank pressurization will begin.
1836:55 GMT (2:36:55 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 1 minute. Computers verifying that the main engines are ready for ignition. Sound suppression water system is armed. System will activate at T-minus 16 seconds to suppress the sound produced at launch. Residual hydrogen burn ignitors have been armed. They will be fired at T-minus 10 seconds to burn off any hydrogen gas from beneath the main engine nozzles.
Shortly the external tank strut heaters will be turned off; Discovery will transition to internal power; the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen outboard fill and drain valves will be closed; the payload bay vent doors will be positioned for the launch; and the gaseous oxygen vent arm will be verified fully retracted.
1837 GMT (2:37 p.m. EDT)
T-minus 31 seconds. Go for auto sequence start. Control of the countdown has been handed off to the space shuttle.
In the next few seconds the solid rocket booster hydraulic power units will be started, a steering check of the booster nozzles will be performed and the orbiter's body flap and speed brake will be moved to their launch positions. The main engine ignition will begin at T-minus 6.6 seconds.
1837:55 GMT (2:37:55 p.m. EDT)
LIFTOFF! Liftoff of Discovery on a mission to test the safety improvements for the space shuttle program. And the vehicle has cleared the tower!
1838 GMT (2:38 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 20 seconds. Houston has assumed control of the mission as the shuttle rolls to the heads-down, wings-level position for climb away from Earth. Discovery is embarking on a northeasterly trajectory up the Eastern Seaboard on the two-day chase to catch the orbiting International Space Station, which is currently flying half-a-world away south of Tasmania above the southern Pacific Ocean.
1838 GMT (2:38 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 35 seconds. Discovery's three main engines easing back to two-thirds throttle to reduce the aerodynamic stresses on the vehicle as it powers through the dense lower atmosphere. The shuttle is using the so-called Low Q ascent mode and will keep the engines at this power setting for 10 seconds longer than usual. Also, Discovery's nose is being pitched up one-a-half degrees higher than the normal angle to reduce the aerodynamic loads on the external fuel tank.
1839 GMT (2:39 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 78 seconds. Discovery's engines have revved back to full throttle. Mission Control has given the "go" at throttle call and commander Steve Lindsey has acknowledged that. No problems have been reported in this afternoon's ascent.
1840 GMT (2:40 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 2 minutes, 8 seconds. The twin solid rocket boosters have done their job and separated from the space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle continues its climb to space on the power of the three liquid-fueled main engines.
1839 GMT (2:39 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 90 seconds. All systems of Discovery are performing well as the shuttle accelerates to orbit on this first American manned spaceflight ever launched on the Fourth of July.
1840:55 GMT (2:40:55 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 3 minutes. Discovery's main engines continue to fire, guzzling a half-ton of propellant per second.
1840 GMT (2:40 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 2 minutes, 20 seconds. Guidance is converging as programmed.
Quincy_it
04-07-2006, 20:41
Partito!
Anche se seguo i lanci dello Shuttle sin da piccolo, ogni volta è sempre un'emozione. :)
1842 GMT (2:42 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 20 seconds. Discovery is 150 miles northeast of the launch pad at an altitude of 61 miles, traveling at 5,000 mph.
1842 GMT (2:42 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 5 seconds. Negative return. The shuttle is traveling too fast and is too far downrange so it can no longer return to the launch site in the event of a main engine problem.
1841 GMT (2:41 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 3 minutes, 45 seconds. Discovery is 100 miles northeast of the launch pad at an altitude of 53 miles and traveling over 4,000 mph.
1843 GMT (2:43 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 5 minutes, 25 seconds. Discovery speed has reached 7,000 mph.
1842 GMT (2:42 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 4 minutes, 20 seconds. Discovery is 150 miles northeast of the launch pad at an altitude of 61 miles, traveling at 5,000 mph.
1843 GMT (2:43 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 5 minutes, 59 seconds. Discovery is rolling to a heads-up position.
1844 GMT (2:44 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 7 minutes. Main engines continue to perform well as Discovery nears the completion of powered ascent.
1845 GMT (2:45 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 7 minutes, 12 seconds. The ship is 516 miles downrange from the pad.
1845 GMT (2:45 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 7 minutes, 40 seconds. The main engines beginning to throttle back to ease the force of gravity on the shuttle and astronauts.
1846 GMT (2:46 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 8 minutes, 38 seconds. MECO! Confirmation that Discovery's main engines have cutoff as planned, completing the powered phase of the launch.
1846 GMT (2:46 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 8 minutes, 53 seconds. The emptied external tank has been jettisoned from the belly of space shuttle Discovery. The tank will fall back into the atmosphere where it will burn up harmlessly.
1847 GMT (2:47 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 9 minutes, 30 seconds. Commander Steve Lindsey is maneuvering the orbiter so digitial and film cameras embedded in the umbilical well on the belly of Discovery can photograph the discarded fuel tank.
Ottimo lavoro a tutti!
:yeah:
1849 GMT (2:49 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 11 minutes, 30 seconds. Two of Discovery's mission specialists are unstrapping and hurrying into position to image the fuel tank. Mike Fossum will be using a camcorder and Stephanie Wilson will snap pictures with a digital still camera equipped with a with 400mm lense. The footage will be taken from 1450 feet away for later downlink to the ground.
Roba da non credere... quando si sono accesi i motori il segnale umts è morto ed è diventato gprs, così ho perso tutte le immagini fino a quando non c'è stato lo sgancio del serbatoio... :muro: almeno ho sentito l'audio :fagiano:
1854 GMT (2:54 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 16 minutes, 45 seconds. The OMS engine burn to insert Discovery into orbit will begin at T+plus 38 minutes and 0 seconds.
1852 GMT (2:52 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 14 minutes, 40 seconds. The "go" has been given to the crew for APU shutdown as planned.
1851:55 GMT (2:51:55 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 14 minutes. Discovery has reached a preliminary sub-orbital trajectory. Coming up, the Orbital Maneuvering System engines will be fired to raise the low point to a safe altitude.
1849 GMT (2:49 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 11 minutes, 30 seconds. Two of Discovery's mission specialists are unstrapping and hurrying into position to image the fuel tank. Mike Fossum will be using a camcorder and Stephanie Wilson will snap pictures with a digital still camera equipped with a with 400mm lense. The footage will be taken from 1450 feet away for later downlink to the ground.
Sembra ci siano stati 2 o 3 distacchi dall'ET, che non dovrebbero aver colpito l'orbiter, anche perchè sono originati a circa 2:40 minuti dall'attacco basso dell'H2.
Scusate, non posto molto con continuità da ora in poi, perchè devo anche guardare la partiona.
:D :D :D
duchetto
04-07-2006, 21:49
Roba da non credere... quando si sono accesi i motori il segnale umts è morto ed è diventato gprs, così ho perso tutte le immagini fino a quando non c'è stato lo sgancio del serbatoio... :muro: almeno ho sentito l'audio :fagiano:
anche a me da casa al momento dell'accesione dei motori nasa tv ha cominciato bufferizzare e a vedersi una ciofeca :(
1923 GMT (3:23 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 45 minutes, 30 seconds. Discovery has achieved an orbit of 143 by 97 statute miles.
1920 GMT (3:20 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 42 minutes, 30 seconds. A quick review of video shows small pieces of debris shedding from the external fuel tank about three minutes after liftoff.
1917 GMT (3:17 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 39 minutes, 20 seconds. The twin Orbital Maneuvering System engines on the tail of Discovery have been fired successfully to propel the shuttle the rest of the way to orbit.
1916 GMT (3:16 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 38 minutes, 18 seconds. The maneuvering engines have ignited for the orbit raising burn.
1915 GMT (3:15 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 37 minutes, 30 seconds. Discovery has oriented itself into the upcoming OMS engine firing and the shuttle is reported in a good configuration for the burn.
1859 GMT (2:59 p.m. EDT)
T+plus 22 minutes. The two flapper doors on the belly of Discovery are being swung closed to shield the umbilicals that had connected to the external fuel tank.
