I'm sure it'll be on all the news sites too, but I guess you could say this one would be the official one. Big Day!
[ July 27, 2005, 03:49 PM: Message edited by: Jay ]
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
I can look out my office window and see it once it clears the tree line.
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Ask them to take a nice high-res aerial shot of pad 17B for me. Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Blast off at 3:51 p.m. EDT
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Also, just so you know, that net feed is going now. They’ve got a lot of neat things they’ve been talking about and showing since I’ve had it on. All that safety things and some of the escape procedures have been the topic for the last little bit.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Been watching that page all morning already....
FG
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I'll probably just go out and watch it from the front porch.
I took a bunch of students out to the outside hallway to watch the last one go up. :-/
That was back when I was still in contention for the Teacher in Space Program.
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
Oh, be quiet, Ic. Nobody wants to hear you brag. Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
NASA has been doing this since what... 1994? Whoop-dee-doo.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Don't forget it's been two years since the Columbia disaster in 2003.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I'm talking about web broadcasts. I know how long they've been launching the shuttles. I, like any other kid who loves space, wanted to be an astronaut at one time.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Oh sorry, guess I should delete the post since it’s in your way
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
Just ignore him, Jay. He's just jealous that you posted it first. Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
Jay has me constantly burning in jealousy. His intelligent, well thought-out posts just make me green with envy.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
So*….. we got an email earlier from the facility telling us they’d have the launch on the TV in the break room. (I’m in another building so I have to watch the stream) But this just came through and it’s kind of funny:
Additionally, the NASA CIO's Office is asking folks "on-site" to reserve bandwidth to NASA TV for the public. This means, they are asking you to watch it in designated areas, as opposed to the Internet.
-Brian
>Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2005 11:21:58 -0400 >To: ivv@ivv.nasa.gov >From: Shirley >Subject: Launch > >All contractors and civil servants are invited to watch the Space >Shuttle to Return to Flight in Rm 225A/B today (7/13) at 3:51p.m. It >will also be set up in the breakroom. > >Shirley
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
There seems to be some sort of problem with the fuel tanks, but I just tuned in. Can anyone tell me what's happening?
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
NASA has called off Wednesday's launch of space shuttle Discovery because of a faulty fuel-tank sensor.
Oh, and the weather....
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
ah, man! I go to lunch and look what happens.....
*sigh*
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
It's all your fault!!!!
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
I don't think weather had anything to do with it.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Got this one today: NASA will attempt to launch the Space Shuttle Return to Flight mission (STS-114) no earlier than 2:40 p.m. EDT, Saturday, July 16. Discovery's liftoff today from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. was postponed at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
During countdown activities, a low-level fuel cut-off sensor inside the External Tank (ET) failed a routine pre-launch check. The sensor protects a Shuttle's main engines by triggering their shut down if fuel runs unexpectedly low. The sensor is one of four inside the liquid hydrogen section of the ET.
The ET's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen were drained this evening. While the tank was being emptied, engineers monitored and collected data on the failed liquid hydrogen sensor. They will continue to collect and analyze data overnight.
Space Shuttle Program managers plan a series of meetings tomorrow to discuss the problem and determine the steps necessary to get back into the launch countdown. The STS-114 crew will remain at Kennedy while engineers work on the problem.
During their 12-day Return to Flight mission to the International Space Station, Discovery's seven crew members will test new techniques and equipment designed to make Space Shuttles safer. They'll also deliver supplies and make repairs to the Space Station.
This view shows the carrier panel on the left Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pod on Space Shuttle Discovery. During routine closeouts at Launch Pad 39B, the cover of Discovery's window number seven, one of the overhead crew cabin windows, fell about 65 feet and hit a carrier panel on the OMS pod, damaging several tiles. The tiles were on a single carrier panel, which fits over the area. A spare carrier panel was taken to the pad and used to replace the damaged panel. The replacement procedure took about an hour to complete. There was no delay to the launch countdown.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
A flight of US Air Force F-15 Eagle Jetfighters helped to provide air cover over Kennedy Space Center and the shuttle launch pad against terrorist attacks during yesterday's launch countdown of the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Those are cool photos, Jay! Can I send some of them to a friend of mine who loves photos of Air Force planes? He would probably like to use one as a wallpaper background.
