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#320 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:26
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#321 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:27
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#322 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:30
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#323 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:30
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#324 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:31
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#325 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:34
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“I remember looking and seeing the bombers on Diego Garcia sitting there very clearly when we flew over it in the Indian Ocean… Everybody had a sense that we were going to go to war, that Desert Shield was more than just a saber rattling; that they were really positioning for an invasion and a rejection of the Iraqis out of Kuwait.”
- Richard Covey, STS-38 Commander, JSC Oral History Project 2007
November 18: A VERY SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM “WARBIRD” ATLANTIS
“The crew is doing well and beginning landing preparations, and Atlantis continues to perform satisfactorily,” the latest of NASA’s stock, blanket statements read today. Weather permitting, Atlantis is scheduled to land tomorrow on Runway 15 at Edwards Air Force Base at approximately 1:48 p.m. PST; because Mojave Desert conditions typically get worse as the day progresses, the shuttle will land one orbit earlier than planned. Forecasts for California call for gusty winds and a chance of rain which might cause a landing delay of one day, though the forecast for Tuesday is not much better.
Breaking three days of official radio silence Sunday, the astronauts sent greetings to U.S. troops stationed in Saudi Arabia, the first time comments from the crew of a military shuttle mission have been released. Commander Dick Covey said, “During the last few days, we aboard Atlantis have circled Earth many times. Whenever we passed close to Saudi Arabia, we could not help but think of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines deployed there for Operation Desert Shield as the holiday season approaches. The multi-service crew of Atlantis wishes those brave warriors peace and a speedy return home. Our prayers are with them and their families.”
The shuttle's ground track takes it over much of Saudi Arabia and its border with Kuwait, invaded by Iraqi forces on August 2. "It meant a lot to the crew," NASA spokesman James Hartsfield said of Sunday's unexpected statement. Covey radioed astronaut Marsha Ivins in Mission Control that his crew had been thinking for a couple of days of issuing the message. He asked that it be disseminated to Desert Shield troops through the U.S. Central Command.
Meanwhile, a loose network of amateur astronomers attempting to keep tabs on the flight say they are puzzled by some of their observations since Friday night. "There is definitely something fishy here. The question is what," said Ted Molczan of Toronto, who is too far north to observe this mission but is coordinating the efforts of southern observers.
On Friday, network observers in Florida and one in Austin saw two objects move west to east, one bright white and characteristic of the shuttle's appearance on previous non-secret missions. The other object, which reflected light in red, gold and yellow tones, appeared to be the secret payload. Atlantis was trailing the colored object Friday by 24 seconds, indicating the two objects were about 120 miles apart.
On Saturday night, a dozen Florida observers saw only a single object that displayed bright red and gold colors moving on the shuttle's previous track. That led observer Sean Sullivan of Melbourne, Florida, Molczan and others to speculate that the shuttle had rejoined the satellite, possibly even tucking it in the open payload bay for repairs. Sunday night, Florida observers saw a bright white object more characteristic of the shuttle, Sullivan said.
Molczan said the search for the ruby red payload, which civilian experts believe is destined for a higher orbit, will continue. But as of late Sunday, he said the most plausible explanation may be that Saturday's sighting was the shuttle distorted to appear in red tones by atmospheric effects or some sort of experiment the astronauts were conducting. Neither the Pentagon nor NASA would comment.
On Saturday the STS-38 Solid Rocket Boosters arrived at the Hangar AF Booster Disassembly Facility on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station towed by the recovery ships Independence and Freedom. The initial inspections are complete and nothing surprising has been found. The segments will be disassembled for further routine inspections. At Launch Complex 39A, the crawler transporter was moving the Mobile Launcher Platform back to the Vehicle Assembly Building this morning.
