Author Topic: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident  (Read 44943 times)

Offline Orbiter

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Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« on: 01/16/2011 01:35 am »
from NASA Facebook
STS-133 Mission Specialist Tim Kopra was injured today in a bicycle accident, but he will be OK. However, there could be an impact to his mission duties for STS-133 -- that concern is still being evaluated. Further details of his injury are not available at this time due to concerns for his medical privacy.

UPDATE: Rumors on other space websites are reporting that Kopra might have broken his hip.

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« Last Edit: 01/16/2011 01:41 am by Orbiter »
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Offline pathfinder_01

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #1 on: 01/16/2011 02:32 am »
What God did the shuttle program cross in its lasts days.....?  Juzz 2 possible replacement for crew on the last 3 flights. Flights delayed for months and flight delays impactring other programs not to mention lack fo funding for the last flight!

Offline Lee Jay

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #2 on: 01/16/2011 02:52 am »
Broken hips can be anywhere between hurts like heck but you can get by with it to you need a hip replacement.  With the flight 5 1/2 weeks away (hopefully), I wonder if he'll have time to heal sufficiently even if he's on the good side of the scale, and if he doesn't if NASA will have to delay the flight.

Unknown unknowns.  No one could have predicted the events of the last week.

Offline Austin

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #3 on: 01/16/2011 02:55 am »
Wow...we're really talking Murphy's Law, here.

Offline vt_hokie

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #4 on: 01/16/2011 03:03 am »
With the flight 5 1/2 weeks away (hopefully), I wonder if he'll have time to heal sufficiently even if he's on the good side of the scale, and if he doesn't if NASA will have to delay the flight.

Does NASA have backups for every crew member on the mission?

Offline Quindar

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #5 on: 01/16/2011 03:11 am »
Now there's a space medicine study wanting to be done, how does a broken bone heal in space?  The lack of weight on the break is good for it or not?  I wonder would the usual space induced bone loss also cause a problem in the healing of a break as new calcium is not being replaced, at anywhere near the 1g rate? 

I wonder if any studies have been in this area of space medicine?  An interesting catch 22 it seems like.
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Offline Orbiter

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #6 on: 01/16/2011 03:13 am »
With the flight 5 1/2 weeks away (hopefully), I wonder if he'll have time to heal sufficiently even if he's on the good side of the scale, and if he doesn't if NASA will have to delay the flight.

Does NASA have backups for every crew member on the mission?

No, that ended after STS-3. Usually if someone is injured or sick the mission is delayed. STS-36 for example.

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Offline gordo

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #7 on: 01/16/2011 07:25 am »
Personally I would have thought that within 8 weeks of a launch, these guys would be locked down to what they could do, as the financial consequences of delays are enormous.

Of course accidents do happen ad bet best wishes go out to Tim.

Offline Haakon

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #8 on: 01/16/2011 08:19 am »
Do they seriously delay the launch, at huge expense, just because someone is off injured...? Surely they have alternates ready for these things?

I think we need to start sacrificing a goat or two to the Shuttle gods...

Offline Ford Mustang

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #9 on: 01/16/2011 08:36 am »
No alternates, as mentioned above - that ended after STS-3. Corrected below by Jacqsman.  Thanks!

We'll see how this plays out soon enough, I'd think.  Best wishes to Tim and the crew.
« Last Edit: 01/16/2011 12:44 pm by Ford Mustang »

Offline arkaska

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #10 on: 01/16/2011 09:20 am »
Personally I would have thought that within 8 weeks of a launch, these guys would be locked down to what they could do, as the financial consequences of delays are enormous.

We don't know the source of his accident so we shouldn't speculate to widely. He might just have been biking on the street when he fell over. I think they are not allowed to do risky stuff but a regular bike-ride should be fine.

Online jacqmans

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #11 on: 01/16/2011 10:29 am »
No alternates, as mentioned above - that ended after STS-3.

Not true:

STS-41 Stand-by crew:  Loren J. Shriver
                                 James D. Wetherbee
                                 David C. Hilmers

STS-61 altenate-EVA:  Gregory J. Harbaugh

STS-60 back-up MS:   Vladimir G. Titov

STS-63 back-up MS:   Sergei K. Krikalev

STS-83 back-up MS:   Catherine Coleman



Jacques :-)

Offline C5C6

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #12 on: 01/16/2011 10:49 am »
maybe this sounds dumb to ask but I'd like to know the 'technical' answers:

what about flying without him?? what would be sacrificed??

the entire EVAs??
only the EVA stuff Kopra does??
another things not EVA-related??

what about leaving the EVAs for an ISS Expedition??


Offline psloss

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #13 on: 01/16/2011 01:07 pm »
another things not EVA-related??
He is the flight engineer for the mission; there's a lot of training that goes into that for ascent and entry.

We'll have to wait to find out what decisions are made; this is an unusual situation in a unique period for the program. 

Offline Space Pete

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #14 on: 01/16/2011 01:20 pm »
Oh, come on - give us a break, God of Shuttles, I think we've suffered enough. Shuttle managers must be banging their heads on their desks over the state of the program - I know I'm getting real close to that point myself. :(

Standard military practice is to ground any pilot with broken bones until they are fully healed & signed off by a flight surgeon. Although Zero-G may help heal Kopra's hip, the 3-Gs during ascent sure won't help anything. His bones will also need to be strong enough to cope with any emergencies on the launch pad, or bail-outs during ascent/approach.

NASA really can't afford to delay STS-133 for this. There's only one month between STS-133's undocking and the HTV-2 departure, and that time is needed in order to transfer two trashed RSPs and two ISPs from the PMM to HTV-2.

If a crew swap is necessarily, they're going to need a really experienced spacewalker to take Kopra's place - someone like Dave Wolf.
« Last Edit: 01/16/2011 01:32 pm by Space Pete »
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Offline majormajor42

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #15 on: 01/16/2011 01:26 pm »
The God of Shuttles has done far worse.

We'll find a way, and have a safe flight that everyone comes home from. 
...water is life and it is out there, where we intend to go. I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man or machine on a body such as the Moon and harvest a cup of water for a human to drink or process into fuel for their craft.