FG
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Sure, go for it. If you need the bigger version I received let me know and I can forward them to you.
Posted by Darth Ender (Member # 7694) on :
Those jetfighters show off the future Empire’s power
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
You know, after all the complaining we did about working on F-15's from 1978 (F-15's from Kadena AFB Japan) these planes are even older. 1975! Think about that for a moment...how many people still drive cars from that era?
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Darth if you wanted your future empires planes you wouldn't be using planes from 1975. You'd be using brand new planes. This one... Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Just got this from one of the NASA guys sending out an update to everyone:
quote: Subject: Discovery Launch Issues-follow up
The "intermittent" sensor problem that forced a postponement of the space shuttle Discovery's launch was found to be a little less intermittent overnight, NASA reported Thursday.
Engineers were able to reproduce the problem late Wednesday after draining the propellants out of the shuttle's external fuel tank, NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham said. One of the sensors initially provided bad readings, just as it did during the countdown, he said.
Buckingham said thaT the recurrence of the problem vindicated the decision to delay launch. However, the test by itself could not determine whether the source of the problem was a balky sensor in the tank, or bad wiring or faulty electronics in the shuttle orbiter.
The results of Wednesday night's test, along with other data, should help mission managers decide whether the shuttle could be launched in a day or two - or not until weeks from now.
Problems with the fuel-tank sensor system have bedeviled NASA for months: They first popped up while testing a different fuel tank back in April, but engineers could not reproduce the glitch or track down its source. Instead, they replaced components of the system with approved spares. The system checked out OK in May, and Discovery was mated to a newer, heater-equipped fuel tank in June.
Even though another full-scale tanking test was not conducted, managers felt reassured that the problem had gone away.
After Wednesday's launch scrub, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said the off-and-on nature of the problem was frustrating. "This is an intermittent anomaly, and the hardest of all electronic problems is an intermittent one," he told reporters.
A matter of days or weeks?
Discovery's mission management team is still meeting to sift through the data from a variety of tests. At an afternoon news briefing, managers are expected to provide more information about the nature of the sensor glitch - and about the schedule for NASA's first shuttle mission since the catastrophic loss of Columbia more than two years ago.
If the problem can be fixed quickly, launch could be rescheduled for as early as Saturday - a prospect that looks increasingly unlikely. Even if more extensive troubleshooting is required, NASA might be able to fix things in time for launch later this month. But if the problem lies in the fuel tank rather than the shuttle's circuitry, Discovery might have to be moved back into NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building for more extensive work. That could delay the launch until September.
The glitch involved a low-level sensor that appeared to show that the tank still had plenty of liquid-hydrogen fuel - even when the system was intentionally reset to make the tank seem empty. In NASA parlance, the sensor registered "wet" when it should have shown "dry."
The low-level sensors are supposed to signal the fuel system to get ready for shutting down the shuttle's main engines if propellant levels get too low. For that reason, they're also known as engine-cutoff sensors or ECO sensors.
The liquid-hydrogen compartment in the fuel tank has four such sensors, and all four of them have to be working in order to clear the shuttle for launch, said deputy shuttle program manager Wayne Hale. During launch, two of the sensors can go out without posing a hazard, he said.
If the sensor system fails, the shuttle's propulsion system might not be able to adjust the fuel system correctly during its ascent to orbit. A false "dry" reading could lead the system to shut down the engines too soon, while a false "wet" reading could keep the engines running when they should be in shutdown mode.
Late Wednesday, when the tank was drained, three of the sensors correctly indicated that the tank was dry. But engineers found that the troublesome sensor indicated "wet," Buckingham said. They ran through a series of commands, but the sensor still gave faulty readings.
