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#360
by
Hanny
on 15 Sep, 2006 00:20
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First post... Gotta say I'm glad I found this site! Nice to have some experts I can ask questions of! It'll be a great resource as a broadcaster. At my station, I'm the one who gets to write all the shuttle & space/science stories. Partly because I'm a huge shuttle geek, partly because everyone else is worried about Britney Spears' rear end than actual news.
In any case, I'd like to start off with a broadcasting-related question about the launches. I've become a huge fan of the PAOs like Buckingham and Diller and the like. They're kind of like that guy who does all the movie trailers. You know their voice instantly. Question is... who would be NASA Select's director/tech dir. during launch days? Seems like there's literally hundreds of different camera shots... and I was wondering if it's the PAO's themselves who change the shots, or if it's an automated switcher (something like the p.o.s. "parkervision" some stations use)... or if there's a td somewhere changing the shots.
Thanks in advance for the answer! And you can be sure I'll be bugging the experts with questions here! (I was recently given the opportunity to be brought around to some of the facilities at KSC and meet some of the people working on the shuttles. I think I pestered one poor soul in OPF 2 with a dozen questions at once. Couldn't help it. Standing under a shuttle turned me into a little wide-eyed kid!)
Thanks again all, and to the site admin, keep up the good work here!
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#361
by
Super George
on 15 Sep, 2006 00:27
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Hanny - 14/9/2006 7:07 PM
Thanks again all, and to the site admin, keep up the good work here!
Heh, welcome to the site. Me thinks, due to the site admin reference, you have only seen the forum. The place is controlled by the managing editor Chris Bergin, and this is only the forum to
www.nasaspaceflight.com
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#362
by
Mark Dave
on 17 Sep, 2006 21:01
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I have aquestion. I was wondering what the dark bands are on the SRBs? Where the segments bolt together, there is a black sealing covering the ends of the segments.
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#363
by
Jim
on 17 Sep, 2006 21:37
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yes
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#364
by
Mark Dave
on 17 Sep, 2006 23:18
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Well what are they a rubber seal or something else?
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#365
by
MKremer
on 17 Sep, 2006 23:38
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#366
by
Naraht
on 18 Sep, 2006 19:00
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ianeck - 13/9/2006 9:10 PM
I have a question regarding the flight control team and flight controllers. What qualifies a flight controller to be a flight director? Does he or she need to have worked X number of missions at each of the FC positions (Fido, mmacs, etc?) or is it a series of exams they go through? Is it a measure of their quality of work in their previous flight control discipline? Or a mixture of all of the above?
In the old days (into the 80s) you didn't apply to become a flight director at all. One of your managers just came to you and said "guess what, you're going to be a flight director".
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#367
by
TitanFan
on 19 Sep, 2006 06:09
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How does NASA decide which shuttle is going to fly which mission? By the time NASA schedules the mission, do they already know which shuttle is going to fly, or do they schedule mission STS-whatever years down the line and decide which shuttle is going to take it closer to launch?
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#368
by
kraisee
on 19 Sep, 2006 06:34
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TitanFan, its a complicated process.
First, some payloads going to the ISS are much heavier than others, and they just couldn't fly safely on the heaviest orbiter (Discovery) so they have to fly on the lightest of the orbiters (Endeavour and Atlantis).
Then there's maintenance issues to consider. Atlantis can only fly four more missions before it must be taken out of service. Normally it would require a major maintenance operation at that point before it could fly again. A billion dollar process called an Orbiter Maintenance Down Time (OMDT) which rebuilds an orbiter over a period of roughly two years (Endeavour is currently in her OMDT, due to return next year).
Then there's at least two months between flights for any single orbiter (assuming nothing major and unforseen needs to be done in between).
And it looks like there will need to be a rescue flight for many, if not all, of the remaining flights too, so they'll need two Orbiters to be timed 'just right' to allow for an emergency flight within 30 days of each main one.
Then there is the planning and training of the crews and the teams supporting them on the ground for each mission. This process alone takes two years or so, and has to be scheduled to fit with all the other work going on.
Assuming there's still 'wiggle room' after all those issues, they then have to work out a schedule for daylight launches, and launches which don't interfere with Progress supply ships and Soyuz crew missions, soon to be joined by ESA ATV flights and Japanese JTV flights too - although often enough the partners help fit their launches in around Shuttle flights because they know how temperamental and delicate the STS system can be regarding schedules.
With all those factors at work, if there is more than one available for a particular slot and mission, then they'll try to "balance out" the number of flights between the orbiters. They prefer to use them with fewer flights under their belts than more. The more they've flown, the more "worn" they get.
There are certainly many other factors at work too, but that's a bunch to start contemplating.