Offline robertross

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #16 on: 01/16/2011 02:35 pm »
Now there's a space medicine study wanting to be done, how does a broken bone heal in space?  The lack of weight on the break is good for it or not?  I wonder would the usual space induced bone loss also cause a problem in the healing of a break as new calcium is not being replaced, at anywhere near the 1g rate? 

It may be a good experiment to undertake, but not in the context of needing that person to perform his or her duties to accomplish the mission objectives. Time and a place for everything.

And if it doesn't heal correctly, then there's the potential for even more pain & damage by having to re-break & set the bone, or do corrective surgery. No thanks (I'd say). Sounds cruel, but there are research animals for a reason (imo).

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery Tim. Get well soon!

Offline CitabriaFlyer

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #17 on: 01/16/2011 03:02 pm »
I suspect that a fracture will not heal properly in space with our current medical understanding.  Bones tend to get weaker not stronger.  Also, you would be asking this guy to do a 3Gx ascent, two weeks zero g, and a 1.5 Gz entry profile.  That would hurt alot.  Unless this is just a bad bruise, he is probably not going to be good to go in a few weeks.  I hope the rumors are wrong and he has a speedy recovery.

Offline dsmillman

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #18 on: 01/16/2011 05:29 pm »
Hopefully Tim Kopra's injury turns out to be minor.  However if he needs to be replaced I suspect these are the possibilities:

Nicolle Stott - She has been the IV for STS-133 and has done an EVA.
                    She would probably have the shortest learning curve on
                    the EVA's.  It would be a lot easier for another astronaut
                    to step in and take over the IV role.

Doug Wheelock or Tracy Caldwell Dyson:
                    They have the most recent EVA experience from last
                    summer's Pump Module R & R.  Also many of the STS-133
                    EVA activities are either connected with the PM or the
                    originally scheduled activities on the stage EVA.

Offline Lee Jay

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #19 on: 01/16/2011 05:52 pm »
Hopefully Tim Kopra's injury turns out to be minor.  However if he needs to be replaced I suspect these are the possibilities:

Nicolle Stott - She has been the IV for STS-133 and has done an EVA.
                    She would probably have the shortest learning curve on
                    the EVA's.  It would be a lot easier for another astronaut
                    to step in and take over the IV role.

If that one were chosen, who would serve as flight engineer?

Offline Orbiter

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #20 on: 01/16/2011 05:57 pm »
I think a 5 person crew for STS-133 is possible if worse comes to worse. Remember that STS-133 was originally suppose to be only a 5 man crew.

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« Last Edit: 01/16/2011 05:58 pm by Orbiter »
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Offline Space Pete

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #21 on: 01/16/2011 06:07 pm »
Any of the STS-131 EV crew are possible (Rick Mastracchio or Clay Anderson), as many of their tasks got bumped to 133 anyway, such as the LWAPA retrieval.
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Offline GoForTLI

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #22 on: 01/16/2011 06:17 pm »
How much time does it take to train a Flight Engineer (i.e. how many hours of study and how many sim runs and what else am I missing)?

Here's hoping for the best for Tim Kopra.  I'd think this CDR/PLT/FE team has trained so long on ascent, entry, and on-orbit ops that I'd hate to have to throw someone new into the mix. 
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Offline psloss

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #23 on: 01/16/2011 06:43 pm »
How much time does it take to train a Flight Engineer (i.e. how many hours of study and how many sim runs and what else am I missing)?

Here's hoping for the best for Tim Kopra.  I'd think this CDR/PLT/FE team has trained so long on ascent, entry, and on-orbit ops that I'd hate to have to throw someone new into the mix. 
The team(work) aspect of it may be as important as the time and number of runs for a particular crew member.  I was curious about this and had asked Tim (and to some extent Al) about crew resource management on the flight deck in an interview on the day of the preflight briefings.

But short of inside knowledge, there isn't anywhere to go with any of these elements, other than speculation.  We'll know soon enough what is decided.

Offline Jorge

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #24 on: 01/16/2011 06:56 pm »
How much time does it take to train a Flight Engineer (i.e. how many hours of study and how many sim runs and what else am I missing)?

Don't know the numbers, but quite a bit for someone who's never served in that position before.

Mastracchio is the only one being discussed here who has.
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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #25 on: 01/16/2011 07:04 pm »
Is there a reason why they couldn't roll out 134 and get that mission underway?
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Offline vt_hokie

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #26 on: 01/16/2011 07:32 pm »
While I feel for Tim Kopra, especially if he misses this flight, I suppose it is some consolation that he has flown before (and had an extended stay on ISS) so it's not as if he's a rookie losing his only chance at a shuttle flight.  But I certainly wish him well on a speedy recovery!

Offline rdale

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #27 on: 01/16/2011 07:37 pm »
Is there a reason why they couldn't roll out 134 and get that mission underway?

Because 133 needs to go first, there are several articles and posts in the forums if you want more details.

Offline Jorge

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #28 on: 01/16/2011 07:45 pm »
Is there a reason why they couldn't roll out 134 and get that mission underway?

Because 133 needs to go first, there are several articles and posts in the forums if you want more details.

Correct; they used to be in the other order but since then as the manifests and flight plans have become more detailed, order dependencies have crept in and re-planning and re-stowage would be required to swap them back.

Plus there is the small matter that the 134 CDR is currently unavailable and the 134 BCDR has not yet started training.

Bottom line is a swap is possible but that would likely delay 134, not accelerate it.
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Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #29 on: 01/16/2011 08:52 pm »
I'm not comfortable with any of this until official details are known. What if he's just chipped a bone (possible with a bike accident), etc?

I'm giving this four lines in the article and will see how this plays out. I'll stick with stringers, cause we know about stringers :D
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Offline butters

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #30 on: 01/16/2011 08:59 pm »
I'm not comfortable with any of this until official details are known. What if he's just chipped a bone (possible with a bike accident), etc?

I'm giving this four lines in the article and will see how this plays out. I'll stick with stringers, cause we know about stringers :D

Stringers are like bones without medical privacy concerns.

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #31 on: 01/16/2011 09:01 pm »
I'm not comfortable with any of this until official details are known. What if he's just chipped a bone (possible with a bike accident), etc?