Then the testing team waited five minutes. When they ran through the commands again, the sensor started operating normally, Buckingham said. But there was no indication as to what resolved the situation - underlining the intermittent nature of the problem.
Mission focuses on safety Hale told reporters on Wednesday that the fuel-tank concerns illustrated that NASA was taking safety seriously in the wake of the Columbia tragedy, in which seven astronauts were killed. NASA grounded the shuttle fleet after that accident and made efforts to reform its "safety culture."
"We built a very tight safety net to make sure we don't fly until it's safe," Hale said.
Discovery's 12-day mission is aimed at testing safety measures developed in the past two years - including the addition of cameras to monitor the launch, changes in the design of the fuel tank and the orbiter, and the use of a new 50-foot (15-meter) boom to inspect critical parts of the shuttle's protective skin while in orbit.
The shuttle is also due to take tons of supplies up to the international space station, and bring tons of equipment and trash back down.
While docked to the station, Discovery's spacewalkers are to test some of the tools that have been developed to repair minor damage in the shuttle's tiles or reinforce panels. During a second spacewalk, they will replace a balky guidance gyroscope on the station - and a storage platform will be installed on the station's exterior during a third outing.
Discovery's commander, Eileen Collins, has said that she and her crew are planning a tribute to Columbia and its crew, but she has held back the details to build suspense.
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
I'd hate to be technicians and engineer's working on that sensor. Thats's alot of pressure to get that thing working.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Sweet pictures Jay.
I've never seen an aerial view of the pad like that.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Yeah, for sure. Might have to actually print these out
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Wow, great photos! So cool. I've been there but never seen photos like that. It kind of gives a better perspective of the size of everything!
That's hardly any selection compared to what they could have on that page.
Posted by Darth Ender (Member # 7694) on :
Ahhh.... The Star Destroyer
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Very cool pics!
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Still working for today's launch
Posted by NinjaBirdman (Member # 7114) on :
Cool, I'm watching. I really hope everything goes well.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Yahoo!!
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Posted by NinjaBirdman (Member # 7114) on :
Sweet, looks like everything went great. About time we're back up there.
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Whew...
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
I could never get the streaming video to work -- probably too many users. I was trying real hard to get it to connect while watching NASA's countdown the last few seconds. So I didn't get to see it live, but the after-photos on all the news sites look awesome.
Farmgirl
Posted by MoralDK (Member # 8395) on :
I was watching it on the news. And when it took off I felt like a giddy school kid. Totally unexpected feeling since I've seen it like 20 times before.
The NASA live feed is way cool.
Posted by naledge (Member # 392) on :
My heart was racing. I haven't felt that way about a launch in years. My hat is off to the NASA workers for the hard work they performed getting the shuttle back on track. The external tank camera footage was a phenomenal sight!
...the dream is still alive!
-nal
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
naledge -- haven't seen you around here forever. You been lurking? Takes a shuttle blast-off to get you out of lurking status? Posted by ssywak (Member # 807) on :
Woo and yay!
Hey, Darian--anything of yours on this flight?
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Guess that's what all the new cameras and patch stuff are for.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
One of the guys here sent this about the debris today:
quote: It’s not uncommon for the SRB separation motors to blast bits (big and small) of the ET insulation (the orange stuff) off the tank. At that altitude with near zero air it’s a straight ballistic fall and can not come near the orbiter (this has been seen lots of times in the past). The problem with Columbia was it happen (the insulation came off) in dense air and got caught up and accelerated in the turbulent air flow between the ET and the orbiter. So no worries, but NASA will put on a good show (as they should). For 3 billion dollars you get the full show… :-)
The cameras work just as they should. If a strike had happened to the RCC or if a lot of tile was zapped they would have done a TAL to Spain or France right then.
Also, Did you see that it hit a bird too:Bird Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :
pretty ugly for cockpits, too...
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
quote: The shuttle program is being grounded until engineers determine the severity of the impact of debris that fell from the shuttle Discovery during blastoff Tuesday, NASA says. More soon.
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