(Banke, Florida Today, Nov. 19, 1990; USA Today, Nov. 19, 1990; Mark Carreau, The Houston Chronicle, Nov. 19, 1990; Deseret News, Nov. 19, 1990; KSC Shuttle Status Report, Nov. 19, 1990; Countdown, January 1991 – edited)
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#326 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:37
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#327 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:37
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#328 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:38
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#329 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:39
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#330 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:40
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#331 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:44
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November 19: “EVIL HAS TO BE STOPPED,” SAYS THATCHER
Iraq said today it will send 250,000 more troops to Kuwait, more than doubling its military strength in the occupied kingdom. President Bush dismissed Iraq's promise, made yesterday, to free all foreigners by March. The troop buildup was announced by the Iraqi News Agency 11 days after Bush said 200,000 more U.S. soldiers would be shipped to the region to bring the American force to 430,000. Previously, Iraq was believed to have about 170,000 troops in Kuwait and 250,000 men in southern Iraq. President Saddam Hussein and his military commanders met and decided to send seven extra divisions of the regular army and another 150,000 reserves and draftees, the news agency said.
"This means the United States will need to mobilize a 3 million-strong force with similar equipment and armament to our forces" if it is to attack, the agency said. In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Rick Oborn said the department would have no comment on the report.
On Sunday, Iraq said it would free the estimated 2,000 remaining Westerners stranded in Iraq and occupied Kuwait between Christmas and March 25 "unless something would take place that mars the atmosphere of peace." Bush called the Iraqi announcement a bid to buy time. "This cynicism of starting to release them on Christmas Day will be seen by the world as a total ploy," he said in Paris, where NATO and Warsaw Pact leaders signed an arms reduction treaty. Bush used the gathering of 34 leaders to try to win more support for a U.N. resolution authorizing an attack to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
Some U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf crisis, including the Soviet Union and Germany, expressed concern that Bush was rushing toward war. But Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain reiterated her support for Bush's position, saying that Saddam can avoid war only by withdrawing quickly from Kuwait. "Most people understand evil has to be stopped. Either he withdraws, or the military option has to be used," she said after seeing Bush in Paris, where NATO and Warsaw Pact leaders signed an arms reduction treaty.
However, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev said he was sure a way could be found to avoid war and that he would offer "new ideas" in a meeting with Bush today. Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany told Bush on Sunday that all options short of war must first be exhausted. Analysts have said a military strike against Iraqi forces is most likely in winter because of lower temperatures and generally calm weather. Sandstorms usually occur in April.
Secretary of State James A. Baker III has met in the past week with foreign ministers from many of the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council, seeking support for the resolution endorsing a military assault if the U.N.-ordered embargo on trade with Iraq fails. Some diplomats say the proposal could be made before the end of the month.
IN OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
- High winds and rough seas forced U.S. Marines to cancel a second attempt to storm a Saudi beach in an amphibious landing exercise. Similar conditions forced the exercise to be scrubbed on Sunday, and officials said no further attempts will be made.
- The Saudi government announced that more than 300 Iraqi officers and soldiers have defected to Saudi Arabia since the invasion of Kuwait. It was the first time that Saudi Arabia had officially confirmed defections. Some defectors have been reported to include Iraqi soldiers with their tanks.
- The newspaper Stars and Stripes reported today that the U.S. Air Force is setting up four contingency hospitals in Europe in preparation for a possible influx of casualties from the gulf. The unofficial U.S. military newspaper said the contingency hospitals are in England and Germany.
(Deseret News/AP, Nov. 19, 1990 – edited)
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#332 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:47
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All dressed up with no place to go
"The weather played a dirty trick on us."
- Randy Stone, JSC Chief Flight Director
The planned end to the STS-38 mission was scheduled for the afternoon of Monday, November 19, in the Californian desert. Because afternoon winds were forecasted to kick up at Edwards, the landing was moved one orbit early, to 1:48 p.m. Pacific time. As the afternoon at Edwards approached, the high winds were sweeping the desert base. Every runway was scratched – and Atlantis was waved off from the early landing opportunity.
Never giving up, Mission Control told the crew they would aim for a second opportunity at 3:23 p.m. PST. Sure enough, as the 4:24 p.m. CST deorbit burn approached, the winds started to die down.