I'm giving this four lines in the article and will see how this plays out. I'll stick with stringers, cause we know about stringers :D

Stringers are like bones without medical privacy concerns.

Yeah ;D And there's nothing "mottled" about the Colonel.

And there's a point. He's Army. Just strap him up, he'll be fine :)
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Offline Antares

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #32 on: 01/17/2011 01:05 am »
Are any of the subs being discussed here subject to reflight restrictions, i.e. not being on the ground long enough between flights?  Especially if they were Expedition crew.
If I like something on NSF, it's probably because I know it to be accurate.  Every once in a while, it's just something I agree with.  Facts generally receive the former.

Offline Davidgojr

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #33 on: 01/17/2011 07:50 am »
I'm surprised a shuttle astronaut would partake in risky activities when injuries could potentially delay a mission, costing the US taxpayers millions of dollars.  NASA may need to look at restrictions on the extra-curricular activities of our astronauts in the future.  In any case, I hope Kopra makes a full recovery and the mission can go on without serious delay.
« Last Edit: 01/17/2011 07:51 am by Davidgojr »

Offline Ben the Space Brit

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #34 on: 01/17/2011 07:55 am »
I'm surprised a shuttle astronaut would partake in risky activities when injuries could potentially delay a mission, costing the US taxpayers millions of dollars.  NASA may need to look at restrictions on the extra-curricular activities of our astronauts in the future.  In any case, I hope Kopra makes a full recovery and the mission can go on without serious delay.

He was riding a push-bike! That's hardly free climbing, skin-diving or BASE jumping! What are you proposing, that they are wrapped in cotton wool and placed in quarantine for the last month like the Apollo lunar crews?
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Offline elmarko

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #35 on: 01/17/2011 10:12 am »
Hard balance between being able to live your life, and being careful. Where do you draw the line?

And hey, let's put one of those radius blocks across his hip, that'll do it.

Offline cycleroadie

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #36 on: 01/17/2011 11:28 am »
I'm surprised a shuttle astronaut would partake in risky activities when injuries could potentially delay a mission, costing the US taxpayers millions of dollars.  NASA may need to look at restrictions on the extra-curricular activities of our astronauts in the future.  In any case, I hope Kopra makes a full recovery and the mission can go on without serious delay.

The man was keeping in shape as any astronaut would do. Instead of running, he rides a bike, hardly a risky activity. And who is to say it was his fault even, we do not know any details, he could have been hit by some soccer mom in her SUV yacking on her cellphone instead of driving. I mean come on, the guy could have tripped and fell down the stairs and gotten hurt worse.
« Last Edit: 01/17/2011 11:30 am by cycleroadie »
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Offline Leardawg

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #37 on: 01/17/2011 11:45 am »
As Gordon Cooper put it so succinctly: "What do they want us to do, play Tiddlywinks?"  ::) :D
Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

Offline Bubbinski

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #38 on: 01/17/2011 01:28 pm »
It sounds like what happened to Tim Kopra could have happened to any of us in our everyday routine.  He was riding a bicycle, lots of people exercise or ride to work.  You can get hurt doing lots of things you do every day (getting out of bed, the shower, driving to work, walking around the neighborhood, going to the store, etc.). 

The only way to perfectly prevent, without fail, any event like this would be to live in a bubble wrapped jail cell.  Not gonna happen.
I'll even excitedly look forward to "flags and footprints" and suborbital missions. Just fly...somewhere.

Offline kevin-rf

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #39 on: 01/17/2011 01:42 pm »
The only way to perfectly prevent, without fail, any event like this would be to live in a bubble wrapped jail cell.  Not gonna happen.

I fully agree, if you do that you won't be healthy enough for the flight. They have to stay in top physical shape. When you do that injuries happen.  I am more surprised it doesn't happen more often.

Heck, while marathon training last year, doing something totally unrelated I managed to break a couple of ribs. Injuries happen, you work (run) through them and hope they don't impact your plans to much. I hope it is a "minor" break, and wish him the best.
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Offline Davidgojr

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #40 on: 01/17/2011 07:46 pm »
Quote from: Ben the Space Brit

He was riding a push-bike! That's hardly free climbing, skin-diving or BASE jumping! What are you proposing, that they are wrapped in cotton wool and placed in quarantine for the last month like the Apollo lunar crews?




I'm a bike rider myself and I understand that it carries some moderate risk associated with it.  Everyone who has ridden a bike has a taken a fall or two for varies reasons.  I'm not suggesting a full out quarantine but asking astronauts to take steps to minimize risks to themselves wouldn't be an unreasonable request.  Remember that millions of dollars are at stake with each delay.  If exercise was the goal, riding a stationary bike or jogging would certainly garner all the benefits with much less risk.  It is difficult to know where to draw the line but I think it needs to be moved a little if backups aren't trained to immediately replace a crew member in case of an accident. 
« Last Edit: 01/17/2011 07:56 pm by Davidgojr »

Offline iamlucky13

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #41 on: 01/17/2011 11:57 pm »
Better to just continue backup crew training. Then you also cover for the truly uncontrollable, and you allow your crew a reasonable amount of discretion of their own activities so they don't go stir crazy before launch.

It seems we got caught in a funny spot here with the wind down of the shuttle.

The astronauts themselves, meanwhile, have a pretty good incentive to be careful about their activities in that they could lose a flight opportunity if they're not in flight condition.

Offline dninness

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #42 on: 01/18/2011 12:00 am »
A couple astronauts are skydivers, and they're asked/told (I suspect with emphasis on the latter) to suspend participation in high risk sports when they're assigned to a crew. (Mary Ellen Weber comes to mind, I could swear Fred Leslie is/was a skydiver, too, but I don't recall..)

I had a fairly minor parachute accident in 2009, and when I saw a doc about my various contusions and scrapes he said "What happened to you?"

I said "are my injuries consistent with a mountain biking accident?"

He said "yeah..." with this wary look on his face. "What'd you really do?"

"Parachuting accident.."  I got a laugh out of how his eyes bugged out of his head.

Mind you, the phrase "minor parachute accident"  is akin to the phrase "minor submarine incident" or "minor spaceflight accident.  There are very, very limited circumstances that are "minor" in those areas.