Tank debris seen as shuttle thunders into space
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 4, 2006
The space shuttle Discovery and its flag-waving crew thundered into space today, putting on a spectacular Fourth of July skyshow as it rocketed away on a long-awaited mission to repair and resupply the international space station.
NASA managers warned reporters before launch that small bits of foam insulation would fall from the shuttle's external tank during launch and that they were confident nothing large enough to cause damage would hit the orbiter.
As expected, what appeared to be several small pieces of debris could be seen separating from the tank about two minutes and 47 seconds after liftoff, but it was not immediately clear whether it posed any concern or not. At that point in the ascent, Discovery was out of the thicker regions of the atmosphere, greatly reducing the threat posed by debris.
Otherwise, Discovery's thundering ascent appear picture-perfect.
After back-to-back delays Saturday and Sunday because of showers and unpredictable clouds, the shuttle's main engines flashed to life and throttled up to full power followed seconds later by ignition of Discovery's twin solid-fuel boosters at 2:37:55 p.m.
Climbing smoothly away from pad 39B atop twin pillars of 5,000-degree flame and a churning cloud of dirty brown exhaust, Discovery majestically wheeled about and arced away on a trajectory up the East Coast of the United States, thrilling thousands of tourists and area residents lining area roads and beaches.
At the controls were commander Steven Lindsey, pilot Mark Kelly and flight engineer Lisa Nowak. Their crewmates are Stephanie Wilson, spacewalkers Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter.
It was the first manned spaceflight ever launched on the Fourth of July, and the astronauts waved small American flags as they departed crew quarters to head for the launch pad. A few minutes later, they strapped in to await the final moments of the countdown.
"Looks like Discovery is ready, the weather is beautiful, America is ready to return the space shuttle to flight," Launch Director Mike Leinbach radioed Lindsey. "Good luck and godspeed, Discovery."
"Thank you very much, Mike. I can't think of a better place to be on the Fourth of July," Lindsey replied from the flight deck. "Tell all the folks on the Florida east coast that we hope to very soon give you an up close and personal look at the rocket's red glare."
Discovery lived up to Lindsey's promise, climbing skyward and rocketing away, visible for miles around as it roared toward orbit.
A camera mounted on the shuttle's external tank provided spectacular views of the spaceship's heat-shielded underside as Florida's east coast dropped away in the background. The ascent appeared free of foam debris from the tank until about two minutes and 47 seconds when a half-dozen seemingly small pieces of debris could be seen suddengly separating. NASA managers said before launch that foam debris shedding after about 165 seconds was of no concern because by that point, the atmosphere is so thin it cannot carry debris to a dangerous impact. The debris seen today separated around 167 seconds after launch.
The foam insulation on the tank has been a source of concern ever since the 2003 Columbia disaster and, more recently, because of foam on Discovery's tank that was officially deemed a "probable/catastrophic" risk.
Another foam problem cropped up Monday when engineers spotted a small piece of insulation on Discovery's mobile launch platform that broke away from a liquid oxygen feedline bracket after a launch delay Sunday. After a hurried analysis and photographic inspection, however, engineers convinced NASA managers the defect posed no threat to the shuttle or its crew.
Eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, Discovery's main engines shut down and the spacecraft coasted into space. Thirty seven minutes after that, the shuttle's twin orbital maneuvering system rockets fired, raising the low point of the orbit and putting Discovery on course to rendezvous with the international space station Thursday.
Discovery is ferrying Reiter to the station to join Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeff Williams as a full-time crew member. Launched under a commercial contract between the European Space Agency and the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Reiter will boost crew size back to three for the first time since downsizing in the wake of the Columbia disaster.
Along with delivering Reiter to the outpost, Discovery is carrying 5,100 pounds of supplies, equipment and experiment hardware, including a laboratory freezer, a European plant biology rack and a NASA oxygen generator that eventually will help boost station crew size to six.
At least two spacewalks are planned, one to test the shuttle's robot arm and a long heat-shield inspection boom as a space crane for possible repair work in the future, and to repair a broken transporter on the station's solar array truss that must be fixed before assembly can continue.
Because Discovery's on-board fuel cell supplies were topped off Monday, the crew is expected to have enough on-board oxygen and hydrogen to generate the electricity needed for a one day mission extension. If so, Sellers and Fossum will stage a third spacewalk to test wing leading edge repair techniques.
Despite the back-to-back launch delays Saturday and Sunday, Discovery's countdown was one of the smoothest in recent memory with no problems other than concern about the weather. And as it turned out, the weather was virtually ideal, with slightly high but acceptable crosswinds at the shuttle's emergency runway.
Lindsey and Kelly will carry out a series of rocket firings over the next day and a half to find tune Discovery's approach and if all goes well, the shuttle will dock with the huge lab complex around 11 a.m. Thursday.
Throughout today's ascent, dozens of cameras and a trio of radars were trained on the shuttle and its external tank, including three on each solid-fuel booster, one on the external tank and another in the belly of the space shuttle where propellant lines enter the engine compartment.
The goal was to look for any signs of foam insulation breaking away and any possible impacts on the shuttle's heat shield. To ease the aerodynamic stress on the tank, Discovery's flight computers used a so-called low-Q profile that throttled the main engines down a bit more than normal, for slightly longer than normal, during the region of maximum aerodynamic pressure. At the same time, the trajectory was lofted slightly to get the shuttle out of the dense lower atmosphere as quickly as possible.
Discovery's last flight a year ago - the first post-Columbia mission - clearly demonstrated the unknowns that still face the shuttle program. Agency managers thought they had corrected the foam insulation problem that doomed Columbia. And in a sense, they had. The so-called bipod ramp that was the source of the foam that did in NASA's original shuttle was removed before Discovery's flight.
But during ascent, a one-pound chunk of foam broke away from a wind deflector known as a protuberance air-load - PAL - ramp, one of two on the ship's external tank. The foam ramps were in place to smooth the flow of turbulent air across two external pressurization lines and a cable try as the shuttle climbs out of the dense lower atmosphere.
NASA managers ultimately decided to remove the PAL ramps, too, before today's flight, accelerating engineering work that was already underway. The decision ultimately was supported by extensive computer modeling and wind tunnel tests showing the pressurization lines, cable tray and support brackets are tough enough to stand up to worst-case aerodynamic loads.
Discovery's launch was the first actual flight test of the design change, the most significant aerodynamic modification to the tank since shuttle flights began in 1981.
But engineers have not yet come up with a new design for the foam insulation covering the 34 brackets on the external tank that support the pressurization lines and cable tray. It was that so-called ice-frost ramp foam that poses what NASA officially classified as "probable/catastrophic" in an integrated risk matrix.
During a flight readiness review earlier this month, NASA chief engineer Chris Scolese and Bryan O'Connor, the agency's top safety manager, voted to delay Discovery's launch until the ice-frost ramp foam could be redesigned.
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin decided to press ahead, however, because everyone agreed that even in a worst-case scenario, an IFR failure would not directly threaten the crew. In the event of catastrophic impact damage, Lindsey and his crewmates could move into the space station to await rescue by another shuttle crew.
"Everyone agrees that there is no elevated risk to crew from this decision and I personally think a very minor elevated risk to the orbiter, if any," Griffin told CBS News in a pre-launch interview.
In an earlier interview, O'Connor said the threat was officially defined as a system that "is likely to cause loss of the vehicle over the life of the program," O'Connor said in an interview with CBS News. "And 'likely' doesn't mean 'assuredly.' It's interpreted as a 50-50 chance that over 100 missions this thing would take out an orbiter.
Engineers estimated there was a 1-in-75 to chance ice-frost ramp foam could damage a typical heat-shield tile and a 1-in-100 chance it could cause catastrophic impact damage to beefed up tiles around landing gear doors and other critical areas.
It will take about six days, however, to complete analysis of ground-, air- and shuttle-based cameras and instruments. Data from wing leading edge impact sensors will be downlinked later today, along with video shot by Discovery's crew as the shuttle separated from the orbiter. Footage from the booster cams will be retrieved after the spent rockets are towed back to Port Canaveral.