One hour to deorbit burn, the PAO reported, “Recent weather observations at Edwards are showing some subsidence in sustained winds and gusts… The last several weather updates discussed here in the flight control room have shown wind conditions at Edwards Runway 22 as being right at, sometimes under, sometimes just a knot over the headwind peak limitation of 25 knots… Those numbers, both observed and predicted for the landing time, have remained very steady over the last 20 or 30 minutes…”
As the minutes ticked, the crew, now suited, was drawn deeper into the preparations for landing. “Flight controllers and crew continuing to work through deorbit preparations – the crew just given a go to proceed with the Orbital Maneuvering System gimbal check… Wind conditions have been very stable over the last 40 to 45 minutes… At this point, it shows sustained crosswinds from the right at 3 knots gusting to 5, sustained headwinds at 16 knots gusting to 24, one knot below the highest acceptable peak…”
The winds of change continued to blow positive the deorbit decision drew closer – 43 minutes to the burn. “Flight controllers here in Houston currently taking an additional weather briefing. Current conditions show numbers as solid as they’ve been in the last 40 to 45 minutes.”
The peak headwinds at Runway 22 had actually dropped another knot to 23, registering two knots below the maximum allowed for landing. The landing convoy began to move into position at Edwards.
Thirty minutes to the burn, headwinds had dropped another knot. “Wind conditions at the landing site continuing to improve very, very slowly… Discussion both with the crew and with weather forecasters has quieted down here in the control room – folks pretty much sitting tight as the crew continues through their deorbit preparations. In about 10 to 15 minutes, flight controllers will visit with the weather folks again and take one more look at wind predictions… before committing to a deorbit burn.”
About 15 minutes to the deorbit burn, and a drop of another knot at Runway 22. “Wind conditions at the Edwards Air Force Base landing site continuing to very slowly and steadily improve… Now peak headwinds on Runway 22 right at about 21 knots...”
The crew was given the go to transition their onboard guidance to “Major Mode 302,” the computer program ti guide the deorbit burn. Atlantis began maneuvering to the burn attitude – just 12 minutes to go until deorbit and a commitment to landing at Edwards. “Entry Flight Director Lee Briscoe has declared a go for the deorbit burn… Following the go for the deorbit burn, (CapCom) Bowersox offering to the crew an assessment of ground winds… The report from Chief Astronaut Dan Brandenstein out flying a weather aircraft is that conditions continue to look very favorable…”
The burn would take place out of communications range with Atlantis passing into the tracking gap over the Indian Ocean about four minutes before ignition. “Entry Flight Director Lee Briscoe polling all positions in the flight control room at this time to confirm their readiness to lose signal… All positions at the flight control room remain go. Winds continuing to drop off at the Edwards landing site…”
Just under two minutes before losing signal, Frank Culbertson pushed the button to start APU #1. At the same time, reports from Edwards showed a sudden shift in winds to the west, creating dangerous crosswinds a couple knots above the limit of 15. Briscoe, with one and a half minutes before losing communications, gave the no-go call. The crew was told to waive off.
Dick Covey responded, “Understand, we’re a waive off. We’ve got the APU started. We’ll shut it down.” A few minutes later, coming back in tracking range, Covey said the crew felt like they were all dressed up with no place to go.
Ironically, the winds at Edwards were acceptable at the time Atlantis would have landed. “We second guess ourselves many times,” Randy Stone, Chief of the Flight Directors Office at Johnson Space Center, said. “But to commit to a deorbit and then find out that you really blew it is absolutely the wrong thing to do with as many opportunities as we still have in front of us.”
Stone said he would have felt “totally comfortable” landing with winds at the maximum limit. Because the limits are set to provide some margin above the cutoff, he felt the landing would have been safe even in as much as a 30-knot headwind. Stone said the space agency would hold out for a California landing if at all possible to take advantage of the broad, more forgiving runways at Edwards. But the Mojave Desert weather forecast was not favorable for November 20, and more of the same was expected Wednesday.