But mountain biking? Yeah, you can't wrap these guys in bubble wrap for 6-12 months at a shot. You could get hurt going to the corner store for milk, for crying out loud.
 

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #43 on: 01/18/2011 12:16 am »

As a car-bike accident survivor, this one really hits home (sorry for the pun).  I just assume a car is somehow involved--people as capable and competent as astronauts are (and Mr. Kopra appears to be) do not self-inflict these too often.  Then again, adventure and action also run in the veins...
Very curious to see what happened, and of course wishing the best to TKopra!
(on a purely business note, I have to believe, based on rumored injuries, there will be an alternate crew person brought in).

I'm surprised a shuttle astronaut would partake in risky activities when injuries could potentially delay a mission, costing the US taxpayers millions of dollars.  NASA may need to look at restrictions on the extra-curricular activities of our astronauts in the future.  In any case, I hope Kopra makes a full recovery and the mission can go on without serious delay.

The man was keeping in shape as any astronaut would do. Instead of running, he rides a bike, hardly a risky activity. And who is to say it was his fault even, we do not know any details, he could have been hit by some soccer mom in her SUV yacking on her cellphone instead of driving. I mean come on, the guy could have tripped and fell down the stairs and gotten hurt worse.

Offline ChrisGebhardt

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #44 on: 01/18/2011 12:33 am »
Better to just continue backup crew training. Then you also cover for the truly uncontrollable, and you allow your crew a reasonable amount of discretion of their own activities so they don't go stir crazy before launch.

Why? In the entire history of the Space Shuttle Program there have been very, very few instances of crew members needing to be replaced on a mission because of injury, family issues, medical issues, or death. And of that very small number, an even smaller number of times did that replacement scenario translate into a need to delay the launch of a mission.

Plus, think of the time, money, and effort that would need to go into training a full back-up crew for every single flight. It becomes - at certain points - more frugal and efficient to just train one crew and deal with crew replacement scenarios as they arise.

The fact that we are potentially dealing with two backup crew member scenarios right now for the final two Shuttle flights is purely happenstance... nothing more. And this is certainly not indicative of a larger need for backup crews at this point time. And I would stress here, too (and I know this is not what you were trying to get at... just reinforcing something here), that we do not know the extent of Tim's injury, nor do we know his status in regard to STS-133.

Now, that being said, I would image that NASA - in the down time between the end of the Shuttle program this year and the beginning of the new program sometime later this decade (hopefully) - will look once again at the need for backup crews for the new program... just like they did before Mercury, before Gemini, before Apollo, before and during Shuttle, and before ISS.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #45 on: 01/18/2011 12:41 am »
Are any of the subs being discussed here subject to reflight restrictions, i.e. not being on the ground long enough between flights?  Especially if they were Expedition crew.

Officially, no subs are being discussed right now. NASA will assess Tim's condition this week, and when they reach a decision an announcement will be made. Logically, the decision would be one of the following options: (1) Tim's injury was minor and he'll be medically cleared for flight by Feb. 24. (2) Tim's injury is minor but the time needed for him heal and be medically cleared for flight will be longer than the current NET launch date but shorter than the amount of time it would take to train a backup crew member. Accordingly, the launch date will be slipped to a date that is acceptable for Tim's recovery. (3) Tim's injury is too severe to allow him to fly on STS-133 in the coming months. A backup crew member will be named, but the time necessary to complete pertinent training of the replacement crew member will drive a slip to STS-133's target NET launch date.

Now, obviously, if we're looking at a replacement scenario, no one under re-flight restrictions would be in the pool of candidates.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #46 on: 01/18/2011 03:22 am »
ABC News is reporting that they have confirmed from at least two "sources" that Tim Kopra has indeed broken his hip. The short story can be found here: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/national_world&id=7903737&rss=rss-twitter%20-ktrk-article-7903737

As always, NASA will have an official statement sometime this week on the incident.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #47 on: 01/18/2011 03:38 pm »
It sounds like what happened to Tim Kopra could have happened to any of us in our everyday routine.  He was riding a bicycle, lots of people exercise or ride to work.  You can get hurt doing lots of things you do every day (getting out of bed, the shower, driving to work, walking around the neighborhood, going to the store, etc.). 

The only way to perfectly prevent, without fail, any event like this would be to live in a bubble wrapped jail cell.  Not gonna happen.
This is almost a bit funny and coincidental to me.  I ride a road bike on north Merritt Island for exercise and have also put over 1600 miles on the bike on the space center over a 9 month period sometime back as part of an AF side challenge.  Me and my wife also were quite fortunate last summer during a meet the crew affair out at Fishlips and spent a good 15 minutes or more chatting with Tim.  I told him I was the NASA MEQ lead on 104 and he said he would remember that when he operated the air data probes and such.  He however did not mention that he was a bike rider.

Well about 3 years ago in February I was doing a ride on North Tropical Trail and had ridden north and was returning home going south.  There is almost no traffic on this country road.  A light drizzle had started and I was looking forward to getting home as it was also a bit cool.  As I approached the entrance to a housing development I noticed the Domino's pizza kid arriving on the side road right across from the development.  I kept an eye on him but kept riding.  Just as I entered the intersection he came across the street.  I swerved but he caught my rear tire and I was thrown to the ground.  I suffered a large abrasion to my leg but no broken bones or major injuries and my rear wheel significantly bent out of round.  Anyway I had him take me home as I held the bike out the car window.  Funny thing is I kind of remembered my helmet bouncing off the pavement.  A week or so later I did an inspection of the helmet and discovered that the foam substructure was thoroughly broken up.  I almost always wear a helmet although thinking it is overkill but that day it likely saved me from a major head injury.  This thing with Kopra certainly hits home.

Finally, my wife was reading the Florida Today online story and told me that half the posts from readers were obnoxious and totally uncalled for.  Seems politics comes into everything and they were spouting about bike riding on roads and riders should get off the roads or get run over etc.  Pathetic garbage that people will spout when they are incognito on the web, just shows what goes through so many peoples minds you never know about.
« Last Edit: 01/18/2011 05:19 pm by rkoenn »

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #48 on: 01/18/2011 05:01 pm »
I'm trying to recall shuttle cases of crew replacements, and I remember Mark Lee being bumped off a mission but that was a year before flight or so. We also had cases where a backup was designated when medical concerns arose, but I don't think that was ever needed. Memory jogs, anyone?

