[Space] NASA STS-114 (ISS)

[GioFX]

0700 GMT (3:00 a.m. EDT)

The shuttle weather officer has just revised the forecast for launch time. There is now an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather at 10:39 a.m. EDT, an improvement from the 60 percent odds given earlier.


0744 GMT (3:44 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 their inspections once fueling of Discovery is completed.


0746 GMT (3:46 a.m. EDT)

Filling of Discovery's external fuel tank with 528,000 gallons of super-cold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen was officially completed 3:39 a.m. EDT.

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 dispatched to the pad to perform their jobs. The closeout crew will ready Discovery's crew module for the astronauts' boarding in a couple of hours; and the inspection team will give the entire vehicle a check for any ice formation following fueling.


0803 GMT (4:03 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 two hours from now.

Also, the Final Inspection Team has begun its two-hour observations of the shuttle vehicle. They are standing atop the mobile launch platform, starting their work.


0815 GMT (4:15 a.m. EDT)

All continues to go smoothly in today's countdown for launch of space shuttle Discovery at 10:39 a.m. EDT. The ship's external fuel tank has been loaded with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Shortly after the fueling process began, all four hydrogen and all four oxygen main engine cutoff - ECO sensors - registered "wet" when expected. Soon thereafter, engineers sent commands to simulate a dry tank and again, all eight sensors responded properly. The simulation commands are part of NASA's strategy to detect any sensors that might fail in the wet state like hydrogen ECO sensor No. 2 did during Discovery's first launch attempt July 13. So far, all of the sensors are responding normally.


0845 GMT (4:45 a.m. EDT)

Discovery's seven astronauts will be gathering for a pre-launch snack and photo opportunity in the dining room of crew quarters at 5 a.m. That will be followed by a weather briefing and then suitup. The crew will head for launch pad 39B at 6:49 a.m., arriving about 20 minutes later to begin boarding Discovery. The ship's crew compartment hatch should be closed for flight around 8:30 a.m.


0855 GMT (4:55 a.m. EDT)

The MILA tracking station here at Merritt Island has aligned its communications antennas with the launch pad and initial communications checks with the Air Force-controlled Eastern Range have been performed. Also, the pre-flight calibration of Discovery's three inertial measurement unit guidance computers began, NASA reports.


0900 GMT (5:00 a.m. EDT)

Discovery's seven astronauts are seated around the dining room table in crew quarters for a pre-launch snack. They were awakened at 12:30 a.m. EDT to begin the launch day activities at Kennedy Space Center. Just like the first launch attempt two weeks ago, flight engineer Steve Robinson was playing a guitar at the table.

After a bite to eat, commander Eileen Collins, pilot Jim Kelly and Robinson 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.


0900 GMT (5:00 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.

[GioFX]

0915 GMT (5:15 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.


0923 GMT (5:23 a.m. EDT)

No significant problems or concerns have been reported by the inspection team so far.

[GioFX]

1030 GMT (6:30 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 6:49 a.m. EDT.


1039 GMT (6:39 a.m. EDT)

The countdown is entering the final four hours to launch of Discovery this morning. The Final Inspection Team has completed its observations at pad 39B. The team is headed to the Launch Control Center where a briefing will be giving to management on what was seen on the vehicle and pad structures.


1044 GMT (6:44 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 3 hours and counting. The countdown has resumed on scheduled from this planned three-hour built-in hold. Clocks will now tick down to T-minus 20 minutes when the next hold is planned. A final hold is scheduled at the T-minus 9 minute mark to synch up with the 10:39 a.m. EDT launch time.


1049 GMT (6:49 a.m. EDT)

On their way! Commander Eileen Collins and her 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.

[GioFX]

1100 GMT (7:00 a.m. EDT)

The AstroVan is passing the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building where Discovery was mated to its external tank and solid rocket boosters. Some reporters across the street at the press site are braving the weather and going outside to wave at the convoy as it passes by, which is a launch day tradition to say farewell and good luck to the astronaut crews.


1107 GMT (7:07 a.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.


1108 GMT (7:08 a.m. EDT)

The next round of tests on the engine cutoff sensors is beginning.


1111 GMT (7:11 a.m. EDT)

The Discovery astronauts have reached the 195-foot level of the tower.

[IcEMaN666]

dove si può seguire in diretta il lancio in tv?

[Pajuco]

Originariamente inviato da IcEMaN666

dove si può seguire in diretta il lancio in tv?

piacerebbe vederlo anche a me in diretta, lo fanno vedere in italia ?

[matlore]

se volete si può seguire dal web...
io sono andato qui e ho trovato il link: http://www.publiweb.com/service/shuttle_lancio.html

[Octane]

Partito...

[Booyaka]

Ho visto il lancio in diretta su Fox News, ammazza che riprese!

