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#80 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 20:52
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Columbia had been picked to fly four times this year. She retrieved the Long Duration Exposure Facility in January. After her now-postponed Astro-1 astronomy mission in June, she was to fly on nine-day missions in August and December. NASA planned nine shuttle flights this year, a schedule that would have matched its previous high in 1985, the year before the Challenger accident.
Crippen outlined the revised Space Shuttle launch schedule, which will include only eight of the originally planned nine flights. Following Atlantis STS-38 in mid-July and STS-35 in mid-August, the Ulysses planetary probe should launch aboard Discovery in early October. The Gamma Ray Observatory mission is scheduled for early November aboard Atlantis and the SLS-1 laboratory mission, originally scheduled for August 29, will occur aboard Columbia in early December.
Shuttle managers will continue to assess the launch schedule in the wake of the decision to move Columbia off the launch pad, Crippen said. Among the issues they plan to discuss is whether the hydrogen leak problem will affect other orbiters, and how the manifest changes will affect planned refurbishments of Columbia. The oldest of the orbiters is scheduled to begin a months-long series of modifications, updates and extended duration capability additions next year. “We’re going to have to evaluate it further in the next few weeks to understand what it does to the manifest farther in the future,” Crippen said.
Crippen said he is proud of the way the shuttle team has reacted. “It is our intent to make sure that these vehicles are ready and safe to fly and when we have a problem such as this – and this is the nature of the machines we are dealing with – we’ll just have to fall back and regroup. We’re going to encounter situations such as we have today and we’re going to have to deal with them. I think we have a system that allows us to do that.”
(Kyle Herring, JSC Space News Roundup, June 8, 1990; The Houston Chronicle, June 8, 1990; Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990, KHR-15, March 1991 – edited)
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#81 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 20:54
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Better Safe Than Sorry
“A question to NASA Administrator Richard Truly: Each time a hardware problem forces a shuttle delay, you cite the decision to delay as another sign of NASA’s commitment to “safety first.” When the hardware breaks, the hardware is making the ‘decision’ for you. The tough question, the one the ‘old NASA’ failed to face, may come by the end of the year: If the shuttle fails to meet its flight rate of five flights in the last half of the year, are you prepared to bite the bullet, admitting that the goal of nine flights in 1991 is too high a burden?”
- Dixon P. Otto, Publisher and Editor of Countdown magazine
A series of problems disrupting shuttle flights this year are more a testament to the difficulty of spaceflight and NASA's post-Challenger safety concerns than to over-scheduling, experts say. But, the rough sledding may serve as a warning to Congress that the shuttle fleet could have a difficult time assembling a space station later this decade without more ships or new expendable rockets.
"I think the thing to point out is the contrast with Challenger, the extreme caution with which each launch is being approached," said John Logsdon, director of graduate studies in technology, science and public policy at George Washington University. "The shuttle is a scarce and fragile national asset. Preserving its capability to operate is more important than any single mission," Logsdon said.
"The message here is that it is normal for things to be fouled up," said John Pike, a space policy analyst for the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists. "It's just the nature of the business that this stuff is just real hard to do. You always try to do too much," he said. "You will always try to do about a third more than you will wind up doing.”
"Flying the Space Shuttle is not like operating an airline and never will be," Navy Capt. Robert Crippen, NASA Shuttle Program Director, reminded reporters last week. "It's a very complex set of machinery we are dealing with. I think the American public understands that," said Crippen, a former astronaut who has flown the Space Shuttle a record four times. "They will not have us fly otherwise.”
His comments accompanied an announcement that an elusive fuelleak would delay the shuttle Columbia's 10-day Astro astronomy mission until mid-August and that NASA would cut the flights it plans this year from nine, its previous annual high, to eight. It will be the longest delay for a shuttle flight since missions resumed in September 1988, 32 months after the Challenger accident.
Mechanical difficulties, poor weather and even crew illnesses have caused or contributed to brief delays in three previous shuttle missions this year. NASA issues an official shuttle schedule annually and makes revisions after almost every launch. "You cannot anticipate all the problems," NASA launch director Robert Sieck told reporters at the Kennedy Space Center two weeks ago. "You set a success-oriented, reasonable-chance-of-success plan for a calendar period of time. If the hardware is good to you, you make it. If it's not, you don't.”
"If you don't try, you will never make it," said Air Force Colonel Brewster Shaw, the shuttle astronaut who makes the "go-no go"decision in the final minutes of each countdown. "You might as well schedule them, and you can back off as necessary.”