Stone said the secret mission could be stretched to Thursday, November 22, if necessary, before the five astronauts face shortages of power and breathable air. Shuttles have landed at KSC five times, most recently in April 1985. Early in the shuttle program, NASA hoped to use Kennedy routinely to reduce processing time. However, a number of safety issues identified with the use of Kennedy Space Center in the wake of the 1986 Challenger accident led NASA to postpone those plans while it prepared sturdier runway steering and braking systems.
Those modifications are still in the works, but in recent weeks NASA has quietly replaced the Northrop Strip at White Sands, New Mexico, with Kennedy Space Center as the chief backup landing site. Stone said mission managers could be assessing the weather in California and Florida until an hour before Tuesday’s first landing opportunity. The first landing opportunity is at 1:34 p.m. PST at Edwards or at 4:42 p.m. EST if the shuttle is diverted to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Later opportunities, both at Edwards, are at 3:08 p.m. and 4:42 p.m. PST.
(Countdown, January 1991; Deseret News, Nov. 20, 1990; Mark Carreau, The Houston Chronicle, Nov. 20, 1990 – edited)
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#333 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:49
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#334 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:50
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#335 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:53
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How do you feel about landing in Florida?
In 2007, Richard Covey told Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, “After the Challenger accident all landings had been in California, and there really had not been any plans to change that approach. A very, very conservative agency, very conservative. In the past when the Kennedy Space Center was the primary landing site, California was the alternate, and people always thought about, okay, you know, we’ll go to California if we can’t land in Florida. That was kind of the way that people thought about primary and alternate sites. But we had switched back now to where the primary site was California. We were supposed to land in California.”
Covey said, “On our landing day the weather in California was not good, and so after doing all our preparations for landing, we waived off and extended a day to wait for the weather to get better. Well, the next day the weather in California was still not good, and it was not forecast to get any better the following day, which would have been our last extension day on this mission. So everybody started looking at landing in Florida, which was really weird, to think that Florida was going to be the alternate weather site as opposed to a primary site.”
“Lee Briscoe was our Flight Director, Entry Flight Director, and I remember he did something I’ve never heard of done or seen before. He actually got on the com loop to talk to me, and basically the question was, ‘How do you feel about landing in Florida instead of California?’ We hadn’t landed in Florida in five years, since, you know, ’86 – or almost five years. It was kind of a no-brainer to me. I said, ‘Hey, I’ve flown so many approaches and landings to the Kennedy Space Center. We can go land there. That’s not a problem.’”
“But so that was different, for a Flight Director to get on the com loop instead of letting the CapCom talk to me and tell me. That was very different, and they did that. So we said yes, and so on our first extension day then we flew to a landing in Florida,” said Covey.
(Richard Covey, JSC Oral History Project interview, Feb. 7, 2001 – edited)
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#336 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 19:58
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Tuesday, November 20, 1990 (Landing Day) – Guess who’s coming for dinner
“It’s great to have her home, and right here where she left. It’s a sight more rare than a launch here.”
- Forrest S. McCartney, Kennedy Space Center Director
COMIN’ IN TO KSC
The astronauts never did like landing the shuttle at the moat-lined confines of the Shuttle Landing facility at the Kennedy Space Center. “At this point, I’m not willing to commit as to when we’ll start planning Kennedy landings,” Robert Crippen, head of the shuttle program and former astronaut, had said following the STS-41 mission in October. He would say no more than that he would “evaluate” the question next summer.
Suddenly, late on November 19, the words Kennedy and landing were being combined more forcefully – like a strong wind. The desert winds of that day had caused Atlantis STS-38 to miss two landing opportunities at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The Edwards forecast for November 20 did not portend well for a California landing. Atlantis, completing the last “secret” DOD flight, possessed ample supplies to orbit for two days beyond the 20th, yet suddenly flight controllers were mentioning KSC landing much more than for any flight since Challenger.