The astronauts plan to spend most of the day Wednesday carrying out a detailed inspection of the shuttle's nose cap and wing leading edge panels, which experience the most extreme heating - more than 3,000 degrees - during re-entry. In addition, the station astronauts will photograph Discovery's belly during final approach and additional inspections are planned after docking.
Fossum reports unusual debris sighting after launch
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 4, 2006
Astronaut Mike Fossum, photographing the shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank as it tumbled away in space, told flight controllers today that he also noticed what appeared to be a large piece of debris, presumably from the shuttle itself, floating away in space.
Fossum said the debris looked like flexible reuseable surface insulation, blanket-like fabric insulating material that covers the upper surfaces of the shuttle. But Fossum said he was not sure and engineers in Houston speculated it might have been ice breaking away from the orbiter's main engine nozzles.
Whatever it was, Fossum said he captured the debris on video that will be downlinked to mission control for analysis.
"We saw what really appeared to be some cloth, probably some FRSI or advanced FRSI, that's pure speculation on my part," Fossum radioed. "But it seemed to be stitched-type material, at least four to five feet long, perhaps six to eight. I couldn't really guess at the distance away from us. It was sort of tumbling and twisting, it was kind of a combination of straps and a little bit of squarish material, which is why it really looks a lot like the insulation."
He later estimated the debris, whatever it might have been, was perhaps 40 yards away from Discovery when he spotted it, between the orbiter and the external fuel tank.
Fossum was in the process of photographing the tank to help engineers understand how its foam insulation stood up to the rigors of launch. Astronaut Steve Frick in mission control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston told commander Steve Lindsey that flight controllers saw at least two instances of what appeared to be foam debris breaking away from the tank. But in both cases, the debris separated after the shuttle was out of the thicker, more dangerous regions of the atmosphere.
For foam insulation to pose a threat to the shuttle's heat shield, it must come off in dense enough air to slow down rapidly, allowing the shuttle to ram into it at a high relative velocity. At extreme altitudes, the relative velocity is too low to result in major impact damage.
At about 250 seconds into flight, Frick advised the crew, "they saw some pieces, maybe about five, that came off near the LO2 (liquid oxygen) feedline area. They don't know if they're ice-frost ramps or not. They know that some came near the fuselage, but they didn't see any contact or see any damage. Also, just to note it was about 240,000 feet and the Q (dynamic pressure in pounds per square foot) was all the way down to about one-and-a-half PSF."
"OK, copy that," Lindsey replied.
"The only other item they noticed was noticed later, almost five minutes, about four-forty-five (four minutes and 45 seconds). They saw a piece come off the mid part of the tank, not sure if it's acreage (foam) or close to the feedline, and it did seem to strike the midbody (of the shuttle) somewhere about halfway between the main landing gear and the nose landing gear door.
"We'll, of course, look at it on the (space station approach) photos but the PSF there was about zero, you were way up at 350,000 feet, so that should not be a concern."
Shuttle program manager Wayne Hale plans to brief reporters on the results of quick-look analysis of launch video starting around 7:30 p.m.
Video:
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=661
anche a me da casa al momento dell'accesione dei motori nasa tv ha cominciato bufferizzare e a vedersi una ciofeca :(
Mi associo, da T-10 sec. l'immagine si e' bloccata e sentivo solo l'audio.. :cry:
mo' mi consolo con il replay
E' da poco iniziata il Quick-look briefing e le prime parole del STS Program Manager Wayne Hale sono molto buone: l'ET-121 si è comportata assai bene, i distacchi (previsti ovviamente) di schiuma dell'ET all'altezza degli attacchi dell'O2 sono avveuti tardi nel volo (a 4-5 minuti) e non hanno causato alcun danno perchè ovviamente l'orbiter è al di fuori al quel punto dell'atmosfera densa dei primi 2 minuti di volo... quindi tutto molto bene.
;)
External fuel tank foam loses not in danger zone
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 4, 2006
The shuttle Discovery's external tank lost only small pieces of foam insulation during launch today, and those were well after the period when aerodynamic effects can lead to dangerous impacts with the orbiter, officials said late today.
But it will take several days to complete a detailed analysis of still photos, videotape, film, radar data and wing leading edge sensor data and to confirm Discovery came through its ground-shaking July Fourth launching in good health. But the preliminary reports were positive.
"I think the tank performed very, very well indeed," shuttle program manager Wayne Hale told reporters after an initial look at ascent video. "I'm very pleased. As opposed to where we were last year, we saw nothing that gives us any kind of concern about the health of the crew or the vehicle or any pause to think that we wouldn't be safe to fly the next tank."
During Discovery's climb to space, a camera mounted on the external tank looking down across the belly of the orbiter, caught at least five foam shedding incidents between about three minutes and five minutes and 40 seconds into flight.
For foam insulation to cause damage to the shuttle's heat shield, engineers believe it must be released in the dense, lower atmosphere, which causes the lightweight foam to quickly decelerate. The shuttle then can run into it at a high relative velocity, damaging heat shield tiles or critical wing leading edge panels.
During Columbia's ill-fated launch in January 2003, a 1.67-pound chunk of foam broke away from a so-called bipod ramp on the external tank and slammed into a wing leading edge panel at a relative velocity of more than 530 mph, blasting a catastrophic hole in the wing.
During Discovery's launching last July on the first post-Columbia flight, a one-pound piece of foam fell away from a long wind deflector. It missed the shuttle, but had it been released earlier it might have caused serious damage.
NASA ultimately removed the wind deflectors, but left in place so-called ice-frost ramp foam covering 34 brackets that hold external pressurization lines and a cable tray to the tank. That foam is considered high risk, primarily because engineers do not yet have a good understanding of what can cause the foam to break away. They are especially eager to find out how much foam might have been released from Discovery's tank and, just as important, when it was released.
Engineers now believe foam debris poses a serious threat only in the first two minutes and 15 seconds of flight. After that, the shuttle is above the sensible atmosphere and debris released at that point or beyond would not decelerate enough to cause a dangerously high relative velocity impact.
NASA has spent the past three years working to minimize foam shedding and to ensure that any insulation that is released is smaller than the critical threshold of .25 pounds that could cause catastrophic damage. But until now, a major unknown has been the timing of foam releases.
"We put the tank under a microscope this time," Hale said. "We have lots and lots of data coming in, imagery coming in. As you know, we're very concerned about foam coming off the tank. We've worked very hard to eliminate, in so far as possible, the major losses of foam off the tank. The tank performed very well.
"In particular, I'm pleased that it performed well in the time period early in the flight where we're traveling at supersonic speeds in the lower atmosphere."
Discovery's flight, he said, will provide valuable data to engineers struggling to develop a better understanding of the foam and how it behaves during launch.
"Because we have the ET under a microscope, we're looking at every little thing," he said. "And I want you to know it did not perform flawlessly in the sense that we still lost some foam off the tank. And we told you that as going to happen, we knew that was going to happen and the really good news is it happened late. That helps us a tremendous amount.
"Previously, when we were looking at the photographs that were taken at external tank separation (from the shuttle), when we're trying to build these statistical models which go into our risk analysis, we knew that pieces came off the tank but we didn't know when they came off the tank.
"And so, we had to calculate our worst-case probabilities based on those pieces coming off at the worst time. Based on what we saw today, we are losing some pieces off the tank, that's number one. Number two is, with one possible exception we are pretty clear that they are below the allowable masses, or below the mass size that we worry about. And number three, in every case they happen considerably later than the time that we worry about and that is to say pretty near the vacuum of space. So from that standpoint, we got an excellent report on the tank."
In addition, video from the external tank camera showed the pressurization lines and cable tray stood up to the aerodynamic rigors of launch without the protection of the protuberance air-load - PAL - ramp wind deflectors that were removed after Discovery's last flight.
"We saw no vibration or any indication of abnormal loads on the cable tray or the pressurization line protuberances, which as you know were of some interest to us because we did remove the PAL ramp, the wind deflector as it were," Hale said. "So that all performed in an outstanding manner."