C'era una telecamera montata sulla punta del serbatoione centrala e puntata verso il basso. A un certo punto si vedeva la Florida di sotto che diventava piccola ad una velocità spaventosa.

[Pajuco]

anch'io sono rimasto di stucco dalla velocità con cui è entrato in orbita, ha fatto cosi presto, ma a che velocità viaggia stò shuttle nel decollo ?

[duchetto]

dove trovo un video del lancio?

[maxsona]

La velocità di fuga dalla terra è di 11,2 Km/s

[GioFX]

Originariamente inviato da IcEMaN666

dove si può seguire in diretta il lancio in tv?

NASA TV

[GioFX]

Per le informazioni sul sistema STS vi prego di leggervi il thread:

http://www.hwupgrade.it/forum/showth...hreadid=749015

[GioFX]

Vi chiedo scusa ma per il lavoro non ho più potuto aggiornare il thread dopo le 13:15.

Vi posto il resto degli update fino all'ultimo disponibile, come sempre presi direttamente da Spaceflight Now:

1630 GMT (12:30 p.m. EDT)

The shuttle Discovery, carrying seven astronauts, critical space station supplies and the hopes of a nation, rocketed smoothly into orbit today in a nerve-wracking bid to revive America's space program two-and-a-half years after the Columbia disaster. Read our full story.

1605 GMT (12:05 p.m. EDT)

Mission management team chairmain Wayne Hale says he doesn't know any details about the debris coming off the tank noted just after booster separation. He said the film experts will be studying all launch footage frame by frame, as was planned going into this first post-Columbia launch.

1559 GMT (11:59 a.m. EDT)

The post-launch press conference is beginning here at Kennedy Space Center.

1522 GMT (11:22 a.m. EDT)

An image from the external tank video shows the chunk of debris breaking away from the tank just after the solid boosters separated. See the image here.

1518 GMT (11:18 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 39 minutes, 30 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. The new orbit is 142 by 98 statute miles. The next maneuvering burn is coming up around 4 p.m. EDT to raise the orbit to 191 by 141 miles as the rendezvous continues to reach the station.

1517 GMT (11:17 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 38 minutes, 20 seconds. The maneuvering engines have ignited for the orbit raising burn.

1512 GMT (11:12 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 33 minutes. A few seconds after solid rocket booster separation, a large chunk of something broke free from the external fuel tank. The onboard video camera mounted on the tank showed the object flying away from the vehicle without striking Discovery.

1511 GMT (11:11 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 32 minutes. Discovery will be reorienting itself into the upcoming OMS engine firing, which will boost the shuttle into an orbit of 140 by 98 statute miles.

1509 GMT (11:09 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 30 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.

1454 GMT (10:54 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 15 minutes. This morning's launch appeared to go smoothly with no system problems reported in Mission Control.

1453 GMT (10:53 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 14 minutes. Discovery has reached a preliminary sub-orbital trajectory of 137 by 36 statute miles. In about 23 minutes, the Orbital Maneuvering System engines will be fired to raise the low point to a safe altitude.

1450 GMT (10:50 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 11 minutes, 45 seconds. Andy Thomas is taking still images while Soichi Noguchi shoots camcorder video.

1448 GMT (10:48 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 9 minutes, 50 seconds. Commander Collins will be pitching Discovery so the crew can use cameras to image the just-discard external fuel tank.

1448 GMT (10:48 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 9 minutes, 25 seconds. A normal engine cutoff occurred and an additional boost from the Orbital Maneuvering System engines is not required.

1447 GMT (10:47 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 8 minutes, 48 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.

1447 GMT (10:47 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 8 minutes, 34 seconds. MECO! Confirmation that Discovery's main engines have cutoff as planned, completing the powered phase of the launch.

1446 GMT (10:46 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 7 minutes, 35 seconds. The main engines beginning to throttle back to ease the force of gravity on the shuttle and astronauts.

1446 GMT (10:46 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 7 minutes. Main engines continue to perform well as Discovery nears the completion of powered ascent.

1445 GMT (10:45 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 6 minutes, 30 seconds. The shuttle can now reach orbit on two engines.

1444 GMT (10:44 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 5 minutes, 55 seconds. Discovery is rolling to a heads-up position.

1444 GMT (10:44 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 5 minutes, 25 seconds. Discovery can now reach a orbit on the power of two main engines should one fail. But all three continue to fire properly.

1443 GMT (10:43 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 4 minutes, 50 seconds. Discovery is 200 miles northeast of the launch pad at an altitude of 65 miles, traveling over 6,000 mph.

1443 GMT (10:43 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 4 minutes, 10 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.

1442 GMT (10:42 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 3 minutes, 15 seconds. Discovery is 85 miles northeast of the launch pad at an altitude of 48 miles and traveling 4,500 mph.