Among the charges leveled at the space agency by critics in the aftermath of the January 1986 Challenger explosion was that NASA had sacrificed safety in order to build the shuttle's flight rate. NASA responded by shucking commercial satellites from its manifest, limiting its cargos to scientific and national security payloads. Tougher launch restrictions were imposed and the space agency began a slow buildup in the shuttle flight rate toward a peak of 13 in 1993. By then, its three-member shuttle orbiter fleet will be joined by a fourth orbiter, Endeavour.
Since its inaugural flight nine years ago, the shuttle has flown 35 times, 10 of those missions in the post-Challenger era. NASA's new caution since the tragedy has been repaid with success. Those 10 flights have included the long-awaited launch of the Hubble Space Telescope and a pair of sophisticated communications satellites that handle Hubble signals. The shuttle has successfully lofted probes now en route to Venus and Jupiter for prolonged studies.
In January, following a month's delay due to launch pad problems, a shuttle crew successfully retrieved the box-car sized Long Duration Exposure Facility just weeks before it was to make a fiery re-entry through the Earth's atmosphere. The post-Challenger era includes the launch of four secret spy satellites. One of those, a photo reconnaissance satellite, broke apart in early March after its successful deployment a week earlier by the crew of the shuttle Atlantis.
The recent difficulties experienced by the shuttle Columbia, perhaps, point out as well as any how the shuttle's complexity can disrupt scheduling. Its launch date slipped from April 26, to May 9 to May 16, primarily because of the accumulation of difficulties experienced by three previous missions this year. The May 16 date was postponed by two weeks when testing revealed a faulty coolant valve that was subsequently replaced while Columbia rested on the launch pad.
Then, on May 29, with just six hours left in one of the most trouble-free countdowns in the history of the shuttle program, Columbia sprouted a potentially disastrous fuel leak. After a week of careful analysis, shuttle engineers concluded the ship must be towed from its pad to a hangar where it can be disassembled to stop the mysterious leak. The specific cause still eludes engineers.
While policy analysts praise NASA for its caution, they do say the delays and reschedulings raise a nagging issue that has dogged the shuttle program throughout its existence. Can the shuttle become the workhorse originally envisioned by NASA? More specifically, can it handle the 20 or so launches required to assemble the space station Freedom over a four-year period starting in 1995?
The Bush administration has touted the shuttle and Freedom as the cornerstone of its plans for human exploration of Mars by 2019. Logsdon of George Washington University, who has tracked the nation's space effort since the Apollo program, believes it cannot be done without massive, new unmanned rockets and the addition of a new shuttle orbiter every three years.
The shuttle fleet has averaged just four missions a year since its maiden voyage - even when the Challenger launch is discounted and 1987 is excluded – not a single flight was attempted that year. "They have a technology which simply cannot do what it is supposed to do," says Duke University professor Alex Roland, who specializes in military history and the history of technology. "NASA has bet its whole future on the shuttle," says Roland. "They are more responsive to safety, but partially that is because they also know that if they lose another one very soon, it will probably be the end of the space program as we know it.”
(The Houston Chronicle, June 10, 1990; Countdown, July 1990 – edited)
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#82 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 20:58
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June 8: “SHE LOOKS GREAT” – ATLANTIS ARRIVES AT VAB
Having passed final weight and center of gravity tests before being placed on the orbiter transporter yesterday, Atlantis moved a necessary 1 /4 mile closer to launch today when she was rolled over to the Vehicle Assembly Building from the Orbiter Processing Facility. “She looks great. We’re ready to fly,” said Atlantis’ Ground Operations Manager Conrad Nagel.
Testing so far shows that Atlantis will not be grounded by the same type of hydrogen leak that scrubbed Columbia’s mission. “We’ve been back through all the testing we’ve been asked to do and we’re clean,” Nagel said. “There’s no reason to believe we have a generic problem. I think everybody feels like what we have out there with Columbia is unique to that tank and orbiter.”