“We have alerted the KSC landing and recovery forces to the possibility that they may be a landing site selection tomorrow,” said Randy Stone, chief of the Flight Directors Office at the Johnson Space Center, in a rare press conference during a DOD mission. “Our normal strategy for picking a runway after a waive-off day is if we have consumables plus two (supplies for two days more in orbit), we will continue to try our primary landing site, which is Edwards,” he said, but KSC kept creeping back in his press briefing. “We have not done anything to preclude being able to land at KSC from the standpoint of support.”
The decision would have to come well before landing. The deorbit burn for the first of three landing opportunities to Edwards would come on orbit 79 at 2:30 p.m. CST. The only KSC opportunity for the day would come on the same orbit, with the start of the deorbit burn coming just eight minutes after the Edwards time. “So we would have to make the decision between the runways early enough to do our normal deorbit targeting and preparation,” Stone said. The decision would come after a look at the weather forecast in the morning. While KSC, as the backup landing site, stood ready on two hour’s notice for a landing, the decision probably would come sooner than that.
The last KSC landing had been made by Discovery on Mission 16, STS 51-D, on April 19, 1985, landing in a crosswind that had to be countered by heavy braking. The brakes locked, and the tire blew out – luckily at the end of the rollout and not at the start, when it could have been disastrous.
Since that time, nose wheel steering has been upgraded as a replacement by the steering-by-brake-force used previously. The shuttle’s beryllium brakes are being replaced by improved all-carbon ones – however, Atlantis was still equipped with the old brakes. The SLF runway, grooved as a rain precaution, was smoothed along 3,500 feet at each end, since the rain grooves tore at the tires.
NASA had maintained that a return to KSC awaited obtaining more data on crosswind landings, more brake tests, and other improvements, such as the drag parachutes now being developed. The main restraint to KSC landings, however, lay in weather forecasting, which needed improvement. The Florida weather along the Atlantic coast can change quickly, with rapid formation of fog or thunderstorms. The shuttle becomes committed to a landing at the time of the deorbit burn one hour prior to touchdown – time enough for the finicky Florida Weather to shift.
TO BOLDLY GO WHERE FEW SHUTTLES HAVE GONE
On the morning of November 20, winds remained above landing limits at Edwards, with the same forecasted for the next day. Weather at Kennedy was holding clear – and more importantly, stable… at least for the day. Slightly worsening conditions were forecasted for the 21st. Therefore, the decision was made to take the best weather on the best day.
At about 11:00 a.m. CST, NASA made the announcement: “We have selected Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility as the primary landing site for today… With the uncertainty of tomorrow’s forecast, the flight control team has opted to designate the SLF as our primary site…”
“We had been ready for it, and quite frankly, we did not make any different preparations,” KSC Director Forrest McCartney said.
Activities progressed smoothly towards the deorbit burn at 2:38 p.m. CST – and the closely watched weather mirrored the preparations aboard Atlantis by Dick Covey and crew. Reporting 21 minutes before the burn, Mission Control said, “Winds are still very stable, predicted to be well within headwind and crosswind peak limitations.”
At about 2:30 p.m. CST, the shuttle passed out of communications range for five minutes over the Indian Ocean. During that period, the crew was to start one of the Auxiliary Power Units, which drive the hydraulic system. At the same time, the landing convoy of servicing trucks began to move into position at the SLF runway – 1 hour 7 minutes to landing…
PAO: This is Mission Control Houston. We’ve reacquired signal through the western satellite. Flight controllers here in Houston now watching live telemetry as we’ve locked onto the vehicle’s signal. Indications are that Auxiliary Power Unit #1 has been started and prestart for #2 and #3 underway… Air-to-ground circuits very quiet. Flight controllers here happy to leave the crew alone to complete their tasks leading up to the deorbit burn.
The one minute 53 second burn began and Mission Control reported, “Guidance officer reports that control looks very good… Telemetry confirms that the burn is complete, and the vehicle is now being maneuvered to the entry interface attitude.” Entry interface, the point where the shuttle first encountered the atmosphere, was twenty minutes away. Atlantis now was committed to a Florida Landing, come hell, high water – or high wind.