1442 GMT (10:42 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 3 minutes. Discovery's main engines continue to fire, guzzling a half-ton of propellant per second.

1441 GMT (10:41 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 2 minutes, 10 seconds. The twin solid rocket boosters have done their job and separated from the space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle continues its climb to orbit on the power of the three liquid-fueled main engines.

1440 GMT (10:40 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 90 seconds. All systems of Discovery are performing well as the shuttle accelerates to orbit. Burning propellant at remarkable rates, the shuttle weighs half of what it did at liftoff.

1440 GMT (10:40 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 75 seconds. Discovery's engines have revved back to full throttle. Mission Control has given the "go" at throttle call and commander Eileen Collins has acknowledged that. No problems have been reported in this morning's ascent.

1439 GMT (10:39 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 35 seconds. Discovery's three main engines are being throttled down to lessen the aerodynamic stresses on the vehicle as it powers through the dense lower atmosphere.

1439 GMT (10:39 a.m. EDT)

T+plus 20 seconds. The shuttle has rolled to the proper heading for its northeasterly trajectory up the Eastern Seaboard on the two-day chase to catch the orbiting International Space Station. The outpost is currently flying half-a-world away above the southern Indian Ocean.

1439 GMT (10:39 a.m. EDT)

LIFTOFF! America's space shuttle program returns to flight as Discovery clears the tower!

1438 GMT (10:38 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 31 seconds. Auto sequence start. Discovery's onboard computers have taken control of the final half-minute of the countdown.

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.

1438 GMT (10:38 a.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. And the solid rocket booster joint heaters have been deactivated.

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.

1437 GMT (10:37 a.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.

1436 GMT (10:36 a.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 Jim 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.

1436 GMT (10:36 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 3 minutes. Orbiter steering check now complete -- the main engine nozzles are in their start positions.

1435 GMT (10:35 a.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.

1435 GMT (10:35 a.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.

1434 GMT (10:34 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 5 minutes. The "go" has been given for for Auxiliary Power Unit start. Pilot Jim 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 Eileen Collins, 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.

1433 GMT (10:33 a.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.

1433 GMT (10:33 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 6 minutes. Pilot Jim Kelly has been asked by Orbiter Test Conductor Mark Taffet 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.

1431 GMT (10:31 a.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 in about a quarter of a minute should the need arise later in the countdown.

1431 GMT (10:31 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 8 minutes and counting. Pilot Jim 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.

1430 GMT (10:30 a.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 10:39 a.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.

1428 GMT (10:28 a.m. EDT)

The countdown 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.

1426 GMT (10:26 a.m. EDT)

NASA Launch Director Mike Leinbach has finished his final poll. He has wished commander Collins and crew "good luck and God speed!" Launch is set for 10:39 a.m.

1425 GMT (10:25 a.m. EDT)

The final readiness poll by NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding has been completed with all launch team members reporting "go", including the orbiter, external tank, solid rocket boosters, safety personnel, Eastern Range and the astronaut crew.

1422 GMT (10:22 a.m. EDT)

Standing by for the status polls to give approval to continue with the countdown.

1419 GMT (10:19 a.m. EDT)

The Eastern Range has confirmed its clearance for launch this morning.

1418 GMT (10:18 a.m. EDT)

The Orbiter Closeout Crew has arrived back at the fallback area a safe distance from the launch pad.

1417 GMT (10:17 a.m. EDT)

The final test of the engine cutoff sensors has been completed. All of the sensors continue to operate normally in today's countdown.

1409 GMT (10:09 a.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 on Sunday 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 this week.

1351 GMT (9:51 a.m. EDT)

All of the optical tracking sites are reporting to be ready for observing Discovery's launch. A pair of WB-57 high-altitude aircraft are flying off the coast in a holding pattern to intercept the shuttle to provide a never-before-seen view of Discovery during ascent.

1345 GMT (9:45 a.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 10:39:00 a.m. EDT. There are no significant technical problems being reported and the weather is just fine.

1342 GMT (9:42 a.m. EDT)

The Main Propulsion System helium system is being reconfigured by pilot Kelly. Soon the gaseous nitrogen purge to the aft skirts of the solid rocket boosters will be started.

1339 GMT (9:39 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 15 minutes. Now one hour away from launch time. Pilot Jim Kelly is configuring the displays inside Discovery's cockpit for launch while commander Eileen Collins 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.

1334 GMT (9:34 a.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 adjust to synch up with today's preferred launch time of 10:39 a.m.

Discovery's onboard computers are now transitioning to the Major Mode-101 program, the primary ascent software. Also, engineers are dumping the Primary Avionics Software System (PASS) onboard computers. The data that is dumped from each of PASS computers is compared to verify that the proper software is loaded aboard for launch.

1331 GMT (9:31 a.m. EDT)

The launch team has received a briefing on today's countdown from the NASA test director. Clocks will resume in three minutes.