Nagel went on to say that officials believe the leak is in or near a line that feeds fuel to Columbia’s main engines from her External Tank. Nagel said a bad seal is probably to blame. After Atlantis has been mated with her ET and Solid Rocket Booster, a three-day test to verify mechanical and electrical connections between shuttle elements and the launch platform will begin June 12, and rollout will occur June 15, starting at 12:01 a.m. EDT. A two-day practice Countdown will begin June 19. Launch is set for July 10 or 11, Nagel said. (Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990, KHR-15, March 1991; JSC Space News Roundup, June 8, 1990 – edited)
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#83 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 20:59
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June 11: FATAL CAR ACCIDENT AT KSC
The victim of a fatal automobile accident on Kennedy Space Center property has been identified as Titusville resident Donald A. Simon. Space Center spokesman Dick Young said Simon was traveling west when the car he was driving hit a utility pole near the intersection of SR 402 and SR 406. The ambulance that responded to Simon’s accident was hit by a car which departed the scene without stopping. The driver was later detained and questioned, pending the filing of charges. (The Orlando Sentinel, June 11, 1990; Florida Today, June 12, 1990)
June 12: DROWNING AT KARS PARK TO BE INVESTIGATED
Kennedy Space Center Director Forrest McCartney has appointed a mishap investigation board to look into the cause of an accident that resulted in the drowning death of a 7-year-old girl at KARS Park I on June 9. The investigation board is required because the accident occurred on KSC property. The girl – Charlene I. Robinson (Cocoa, Florida) – was visiting KARS as part of an organized group using the park facilities. (Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990 – edited)
June 12: INSAT-1D FINALLY SOARS AS COMMERCIAL TITAN FACES DELAY
At 1:52 a.m. EDT this morning a McDonnell Douglas Delta II was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station; an hour later its Indian payload, Insat-1D, separated from the booster and deployed its solar arrays and communications antenna. India’s ambassador to the United States, Abid Hussain, said, “Through this particular satellite, we would like to spread education and knowledge, science and new culture to hundreds and thousands who have been out of the mainstream of life.” Over the next eight days, spacecraft controllers in India will boost the satellite to its 22,300-mile orbit above Earth. The updated series of Insat-2 satellites is due to begin service late next year, with the first two to be launched by Europe’s Ariane rocket.
Meanwhile, insurers who paid more than $6 million to repair the Insat-1D are going to sue McDonnell Douglas Corp., McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co. and four employees involved in last year’s launch pad accident that damaged the spacecraft and delayed the launch until today. The suit, to be filed in Brevard Circuit Court, will request damages in excess of $6 million, plus interest.
In other ELV news from the Cape, a faulty destruction mechanism has delayed the launch of a Martin Marietta Titan III rocket for at least two days. The destruction mechanism is necessary to demolish the launch vehicle if there were a critical failure during flight. The payload for the Commercial Titan CT-3 is an Intelsat VI communications satellite. Launch is now scheduled for between 7:19 a.m. and 7:51 a.m. or 8:24 and 8:43 a.m. EDT on June 23. The time needed to replace the faulty receivers, test the new units and conduct a combined all-systems test of the Titan and its payload led to the delay in Martin Marietta’s third commercial launch and second this year, according to company spokeswoman Judith Stowell.
The launch May 14 of another Intelsat VI was marred when the spacecraft was stranded in a useless orbit 345 miles above Earth. The failure was attributed to an engineering design failure. The Intelsat company recently agreed to pay NASA $90 million for a rescue effort of the stranded craft in February 1992. (Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990 – edited)
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#84 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:00
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June 13: DELTA DEBRIS TO BE DESTROYED
Part of a Delta rocket motor casing, retrieved from Cocoa Beach on June 12, has been delivered to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for disposal. Air Force Lt. Col. Bob Eberle said an explosive ordnance team from Patrick Air Force Base had pulled the debris ashore. The wreckage was subsequently transported to the Explosive Ordnance Division Range at CCAFS, where residual propellant, if any, will be destroyed. (Halvorson, Florida Today, June 14, 1990)
June 13: KENNEDY SPACE CENTER IS HIRING – AND BUILDING
Kennedy Space Center Director Forrest S. McCartney told a Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce meeting that the Space Center in expected to add 1,000 jobs next year to meet the increased Space Shuttle schedule. “I think we’ll max out at 12 flights a year,” McCartney said. Currently 20,300 NASA and contractor employees work at the Center.
Speaking of future KSC plans, McCartney said that in 1991 construction will begin on a $90 million complex for processing Space Station components and equipment. The first shuttle launch of Space Station hardware will come in 1995. State Road 3 on NASA property will be widened and a third shuttle processing facility will be completed. Scaffolding and test equipment for the OPF 3 hangar are being transferred to KSC from the planned, but never-used shuttle launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Next year the fourth shuttle – Endeavour – will arrive at Kennedy Space Center. (Brown, Florida Today, June 14, 1990 – edited)
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#85 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:02
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June 13: ATLANTIS ROLLOUT DELAYED
Rollout of Atlantis to launch pad 39A will be delayed until next week to cut overtime costs for shuttle technicians, NASA said today. “It will be a substantial savings of several thousand man-hours,” said NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham. He said that the delay would give workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building more time to complete final preparations for rollout. Meanwhile, Columbia has returned to the VAB yesterday; demating has begun and the shuttle is being prepared for the move back to the Orbiter Processing Facility for inspections June 15. (Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990 – edited)
June 15: SHE’S TIGHT – OR ISN’T SHE?
