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Metropolis Reality Forums Ť Astronauts strapped in for launch ť

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   Astronauts strapped in for launch

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Topic: Astronauts strapped in for launch (Read 174 times)

AoM
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Astronauts strapped in for launch
« on: Jul 26^th, 2005, 7:34am »

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NASA reports no problems with fuel sensor
By Thom Patterson
CNN

Tuesday, July 26, 2005; Posted: 8:29 a.m. EDT (12:29 GMT)

Programming Note: Miles O'Brien anchors from Kennedy Space Center on the shuttle's return to space. CNN, Tuesday, 10 a.m. ET.

Discovery's crew gets strapped in.
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Discovery ready for liftoff (3:49)

NASA's test director confident Tuesday's launch will go well (0:20)

Commander Eileen Collins was the first to board, giving a confident wave to NASA cameras before entering the cockpit.

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi held up signs saying: "Get out of quarantine free" and "OUT TO LAUNCH."

Fueling of Discovery was completed early Tuesday, and NASA officials say all systems are looking good for launch.

A fuel sensor problem that scrubbed the shuttle's liftoff nearly two weeks ago did not recur Tuesday, NASA said.

Tuesday's launch will be the first shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster in February 2003.

Discovery crew members, who awoke after midnight, appeared at a traditional photo opportunity wearing matching Hawaiian shirts in the crew dining room as astronaut Steve Robinson strummed a guitar. Later the crew donned space suits for their journey.

NASA's weather forecast for launch time improved from Monday's 60 percent favorable conditions to 80 percent.

About 10 miles from launch pad 39B, scores of shuttle-watchers who had camped out overnight along the Banana River were waking up excited about the liftoff.

"We were here when they tried to launch the first time," said Kai Novak, 41, of Hamburg, Germany. "When it didn't go, we were all really depressed. We're looking forward to seeing this today."

Also among the crowd was Thor Hurlen, 46, of Aalesund, Norway. "I think it's going to happen today," he said.

NASA scrubbed Discovery's launch July 13 just 2 1/2 hours before liftoff when a pre-launch test showed one of Discovery's four sensors in its hydrogen fuel tank was not working.

On Monday, after 12 days of troubleshooting, officials said they were again ready for liftoff but still weren't sure what caused the problem.

"We don't completely [know] because it looks like a grounding issue," said Discovery vehicle manager Scott Thurston.

He said stray voltage characteristics are difficult to predict: "That's like trying to predict lightning -- you know it's going to strike, you just don't know where."

Some of the work the engineers have done -- including redoing the grounding -- "should help with the issue, if that was the issue," Thurston said.

"But if we see anything other than what we're expecting, then we'll call it off."

Thurston said if a sensor problem arises that appears to be the same as the previous one, NASA could launch Discovery with only three working sensors.

To do that, however, officials would have to waive safety rules known as launch commit criteria, which require all four sensors operational, although only two are needed to fly.

Thurston suggested NASA might consider waiving the rules if engineers felt the problem was a sensor failure and not something more critical.

"We'd know we'd have the redundancy of the other three systems," Thurston said.

"When we fly with three out of four sensors working, all we're doing is going back to the original launch commit criteria that this design was based on," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told CNN.

"We're two-failure tolerant," he said.

That disappoints former NASA shuttle engineer Randy Avera, a 14-year veteran of the orbiter program who participated in the investigation into the explosion that destroyed the shuttle Challenger in 1986.

"It disturbs me that in the first countdown attempt, a problem on the vehicle -- where it is known but not identified what the problem is -- that so quickly discussions about waiving the launch commit criteria surface," Avera said.

If a waiver is issued, and NASA launches Tuesday with the same indication of a problem it had last week, Avera wants NASA to release the documentation that details why it issued the waiver.

"What I'm looking for is NASA to come forward with the actual basis for that waiver," Avera said. "And that basis should be linked directly to design requirements and operational requirements."

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yesteach
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Re: Astronauts strapped in for launch
« Reply #1 on: Jul 26^th, 2005, 10:04am »

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I had every intention of watching this, until I say the -7:00:00 time last night around 10:30 and realized... 7 hours from now is 5:30 am??... hmmm... I'll watch the replay.. LOL..

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lakelady
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Re: Astronauts strapped in for launch
« Reply #2 on: Jul 26^th, 2005, 10:11am »

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AoM
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Re: Astronauts strapped in for launch
« Reply #3 on: Jul 26^th, 2005, 10:16am »

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they reached speeds of well over 9000 miles per hour...amazing

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luci
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Re: Astronauts strapped in for launch
« Reply #4 on: Jul 26^th, 2005, 10:20am »

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When I left the TV downstairs, their speed was over 1200 Cool

What a beautiful lift off! Wink

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