The astronauts went to bed around 10 p.m. after preparing still more pictures of the tank for overnight downlink to mission control. Still photos and video shot by cameras in an umbilical cavity in the belly of the shuttle should provide sharp views of the tank as it separated from the shuttle to help engineers map out exactly where foam losses occurred.
"I just wanted to tell you that for both NASA and the entire country, this was a spectacular Fourth of July present for us to have such a beautiful launch," mission control radioed the crew at bed time. "We feel the vehicle is in great shape."
razziadacqua
05-07-2006, 13:51
Mi associo, da T-10 sec. l'immagine si e' bloccata e sentivo solo l'audio.. :cry:
mo' mi consolo con il replay
Mi consolo -.- io uguale non ho visto na ciofeca,figuriamoci con la 56kakka,il bello è che nessuno mi ha avvisato per tempo che c'era la DIRETTA sul TG2 -.- zio cane...
la diretta su Rai2?
:eekk:
Quincy_it
05-07-2006, 14:20
la diretta su Rai2?
:eekk:
:eekk:
Addirittura?
razziadacqua
05-07-2006, 14:36
la diretta su Rai2?
:eekk:
EH si a quell ora era in onda il Tg e tanto valeva per loro provare un poco di ascolti con la diretta...
Uh,mi urge ora un dubbio...a che velocità viaggiano lassù? :D
EH si a quell ora era in onda il Tg e tanto valeva per loro provare un poco di ascolti con la diretta...
mavaffanzum! averlo saputo non mi sarei scervellato per capire dove potesse essere stata la congestione che non mi faceva vedere il liftoff..
Uh,mi urge ora un dubbio...a che velocità viaggiano lassù? :D
viaggiano a circa 17000 Km/h
vedi i dettagli qui:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/fdf/121ascentdata.html
:)
Nel video linkato da Gio, http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=661, all'istante 11.49 si vede il distacco di qualcosa a destra, a circa metà dell'immagine... date un'occhiata...
Ne abbiamo parlato gp, qualche post indietro... l'ET ha avuto un'ottimo comportamento, e i distacchi (previsti) sono tutti avvenuti (tranne in parte uno, ma marginale) in fase avanzata del volo, dopo i 240 secondi.
Altri video, in alta risoluzione, nei forum di InsideKsc e NasaSpaceFlight (basta registrarsi):
www.insideksc.com
www.nasaspacefight.com
Ne abbiamo parlato gp, qualche post indietro... l'ET ha avuto un'ottimo comportamento, e i distacchi (previsti) sono tutti avvenuti (tranne in parte uno, ma marginale) in fase avanzata del volo, dopo i 240 secondi.
Altri video, in alta risoluzione, nei forum di InsideKsc e NasaSpaceFlight (basta registrarsi):
www.insideksc.com
www.nasaspacefight.com
Non direi che è quello di cui avete parlato voi... Il pezzo che vola via parte dallo shuttle e si stacca dopo che lo shuttle ha sganciato il serbatoio esterno. Prova a guardare il momento del filmato che ho detto... oppure ho perso io qualcosa dei post precedenti :D
Non direi che è quello di cui avete parlato voi... Il pezzo che vola via parte dallo shuttle e si stacca dopo che lo shuttle ha sganciato il serbatoio esterno. Prova a guardare il momento del filmato che ho detto... oppure ho perso io qualcosa dei post precedenti :D
probabilmente si tratta di questo
da spaceflightnow:
Update for 6:25 p.m.: Debris spotted by astronaut Mike Fossum shortly after the shuttle Discovery reached orbit today appears to be harmless ice, not an insulating blanket as Fossum first speculated, flight controllers say.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/060704fossum/
Boh, meglio così, però guardatevi il filmato così capire di cosa parlo :p
Da SpaceFlightNow.com:
Flight Day 2
Astronauts inspect Discovery wing edges, nose cap
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 5, 2006
The Discovery astronauts carried out painstaking, inch-by-inch inspections of the shuttle's carbon composite nose cap and wing leading edge panels today, using a laser sensor on the end of a long boom to look for signs of ascent impact damage. White markings thought to be bird droppings were spotted at one point, and a few other whitish streaks were visible, but no obvious signs of significant damage were seen in downlinked TV.
Along with analyzing the results of today's inspections, engineers also are poring over launch-day photographs and video, assessing data from wing leading edge impact sensors, radar data, footage from a jet equipped with a powerful telescope and imagery captured by the astronauts and by robotic cameras mounted in the belly of the orbiter.
The goal is to assess the integrity of Discovery's heat shield tiles, nose cap and wing leading edge panels to make sure the ship can safely re-enter the atmosphere at the end of the mission.
Some of the most valuable observations are yet to come. Commander Steve Lindsey and his crewmates are slowly catching up with the international space station for a rendezvous and docking Thursday. During final approach, Lindsey will oversee a slow 360-degree pitch-around maneuver 600 feet directly below the lab complex that will expose Discovery's belly to cameras wielded by station commander Pavel Vinogradov and Jeff Williams.
With resolutions between one and three inches, the cameras are expected to spot any significant damage to the shuttle's belly. But again, NASA's Mission Management Team is not expected to reach any final conclusions until after additional post-docking inspections to look at any sites of special interest.
Otherwise, it appears Discovery came through it's ground-shaking launch and climb to space in good condition. One of six small steering jets that suffered a heater failure before launch has been warmed up by exposing it to sunlight and engineers plan to use the thruster during the space station rendezvous.
With no other problems of any significance, the attention Wednesday was on the heat shield inspections, now a standard part of every shuttle flight.
Black-and-white video from today's scans of the wing leading edge panels showed several areas with whitish streaks or other markings but the grainy imagery is difficult to interpret and similar markings were seen during Discovery's last flight.
As for the apparent bird droppings, lead flight director Tony Ceccacci said he and station flight director Rick LaBrode "saw that out at the pad when we were down there a couple of weeks ago."
"Basically, it's in exactly the same place, RCC (reinforced carbon carbon) panels 18 and 19," Ceccacci said. "This is my speculation, it's bird droppings. That's what it looked like. But we'll let the LDRI (laser dynamic range imager) guys look at that."
Here is a timeline of Thursday's rendezvous with the space station (in EDT and mission elapsed time). The TI rocket firing that begins the terminal phase of the rendezvous will occur with the shuttle trailing the space station by eight nautical miles:
EDT DD HH MM EVENT
08:05 AM 01 17 27 TI rendezvous rocket firing
08:43 AM 01 18 05 Sunset
09:03 AM 01 18 25 Range: 10,000 feet
09:12 AM 01 18 34 Range: 5,000 feet
09:18 AM 01 18 40 Range: 3,000 feet
09:20 AM 01 18 42 Sunrise
09:22 AM 01 18 44 MC-4 rendezvous burn
09:26 AM 01 18 48 Range: 1,500 feet
09:31 AM 01 18 53 Range: 1,000 feet
09:34 AM 01 18 56 KU antenna to low power
09:35 AM 01 18 57 +R bar arrival 725 feet directly below ISS
09:40 AM 01 19 02 Range: 600 feet
09:47 AM 01 19 09 Noon
09:51 AM 01 19 13 Rendezvous pitch maneuver
- RPM - start window open
09:51 AM 01 19 13 Start pitch maneuver
09:55 AM 01 19 17 RPM full window close
09:59 AM 01 19 21 End pitch maneuver
10:02 AM 01 19 24 Initiate TORVA pitch up maneuver to +V bar
10:04 AM 01 19 26 RPM start window close
10:13 AM 01 19 35 +V bar arrival; range: 310 feet in front of ISS
10:14 AM 01 19 36 Range: 300 feet
10:15 AM 01 19 37 Sunset
10:18 AM 01 19 40 Range: 250 feet
10:22 AM 01 19 44 Range: 200 feet
10:25 AM 01 19 47 Range: 170 feet
10:27 AM 01 19 49 Range: 150 feet
10:31 AM 01 19 53 Range: 100 feet
10:34 AM 01 19 56 Range: 75 feet
10:38 AM 01 20 00 Range: 50 feet
10:41 AM 01 20 03 Range: 30 feet; start stationkeeping
10:46 AM 01 20 08 End stationkeeping; push to dock
10:51 AM 01 20 13 Sunrise
10:51 AM 01 20 13 Range: 10 feet
10:52 AM 01 20 14 DOCKING
Boh, meglio così, però guardatevi il filmato così capire di cosa parlo :p
si gp è il ghiaccio formatosi sulla condotta di raffreddamento del nozzle dei motori, riconosciuta da Fossum inizialmente come una striscia di tessuto isolante...