NASA said today that Atlantis might undergo a special test at the launch pad to determine whether she has a leak similar to one that grounded Columbia. NASA spokeswoman Lisa Malone said, “We wouldn’t want to get out to the pad and get into a launch countdown and find out we have a leak. We don’t really have any evidence that there’s a generic problem, but if we did have one the test would give us some early detection of it.”
A similar leak aboard Atlantis would likely result in a one- to two-month delay in her Department of Defense mission, which is scheduled for a mid-July launch. “If we find a leak condition out on the pad with Atlantis that is similar to the problem we have with Columbia, then we’ll end up having to roll back and recover from that,” said Jack Boykin, Deputy Director of the Orbiter Project Office. That would raise the possibility of repeated schedule disruptions for the remainder of 1990 and perhaps 1991.
Bob Wilders, a senior project engineer with Parker Hannifin – the fuel line manufacturer – said, “If there is indeed a leak in the External Tank line, we will be able to identify it.” Boykin said that if a problem in Atlantis’ line develops, then the line being built into Endeavour would be removed and sent to Florida. (Halvorson, Florida Today, June 16, 1990 – edited)
June 16: ASTRONAUT JOHN BLAHA: “I AM CONFIDENT IN THEM”
Astronaut John Blaha, speaking from the Astronaut Office at Johnson Space Center, gave high praise to the workers at Kennedy Space Center today: “Without a doubt, I am confident in them. I think they are the finest group of people in the world. They work very hard and run into problems daily, even hourly, trying to support the flow of three spaceships. Whenever they see something they are not comfortable with, they tell people, and we rely on them for that.”
“I honestly think every time a shuttle lifts off I’m amazed when it goes,” said Blaha. “That a shuttle doesn’t launch on day ‘X,’ to me, is business as usual, and I really admire those people at the Cape for being able to handle it. I wish there was a way we could pay them more money.” (Banke, Florida Today, June 17, 1990 – edited)
June 17: LISA MALONE WINS SILVER SNOOPY AWARD
Lisa Malone, 28, Kennedy Space Center spokeswoman and launch commentator, was presented a Silver Snoopy Award by NASA astronaut Curt Brown. The award is given annually by the NASA Astronaut Corps to about one percent of space program workers nation-wide who have performed an outstanding effort contributing to the success of manned spaceflight missions. Brown wrote in a letter to Malone, “You brought great credit to the agency and to yourself for the crisp, calm, accurate and concise commentary describing launch preparations and lift-off to countless millions of listeners around the world.” (Florida Today, June 17, 1990 – edited)
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#86 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:03
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June 18: ATLANTIS MOVED TO PAD 39A – STS-38 CREW ARRIVES AT THE CAPE
Atlantis crawled out of the VAB at 11:16 p.m. EDT Sunday night; the ship's six-hour tow from the shuttle's large assembly building to launch pad 39A was complete before sunrise, at 5:23 this morning. Some fifteen hours later, just after sunset, Atlantis' five-man crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Center for several days of safety and countdown drills. On Tuesday and Wednesday the astronauts will practice landings and emergency escape procedures. The Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test begins Wednesday, June 20, at 8:00 a.m. and concludes with a simulated main engine start on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. EDT.
On June 27, shuttle engineers will conduct a “mini” tanking test to verify there is no leak in the orbiter and External Tank fuel connections. The test was ordered by Shuttle Program Director Robert Crippen and involves pumping liquid hydrogen into the External Tank and the propulsion system. “It will tell us early in the flow at the pad whether there’s a leak in the Atlantis vehicle. If there is, we’d like to know about it as soon as possible,” said Lisa Malone, KSC spokeswoman.
During the test, a number of sensors will be placed around the 17-inch disconnect attachment point, where the fuel line from the external fuel tank enters Atlantis' main engine compartment. A similar test involving Columbia was helpful, but inconclusive in pinning down the leak that stopped her STS-35 countdown six hours before lift-off last month. (The Houston Chronicle, June 19, 1990; Halvorson, Florida Today, June 19, 1990; JSC Space News Roundup, June 22, 1990 – edited)
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#87 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:04
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#88 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:05
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June 19: ARMORED TANK TRAINING AT LAUNCH COMPLEX 39
The all-military five-man crew of STS-38 practiced emergency launch pad escape maneuvers in an armored tank today. “They did an excellent job, as always,” said Rick Talbert, Launch Pad Rescue Team Leader for EG&G Florida Inc., base operations contractor at Kennedy Space Center. “They are quick to learn. For most of them, it’s like riding a bike. Their previous training comes back to them and they perform real well.”
