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#240
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 15:59
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#241
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:01
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#242
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:02
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#243
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:04
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John Zarrella (CNN/KSC):
Four months behind schedule, Atlantis was supposed to lift off back in July, but of course, as we all are aware, hydrogen leaks have plagued the shuttle program all summer long. Now it appears that Atlantis is go. (…) If our calculations are correct the astronauts got out to the pad at about four o’clock; usually about two hours and 45 minutes after they get into the shuttle is about the time NASA likes to get them off the ground. So that would put launch somewhere around 6:45 p.m. tonight. Right now the weather (…) is looking very good, much better than everyone had thought it would be. Originally there was about a 40 percent chance that they could go tonight, because of wind, crosswinds at the landing site, should the shuttle have to make an emergency return here. But now weather is about no concern, about 70 percent chance that they can go tonight, and of course we will be keeping a close eye. In just a few minutes, at 6:30, the launch window, launch period opens; it runs from 6:30 through 10:30 p.m. tonight. We’ll keep you posted. This is John Zarrella, reporting live from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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#244
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:07
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PAO:
This is shuttle launch control. All is continuing to go well in our countdown for the Space Shuttle Atlantis and mission STS-38. We’ve just had the opening of our launch period for this evening’s night launch of the shuttle Atlantis; this is the seventh dedicated mission for the Department of Defense. This will be the fifth flight for the Space Shuttle program this year. We do have one more launch planned this year; this will be for the Space Shuttle Columbia and the Astro payload, scheduled for launch on mission STS-35 sometime in the next few weeks.
The External Tank is full; we’re in a stable replenish mode. All tanking operations went nominally. We had no problems during our tanking operations; no leakage at all. The flight crew is aboard the orbiter and they are making final preparations for tonight’s launch. They are preparing the vehicle for flight. Our test team members are on station here at Kennedy Space Center. We do not have any issues with the weather tonight; we are go at this time. We will check in with the Mission Control operations at this time to get an update on what is going on from our commentator there in the Mission Control Room in Houston. PAO (JSC/Jeff Carr):
This is Mission Control Houston, currently in the T minus 9 minute hold. Flight controllers here have completed a poll of all positions following review of launch and abort landing site weather conditions and an orbiter systems status check. Ascent Flight Director Lee Briscoe has declared the flight control team go for launch. The team here will continue to monitor orbiter systems throughout the remainder of count, standing ready to take control of the flight at SRB ignition. This is Mission Control. PAO:
Back here at Kennedy Space Center all continues to go well in our countdown. No problems at this time. This is shuttle launch control.
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#245
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:09
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PAO:
We are now at T minus 9 minutes and counting; this is shuttle launch control. The ground launch sequencer has been initiated, from now to T minus 31 seconds when the handoff is made to the orbiter’s onboard computers. The ground launch sequencer is part of the orbiter’s launch processing system. It operates by relaying commands to the onboard computers, which then report back that the commands have been executed. T minus 8 minutes 30 seconds. Just prior to coming out of the hold a number of status checks were made. NASA Test Director polled the primary test conductors and astronauts to determine whether we were ready to pick up the count, and Mission Management Team chairman Brewster Shaw conducted a poll of the Mission Management Team and reported the results of the poll to the Space Shuttle Launch Director Bob Sieck. Also got a go from the various team members here at Kennedy Space Center… Just passed the 8-minute mark in our countdown for tonight’s launch…
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#246
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:11
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PAO:
T minus 7 minutes 30 seconds coming up… We have a go for retraction of the orbiter access arm; the ground launch sequencer will be slowly retracting the arm from the orbiter hatch. This is the walkway used by the astronauts to enter the orbiter. If there is an emergency, it can be moved back into place in a very short period of time… T minus 7 minutes and counting.
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#247
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:13
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#248
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:15
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PAO:
Pilot Frank Culbertson will be asked to set the switches in the cockpit to the prestart position for the Auxiliary Power Units, the APUs, at the T minus 6 minute point. There are a number of switches and he will verify with controllers that they are in the proper position for starting the APUs at the T minus 5 minute point… T minus 6 minutes and counting… and Frank Culbertson has been asked to initiate the prestart procedure… All is going very smoothly here in the final minutes of the STS-38 countdown… T minus 5 minutes 30 seconds and counting; prestart is complete of the APUs.
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#249
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:17
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PAO:
Coming up on T minus 5 minutes… T minus 5 minutes and counting. We have a go for APU start and Pilot Frank Culbertson is now flipping the three switches in the cockpit to start each of the three Auxiliary Power Units. Commander (Covey) has been asked to reconfigure the orbiter heaters for launch… Culbertson now reporting the APU start is complete and that they look great. Covey also reports that the heaters have been positioned and configured for start, for launch… Coming up on T minus 4 minutes…
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#250
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:21
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PAO:
And we have a final purge sequence underway of the three main engines. Main engine valves will be configured for start. The orbiter flight control surfaces, such as the elevons, speed brakes and rudder, are now being moved through a preprogrammed pattern to verify they are ready for launch. T minus 3 minutes 30 seconds and counting. All three of Atlantis’ main engines are now being gimbaled, which is a steering check to verify readiness for flight control. When the check is complete, they will be aligned to their main engine start positions.
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#251
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:23
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PAO:
T minus 3 minutes and counting… T minus 2 minutes 30 seconds. The gaseous oxygen vent hood is being retracted away from the vehicle… pressurization of the liquid oxygen tank has begun… T minus, coming up on T minus 2 minutes and counting… Crew has been told to close and lock their visors and have a good flight. We have a go for pressurization of the liquid hydrogen tank.
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#252
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:24
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#253
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:26
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#254
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:30
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PAO:
Just passing the 90-second point… T minus 1 minute 30 seconds, 90 seconds from launch… all systems are go; no problems for tonight’s launch… T minus 1 minute and counting… heaters on the booster joints have been deactivated… T minus 50 seconds and counting… T minus 40 seconds and counting… T minus 31 seconds, we have a go for auto sequence start. Atlantis’ four redundant computers have primary control of critical vehicle functions for the remainder of the count… T minus 20 seconds and counting…
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#255
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:34
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#256
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:35
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#257
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:36
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#258
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:39
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PAO:
T minus 15… T minus 10… 9… we have a go for main engine start… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… booster ignition and lift-off. Lift-off of Atlantis and its crew on a classified Department of Defense flight…The fifth shuttle of 1990 lifted off at 6:48 p.m. EST; it was well past sunset on the East Coast – making it the fifth night launch in the string of 37 Space Shuttle missions dating back to April 1981. A molten orange glow oozed along the marshes as the shuttle rose like a mini-Sun.
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#259
by
Ares67
on 16 Dec, 2016 16:42
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