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #49 on: 01/18/2011 05:46 pm »
I'm trying to recall shuttle cases of crew replacements, and I remember Mark Lee being bumped off a mission but that was a year before flight or so. We also had cases where a backup was designated when medical concerns arose, but I don't think that was ever needed. Memory jogs, anyone?


Fred Haise, STS-3.
Dave Griggs, STS-33.
Sonny Carter and Mary Cleave, STS-42.
Hoot Gibson, STS-46.
Dave Walker, STS-44?
Jeff Ashby, STS-85.
Gus Loria, STS-113.

I'm sure there are more.
« Last Edit: 01/18/2011 05:49 pm by Leardawg »
Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

Offline Rocket Guy

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #50 on: 01/18/2011 05:59 pm »
Don Thomas, expedition 6.
Karen Nyberg, STS-132.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #51 on: 01/18/2011 06:13 pm »
Joan Higgenbotham, STS-126.
Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #52 on: 01/18/2011 06:15 pm »
Leardawg and Rocket Guy, do you have any details on delays etc as a result of those? Curious as how long of a slip resulted from those.  I know each instance is unique, but still good info.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #53 on: 01/18/2011 06:16 pm »
I'm also getting memory signals and external input about

Noriega  STS-121
Frimout for Lampton, STS-45
Hughes-Fulford for Philips  STS-40  needs validation
Nordsieck replaced on an ASTRO crew
Mark Lee for an early ISS assembly mission

Mary Cleave has also been mentioned with some doubt...

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #54 on: 01/18/2011 06:32 pm »
FLIGHT      ASTRONAUT                REASON               REPLACED BY



STS-33    D.S. Griggs (plt)      died in plane crash      J.E. Blaha


STS-35    Jon McBride (cdr)      left nasa                V.D. Brand


STS-40    J.E. Blaha (plt)       to STS-33                S.M. Gutierrez


STS-40    R.W. Phillips (ps)     health                   M. Hughes-Fulford   

 
STS-44    D.M. Walker (cdr)      suspended                F.D. Gregory


STS-42    M.E. Cleave (ms)       personal                 M.L. Carter


STS-42    M.L. Carter (ms)       died in plain crash      D.C. Hilmers


STS-45    M.L. Lampton (ps)      health                   D.D. Frimout


STS-50    J.H. Casper (plt)      to STS-54                K.D. Bowersox


STS-50    K.D. Bowersox (ms)     pilot STS-50             E.S. Baker


STS-46    R.L. Gibson (cdr)      suspended                L.J. Shriver


STS-46    J.D. Wetherbee (plt)   to STS-52                A.M. Allen


STS-46    A.M. Allen (ms)        pilot STS-46             M.S. Ivins


STS-85    J.S. Ashby (plt)       personal                 K.V. Rominger


STS-101   Ed Lu (ms)             to STS-106               James Voss


STS-101   Yuri Malenchencko      to STS-106               S. Helms


STS-101   Boris Marukov          to STS-106               Y. Usachev


STS-102   Umberto Guidoni        to STS-100               ???


STS-98    M. Lee (ms)            suspended                B. Curbeam


STS-100   B. Curbeam (ms)        to STS-98                S. Parazynski


ISS-3     K. Bowersox (cdr)      personal                 F. Culbertson


ISS-6     D. Thomas (fe)         medical                  D. Pettit


STS-113   G. Loria (plt)         personal                 P. Lockhart


ISS-7     S. Moschenko (fe)      training                 A. Kaleri

Jacques :-)

Offline ChrisGebhardt

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #55 on: 01/18/2011 06:32 pm »
Karen Nyberg (STS-132), Gus Loria (STS-113), and Noriega (STS-121) had no effect on those missions' launch dates.
« Last Edit: 01/18/2011 06:35 pm by ChrisGebhardt »

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #56 on: 01/18/2011 06:40 pm »
The STS-36 launch back in 1990 was delayed by a few days due to the fact that mission commander John O. Creighton had  a mild flu.
Jacques :-)

Offline Rocket Guy

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #57 on: 01/18/2011 06:44 pm »
Karen Nyberg (STS-132), Gus Loria (STS-113), and Noriega (STS-121) had no effect on those missions' launch dates.

True but he is asking to recall crew replacements in general.

STS-133 would have been delayed if it had not been the pilot astronaut, no doubt. That is probably the easiest position to replace of the whole crew, so they chose the most recent flown pilot, Lockhart, who had just completed a near-identical mission.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #58 on: 01/18/2011 06:50 pm »
Karen Nyberg (STS-132), Gus Loria (STS-113), and Noriega (STS-121) had no effect on those missions' launch dates.

True but he is asking to recall crew replacements in general.


I understand what he's asking for. I answered the occasions I knew.

And while it's easy to claim that STS-113 would have been delayed had it not been the pilot who stepped down, 113 was already slipping because of the the growing delays to 112/Atlantis ahead of it. And, if memory serves, Gus stepped down in the summer months of 2002... when STS-113 was already moving toward a late-year launch in the November time frame... so getting into hypotheticals about 113 isn't really relevant here.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #59 on: 01/18/2011 07:02 pm »
Leardawg and Rocket Guy, do you have any details on delays etc as a result of those? Curious as how long of a slip resulted from those.  I know each instance is unique, but still good info.

Actually, I'm not aware of any delay to a flight being actually caused by the need to replace a crew member. Even Apollo 13 was launched on time, 3 days after a swap was made.
Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #60 on: 01/18/2011 07:12 pm »
Leardawg and Rocket Guy, do you have any details on delays etc as a result of those? Curious as how long of a slip resulted from those.  I know each instance is unique, but still good info.

Actually, I'm not aware of any delay to a flight being actually caused by the need to replace a crew member. Even Apollo 13 was launched on time, 3 days after a swap was made.

But that's because NASA trained backup crews for that express purpose. NASA stopped training backup crews with with launch of STS-4 in June 1982.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #61 on: 01/18/2011 07:20 pm »
Reportedly a replacement 133 crewmember has now been decided on -- name as yet unavailable to me.