The 25,000-pound refurbished tanks – also known as M113s – travel at a top speed of 45 miles per hour. Driving lessons in the armored vehicles are part of the normal training astronauts participate in when they come to KSC for countdown rehearsals. STS-38 Commander Covey and Pilot Culbertson spent part of today practicing landing a Gulfstream II jet, the Shuttle Training Aircraft, at the Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility. The STA simulates an orbiter’s powerless descent down to the runway. (Halvorson, Florida Today, June 20, 1990 – edited)
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#89 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:05
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June 21: TITUSVILLE BANS ROCKET FUELS
In a 4-1 vote tonight, Titusville’s city council prohibited the use of hypergolic fuels by any firm, except the existing Astrotech Space Operations, a payload processing plant. Businesses that want to fuel satellites will have to locate outside the city. “There was a feeling among people that the council wasn’t doing enough. We wanted to send a message that the safety of the people is first and foremost in our minds,” said Councilman Steve DeAngelo. Council member Terry Tolbert, who cast the sole negative vote, said, “The decision to ban hypergolics was an emotional decision. We didn’t have enough information to go on.” The ban is most likely to impact businesses looking to relocate to the Central Brevard area. (Brown, Florida Today, June 21, 1990)
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#90 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:07
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#91 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:08
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June 21: “EVERYTHING IS GOING SO WELL IT’S UNBELIEVABLE”
The flight crew for STS-38, Commander Dick Covey, Pilot Frank Culbertson and Mission Specialists Bob Springer, Carl Meade and Sam Gemar, practiced emergency egress from Launch Pad 39A today at the end of a two-day Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. “The crew re-enacts what might happen if they were actually having an emergency during a launch countdown,” said Space Center spokesman Bruce Buckingham. The major difference between this and an actual countdown: the shuttle was not fueled, and the astronauts did not ride the steel baskets down slide wires to the ground during their escape. Buckingham said, “There was no need for them to ride in the basket. They are perfectly safe. Getting from the orbiter to the basket is the part they need to rehearse.”
The astronauts were awakened at 6:05 a.m. EDT today to eat a traditional pre-launch breakfast and don their partial-pressure spacesuits before riding to the launch pad about 7:45 a.m. EDT. Aboard Atlantis, the crew tested shuttle systems and performed all tasks required on launch day. “The obvious purpose,” said Buckingham, “is so the launch crew and the flight crew can experience the environment of a launch day without having to actually launch.” Culbertson, Gemar and Meade will be making their first shuttle flight.
“Everything is going so well it’s unbelievable,” said Mission Specialist Bob Springer. The astronauts will return to Houston later today to continue final preflight simulator training at Johnson Space Center. They will return to Kennedy Space Center three days before the actual launch, which is currently set for July 14. Shuttle managers will meet next Thursday and Friday in the traditional Flight Readiness Review to assure the vehicle, crew and flight control team are ready for the mission.
Workers have completed interface verification testing of all connections between the launch pad and vehicle. Work scheduled this weekend includes the helium signature check to verify no abnormal leakage exists in the shuttle’s main propulsion system and loading of the onboard fuel tanks. The payload bay doors have been opened and final cargo bay cleaning is in progress. “Work on Atlantis is proceeding very smoothly toward launch,” said Al Branscomb, vehicle manager at JSC. “We haven’t had any significant issues since reaching the pad that would impact the launch date.” (Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990; JSC Space News Roundup, June 22, 1990 – edited)
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#92 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:10
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June 22: CRRES DELAYED, AGAIN
Launch of the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite aboard General Dynamics’ first commercial Atlas-Centaur rocket has been postponed from July 9 to July 17. Problems were encountered this week during a practice countdown, according to officials. James Womack, Director of Expendable Vehicles at Kennedy Space Center, said an additional practice countdown would be held at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 36B. “While the test (this week) resulted in 99 percent of the launch vehicle data being obtained, some problems were encountered in the final automatic countdown,” he said. “A decision was made to re-run the test to obtain additional data considered important.” (Halvorson, Florida Today, June 23, 1990 – edited)
June 23: TITAN TIMES TWO
This morning the Martin Marietta Titan launcher program rocketed back from problems encountered earlier this year with the successful launch of the third Commercial Titan mission. The CT-3, carrying an Intelsat VI spacecraft, lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 7:19 a.m. EDT. Twenty-five minutes after launch, ground controllers confirmed that the $150 million uninsured satellite and its onboard solid rocket kick motor had separated from the second stage of the Titan III.