The final two APUs were started. At 4:04 p.m. EST, the landing convoy reported they were in position at the middle of the SLF. Overhead, the Shuttle Training Aircraft, piloted by Astronaut Mike Coats, was making weather passes. “Weather conditions at the landing site remain unchanged. All systems performing well.”
At 4:06 p.m. EST, the shuttle’s computers switched to “Major Mode 304,” the program for atmospheric flight. Five minutes later, entry interface occurred. “Atlantis and crew now beginning to first experience the effects of the upper reaches of the atmosphere; onboard systems now show Atlantis at 360,000 feet, traveling at Mach 24, descending into the atmosphere at 500 feet per second; range to the landing site right now 3,800 nautical miles.”
Atlantis crossed 292,000 feet over the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, beginning her track across Mexico while at Mach 24.4, descending at 440 feet per second. 3,100 miles from the SLF runway, Atlantis began a series of S-turns to bleed off speed, starting with a 73-degree right bank… Altitude 252,000 feet, speed Mach 24, descent rate 93 feet per second. At Mach 20.8, Atlantis performed a roll reversal, snaking from right to a 73-degree left bank… Range 1,500 to KSC, altitude 2227,000 feet, descent rate 125 feet per second.
PAO: Crew Commander Dick Covey radioing that they’re crossing the South Texas coast out over the Gulf of Mexico at about South Padre Island, saying that it looked like a beautiful day down there. Atlantis now tracking east/northeast across the Gulf of Mexico…
As Atlantis neared the Florida peninsula, CapCom Ken Bowersox radioed that energy, ground track, and navigation were go – meaning Atlantis was plotting a perfect course for her Florida home. Less than nine minutes to landing, Atlantis reached the Florida coast just south of Crystal River – at an altitude of 115,000 feet. The first long-range cameras from KSC caught sight of the orbiter – a hazy white needle as it descended at 300 feet per second. The needle grew slowly in the murky long-range eye until it crystallized as a side view of the orbiter making a 30-degree right bank.
PAO: Now taking our first long-range views of Atlantis as it approaches the terminal area… This view captured from a range nearly clear across the Florida peninsula; range now 98 nautical miles, altitude 103,000 feet, velocity Mach 3.7, descending at 300 feet per second… Crew aboard Atlantis given a go to take air data now to guidance and control; that information in the form of barometric, or atmospheric changes helps reinforce onboard guidance and navigation as well as cockpit displays with regard to altitude and airspeed… Atlantis continuing in a right bank of about 30 degrees; range now 54 nautical miles, altitude 81,000 feet… Crew given a go to incorporate air data into the onboard navigation systems; Atlantis now under the guidance of Terminal Area Energy Management software; onboard guidance now steering Atlantis to Way Point One, the point at which the vehicle will first begin turning around the Heading Alignment Cone to properly align the vehicle for final approach and landing; range now 38 nautical miles, altitude 69,000 feet; Atlantis traveling at Mach 1.5, descending at 320 feet per second… Atlantis has cleared its cross over Orlando, now beginning to approach subsonic speeds – dual sonic booms anticipated as Atlantis arrives just east of Titusville on its track over the Indian River at about 4:38 Eastern Standard Time in just a couple of seconds… Range 30 nautical miles, altitude 57,000 feet… Atlantis now wings level, reaching for the way Point One…
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#337 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 20:00
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THERE MAY BE SOME SMOKE
The shuttle streaked across the west coast of Florida 80 miles north of St. Petersburg, before startling tourists at Walt Disney World as it soared over Orlando. Distinctive twin sonic booms sounded in the Titusville area as Atlantis dipped subsonic. Covey and Culbertson, hands on control sticks, took over manual control as the shuttle reached Way Point One. Atlantis made a sweeping turn to the right that took her over the Atlantic before Covey maneuvered her to the runway's centerline. In his 2007 interview for the JSC Oral History Project Dick Covey had this to say about the final approach to the Shuttle Landing Facility:
It was a late afternoon landing. Mike Coats had the weather aircraft duty down in Florida, and I suspect Dan was still out in California, so he had sent Mike down to Florida to be a weather aircraft guy. So he was there, and so they went and they watched the weather.