« Last Edit: 01/18/2011 07:20 pm by JimO »

Offline Rocket Guy

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #62 on: 01/18/2011 07:29 pm »

I understand what he's asking for. I answered the occasions I knew.

And while it's easy to claim that STS-113 would have been delayed had it not been the pilot who stepped down, 113 was already slipping because of the the growing delays to 112/Atlantis ahead of it. And, if memory serves, Gus stepped down in the summer months of 2002... when STS-113 was already moving toward a late-year launch in the November time frame... so getting into hypotheticals about 113 isn't really relevant here.

You're correct, he was announced replaced on August 15, 2002, at which time 113 was two flights out.

I'm not sure if a mission has been outright delayed because of replacement, or if this is the closest to launch (just over a month) for a shuttle mission it has happened.

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #63 on: 01/18/2011 07:32 pm »
Reportedly a replacement 133 crewmember has now been decided on -- name as yet unavailable to me.



Cool, thanks Jim. I guess that crewmember can slip in without the launch date being moved?
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Offline Space Pete

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #64 on: 01/18/2011 07:50 pm »
Cool, thanks Jim. I guess that crewmember can slip in without the launch date being moved?

At L-36 days? Don't count on it...
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Offline ChrisGebhardt

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #65 on: 01/18/2011 07:55 pm »
Cool, thanks Jim. I guess that crewmember can slip in without the launch date being moved?

At L-36 days? Don't count on it...

The biggest question here will be "to what level of training and proficiency will the replacement crewmember need to have in order to execute the necessary duties on this flight?" That will drive the discussion on the effect this may have on Discovery's launch date. They will also be looking at things like how recent has the replacement crewmember flown, and were any EVA tasks on recent missions similar to those needing to be performed on 133?

Obviously, as we've seen many times, EVAs get changed on orbit with little more than one day's notice. Sometimes, entire EVAs get added and all the crew does is read the overview of the activities they're now tasked with.

So the ultimate question is: How trained does this replacement crewmember need to be before launch?
« Last Edit: 01/18/2011 08:08 pm by ChrisGebhardt »

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #66 on: 01/18/2011 08:05 pm »

ChrisG nailed it with the above post.  Because of the factors he calls out, one would think an "EVA specialist" like Robert Curbeam or Scott Parazynski would be on the short list (if they're even still active).  Or anyone recently engaged in similar EVA activities/areas.
Perhaps try to work a swap with the potential STS-135 crew?

Best wishes to TKopra--this must be heartbreaking as well as bone breaking...

Offline psloss

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #67 on: 01/18/2011 08:12 pm »
Because of the factors he calls out, one would think an "EVA specialist" like Robert Curbeam or Scott Parazynski would be on the short list (if they're even still active).  Or anyone recently engaged in similar EVA activities/areas.
There's more to it than the EVAs:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=23833.msg680978#msg680978

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #68 on: 01/18/2011 08:14 pm »
Because of the factors he calls out, one would think an "EVA specialist" like Robert Curbeam or Scott Parazynski would be on the short list (if they're even still active).  Or anyone recently engaged in similar EVA activities/areas.
There's more to it than the EVAs:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=23833.msg680978#msg680978


Very true, Philip.

Offline Space Pete

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #69 on: 01/18/2011 08:14 pm »

ChrisG nailed it with the above post.  Because of the factors he calls out, one would think an "EVA specialist" like Robert Curbeam or Scott Parazynski would be on the short list (if they're even still active).  Or anyone recently engaged in similar EVA activities/areas.
Perhaps try to work a swap with the potential STS-135 crew?

Best wishes to TKopra--this must be heartbreaking as well as bone breaking...

Both Curbeam and Parazynski have retired.
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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #70 on: 01/18/2011 08:15 pm »
Can they take a crew-member from STS-134? We have to remember the new crew-member have to be Flight Engineer trained as well.

Michael T. Good would be the most recently flown FE that has done EVAs
« Last Edit: 01/18/2011 08:16 pm by arkaska »

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #71 on: 01/18/2011 08:19 pm »
Tim could also swap with a 135 crewmember and he (Tim) can take his spot on 135 later in the year...
« Last Edit: 01/18/2011 08:19 pm by jacqmans »
Jacques :-)

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #72 on: 01/18/2011 08:20 pm »
Tim could also swap with a 135 crewmember and he (Tim) can take his spot on 135 later in the year...


That would mean Rex Walheim.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #73 on: 01/18/2011 08:20 pm »
Can they take a crew-member from STS-134? We have to remember the new crew-member have to be Flight Engineer trained as well.

Michael T. Good would be the most recently flown FE that has done EVAs

While anything is possible, I would think this would not be a preferred option given the potential crew replacement for that mission already and the backup Commander already named for training purposes. While it's true that Shuttle crews train with the knowledge that things can change at the last minute, the crews do become well oiled machines as learn each others instincts and reactions. The more changes you make, the more hiccups you can inadvertently introduce the closer you are to your launch date.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #74 on: 01/18/2011 08:22 pm »
OK. MODERATOR NOTE: This is becoming a haphazard guessing game. Let's dial this back and wait for an announcement.
« Last Edit: 01/18/2011 08:22 pm by ChrisGebhardt »

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #75 on: 01/18/2011 08:24 pm »
Michael T. Good would be the most recently flown FE that has done EVAs

But now M. Good is NASA Liaison to Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), Northern Command (NORTHCOM), and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) at Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Offline iamlucky13

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #76 on: 01/18/2011 09:19 pm »
Cool, thanks Jim. I guess that crewmember can slip in without the launch date being moved?

At L-36 days? Don't count on it...

The biggest question here will be "to what level of training and proficiency will the replacement crewmember need to have in order to execute the necessary duties on this flight?" That will drive the discussion on the effect this may have on Discovery's launch date. They will also be looking at things like how recent has the replacement crewmember flown, and were any EVA tasks on recent missions similar to those needing to be performed on 133?

Obviously, as we've seen many times, EVAs get changed on orbit with little more than one day's notice. Sometimes, entire EVAs get added and all the crew does is read the overview of the activities they're now tasked with.