Intelsat VI is owned and operated by the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat), a consortium of 119 countries providing international communications for much of the world. The 38.8-ft.-tall satellite, weighing 5,613 pounds when on station in geostationary orbit, has a transmission capacity for up to 24,000 two-way telephone circuits at one time and three TV circuits.
In March, its twin was stranded into a useless low orbit flowing launch from the second Commercial Titan. A wiring error prevented separation of the satellite’s kick motor from the Titan upper stage. The satellite had to be cut loose from the solid motor that would have lofted it to its working orbit. The same wiring error was found on the vehicle for today’s launch and was corrected.
Referring to the March 14 failure today, Ed Browne, Martin Marietta Commercial Titan Inc. President, said, “all of us were sorry that it happened. It had a tendency to put a notch on our reputation, and we don’t like that. But today was a good day, and a normal day. We expect all our future launches to be like this one.”
The only other firm flight for the Commercial Titan will not occur until September 1992 when it lofts NASA’s Mars Observer. Following today’s launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 40, the Air Force will be conducting a $100 million renovation of the site designed to prepare it for the launch of the Titan IV/Centaur.
The flight of Titan CT-3 came just fifteen days after the lift-off of a USAF Titan IV. The Titan IV program will continue with two additional launches scheduled this year using Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral and Pad 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The June 8 lift-off of a Titan IV from Cape Canaveral came almost one full year after the only other successful launch of the military Titan. The large gap fueled concern about the ability of the Titan IV program to maintain a consistent launch schedule.
A report recently issued by the General Accounting Office on the Titan IV program indicated that six of the ten launches scheduled for 1990 and 1991 were put off due to preparation problems at the launch site and behind schedule launcher deliveries. The GAO also reported a $1.9 billion increase in program costs in the period between March 1988 and October 1989.
Originally planned to supplement the Space Shuttle missions, the Titan IV unmanned launcher program is proceeding with aggressive vehicle acquisition and launch plans for the coming decade. Current plans are to reach a launch goal of ten vehicles per year by 1995. Forty-one Titan IVs are presently under contract and funding has been approved for another nine. The Air Force hopes to gain the go ahead within the next two years to acquire a total of 75 Titans with a price tag of $17.8 billion, assuring the Titan’s roar will be heard well into the next century. (Banke, Florida Today, June 24, 1990; Oates, The Orlando Sentinel, June 24, 1990; Deseret News, June 24, 1990; Countdown, August 1990 – edited)
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#93 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:10
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#94 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:12
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June 23: ATLANTIS TAKES ON PROPELLANTS
At 4:00 p.m. EDT today, Pad 39A will be closed and the hazardous portion of loading propellants into Atlantis will begin. During the weekend, workers searched for leaks in the plumbing of Atlantis’ main propulsion system by pumping helium through the fuel lines. None had been found. Workers also cleaned the orbiter’s payload bay so the two 60-foot-long doors could be closed as a safety precaution during the scheduled hazardous operations. (Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990 – edited)
June 27: NASA REPORTS MINOR ACCIDENT AT PAD 39A
An accident occurred today at Launch Complex 39A when a technician stepped on a work platform in Atlantis’ rear engine compartment, NASA officials said. Part of the platform collapsed and fell about seven feet onto an empty line connected to a low-pressure fuel turbopump, causing a small dent in nickel plating that surrounds the four-inch-diameter line. No worker was injured, but work stopped on the launch pad for 2 1/2 hours while the line was inspected. Inspectors decided that the damage was minor and that the line will not have to be replaced. (Halvorson, Florida Today, June 28, 1990 – edited)
June 29: ATLANTIS MINI TANKING TEST SCHEDULED TODAY
Shuttle managers met Thursday and will do so today to determine an official launch target date for the STS-38 Department of Defense flight aboard Atlantis. This morning, workers were scheduled to load liquid hydrogen into Atlantis’ External Tank to verify that the system is ready to support a full tanking for launch. A real-time decision on whether to go ahead with the tanking test was to be made based on the weather conditions at the launch site.