This is the fall of the year, and one of the things that they do in Florida during the fall is they burn the underbrush in their pine forests, a very controlled type of burn just to get everything down. And they were doing that over on the west side of the river down there in Florida, and the winds were predominantly from the northeast, and so they were blowing that smoke out over central Florida toward Orlando. So at the time Mike made a recommendation that we land on Runway 33 to the north down at the Kennedy Space Center, and that’s what we were targeting to.
Well, between the time that they made the weather call and probably about the time we deorbited until we got there, the winds shifted, and they shifted around from the southwest. All of a sudden this smoke started getting blown over the Shuttle Landing Facility. Mike was watching it, and it was one of those things where we go, “How bad is it going to get,” you know. It was getting worse and worse, but it was one of those things where it was, “Well, how bad is it going to get?” They didn’t know.
As it turns out, the smoke was coming pretty much right across the southern half of the runway, and the northern half was clear. Mike could have made a call somewhere in there and said, “Let’s go and fly in from the north end and land on runway 15.” We could have come in – I would have loved that, because that’s a left-hand turn for the commander, so the commander can see the runway and see everything coming around, and that’s what we all like to do is see that.
But he didn’t make that call, and instead we wound up coming around, and they started telling us, “There may be some smoke. It may be bad.” Well, it got compounded by the fact that the Sun was going down, and so all this time, you know, Mike’s looking and saying, “Well, the smoke’s not too bad, not too bad, not too bad.” The Sun starts getting down, the smoke starts getting a little thicker, and pretty soon, because of the refraction of the light off the smoke, you can’t see through it. So we’re coming around on the Heading Alignment Circle, and Frank now is over looking out his window.
“Frank, what do you see?” – “Not much.” – “Do you see anything?” – He says, “I don’t see any of the aim points yet. Don’t see anything.”
So, you know, that’s not bad. We’ve got great guidance in the orbiter. It’s always been good, and we knew we were close. So we’re flying around, and when we rolled out on final, the only thing I could see – I could not see the runway. I could not see the visual aim points. The only thing I could see was what we call PAPI lights – the Precision Approach Position Indicator, PAPIs – lights through the smoke.
So that’s good, because it gives me a visual reference that I can fly to that tells us if the guidance isn’t – but that was the only thing – so we’re flying down. We fly all the way down. We go into the smoke, and we get down at our pull-out altitude, and when we go in the smoke, I can still see those lights, but I can’t see anything down toward the runway. We come out and we pull out below the smoke, and there it was. There was the runway.
Frank lowered the gear, and we landed, and I think technically I get to log an instrument approach on that. So not only were we landing at KSC for the first time in five years, we’d just basically flown through conditions that they would not normally have said, “Go fly through those.” The irony of it was at the other end of the field it was fine. So anyway, I remind Mike Coats of that all the time, of the weather call he made for me. So that was actually one of the more exciting things that happened on the mission I can talk about.
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#338 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 20:01
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A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT
PAO: Atlantis now subsonic, flying at 952 feet per second; onboard control has been transferred to control stick steering. Commander Covey and Pilot Culbertson now taking manual control of the vehicle as they approach the Heading Alignment Cone; Entry CapCom Ken Bowersox calling to the crew with final surface wind conditions – no changes; winds are very stable and well within limits. Range now 20 nautical miles, altitude 39,000 feet…
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#339 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 20:04
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PAO: Guidance control officer reporting Commander Dick Covey now flying the vehicle as she turns onto the Heading Alignment Cone… All systems looking good as Atlantis flies the HAC; that’s an imaginary cone down and around at which the vehicle is maneuvered to set up the final approach and landing at the proper altitude, bearing and airspeed…