1324 GMT (9:24 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 20 minutes and holding. The countdown has paused for a 10-minute built-in hold. Launch remains scheduled for 10:39 a.m. EDT.

During this built-in hold, all computer programs in Firing Room 3 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.

1316 GMT (9:16 a.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.

1314 GMT (9:14 a.m. EDT)

Commander Eileen Collins has pressurized the gaseous nitrogen system for Discovery's Orbital Maneuvering System engines, and pilot Jim Kelly has activated the gaseous nitrogen supply for the orbiter's Auxiliary Power Units' water boilers.

1310 GMT (9:10 a.m. EDT)

The weather forecast has improved once again. The prediction now calls for a 90 percent chance of acceptable conditions at the 10:39 a.m. EDT launch time. Weather at the abort landing sites across the Atlantic shouldn't be a stopper in the countdown either, meteorologists say.

1306 GMT (9:06 a.m. EDT)

The ground pyro initiator controllers (PICs) are scheduled to be powered up around this time in the countdown. They are used to fire the solid rocket hold-down posts, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tail service mast and external tank vent arm system pyros at liftoff and the space shuttle main engine hydrogen gas burn system prior to engine ignition.

The shuttle's two Master Events Controllers are being tested. They relay the commands from the shuttle's computers to ignite, and then separate the boosters and external tank during launch.

1305 GMT (9:05 a.m. EDT)

The crew module hatch is closed and latched for flight.

1300 GMT (9:00 a.m. EDT)

Discovery's crew module hatch has swung shut and the Orbiter Closeout Crew is working to latch it. Pressure and leak checks will be performed shortly to ensure a good seal on the hatch for today's launch.

Meanwhile, the Ground Launch Sequencer mainline activation is starting. 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.

1257 GMT (8:57 a.m. EDT)

The "go" has been given to close the shuttle's crew compartment hatch.

1251 GMT (8:51 a.m. EDT)

The official launch window today extends from 10:34:33 to 10:43:52 a.m. EDT. The preferred liftoff time that NASA is targeting is 10:39:00 a.m. for better launch performance.

1249 GMT (8:49 a.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.

1245 GMT (8:45 a.m. EDT)

The Orbiter Closeout Crew is removing all non-flight items from Discovery in advance of closing the hatch for flight.

1243 GMT (8:43 a.m. EDT)

The official target launch time has been revised to 10:39:00 a.m. EDT, based on the orbit of the international space station.

1242 GMT (8:42 a.m. EDT)

All of the weather rules are "go" for launch right now.

1232 GMT (8:32 a.m. EDT)

A series routine communications checks between the Discovery crew and various audio channels is underway.

1214 GMT (8:14 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 90 minutes and counting. Countdown clocks continue to tick down to T-minus 20 minutes where the next hold is planned. Countdown activities remain on track for liftoff at 10:39 a.m.

With all seven astronauts inside Discovery's crew module, preparations will soon begin to close the hatch by the Orbiter Closeout Crew.

At this point in the count, the ground launch sequencer software that will control the final nine minutes of the countdown has been initialized. Also, the solid rocket boosters' gas generator heaters in the hydraulic power units are turned on, the aft skirt gaseous nitrogen purge is starting and the rate gyro assemblies (RGAs) are being activated. The RGAs are used by the orbiter's navigation system to determine rates of motion of the boosters during the first stage of flight.

1208 GMT (8:08 a.m. EDT)

The seventh and final member of Discovery's crew is now inside the shuttle. Mission specialist No. 2, Steve Robinson, is heading to the flight deck's center seat.

Robinson has flown on two earlier shuttle missions in the late 1990s. Read his biography here.

1204 GMT (8:04 a.m. EDT)

The countdown is still ticking along without any problems. The weather conditions are favorable and the engine cutoff sensors that caused the scrub two weeks ago are operating normally today.

1154 GMT (7:54 a.m. EDT)

Japanese astronaut and Discovery's mission specialist No. 1, Soichi Noguchi, is climbing to the flight deck aft-right seat.

Noguchi will be making his first flight into space on STS-114. Read his biography here.

1153 GMT (7:53 a.m. EDT)

Astronaut Wendy Lawrence, mission specialist No. 4, has crawled through the hatch. She will take the middeck's center seat.

Lawrence is a three-time shuttle flier. Read her biography here.

1139 GMT (7:39 a.m. EDT)

Now three hours from launch.

1137 GMT (7:37 a.m. EDT)

Mission specialist No. 3 Andy Thomas is aboard Discovery now. He is positioned closest to the hatch in the left seat on the middeck.

Thomas is the most experienced space traveler of Discovery's crew. He spent four months living aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1998, plus flew shuttle missions in 1996 and 2001. Read his biography here.