The mini tanking test, designed to ensure that a problem similar to the one that postponed the STS-35 launch does not exist in the STS-38 stack, entailed sending super-cold liquid hydrogen through the orbiter’s aft compartment into the ET via the 17-inch umbilical disconnect lines. In preparation for Atlantis’ mini tanking test, the aft compartment was inspected and closed out. The Rotating Service Structure was to be moved away from the orbiter for the test.
Last weekend, workers conducted the helium signature leak test of the main propulsion system and the three main engines. The test did not identify any leaks in the system. Earlier this week, hypergolic loading operations were held up about one shift when a transformer shortened out bringing down the system that supplies cooled air to the Launch Control Center. The cooled air keeps the computers at the proper temperature for normal operations. Atlantis was powered down while technicians reconfigured the system.
Once the system was back up, nitrogen tetroxide was loaded into the orbiter’s onboard storage tanks. Loading of monomethyl hydrazine was completed Wednesday, June 27. This operation also included loading hydrazine into the orbiter’s Auxiliary Power Units and in the Solid Rocket Booster Hydraulic Power Units.
Launch of Atlantis on her seventh mission was scheduled for about July 15 prior to the manager’s pending launch decision, which is based on the readiness of the vehicle, crew and flight control team to support the mission. (JSC Space News Roundup, July 6, 1990 – edited)
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#95 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:15
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THERE IS A LEAK
The mini tanking test, scheduled to involve filling the ET with 200,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen, half its flight load, began at 8:00 a.m. EDT. Duplicating the test performed on Columbia after her flight scrub, the launch team would flow hydrogen first at slow rate and then at “fast fill” through the aft fuselage of the orbiter and the ET propellant lines, both the 17-inch main line and the 4-inch recirculation and pressurization line.
The slow fill began, proceeding like a normal launch-day fill, complete with “launch” commentary from PAO Lisa Malone. It took only 18 minutes to find a leak. When the rate was upped to fast fill, sensors on the exterior of the vehicle in the area of the disconnect immediately detected a leak. Fueling was halted with the ET about five percent filled.
Later in the morning, shuttle managers faced the press. Launch Director Robert Sieck gave his preliminary technical assessment: “There is a leak; it’s between the plates, between the orbiter and the External Tank. There is contribution from the 17-inch feed… The leak is not as high as the one we saw on STS-35, but it is… an out-of-specification leakage.”
Robert Crippen, Chief of the shuttle program, said, “If we’d been in a launch count, we’d have been in a scrub situation.” He said that because of sensor readings from previous missions, they knew that they had not flown with an undetected leak in the past. “This is something unique that has come up. We thought it was unique to the 35 configuration. Obviously, that is not correct, and so we’ve got some more homework to do to try to solve the problem.” (Countdown, August 1990 – edited)
BREAKING NEWS: SPACE SHUTTLE FLEET EFFECTIVELY GROUNDED
“During a tanking test of Atlantis this morning, a hydrogen leak was found in the area of the 17-inch disconnect. The launch team here at KSC is reviewing data from the tanking test and will examine the area of this leak as soon as the fuel is drained and the area is safe for access. Obviously, we will not fly until we understand this leak and the one in the Columbia system.
Working these problems will keep our crews extremely busy, but I am confident we will uncover and correct the problem shortly. To do this, we will probably have to return Atlantis to the VAB, which means we will postpone the launch a minimum of two weeks. Depending on what the problem turns out to be, the delay could be longer, but I am not anticipating a long-term shutdown.
I appreciate the willingness of the government/contractor team to put forth an extra effort to solve this problem. The extensive testing that we do is designed to uncover problem areas. I expect this one will be solved shortly and we will resume our scheduled processing activities.”
- Statement from KSC Director Forrest McCartney, June 29, 1990
Engineers testing the shuttle Atlantis' fuel lines detected an out-of-speciification leak similar to one that grounded Columbia last month, a potentially major setback for NASA that likely will delay the ship's July flight. A formal Flight Readiness Review to clear Atlantis for launch was canceled as engineers spent the morning trying to pinpoint the exact location of the leak.
This latest fuel leak probably will require a second-straight trip back to the hangar for repairs and another major launch delay. With NASA already reeling from news that the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope's mirrors are flawed, officials canceled Atlantis' Flight Readiness Review Friday while engineers scrambled to pinpoint the leak source.
"We can't fly. There is no question that we won’t fly until we understand the problem have it fixed, have tested it, verified it, and we’re ready to fly," said William Lenoir, NASA's Associate Administrator for Spaceflight. "Probably the minimum time of delay (for Atlantis) is on the order of two weeks." A statement released late Friday said until the cause of the leak is determined, work to ready Atlantis for launch "has been suspended" and that the shuttle will be returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building and removed from its External Tank after engineers determine exactly what is wrong.
