Was it a mistake to choose Atlantis for this mission? (Or should they have installed a SSPTS?)
Maybe Discovery should have been turned around for this flight. (Although that would have slipped the late June launch, I suppose)
I know I am probably being overly simplistic.........
Brent
The underlying problem was the required Orbiter Maintenance Down Period, where they had to go into all the hard-to-reach areas & inspect the orbiter. Discovery's time was up, Endeavour is flying, which leaves Atlantis. That's how the cards fall. Delaying the program is obviously not an option - and we're just lucky to get this flight.
Close, but Discovery's OMDP timeline was extended out through STS-133 and Jan. 2012. As Philip says above, though, money was the bigger factor here. They didn't want to spend all that money installing SSPTS on Atlantis for only two flights (129 and 132). Remember, 135 was not on the radar at that time.
But Discovery had to have a CR for an extension for flight STS-133 to make it its 9th flight, not just 2012 (they were only allowed 8 flights or 5.5 years). So it's time was up, regardless.
(based on this L2 document http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=20574.0)
The year markers are more important here. Discovery was upped to 9 flights and 6.5 years, as was Atlantis... yet they still did OMDP time-cycle inspections on Atlantis above what was required.
no fancy Racks for STS-135
Yup, that's right - just boring old RSPs, RSRs and ZSRs.
Take a look at the label on the RSP cargo bag - "Menu Food". We're going to see a lot of this kind of cargo on STS-135 - crew provisions to keep ISS operating throughout 2012 in case commercial suffers a setback.
Planners carving room in flight plan for Soyuz fly-around maneuver while Atlantis docked on STS-135. Should provide picture of a lifetime.
So, it sounds like doing a Soyuz flyabout on 135 is a fairly big priority. Yippee!
Planners carving room in flight plan for Soyuz fly-around maneuver while Atlantis docked on STS-135. Should provide picture of a lifetime.
So, it sounds like doing a Soyuz flyabout on 135 is a fairly big priority. Yippee!
Interesting. Will be fascinating to see their rationalization for removing mission content - on a flight that was touted as being necessary BECAUSE of all these activities we have to do - just to take a photo.
Planners carving room in flight plan for Soyuz fly-around maneuver while Atlantis docked on STS-135. Should provide picture of a lifetime.
So, it sounds like doing a Soyuz flyabout on 135 is a fairly big priority. Yippee!
Interesting. Will be fascinating to see their rationalization for removing mission content - on a flight that was touted as being necessary BECAUSE of all these activities we have to do - just to take a photo.
Well, they may not necessarily have to remove mission content - they could deicide to go with the descending node entry, and remove the EVA. This would create close to two extra days of crew time during the docked mission. All mission specific EVA objectives (i.e. PM and RRM xfer) could likely still be performed via the SPDM.
Also, doing the Soyuz flyabout may give them more grounds to remove some PAO events, since the PAO value of the flyabout images will likely be more than an on-orbit news conference, etc.
On an unrelated note to this discussion, I thought of something else yesterday: If the Soyuz flyabout goes ahead, then Atlantis will become the only orbiter to have been photographed while docked to a space station, since the Mir Soyuz flyabout was done with Atlantis as well. Another first for Atlantis!
Planners carving room in flight plan for Soyuz fly-around maneuver while Atlantis docked on STS-135. Should provide picture of a lifetime.
So, it sounds like doing a Soyuz flyabout on 135 is a fairly big priority. Yippee!
Interesting. Will be fascinating to see their rationalization for removing mission content - on a flight that was touted as being necessary BECAUSE of all these activities we have to do - just to take a photo.
Well, they may not necessarily have to remove mission content - they could deicide to go with the descending node entry, and remove the EVA. This would create close to two extra days of crew time during the docked mission. All mission specific EVA objectives (i.e. PM and RRM xfer) could likely still be performed via the SPDM.
Also, doing the Soyuz flyabout may give them more grounds to remove some PAO events, since the PAO value of the flyabout images will likely be more than an on-orbit news conference, etc.
On an unrelated note to this discussion, I thought of something else yesterday: If the Soyuz flyabout goes ahead, then Atlantis will become the only orbiter to have been photographed while docked to a space station, since the Mir Soyuz flyabout was done with Atlantis as well. Another first for Atlantis!
But the EVA is classed as mission content and has been scheduled to occur during the docked mission for a reason. Hence, they would still be deleting mission content just to a photo.
And I'm not even going to touch the whole let's a photo and drop PAO events on the LAST Shuttle mission. As they have already noted, deleting PAO stuff is probably not gonna happen.
Another first for Atlantis!
Another first for Atlantis will be to carry a MPLM into orbit.
Though Discovery and Endeavour have carried Leonardo and Raffaello several times, Atlantis has never hauled the two to the ISS.
Another first for Atlantis will be to carry a MPLM into orbit.
True, but Atlantis did bring Columbus to station, which is related to the MPLM's (and consequently had the knickname of Michelangelo) . Atlantis has also done logistics runs with Spacehab modules as well.
STS-135 Mission: Due to some additional pre-rollover work, Atlantis' payload bay doors now will be closed Thursday instead of today.
I think that decides the article I'll write today as there's a fairly hefty IPR overview via the NTD on L2.
And here's a STS-135 article on the above with a load of L2 meaty-ness.
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/04/sts-135-atlantis-may-12-rollover-final-shuttle-milestones/
The article states "The payload bay door closure – the final time the operation will be conducted on an orbiter inside an OPF – has been slightly delayed to Thursday due an issue with a loose fuse cap slipping the schedule for the final cleaning and configuration of the payload bay.
"
Do you mean the final payload bay door closure for flight inside the OPF? And not the absolutely final PLBD closure in the OPF?
Surely as Endeavour and Atlantis come back for DMP they'll have to have the PLBDs reopened (to remove payloads / do closeout work) and then reclosed in the OPF to prep them for display, correct?
And here's a STS-135 article on the above with a load of L2 meaty-ness.
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/04/sts-135-atlantis-may-12-rollover-final-shuttle-milestones/
The article states "The payload bay door closure – the final time the operation will be conducted on an orbiter inside an OPF – has been slightly delayed to Thursday due an issue with a loose fuse cap slipping the schedule for the final cleaning and configuration of the payload bay.
"
Do you mean the final payload bay door closure for flight inside the OPF? And not the absolutely final PLBD closure in the OPF?
Surely as Endeavour and Atlantis come back for DMP they'll have to have the PLBDs reopened (to remove payloads / do closeout work) and then reclosed in the OPF to prep them for display, correct?
Yes, he means final PLBD closure for flight.
It's also worth mentioning that one of the case segment components (the forward cylinder for the left SRB) for STS-135 was used on STS-1. Talk about coming full circle.
I thought the first flights used the original cases that had slightly thicker walls than the current design? Or are you refering to the forward skirt?
I missed it, but apparently there is a picosat deployment on Flight day 12