1131 GMT (7:31 a.m. EDT)

Pilot Jim Kelly is the next crewmember to enter the shuttle. He is making his way to the flight deck's front-right seat.

Kelly has one previous shuttle flight to his credit. Read his biography here.

1123 GMT (7:23 a.m. EDT)

Now climbing through the hatch is mission specialist No. 5, Charlie Camarda. He is assigned the right seat on the middeck.

Camarda is a spaceflight rookie, Read his biography here.

1118 GMT (7:18 a.m. EDT)

As shuttle commander, Collins is the first astronaut to board the shuttle. She is taking her forward-left seat on the flight deck.

Collins has flown in space on three earlier missions, becoming the first woman shuttle pilot and commander. Read her biography here.

1112 GMT (7:12 a.m. EDT)

Commander Eileen Collins has made her way across the catwalk-like Orbiter Access Arm to the White Room positioned against the side of Discovery. The closeout crew is helping her don other survival gear.

[GioFX]

1745 GMT (1:45 p.m. EDT)

The astronauts are settling into life in space aboard Discovery. The payload bay doors were opened a little more than an hour ago and the crew is progressing through their post-launch activities.

The ascent flight control team in Houston has completed its job today, turning duties over to the Orbit 2 team of controllers for the rest of the astronauts' day. Many of the ascent team members will handle entry and landing for Discovery's return to Earth on August 7.

"We know the folks back on the planet Earth are just feeling great right now and our thanks to everybody for all of the super work that's been down over the past two-and-a-half years to get us flying again," commander Eileen Collins radioed CAPCOM astronaut Ken Ham in Mission Control.

"And I do want to pass on from those of us who have flown before, that was by far the smoothest ascent through first stage and up to MECO (main engine cutoff) that we've ever experienced. And the great weather and everything put together, nice ascent with no malfunctions, (you) couldn't ask for a better flight. So thanks to everybody down there on the ascent team and we're looking forward to seeing ya in 12 or 13 days for entry and landing."

"You got it Eileen," Ham replied. "We'll bring you home safe then."

Crew sleep time will be coming up at 4:39 p.m. EDT. A mission status briefing follows at 5 p.m. EDT.

[GioFX]

Discovery launches!

BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: July 26, 2005

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - The shuttle Discovery, carrying seven astronauts, critical space station supplies and the hopes of a nation, rocketed smoothly into orbit today in a nerve-wracking bid to revive America's space program two-and-a-half years after the Columbia disaster.

"We know the folks back on the planet Earth are just feeling great right now and our thanks to everybody for all of the super work that's been down over the past two-and-a-half years to get us flying again," commander Eileen Collins radioed after reaching orbit. "That was by far the smoothest ascent ... that we've ever experienced. (You) couldn't ask for a better flight."

With commander Eileen Collins and pilot James "Vegas" Kelly at the controls, Discovery's three hydrogen-fueled main engines shuddered to life at 10:39 a.m. EDT (1439 GMT), throttling up to full power with a rush of flame and thunder.

Six-point-six seconds later, with the spacecraft straining against massive hold-down posts, the shuttle's two solid-fuel boosters ignited with a crackling roar, eight explosive bolts detonated and the spaceplane majestically vaulted skyward from launch pad 39B.

Climbing straight up atop twin jets of bright-orange 5,000-degree flame, Discovery rolled about its vertical axis and lined up on a trajectory paralleling the East Coast, the crew in a heads-down position beneath the ship's huge external tank.

It was a thrilling moment for thousands of area residents, tourists and countless engineers and technicians who worked virtually around the clock through weekends and holidays to recover from the Feb. 1, 2003, Columbia disaster and, more recently, problems with a fuel tank sensor that blocked a July 13 launch attempt.

Despite extensive troubleshooting, engineers were never able to pin down exactly what went wrong. But based on the results of the testing and additional checks built into today's countdown, NASA managers were prepared to waive a launch commit criterion to permit a launch with three operational sensors.

Debate about changing the rule in the heat of a flight campaign reminded many observers of schedule-driven management failures cited by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. But top shuttle managers said safety was never at risk in today's campaign and that the decision to proceed was based on a solid understanding of the problem.

As it turned out, all four sensors worked flawlessly today, the launch rule was not changed and Discovery was cleared for flight as is.

Even so, memories of Columbia's Feb. 1, 2003, destruction - triggered by the impact of foam debris 81.7 seconds after launch 16 days earlier - were never far from mind as Discovery roared away through a partly cloudy sky. The shuttle's powerful booster rockets were jettisoned as planned two minutes and five seconds after liftoff, falling back to Earth as the shuttle smoothly accelerated toward space.

A new camera mounted on the shuttle's external fuel tank showed what looked like a relatively large piece of debris falling away a few seconds after the right-side booster separated. At least one other, much smaller piece of apparent debris also was visible a few seconds later.