Da SpaceFlightNow.com:
Space shuttle external tank fixes appear sound
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 5, 2006
Space shuttle external tank fixes appear sound
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 5, 2006
After a full day of image analysis and inspections, NASA engineers are increasingly optimistic that major changes to the foam insulation on the shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank worked as required to minimize the release of potentially catastrophic debris during the ship's Fourth of July climb to space.
If they're right, and if preliminary indications are confirmed during continued observations and around-the-clock analysis, NASA will move a major step closer to putting its painful post-Columbia return-to-flight effort behind it, shifting the focus instead to resuming assembly of the international space station.
"We have in hand all the data we're going to get from the external tank and the performance was very good," said John Shannon, chairman of NASA's Mission Management Team. "And we got some good data, too, which was really important. We really want to be able to verify what kind of redesigns we were doing."
Shannon said the most significant change made to the external tank since Discovery last flew a year ago - removal of a long foam wind deflector - worked well. Known as a protuberance air-load - PAL - ramp, the wind deflector was in place to smooth the flow of turbulent air over two pressurization lines and a cable tray during the shuttle's climb out of the dense lower atmosphere.
During Discovery's launching last year, a one-pound chunk of foam broke away from the tank's hydrogen PAL ramp and while it didn't hit the orbiter, it was a major surprise and source of concern. Much of the 11 months preparing Discovery for its current mission was focused on proving the PAL ramps could be safely removed and that the pressurization lines and cable tray could, in fact, stand up to the aerodynamic rigors of launch on their own.
Computer modeling and wind tunnel tests convinced agency managers the ramps were not needed and Discovery's launching Tuesday appeared to verify those conclusions. While a final answer will depend on analysis of data captured by sensors mounted in the cable tray - work that is not yet done - Shannon was clearly optimistic.
"The only thing we have to do is go make sure all the aerodynamic modeling that we did is corroborated by the sensors that we flew on this flight," he said. "This was one data point and it was a really good data point, but we want to make sure we are not on the edge of anything. We don't think we are, but we need to go make sure."
During Discovery's launch last year, foam debris also broke away from an area where two struts attach the nose of the shuttle to the tank. Engineers came up with a fix and it, too, appeared to work. Photographs of the tank after it was jettisoned in space showed no foam losses in the area.
Even the ice-frost ramps on the tank appeared to work well. The ice-frost ramps, hand-sculpted foam insulation applied to 34 brackets holding the cable tray and pressurization lines in place, generated controversy before launch when two top NASA managers voted to delay the flight until they could be redesigned. The insulation in question was officially deemed an unacceptable risk, in large part because engineers lacked a solid understanding of foam failure mechanisms.
Shannon said the IFRs on Discovery's tank performed well, with only minimal foam shedding in one ramp extension that was added after the PAL ramps were removed.
Just in front of one ice-frost ramp, however, an eight-by-10-inch sheet of foam apparently peeled away in a half-dozen pieces about two minutes and 50 seconds after launch. The debris posed no impact threat to Discovery because the releases happened after the shuttle was beyond the aerodynamic danger zone.
"It's all about the mass," Shannon said. "If it was a very thin sheet, which is what we think it was, then it won't have enough kinetic energy to damage the vehicle. And this one came off in a time when aerodynamically, we don't have a concern."
Engineers have long suspected that changes in the tank's temperature as supercold propellants are drained by the shuttle's main engines plays a role in foam failure, especially in areas where foam is applied on top of other foam.
Shannon said the location of the missing sheet may help engineers verify that theory or at least gain insights into how the changing thermal environment of the tank plays a role in foam loss as propellant levels change.
"The important part is to understand the physics of why it's coming off," he said. "I think that liquid level is going to make a big difference."
Shannon cautioned that analysis of the tank is not yet complete. Engineers have yet to assess recorded cable tray data about the actual "loads" experienced in the absence of the PAL ramps, and they have yet to recover recorded imagery shot by cameras mounted in the shuttle's solid-fuel boosters. But so far, so good.
The next major question mark is the condition of the shuttle and its heat shield. The astronauts spent the day Wednesday using a sophisticated laser sensor to map out every square inch of the reinforced carbon carbon wing leading edge panels and the shuttle's RCC nose cape, which experience the most extreme heating during re-entry. Shannon said a preliminary look at the data showed no major problems. But the analysis is not yet complete.
"Today, I have the tank imagery that we showed you and the performance was really good," he said. "Tomorrow, we'll have our initial assessment of the wing leading edge and nose cap data that the crew took today and we'll have our early assessment of the underside of the vehicle, the tile of the vehicle, when we do the rotational pitch maneuver as we approach station."
Shannon was referring to a 360-degree pitch-around maneuver commander Steve Lindsey will perform when Discovery is 600 feet directly below the space station during the final stages of rendezvous Thursday. As the shuttle's underside rotates into view, station commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeff Williams will use 400mm and 800mm lenses to photograph the heat shield with one- to three-inch resolution.
So far, engineers have only noticed one protruding "gap filler," a heat-resistant spacer between tiles near the rear leading edge of the shuttle left wing. Two protruding gap fillers had to be removed from Discovery's belly last year during an impromptu spacewalk repair job, but the gap filler seen sticking up today is in a benign location and likely will not need removal.
NASA replaced some 5,000 gap fillers in more critical parts of the shuttle's underside and the rendezvous pitch maneuver during final approach to the station Thursday will give engineers a good look at those areas.
Asked if the data, observations and analyses so far indicated NASA had turned the corner in its external tank redesign work, Shannon said "that's the feeling we have right now. But we'll see what we find tomorrow."
Shuttle program manager Wayne Hale, meanwhile, gave engineers permission to press ahead with work to attach the next external tank to a set of boosters at the Kennedy Space Center. Assuming no major surprises with Discovery, NASA hopes to launch the shuttle Atlantis at the end of August on the next space station assembly mission.
The commander of that flight, veteran astronaut Brent Jett, told CBS News today he was encouraged by the preliminary assessment of Discovery and its tank.
"Seeing the successful launch, getting back to space, is great for the country and to have it happen on Independence Day made it really great," said Jett, who would serve as commander of a rescue flight should one be needed. "The vehicle looks pretty clean so far. So now we can focus on getting ready for (the next mission) STS-115 in just a little over a month and a half.
Asked how difficult NASA might find it to pull off such a fast turnaround, Jett agreed "it'll be real tough for the program, we haven't done that in a while."
"We used to turn missions around pretty quick, but I think with the extra scrutiny and the extra analysis we put into each mission now, it's going to be a tough job. They've got the plans in place, they think they can do it. Our FRR (flight readiness review) happens, I think, about two weeks after landing. So it's going to be tight."
Da SpaceFlightNow.com:
Discovery arrives at space station after two day chase
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 5, 2006
With commander Steve Lindsey at the controls, the shuttle Discovery glided to a smooth, picture-perfect docking with the international space station today as the two spacecraft sailed high above the South Pacific Ocean.
During final approach, Lindsey flew the shuttle through a spectacular 360-degree pitch-around maneuver as the spaceplane sailed above the Rock of Gibraltar and then central Europe at five miles per second, exposing the ship's fragile heat shield to cameras operated by station commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeff Williams.
As the belly rotated into view, no obvious signs of damage were seen in downlinked television views, but flight controllers won't know for sure until studying much-higher-resolution digital images shot by the station crew. All of the images were downlinked to mission control within two hours or so of docking.