Ross.
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#369
by
Jim
on 19 Sep, 2006 11:50
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TitanFan - 19/9/2006 1:56 AM
How does NASA decide which shuttle is going to fly which mission? By the time NASA schedules the mission, do they already know which shuttle is going to fly, or do they schedule mission STS-whatever years down the line and decide which shuttle is going to take it closer to launch?
Look at the shuttle manifest on L2. The seqencing of the orbiters for the fly is known. Previous years the manifest would have all the missions/payloads and which orbiters (with mod periods and payload capabilities accounted for ) they fly on defined for up to 5 years or more in the future. It would be adjusted accordingly to real life issues.
PS. Look earlier in thread about flight production
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#370
by
elmarko
on 21 Sep, 2006 11:05
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I remember asking this during the last STS mission, and someone said they were going to get me some information but I don't think it ever materialised.
How quickly does the TPS cool down after a reentry. Like, just sat there on the runway. I'm guessing the tiles are not exactly safe to touch right about now. Or does the heat dissipate quickly?
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#371
by
Jim
on 21 Sep, 2006 11:47
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The tiles can be touched at landing. In demonstrations, a tile can be picked up right after removal from a 2000 degree oven. Actually the heat doesn't dissipate quickly but slowly
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#372
by
emarkay
on 23 Sep, 2006 16:13
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Q I have never asked before but: Could OMS engines be used in emergency to add length to glideslope, or, from greater altutude, to enable a diversion to a different landing site (lakebed, water, flat ground, etc.) in true emergency (immediate danger at post re-entry landing site)?
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#373
by
emarkay
on 23 Sep, 2006 16:19
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Columbia disaster Q's:
What information was gained from analized debris (especial larger parts) as to re-entry events that was unknown up to now (MIR and Skylab debris lost at sea, and most 'common' re-entry debris is intentionally de-orbited? For example unknown thermal, stress, chemical changes from heat/cold/pressure/comtamination from other debris, etc.) What about different materials vs. exposure to re-entry events vs. time of exposure?
Any information as to if there was any formal studies done on this?
It seems like a lot of environmental and scientific data about upper atmospheric events, as well as future designs on survivability of materials not originally intended as re-entry devices could be made.
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#374
by
Jorge
on 23 Sep, 2006 16:25
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emarkay - 23/9/2006 10:56 AM
Q I have never asked before but: Could OMS engines be used in emergency to add length to glideslope, or, from greater altutude, to enable a diversion to a different landing site (lakebed, water, flat ground, etc.) in true emergency (immediate danger at post re-entry landing site)?
No. The remaining OMS propellant is dumped after the deorbit burn, and the OMS engines themselves cannot be ignited at altitudes below 85,000 ft.
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JRF
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#375
by
astrobrian
on 23 Sep, 2006 16:26
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I am wanting to know if NASA has anyone filming reentry from somewhere in the western gulf of Mexico ?
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#376
by
Jorge
on 23 Sep, 2006 16:31
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emarkay - 23/9/2006 11:02 AM
Columbia disaster Q's:
What information was gained from analized debris (especial larger parts) as to re-entry events that was unknown up to now (MIR and Skylab debris lost at sea, and most 'common' re-entry debris is intentionally de-orbited? For example unknown thermal, stress, chemical changes from heat/cold/pressure/comtamination from other debris, etc.) What about different materials vs. exposure to re-entry events vs. time of exposure?
Any information as to if there was any formal studies done on this?
It seems like a lot of environmental and scientific data about upper atmospheric events, as well as future designs on survivability of materials not originally intended as re-entry devices could be made.
Quite a bit has been learned, but too much to list in a post. See the
CAIB report, v.1, section 3.7 for a summary and Appendix D.11 for more detail.
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JRF
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#377
by
Jorge
on 23 Sep, 2006 16:34
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astrobrian - 23/9/2006 11:09 AM
I am wanting to know if NASA has anyone filming reentry from somewhere in the western gulf of Mexico ?
Yes, two WB-57s and several other aircraft I can't remember offhand. They've been positioned to photograph entries starting with STS-114, but on 114 they couldn't get any footage due to Discovery being diverted to Edwards.
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JRF
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#378
by
astrobrian
on 23 Sep, 2006 17:58
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what about 121 and 115? and are we here on the site going to be able to see any of it?
thanks
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#379
by
Jorge
on 23 Sep, 2006 19:43
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astrobrian - 23/9/2006 12:41 PM
what about 121 and 115? and are we here on the site going to be able to see any of it? thanks
I've seen an IR still photo from 121, showing the fan-shaped area of increased heating behind the gap filler that NASA chose not to pull. I haven't seen any photos from 115, or video from either flight.
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JRF