The objects did not strike the space shuttle and it's not yet known how large the debris might have been or where it originated. They might have been related to the booster separation sequence, but NASA managers would not speculate until the image analysis team completed its work.

"It's a little early to make comments on what's going on," said Wayne Hale, chairman of NASA's mission management team. "You have to have some experience and some knowledge to be able to interpret the photography."

He said radar tracking showed no signs of anything significant flying away from the shuttle, "but we'll have to see. The guys are going over (the imagery) frame by frame and tomorrow we'll have a better story for you."

Minimizing debris shedding was a major goal of NASA's post-Columbia recovery and more than 112 television cameras, high-speed film and movie cameras and powerful radars were focused on Discovery as it climbed away, looking for any signs of ice or foam shaking off the shuttle's external fuel tank.

Two WB-57 jet aircraft, flying to either side of the shuttle's ground track at an altitude of 60,000 feet, used nose-cone mounted telescopes and high-definition TV cameras to monitor the shuttle through booster separation. The WB-57 video was not expected back on the ground for several hours and hard drives from the high definition TV cameras had to be collected before image analysts could begin their work.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin urged reporters to give the image analysis team time to do its work.

"Our guys are going to take a really serious look at the end-to-end footage and in fact, a danger would be possibly seeing something that's very large and visible that we haven't had a chance to look at and ignore something that would be smaller and more significant.

"The guys are going to take a professional look at every frame of footage that we have from every camera that we have. Because as I've said, these are test flights right now. The primary object under test is the external tank and all of the design changes we made to that tank so we'd never have a repeat of (Columbia)."


It will take engineers several days to review all the launch imagery, data from new impact sensors in Discovery's wings and to conduct extensive inspections in orbit using a new TV/laser scanning device and cameras aboard the international space station.

Engineers fully expect to see signs of impact damage even though the shuttle's external tank has been redesigned to minimize ice formation and foam shedding. But if any major damage is, in fact, detected, flight controllers are spring loaded to carry out additional inspections to precisely characterize the damage before considering what, if anything, might need to be done.

Unlike Columbia's ill-fated crew, the Discovery astronauts are equipped with rudimentary repair equipment that will be tested during the first of three planned spacewalks after docking with the international space station Friday. But it is doubtful NASA would ask a crew to rely on untried repair procedures if serious damage is, in fact, detected.

In a worst-case scenario, Collins and company more likely would be asked to move into the space station to await rescue by another shuttle crew. In that scenario, Discovery would be undocked by remote control from the Johnson Space Center in Houston and guided to an unmanned re-entry and breakup over the Pacific Ocean.

But NASA managers - and the astronauts - were confident the tank redesigns would be up to the task, allowing them to focus on the goals of the long-awaited mission.

"There will be debris, there will be some damage, I'm convinced of that," Discovery's flight engineer, Stephen Robinson, told CBS News before launch. "If there isn't, that'll be great but I'll sure be surprised. I would be very surprised if it's critical damage, damage that won't allow us to fly home on. But here's the thing. We'll know it. We won't have to wonder. We'll know it.

"We'll have the technology now for the first time on this mission to take a look at it with all the cameras and sensors. This is the way we verify all the engineering that's been done. So we'll get to look at our bird before we come home.

"Then, on top of that, if the worst on worst on worst happens and we do have critical damage, the space station will (be available for safe haven), we won't have to risk our lives coming back through the atmosphere. This is what gives me tremendous confidence and makes me feel very lucky I'm flying now."

Joining Collins, Kelly and Robinson aboard Discovery were Andrew Thomas, Wendy Lawrence, Charles Camarda and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi. The goal of the 114th shuttle mission is to deliver critical supplies and equipment to the space station; to bring no-longer-needed hardware and trash back to Earth; to test rudimentary tile and wing leading edge repair techniques; and to install a new gyroscope in the space station's orientation control system.

The gyro installation, heat shield repair tests and work to attach tools needed for upcoming station assembly flights will be carried out during three spacewalks later in the mission.

But the first item on the agenda after reaching orbit was for Noguchi to photograph Discovery's empty external fuel tank as it drifted away to find out if any foam insulation came off during the climb to space.

Data collected from scores of impact sensors mounted behind the shuttle's reinforced carbon carbon wing leading edge panels will be downlinked to flight controllers overnight for detailed analysis.

The astronauts plan to spend all day Wednesday inspecting the exterior of the leading edge panels, the RCC nose cap and heat-shield tiles around the crew cabin for any signs of impact damage, either due to ice or foam.

Columbia was destroyed during re-entry because of a hole in an RCC panel on its left wing, which allow super-heated air to burn its way inside as the ship plunged back into Earth's atmosphere. The wing melted from the inside out, triggering Columbia's breakup.

Lost in the disaster were commander Rick Husband, pilot William "Willie" McCool, flight engineer Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Michael Anderson, Laurel Clark and Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon.