So the ultimate question is: How trained does this replacement crewmember need to be before launch?

When I mentioned a couple pages back I thought the best mitigation for astronaut availability was training backups, I think most people read it as proposing an full-up understudy for every role, tracking along all the way to launch.

What Chris describes echoes more what I had in mind:

For those roles that are mission critical, like EVA's, one or two astronauts who already have some experience and are not on the previous or following flight (to avoid overload and immediate downstream crew impacts) are assigned to familiarize themselves with the mission at a basic level, and conducting a limited amount of hands-on training.

That might not cover every possible role, but it provides some contingency capability while being less demanding than a fully-trained backup.

Offline JimO

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #77 on: 01/19/2011 01:04 pm »
Assuming it's a flown crewman, what's the shortest-ever shuttle interval for making three flights? Two flights within a year -- it's happened. Didn't Crippen get a rush job back in the early days?


Offline psloss

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #78 on: 01/19/2011 01:15 pm »
Assuming it's a flown crewman, what's the shortest-ever shuttle interval for making three flights? Two flights within a year -- it's happened. Didn't Crippen get a rush job back in the early days?
(Aside: do we have a historical flight crew assignments thread?  This is an interesting tangent, but still a tangent.)

Not sure about the three-flight interval, but I can think of a couple of "double assignments" -- Crippen was assigned to 41-G before 41-C flew; similarly with Bobko being assigned to 51-J before 51-D.  There are probably others in that period with anticipation of a higher flight rate.

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #79 on: 01/19/2011 01:24 pm »
Reportedly a replacement 133 crewmember has now been decided on -- name as yet unavailable to me.


Is correct (no surprise the info above is correct of course). Drafting up an article and documented info. Holding back on publishing the name as we normally cover hardware here and this is a human (:)) so checking into the best practises on that. Don't want to run before he's told family and friends (as much as I'm sure he will have already).

Important thing we will get out there is there's no slip to the launch date.
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Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #80 on: 01/19/2011 02:53 pm »
Other media about to run too, so might as well get mine on:

STS-133 launch remains on track as Bowen replaces the injured Kopra:

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/01/sts-133-launch-on-track-bowen-replaces-injured-kopra/
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Offline Space Pete

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #81 on: 01/19/2011 03:36 pm »
Awesome news for Bowen - back to back flights! :)

Gotta feel bad for Kopra though - in training since September 2009, fighting through all those delays, now it's all for nought. :(
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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #82 on: 01/19/2011 04:14 pm »
I am torn in two directions here. Good news for Steve Bowen, NASA's only Submarine Qualified astronaut! I feel bad for Tim Kopra though. What rotten luck.
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Offline JimO

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #83 on: 01/19/2011 04:21 pm »
Assuming it's a flown crewman, what's the shortest-ever shuttle interval for making three flights? Didn't Crippen get a rush job back in the early days? 

I figure

Fastest three flights: 
 Crippen              1983 June 18, 1984 Apr 6, 1984 Oct 5
                         474 days
 
Bowen                2008 Nov 14, 2010 May 14, 2011 Feb 24
                             467 days

Offline Danderman

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #84 on: 01/19/2011 04:33 pm »
If there is a major slip for STS-133, would Kopra be reinstalled?

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #85 on: 01/19/2011 04:36 pm »
NASA news release:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/jan/HQ_11-023_STS-133_Spacewalker.html

Teleconference scheduled for 4:30 pm Eastern.

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #86 on: 01/19/2011 04:50 pm »
RELEASE: 11-023

ASTRONAUT STEVE BOWEN NAMED TO STS-133 SPACE SHUTTLE CREW; MEDIA TELECONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR 3:30 P.M. CST

HOUSTON -- NASA selected astronaut Steve Bowen as a mission specialist
on STS-133, the next space shuttle mission planned for launch on Feb.
24. Bowen replaces astronaut Tim Kopra, who was injured in a bicycle
accident over the weekend. The agency will hold a media
teleconference at 3:30 p.m. CST on Wednesday, Jan. 19, to discuss the
change in crew personnel.

The teleconference panelists are:
-- Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space
Operations
-- Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office

To participate in the teleconference, reporters must contact the NASA
Space Operations Public Affairs office at 202-358-1100 or the Johnson
Space Center's newsroom at 281-483-5111 for dial-in instructions.
Requests must include reporters' media affiliation and telephone
number.

"Tim is doing fine and expects a full recovery, however, he will not
be able to support the launch window next month," said Peggy Whitson,
chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston. "If for some unanticipated reason STS-133 slips
significantly, it is possible that Tim could rejoin the crew."

The crew change should not affect the mission's target launch date.

"Steve is an ideal candidate, and we have complete confidence he'll
contribute to a fully successful STS-133 mission," Whitson said. "He
has performed five prior spacewalks. That extensive experience,
coupled with some adjustments to the spread of duties among the crew,
will allow for all mission objectives to be accomplished as
originally planned in the current launch window."

Bowen will begin training this week with the STS-133 crew, which
includes Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe, and Mission
Specialists Alvin Drew, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott. Bowen also
will train to perform the two planned spacewalks of the mission. He
will join Alvin Drew to move a failed ammonia pump and perform other
external configurations to the station.

The STS-133 mission to the International Space Station will deliver
the Permanent Multipurpose Module, an external platform that holds
large equipment and critical spare components for the station. The
mission also will deliver Robonaut 2, or R2, the first human-like
robot in space.

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at:



http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio


For Bowen's complete astronaut biographical information, visit:



http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/bowen-sg.html


For Kopra's complete astronaut biographical information, visit:



http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/kopra-tl.html

« Last Edit: 01/19/2011 05:24 pm by Chris Bergin »
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Offline JimO

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #87 on: 01/19/2011 05:13 pm »
I figure --  Fastest three flights:   

Oops, missed this one:

Charles Walker:   1984 August 30, 1985 April 12, 1985 Nov 26.      =                     453 days

Hat tip to Tomas Pribyl, Czech Republic.

Offline NavySpaceFan

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #88 on: 01/19/2011 05:14 pm »
If there is a major slip for STS-133, would Kopra be reinstalled?