At least two bits of debris appeared to hit the shuttle during launch Tuesday, but mission managers said neither occurred in the aerodynamic environment required to cause significant damage. The station photos may confirm that and spot any protruding gap fillers that might have shaken loose during ascent.
Gap fillers are heat-resistant spacers between tiles that prevent abrasive contact when the shuttle's skin flexes and vibrates. One gap filler was seen earlier, sticking up about a half inch near the back of the left wing. During Discovery's flight last July, two protruding gap fillers had to be removed by astronaut Stephen Robinson during an already-planned spacewalk. The gap filler spotted earlier in the current mission is in a more aerodynamically benign position and may not need any similar attention.
Docking occurred at 10:52 a.m. when Discovery's payload bay docking module engaged its counterpart on the front end of the Destiny laboratory module.
"Docking confirmed," a Discovery astronaut radioed.
"Discovery, Houston. Station free drift is confirmed," mission control replied.
Vinogradov and Williams shook hands and smiled broadly for cameras in the lab module as Discovery settled into port. After leak checks, a final hatch leading into the Destiny module was opened at 12:30 p.m. and Vinogradov and Williams welcomed the shuttle astronauts on board with hugs, smiles and handshakes.
European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter seemed especially pleased, floating in front of a camera, grinning broadly and flashing an enthusiastic thumbs up to flight controllers on Earth. Reiter will remain aboard the station when Discovery departs, boosting the lab's crew size back to three for the first time since downsizing after the Columbia accident.
"Everybody's having fun, I don't see a sad person in the crowd," joked Williams.
He and Vinogradov then gave the shuttle visitors a safety briefing before the combined crews got down to work, starting the long process of transferring supplies and equipment from the shuttle to the station.
Jim Voss, who spent 163 days aboard the station in 2001 as a member of the lab's second full-time crew, said Discovery's arrival provided an emotional lift for Vinogradov and Williams, who were launched to the outpost in late March.
"It's greatly anticipated when a new crew's coming up on board," Voss said in an interview with CBS News. "The station crew hasn't seen anyone for several months and just seeing another face in person is just a wonderful thing.
"So you spend several days getting psyched up for them coming on board. And when they get there, you see on television there's a lot of hugging and smiling. Well, that's very genuine, you're really happy to see those people come up there. It's not only that you're seeing old friends, but they're bringing up a lot of supplies and other things you need to continue your work on the space station."
Voss said Reiter is an especially welcome addition to the crew.
"It's really special having them bring up a third crew member," he said. "They've been just the two of them on board, Pavel and Jeff, and there is a real difference when you have another person you can chat with. And Thomas is a particularly good person to come up because he is fluent in Russian and English. So he'll be able to speak with both the other crew members fluently and he'll really add to that social dynamic that they have on board."
The German astronaut, on board as part of a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos, also will add to the crew's productivity.
"They should be able to do a lot more science instead of just maintenance of the station and personal things you have to do to live in space," Voss said. "So this is getting us back to where we were before and let us anticipate expanding the crew to even larger, to six or maybe even seven people in the future."
NASA hopes to do just that in 2009.
Marilson
07-07-2006, 16:51
mavaffanzum! averlo saputo non mi sarei scervellato per capire dove potesse essere stata la congestione che non mi faceva vedere il liftoff..
viaggiano a circa 17000 Km/h
vedi i dettagli qui:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts121/fdf/121ascentdata.html
:)
27704.80 km/h in questo momento :D
razziadacqua
07-07-2006, 18:45
27704.80 km/h in questo momento :D
Ecco...io mi son sempre chiesto...
Immaginate di essere in orbita GEOSTAZIONARIA ,con tutta la vostra bella tuta...
E poi vi ritrovate lo Shuttle che passa a 27000Km/h affianco voi :°D
MA che cavolo vedi? :D Sempre se lo vedi ovvio... :sofico: :sofico: :sofico:
No damage found during heat shield inspections
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 6, 2006
Preliminary assessment of the shuttle Discovery's heat shield after a dramatic end-over-end flip today while approaching the international space station shows no signs of appreciable damage to the ship's fragile heat shield tiles from debris impacts during launch, officials said.
John Shannon, chairman of NASA's Mission Management Team, said a full assessment of the 352 photographs taken by station commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeff Williams would take another day to complete.
But the initial assessment of laser surveys of the wing leading edges and nose cap carried out Wednesday, and a quick-look at the heat-shield tiles today showed no signs of any significant problems.
"Tomorrow will be the full story," Shannon said. "But the quick-look of the wing leading edge we looked at with the laser system yesterday showed there were no issues with the wing leading edge itself and we do not expect to do any focused inspections on that.
"The early look at the tile from the rotational pitch maneuver ... showed there were no tile areas that exceeded our criteria to go look at with a focused inspection."
He said the heat shield appeared in such good shape it was "somewhat of a surprise, but a very pleasant surprise."
Engineers planned to work through the night, analyzing the imagery in detail, to identify possible areas to examine Friday morning during so-called focused inspections. A four-hour block of time is built into the crew's flight plan to use a long boom equipped with a high-resolution camera to inspect anything out of the ordinary.
At least two gap fillers have been seen protruding from surrounding tiles. Gap fillers are heat resistant spacers used to prevent adjacent tiles from rubbing against each other when the shuttle's aluminum skin flexes during launch. One of those is toward the outboard edge of the left wing while the other is just in front of a propellant feedline access door near the back of the orbiter.
During Discovery's flight last year, a spacewalking astronaut was asked to pluck out two protruding gap fillers to ensure smooth aerodynamic flow over the shuttle's belly during entry. Material protruding above the tiles can trigger turbulent airflow, which generates more heat.
Shannon said engineers have not yet decided what, if anything, might need to be done about the two gap fillers seen so far in the current mission, or what to do about a very small bit of unidentified material just behind the nose cap of the shuttle.
But overall, he said, Discovery is "a really clean vehicle, we're extremely happy with the performance of all the systems that we've looked at so far."
Shannon down played any concern about a large piece of foam insulation that peeled away from an area just in front of an ice-frost ramp on Discovery's external tank. During a briefing Wednesday, Shannon said the piece measured roughly eight by 10 inches. Today, he said additional analysis showed the missing foam measured 12.3 inches by 14.2 inches.
Engineers say the foam broke apart into a half-dozen pieces as it peeled away. And it came off after Discovery was out of the thicker regions of the atmosphere. For foam to pose a threat to the shuttle, it most separate in the lower atmosphere, which causes the lightweight material to rapidly decelerate. The shuttle can then ram into it at a high relative velocity.
Shannon said even if the foam in question came off earlier in Discovery's climb to space it would not have caused any problems.
"They're still working on the mass," he said. "The prediction was between a half inch and an inch thick, which makes it very light, very small. The initial report from the external tank project was we did not violate any limits we had set pre flight."
He said engineers expected to calculate actual mass estimates over the next two days.
"My initial thought, and what the ET project was thinking, was even if it had come off in the time of aerodynamic concern before 135 seconds, it still would not have been an issue," Shannon said. "It was absolutely not a surprise at all to see that. That is consistent with the behavior we've seen from the ice-frost ramp area in the past."
Cargo transfer module mounted to the station
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 7, 2006
Astronauts aboard the international space station, operating the lab's Canadian-built robot arm, gently plucked a 10-ton cargo module from the shuttle Discovery's payload bay today for attachment to the international space station.
The multi-purpose logistics module, or MPLM, was robotically bolted to the Unity module's downward-facing, or nadir, port shortly after 8 a.m.
Known as Leonardo, the Italian-built cargo module is loaded with about 5,100 pounds of supplies and equipment, including a high-tech laboratory freezer, a European plant biology experiment rack and a U.S.-built oxygen generator that ultimately will help support a crew of six.
The mating procedure was interrupted briefly when the astronauts reported what appeared to be foreign object debris, or FOD, near critical seals where the modules lock together, but flight controllers said it posed no threat and the crew was told to continue the mating operation.