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board blamed the disaster on the separation of a suitcase-sized chunk of foam from an aerodynamically shaped ramp intended to prevent ice from building up around the struts holding the shuttle's nose to the external tank. A large piece of insulation from the same area broke away from a shuttle two missions earlier. But NASA managers concluded it did not represent a safety-of-flight issue and cleared the next two missions for launch while a fix was designed.

The accident board faulted that decision, saying NASA managers never recognized the threat posed by foam debris and instead had come to accept debris shedding as normal. Minor foam impact damage was seen on every flight even though NASA's original design criteria called for a debris-free fuel tank.

The accident board also found fault with how NASA responded to the launch-day strike on Columbia, saying poor communications and the agency's institutional "culture" prevented concerns from lower-level engineers from reaching senior managers. Those managers concluded Columbia could safely re-enter "as is" and never ordered spy satellite photographs that might have revealed the full extent of the damage.

Most engineers believe Columbia's crew could not have been saved even if those steps had been taken, but many fault agency management for not giving the team a chance to come up with a solution.

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board made 29 recommendations for improving management and flight safety, including 15 that had to be implemented before the shuttle program could resume missions. An independent panel of experts ultimately concluded NASA had fully implemented 12 of the recommendations but had fallen short on the three most critical requirements: eliminating all debris shedding from the external tank; initiating a program to strengthen the tiles and RCC panels to make them more resistent to impacts; and developing reliable tile and RCC repair techniques to cope with any damage that might occur.

But over the past two-and-a-half years, NASA has learned that it is impossible to eliminate all debris from the tank given its current design. A program to strengthen the leading edge panels was canceled after President Bush ordered the agency to retire the shuttle fleet by 2010. And in a sort of "Catch-22," NASA was unable to develop reliable repair procedures without first testing them in space.

But the review panel did not suggest NASA should not launch Discovery, merely that the recommendations, as written, were not fully implemented. Retired Adm. Harold Gehman, chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, agreed NASA had met the intent of the recommendations and "I know of no reason why they should not proceed with the launch."

For his part, Griffin said NASA had done everything humanly possible to fix the shuttle program's shortcomings and that any additional delay would only produce incremental improvements in safety.

"If we ground the shuttle fleet, we're not going to be able to complete station assembly, we're not going to be able to do other things that we want to do," he said before launch. "If, of course, we believe that all debris sources have been reduced to a level low enough that the shuttle outer mold lines won't be damaged, then the tile repair issue becomes kind of moot.

"We're in that gray area where we believe we have greatly reduced the risk due to debris, foam and ice, but not so much we're completely comfortable with it. So the STS-114 crew ... will be lifting off in the face of a known risk. In that vein I want to point out this is a test flight. In a sense, they're all test flights."

Here is the flight plan for the rest of this evening and Thursday (acronyms: OBSS - orbiter boom sensor system; RMS - remote manipulator system, or robot arm; OMS POD - orbital maneuvering system rocket pod; SAFER - simplified aid for EVA resuce; a jet backpack):


NOTE: VIEW WITH FIXED-WIDTH FONT

REV...EVENT..........................MET in DD/HH:MM...EDT........GMT

July 26

....LAUNCH............................KSC...00/00:00...10:39 AM...14:39
....MECO....................................00/00:08...10:47 AM...14:47
1...LAUNCH REPLAYS....................KSC...00/00:17...10:56 AM...14:56
1...POST LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE.......KSC...00/01:06...11:45 AM...15:45
2...PAYLOAD BAY DOOR OPENING................00/01:27...12:06 PM...16:06
3...RMS CHECKOUT............................00/03:05...01:44 PM...17:44
3...FLIGHT CONTROL TEAM VIDEO REPLAY..JSC...00/03:21...02:00 PM...18:00
3...RMS IMAGING OF KU ANTENNA CLEARANCE.....00/03:55...02:34 PM...18:34
4...LAUNCH ENGINEERING REPLAYS........KSC...00/05:21...04:00 PM...20:00
5...DISCOVERY CREW SLEEP BEGINS.............00/06:00...04:39 PM...20:39
5...MISSION STATUS BRIEFING...........JSC...00/06:21...05:00 PM...21:00
5...FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS...........JSC...00/07:21...06:00 PM...22:00
6...VIDEO FILE.........................HQ...00/08:21...07:00 PM...23:00