Per the press release, yes!
<----First launch of DISCOVERY, STS-41D!!!!

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #89 on: 01/19/2011 05:23 pm »
MSNBC article on this via Alan Boyle with James Oberg:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41155371/ns/technology_and_science-space/
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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #90 on: 01/19/2011 05:27 pm »
I figure --  Fastest three flights:   

Oops, missed this one:

Charles Walker:   1984 August 30, 1985 April 12, 1985 Nov 26.      =                     453 days

Hat tip to Tomas Pribyl, Czech Republic.

Charles Walker was not a NASA astronaut but a commercial "passenger"
 
So Bowen is the first NASA astronaut to do 3 flights this fast....

Jacques :-)

Offline Space Pete

Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #91 on: 01/19/2011 07:29 pm »
Another thing that may have been missed here - aside from Bowen's recent EVA experience, let's not forget that has also has MPLM experience from his STS-126 mission. That will surely help with the mission activities.

Also, as well as having the shortest time between Shuttle flights in history, he will also have the shortest time between ISS visits in history!

Who'd have believed back in May 2010 that when PMA-2's hatch was closed, Bowen would be the next person to come back through it? Amazing, really.

I wonder if they will re-shoot the crew portrait & poster, or will they just not bother this close to launch?

In any case, seems as Kopra has already done a (quasi) long-duration flight, I hope that he gets a shot at a 6 month Soyuz mission in future.
« Last Edit: 01/19/2011 07:35 pm by Space Pete »
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Offline Ben E

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #92 on: 01/19/2011 07:36 pm »
Unless I'm mistaken, it places Bowen in 2nd place for quickest turnaround for 3 flights. Crippen flew 3 times in 16 months in 1983-84. Bowen will have flown 3 times in 26 months.

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #93 on: 01/19/2011 07:56 pm »

Also, as well as having the shortest time between Shuttle flights in history, he will also have the shortest time between ISS visits in history!


Not sure if it is the shortest time for Bowen...(between flights)

STS-83 and STS-94 in 1997 were launched only a few months apart with the same crew.....
Jacques :-)

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #94 on: 01/19/2011 08:05 pm »

Also, as well as having the shortest time between Shuttle flights in history, he will also have the shortest time between ISS visits in history!


Not sure if it is the shortest time for Bowen...(between flights)

STS-83 and STS-94 in 1997 were launched only a few months apart with the same crew.....

Also probably not the shortest time between ISS visits; not sure if it's the record, but the aforementioned Paul Lockhart flew to ISS twice on orbiter Endeavour in 2002 (June, late November/early December).

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #95 on: 01/19/2011 08:15 pm »
Also, as well as having the shortest time between Shuttle flights in history, he will also have the shortest time between ISS visits in history!

Yep, this is the first time a US Astronaut has had back-to-back space missions.

Some karma for a guy who actually got bumped from his first flight assignment (he'd been assigned to STS-124, but was bumped to make room for ISS FE Greg Chamitoff).

Offline JimO

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #96 on: 01/19/2011 08:19 pm »

I figure

Fastest three flights: 
 Crippen              1983 June 18, 1984 Apr 6, 1984 Oct 5
                         474 days
 
Bowen                2008 Nov 14, 2010 May 14, 2011 Feb 24
                             467 days

You're all being VERY kind in just giggling behind my back and NOT rubbing my face in my inability to do simple math. I skipped a whole YEAR's worth of days on Bowen's time-for-three.

Add 365 to the '467' above to get the right answer,,,, [he says shamed-facedly]...




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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #97 on: 01/19/2011 09:09 pm »
Since the teleconference was more about STS-133 than Tim Kopra, though both related, I posted the transcription in the STS-133 thread.

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=23603.msg682134#msg682134

Offline vt_hokie

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #98 on: 01/19/2011 09:34 pm »

Gotta feel bad for Kopra though - in training since September 2009, fighting through all those delays, now it's all for nought. :(

Indeed, and I wish him all the best.  But like I said, at least he's had an opportunity to fly - would feel even worse for him were he a rookie.

Offline Moe Grills

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #99 on: 01/19/2011 09:39 pm »
Also, as well as having the shortest time between Shuttle flights in history, he will also have the shortest time between ISS visits in history!

Yep, this is the first time a US Astronaut has had back-to-back space missions.

Some karma for a guy who actually got bumped from his first flight assignment (he'd been assigned to STS-124, but was bumped to make room for ISS FE Greg Chamitoff).


Well my head is spinning. I'm stunned. First it's Mr. Giffords, and now this astronaut being bumped; two being bumped from separate missions on the same month.
With all due sensitivity to Mr. Giffords and his spouse  (God bless his wife's continued recovery), I don't recall any time in the past 50 years when two astronauts were bumped from separate manned missions in the same month. Do any of you recall different?

Offline brad2007a

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #100 on: 01/19/2011 09:55 pm »

[/quote]


Well my head is spinning. I'm stunned. First it's Mr. Giffords, and now this astronaut being bumped; two being bumped from separate missions on the same month.
With all due sensitivity to Mr. Giffords and his spouse  (God bless his wife's continued recovery), I don't recall any time in the past 50 years when two astronauts were bumped from separate manned missions in the same month. Do any of you recall different?
[/quote]

You mean Mr. Kelly (Mark Kelly), not Mr. Giffords...
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Offline rdale

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #101 on: 01/19/2011 10:37 pm »
Well my head is spinning. I'm stunned. First it's Mr. Giffords

I didn't think Mark Kelly was bumped?

Offline Comga

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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #102 on: 01/19/2011 11:00 pm »
Kelley has not been bumped.  A backup for training has been named. 
I believe brad2007a was just correcting Moe Grills' naming error, not expanding on his comment.
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Re: Tim Kopra injured in a biking accident
« Reply #103 on: 01/20/2011 04:42 pm »
Yep, this is the first time a US Astronaut has had back-to-back space missions.

Thats true and the next nearest was probally George "Pinky" Nelson who flew on STS-61C/Columbia in January 1986, the last flight before Challenger. He then flew on STS-26/Discovery in September 1988, the first flight after Challenger.
« Last Edit: 01/20/2011 04:43 pm by trebloc »
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