With the module safely in place, shuttle commander Steve Lindsey and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter will begin the work to activate and open Leonardo while pilot Mark Kelly, Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson begin work with the shuttle's robot arm to carry out additional inspections of the shuttle's heat shield.
NASA's Mission Management Team has identified five so-called "areas of interest" for focused inspections to double-check potential damage sites seen during earlier surveys:
Reinforced carbon carbon nosecap: A spot on the RCC nose cap resembles bird droppings, "but has a small black spot in the middle" that "warrants another look," flight controllers said in a morning uplink package.
Tadpole gap filler: A protruding gap filler between tile and RCC material making up the attachment point for struts that held the shuttle's nose to the external tank during launch. Gap fillers are thin heat-resistant spacers used to prevent adjacent tiles from rubbing against each other during periods of vibration or stress. Gap fillers shaken out during launch can trigger turbulent air flow - and higher temperatures - during re-entry.
Starboard external tank propellant line access door gap filler: A protruding gap filler just in front of the shuttle's liquid oxygen feedline access door.
Starboard RCC wing leading edge panel 9: A large dark spot dubbed "the claw," with four "elongated features." A dark spot also is visible in the earlier survey imagery that was not present in pre-launch photographs.
Starboard RCC wing leading edge panel 5: Two black scuff marks are visible that were not present in pre-launch photography.
In the morning "execute package" uplinked to the astronauts, the Mission Management Team reported that a small left-pointing steering jet known as L5L had dropped below the minimum temperature needed for safe operation. The jet experienced a heater problem during Discovery's countdown and while it was warm enough to use during Thursday's rendezvous and docking with the space station, it is now disabled. The station's four big control moment gyroscopes normally control the attitude, or orientation, of the mated station/shuttle spacecraft, but for larger movements needed for shuttle water dumps Saturday and next Tuesday, flight controllers may use Discovery's larger primary jets. The station's thrusters also can be used if necessary.
The Mission Management Team also reviewed the status of a balky flash evaporator, used during launch and re-entry to provide cooling to the shuttle's electronics, that acted up during ascent July 4. The shuttle has two such systems but they are critical and engineers are working up a post-undocking troubleshooting plan to collect additional insight into the operation of flash evaporator system B.
Otherwise, the MMT had little to report.
"The MMT reviewed the pad debris environment and vehicle performance during ascent. Pad B is in very good shape after a slight sand blasting by the SRBs (solid rocket boosters). No vehicle flight hardware has been found and the Pad environment was considered to be very nominal based on previous flight experience. Additionally, the preliminary ascent data shows that powered flight and post MECO (main engine cutoff) were very nominal with no issues. The ET umbilical photography also showed that the tank performed very well and a summary of those pictures will be provided later in the mission for your review."
Review of wing leading edge laser scans Wednesday is nearly complete and initial analysis of photographs of the shuttle's belly during an end-over-end flip during final approach to the station "indicates that the tile is in good shape with very little damage," the MMT reported. A more extensive discussion of that photography will take place later today.
Getting Leonardo attached and unloaded is a major objective of Discovery's mission. Just as important, the cargo module will be used to bring down no-longer-needed equipment and trash.
"We're re-supplying them with some rack experiments, a lot of food, clothing, things like that, hardware replacements - there's a whole laundry list of things that we're supplying to the space station," Lindsey said in a NASA interview. "The other purpose, of course, of the MPLM is to bring things down. And so, we're going to bring back a whole bunch of stuff that they don't need anymore. That includes experiment samples, used articles they're not using anymore, and trash - you name it.
"One of the issues with space station since we've lost Columbia is we've been putting things on board, but we haven't been able to get very many things off. So, one of the goals will be to help them with their stowage issues and logistics issues by bringing a bunch of things off the space station as well."
Once Leonardo has been robotically bolted in place, the astronauts will perform leak checks to make sure the MPLM is firmly mated to Unity and pressurize the vestibule between Unity and the supply module. Then they'll open the module, float inside and begin the process of moving supplies into the space station.
Marilson
07-07-2006, 22:45
Ecco...io mi son sempre chiesto...
Immaginate di essere in orbita GEOSTAZIONARIA ,con tutta la vostra bella tuta...
E poi vi ritrovate lo Shuttle che passa a 27000Km/h affianco voi :°D
MA che cavolo vedi? :D Sempre se lo vedi ovvio... :sofico: :sofico: :sofico:
in realtà non lo vedi non per la velocità, ma per l'enorme distanza. Pensa che noi dalla terra abbiamo enormi difficoltà a vedere shuttle + iss a soli 350 km di distanza. Lo shuttle si troverebbe rispetto ad un ipotetico osservatore geostazionario alla notevole distanza di circa 40mila km di distanza, fai un po te..
razziadacqua
08-07-2006, 14:41
Uffi ma dai!Un minimo di elasticità mentale!
Non mi hai capito:
pensa di essere a 10metri dall orbita dello Shuttle ed avere la possibilità di essere in orbita fissa rispetto alla terra dai,piantonato li!
Mi domandavo cosa deve essere vedere un oggetto arrivare e passare a 27000km...sempre che lo si vede...l occhio umano del resto ha i suoi limiti...
Marilson
08-07-2006, 17:45
Uffi ma dai!Un minimo di elasticità mentale!
Non mi hai capito:
pensa di essere a 10metri dall orbita dello Shuttle ed avere la possibilità di essere in orbita fissa rispetto alla terra dai,piantonato li!
Mi domandavo cosa deve essere vedere un oggetto arrivare e passare a 27000km...sempre che lo si vede...l occhio umano del resto ha i suoi limiti...
ma perchè fai questi discorsi da n00b? davvero ti impressionano quei 27k km all'ora? loro sono FERMI per quello che gli riguarda. La sensazione della velocità te la danno 2 cose sulla terra, l'accelerazione che percepisci e la velocità del fronte di aria opposto al tuo senso di marcia. Nello spazio mancano entrambi, quindi.. in ogni caso per gli interessati andatevi a vedere ora la nasa tv, stanno streamando in diretta la EVA per l'installazione della piattaforma necessaria alle ispezioni sul rivestimento termico dell'orbiter, ci sono le telecamere installate sulla testa e sul petto degli astronauti.. grandioso..
http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1369080&segment=149773
NASA resolves worries about wing panels, nose cap
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 8, 2006
With the Discovery astronauts chalking up a surprisingly successful spacewalk, NASA's Mission Management Team today cleared the shuttle's critical nose cap and wing leading edge panels for re-entry and expressed optimism two final question marks about the ship's heat shield will be resolved Sunday.
MMT Chairman John Shannon also unveiled a spectacular eight-second video clip from a camera mounted in one of DIscovery's twin solid-fuel boosters showing the shuttle and its external tank rocketing out of the atmosphere, a view of the shuttle never before seen.
The cameras were on board the boosters to look for signs of foam insulation falling from Discovery's external tank and footage from both rockets is expected to be released Sunday.
As it is, Shannon said analysis of radar data, wing leading edge sensors, high-resolution photographs, laser scans and focused inspections by the astronauts show Discovery suffered less ascent damage than any shuttle ever launched and its tank lost less foam than any in NASA's 115-flight history.
"I would say by far. By far," Shannon said. "Seeing no tile damage that exceeded any of the inspection requirements was a great, pleasant surprise. The tank performance was as expected. We saw a little bit of loss that was consistent with our flight history, the areas we redesigned performed really well."
Said Steve Poulos, manager of the orbiter projects office at the Johnson Space Center: "This was the best, cleanest orbiter I've seen."
Even the tank's ice-frost ramps, which remain officially classified as a "probable/catastrophic" risk, performed well, with no major loss of foam. A thin sheet of insulation just in front of an ice-frost ramp peeled away about two minutes and 50 seconds after launch, but it posed no threat to the shuttle.
While NASA still plans to redesign the ramps to eliminate thick foam around 34 brackets, "this flight was really, really good. It will add to our understanding of it," Shannon said.