July 27

10...DISCOVERY CREW WAKE UP.................00/14:00...12:39 AM...04:39
12...WB-57 VIDEO REPLAY...............KSC...00/16:21...03:00 AM...07:00
12...RMS CHECKOUT...........................00/16:30...03:09 AM...07:09
12...FLIGHT DIRECTOR UPDATE...........JSC...00/16:51...03:30 AM...07:30
12...RMS GRAPPLE & UNBERTH OF OBSS..........00/17:15...03:54 AM...07:54
12...Ku BAND ANTENNA DEPLOYMENT.............00/17:30...04:09 AM...08:09
13...OMS POD PHOTOGRAPHY....................00/18:00...04:39 AM...08:39
13...RENDEZVOUS TOOLS CHECKOUT BEGINS.......00/18:40...05:19 AM...09:19
13...RMS/OBSS SURVEY........................00/18:45...05:24 AM...09:24
13...SAFER CHECKOUT.........................00/19:10...05:49 AM...09:49
15...AIRLOCK PREPARATION....................00/21:10...07:49 AM...11:49
15...EMU CHECKOUT...........................00/22:00...08:39 AM...12:39
15...ODS RING EXTENSION.....................00/22:15...08:54 AM...12:54
17...OBSS BERTH.............................01/00:10...10:49 AM...14:49
17...MISSION STATUS BRIEFING..........JSC...01/00:21...11:00 AM...15:00
17...RMS SURVEY OF DISCOVERY................01/00:55...11:34 AM...15:34
18...VTR PLAYBACK OF OBSS VIDEO.............01/02:30...01:09 PM...17:09
20...VIDEO FILE........................HQ...00/04:21...03:00 PM...19:00
20...DISCOVERY CREW SLEEP BEGINS............01/05:00...03:39 PM...19:39
20...FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS..........JSC...01/05:21...04:00 PM...20:00
22...POST-MMT BRIEFING................JSC...01/07:21...06:00 PM...22:00
24...POST-MMT BRIEFING REPLAY.........JSC...01/11:21...10:00 PM...02:00

[Booyaka]

Originariamente inviato da GioFX

Per le informazioni sul sistema STS vi prego di leggervi il thread:

http://www.hwupgrade.it/forum/showth...threadid=74901

Mi da questo errore:
Nessuna Discussione specificata. Se sei arrivato qui tramite un collegamento valido ti preghiamo di segnalare la cosa al webmaster

[GioFX]

Originariamente inviato da Booyaka

Mi da questo errore:
Nessuna Discussione specificata. Se sei arrivato qui tramite un collegamento valido ti preghiamo di segnalare la cosa al webmaster

scusa, ho dimenticato un 5...

http://www.hwupgrade.it/forum/showth...hreadid=749015

Per informazioni tecniche, segnalo la Shuttle Reference:

Sito ufficiale: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/...nce/index.html

Shuttle Reference manual: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/...ref/index.html

[*sasha ITALIA*]

27/7/2005
Discovery, Nasa indaga su frammenti

on si vuole ripetere tragedia Columbia
Anche se, dopo il decollo, a bordo della navetta spaziale Discovery sta andando tutto bene, i tecnici della NASA non possono nascondere la preoccupazione che suscitano i due frammenti precipitati a terra, separatamente, dopo il lancio dello shuttle. I tecnici stanno indagando per poter escludere qualsiasi rischio che possa ripetersi la tragedia del Columbia, esplosa al rientro nell'atmosfera terrestre.


La caduta dei frammenti della navetta si è vista distintamente sugli schermi ove passavano le immagini delle numerose telecamere disposte per riprendere il lancio da ogni angolazione possibile. Il più inquietante dei due frammenti è il più piccolo, perché proviene dal rivestimento della navetta. I tecnici vorrebbero poter escludere qualsiasi rischio che possa ripetersi la tragedia del Columbia, l'ultima navetta spaziale prima di quella partita ieri, conclusasi tragicamente il 1 febbraio 2003 quando, al rientro nell'atmosfera terrestre, il rivestimento anti-termico dello scafo cedette perché era stato lesionato al momento del decollo, colpito da un altro frammento di un rivestimento a perdere: l'intera navetta andò in pezzi e si disintegrò negli strati più alti dell'atmosfera. L'altro pezzo caduto al decollo ha dimensioni maggiori, ma a quanto pare la sua natura appare meno preoccupante.

Il frammento di rivestimento è lungo quasi quattro centimetri, e sembra essersi staccato dal carrello di atterraggio destro anteriore della navetta. E' ancora da individuare il punto di provenienza dell'altro frammento, che sembra essersi staccato al momento in cui il grande razzo vettore si è staccato dalla navetta, dopo avere esaurito la sua spinta, senza toccarne lo scafo.

Un gruppo di specialisti è stato allertato perché esamini le immagini disponibili della fase del decollo e distacco della navetta, e nei prossimi due giorni sono state programmate ispezioni esterne da effettuare nello spazio, con le video-camere in dotazione a bordo del Discovery. Il tecnico della NASA John Channon, che coordina l'esame dei due frammenti e delle immagini del decollo per localizzare il punto del loro distacco, afferma che per ora "è troppo presto" per valutare il pericolo per la missione.