"When we do a redesign, we need to make sure that it's the right redesign," he said. "Now, do I have more confidence flying STS-115 (the shuttle Atlantis) in August with these ice-frost ramps? I would tell you yeah, I do."
Late last week, engineers identified six "regions of interest," that is, areas where potential damage was seen on Discovery's heat shield. By today, all but two had been officially eliminated, including lingering concerns about potential punctures or cracks in the shuttle's reinforced carbon carbon nose cap and RCC wing leading edge panels. The nose cap and RCC panels experience the most extreme heating during re-entry and it was a breach in an RCC panel that brought down Columbia in 2003.
A white, circular marking on Discovery's nose cap, which engineers initially worried might be a hyper-velocity impact site, is now believed to be bird droppings. Discoloration on two leading edge panels is thought to be harmless discoloration, perhaps caused by launch pad spills of hydraulic fluid or some other material.
Protruding gap filler material near Discovery's nose was deemed no threat after high-resolution photographs showed it extended just two-tenths of an inch above the surrounding tile.
But engineers are continuing to assess the potential impact of a protruding gap filler near a propellant feedline access door in Discovery's belly and the potential impact of a slightly damaged thermal protection blanket in front of the ship's cockpit windows.
Poulos showed extremely sharp pictures taken with a new digital camera on Discovery's inspection boom that clearly show the gap filler in question tore apart at some point during ascent. The part that's remaining likely will bend over or break off during entry and pose little threat of increased heating. But engineers have not yet finished their evaluation and the gap filler remains an open issue.
Likewise, tests are being conducted to make sure the slightly damaged blanet in front of the cockpit windows on Discovery's forward reaction control system rocket pod poses no impact threat if a piece rips away during the descent. Poulos said it looks like the blanket will hold up, but additional tests are needed to make sure.
Even so, he said he was confident the Mission Management Team would be able to give Discovery a clean bill of health Sunday.
"These last two development flights have been phenomenal," he said. "We have learned so much about what the capability of the boom sensor system is. We now understand what different defects or areas of interest look like and we're just going to be much smarter as we go into our future flights."
Late today, mission control shared the news with the Discovery astronauts.
"As of now, we've been able to clear all the RCC," mission control radioed. "We continue to march forward and by tomorrow's MMT (meeting), we will have resolution on the ET door gap filler as well as the forward RCS blanket. We're very happy with our current situation."
"Well, that's great news," commander Steve Lindsey replied. "We'll look forward to hearing that word."
In the meantime, the MMT formally cleared Discovery and its crew for emergency descent if some major malfunction forced the astronauts to make a swift return to Earth.
Good performance from the shuttle and its external tank are only part of the big picture for NASA. The space agency also is trying to develop techniques for fixing heat shield damage in orbit if something goes wrong on the way up hill.
The Discovery astronauts took a big step in that direction today by successfully testing a novel approach to gaining access to damage sites that could play into an eventual decision to launch a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
The idea was to find out if the shuttle's 50-foot-long robot arm and the 50-foot-long boom used to inspect the shuttle's heat shield could be used as a work platform to repair impact damage.
During a seven-hour 31-minute spacewalk, astronauts Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum tested the stability of the spindly space crane and found it performed better than engineers had predicted.
"We had some fantastic results,:" said Tomas Gonzales-Torres, the lead spacewalk officer in mission control. "The crew went through the various positions and I think the most impressive thing we saw was that the boom did dampen (oscillations) faster than we had expected. Many of the activities, we had expected around one minute of damping and it actually took around 15 or 20 seconds. In addition, some of the deflections were smaller as well."
Shannon said the results show the crew of a Hubble servicing mission would have access to damage sites even though the space station, in a different orbit, would not be available for safe haven.
"I think today was a significant step forward in that decision process because previously, we had said we would like to have the space station as our work platform to repair any tile or RCC," Shannon said. "If the results from the test of the boom hold (up), then we'll show we have an ability to put a crew member, without a station there, anywhere on the shuttle to do any kind of repairs."
Lead flight director Tony Ceccacci summed up his part of a status briefing by saying, "it was a really super, super day today."
Fossum demonstrates heat shield repair work
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 8, 2006
Astronaut Mike Fossum, anchored to the end of a 100-foot space crane positioned at one end of the space station's solar array truss, pretended to make heat shield repairs today, measuring the forces imparted to the untried space crane to judge its stability as a repair platform.
The tests appeared to go well and while some exercises were easier to accomplish than others, the shuttle robot arm/inspection boom combination seemed stable enough to serve as a repair platform if real repairs are ever needed.
If an engineering analysis confirms that, future shuttle crews would have a way to reach virtually any part of a shuttle's heat shield to make repairs, regardless of whether the space station was available. That could be a factor in any decisions down the road to approve a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. Because the observatory is in a different orbit, a Hubble crew would not be able to reach the space station in an emergency.
But it will take engineers time to fully evaluate the data from today's test and to debrief the crew after the flight. As such, it's too soon to say whether the crane might be a viable option.
Television views from the station were spectacular, showing Fossum and Piers Sellers floating high "above" the shuttle's open cargo bay, making various movements, or inputs, to help engineers characterize the crane's rigidity.
"You guys look pretty lonely out there," shuttle pilot Mark Kelly radioed from Discovery's flight deck.
"Well, I'm just looking at Mike," said Sellers. "That's all I've got to look at right now, There's nothing else!"
"We can see you out the window of our warm, comfortable cabin," Kelly joked.
"Drinking tea..."
"As a matter of fact, I am."
With both astronauts on the end of the boom, large swaying motions resulted from crew movement. But the swaying appeared to damp out quickly. The mock repair work up on the space station's solar array truss went to the point of the exercise.
One technique for repairing damaged heat shield tiles calls for spacewalking repairmen to spread on a viscous material called "emittance wash" to help restore the tiles' ability to reject heat.
Using a stand-in for an emittance wash application tool, Fossum went through the motions of applying the material, lightly holding a hand rail with one hand for stabilization and wielding the tool with the other.
"You have a desired point you want to apply it in, desired plus or minus a tenth of an inch, adequate a half of an inch, and you're going to use a handrail lightly for stabilization while you do this," Kelly said, reviewing the procedure.
"Ready to start... ready, ready, now," Fossum said. "Input stop. It was very easy to get the desired performance. No problem at all."
Next, he repeated the test using an open hand for stabilization, reporting he "had to work harder."
"To do the task in general, you have to, you've got to lean in, put a light pressure on it and then offset with the other hand," he said.
Finally, he repeated the test without doing anything for stabilization.
"Ready, ready, now... You know, this isn't bad," he reported. "The back and forth that time was eight, a little more compensation required, I still think I got desired performance. A moderate amount of compensation."
Fossum then went through the motions of other tile and wing leading edge panel repair techniques, reporting varying degrees of success. Before the robot arm/inspection boom can be used for an actual repair, engineers will need to evaluate videos and data from instruments that precisely measured how much force the astronauts put into the system.
Ho appena scaricato questo video
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-121/mpg/srb_fd01h_ra.mpg
per essere solo di pochi secondi è troppo bello.
Ma si trovano video ad alta risoluzione di cose del genere? partenza, passeggiate spaziali, rientro, ecc..?
ciao!
Ma si trovano video ad alta risoluzione di cose del genere? partenza, passeggiate spaziali, rientro, ecc..?
CERTO!
Qui: www.insideksc.com (devi registrarti nei forum, sezione STS-121),
o qui www.nasaspaceflight.com (come sopra, sezione video STS-121).
Ti ringrazio GioFX!!
mò dò subito un'occhiata!
domanda da un neofita
perchè la nasa non ha progettato, a distanza di mezzo secolo, un veicolo spaziale a propulsione nucleare? (ovvero un reattore nucleare che consenta reazione a catena controllata ed autosostenuta )
perchè hanno scelto come propellente il perclorato d'ammonio e alluminio e idrogeno+ossigeno liquido?
a questo punto mi potreste dire vantaggi e svantaggi di entrambi?
grazie per la possibile delucidazione!
ciao!
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