Columbia's launch last month on a 10-day astronomy mission was called off just six hours before lift-off when sensors detected explosive hydrogen gas spewing into the ship's engine room during fueling for a planned May 30 launch. The leak later was traced to the area of the 17-inch disconnect fitting where the shuttle's primary hydrogen feed line enters the belly of the orbiter. Problems with the giant umbilical cannot be fixed at the launch pad and as a result, Columbia was hauled back to the OPF hangar for repairs.
NASA managers, meanwhile, had proceeded with plans to launch Atlantis around July 15 on a secret military mission, but playing it safe, they ordered a special fueling test to make sure the spaceplane did not suffer from any leaks like the one that sidelined Columbia. Early Friday, engineers pumped supercold liquid hydrogen rocket fuel into Atlantis's fuel tank and almost immediately sensors detected hydrogen gas around the 17-inch disconnect fitting, indicating some sort of generic problem, either with the hardware or with NASA's shuttle assembly procedure.
“We were moderately confident that (a lab test on Columbia’s ET umbilical) was going to find the leak for us. It did not,” Lenoir said. “We continued to process for STS-38 with a very strong conviction of what we were dealing with, since we had flown so many of the shuttles with no previous indications of a problem. We were confident that we had a problem that was unique to the configuration of STS-35.”
“We don’t know too much yet,” Lenoir continued. “It could be two independent problems. Right now that seems unlikely. It seems likely that these are related, or a similar class. We’re revisiting what we have done different… We’re digging into it again. We’re going to go deeper.”
For now, Atlantis is to remain on the pad. “As long as we have this configuration that is leaking… we want to make sure we derive all the information out of it before we go do anything to it,” shuttle program chief Robert Crippen said. Keeping Atlantis in her present leaking state could loom important in solving the mystery. “Because of the nature of the test in the lab, we can never completely recreate the conditions that we have on the pad,” said Bill Lenoir.
Atlantis's flight was put on hold indefinitely, and with Columbia already out of action because of a similar problem NASA's Space Shuttle fleet was effectively grounded. "I would hesitate to use the word `ground,' but there's no question, we won't fly until we understand it and have it fixed and have tested and verified it and are ready," Lenoir said.
The setback could not have come at a worse time for NASA, which is struggling to keep the decks clear for STS-41, a high-priority October flight by Discovery to ferry the European-build Ulysses solar probe into space. While Lenoir held out hope of launching both Atlantis and Columbia before then, NASA could be forced to delay one mission past the October flight, assuming the leak problem can be resolved. “We are not going to let the fact that we have Ulysses, and we want two flights off before that to effect the rigor with which we attack the problem. If it costs us a flight that’s a shame, but that’s what it will take,” Lenoir said.
(Deseret News, June 29 & 30, 1990; Countdown, August 1990; Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990 – edited)
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#96 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:16
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July 2: NEW ENTRANCE AT SPACEPORT USA
A new, permanent entrance has gone into use at Kennedy Space Center’s Spaceport USA that affects all visitors, auto and motor coach alike. The new entrance was made necessary by construction of the new Astronauts Memorial. In addition to construction on the Memorial, work continues at the attraction on the $1 million expansion of Spaceport Central, the main visitor information building. When completed in mid-August 1990, Spaceport Central will house a new 50-seat presentation theater, an outdoor covered atrium area and new food service windows featuring ice cream and yoghurt. (Spaceport USA Press Release, July 2, 1990)
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#97 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:18
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July 6: ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR LENOIR: “THAT’S A TOUGH ONE”
The investigation team tracing the cause of liquid hydrogen leaks in the disconnect cavity of Columbia and now Atlantis is meeting daily in an all-out effort to get to the bottom of the problem that has temporarily grounded the shuttle fleet. Headed by Leonard Nicholson, Deputy Shuttle Program Director, the team is charged with investigating all aspects of the disconnect interface on the ET and the orbiters.
The team was formed by William Lenoir, Associate Administrator for Spaceflight, following last Friday’s mini tanking test on the STS-38 stack at Launch Pad 39A. The test, which had been expected to verify a good seal, revealed an out-of-specification leak with similarities to the one discovered on Columbia. The leak is in the vicinity of the umbilical mating plates. It appears to be primarily from the 17-inch line but possibly with a contribution from the 4-inch line. The leak is flow rate and temperature dependent. It is not as high as STS-35, but exhibits many of the same characteristics.
In the interest of safety, all potential leak sources are being investigated. All aspects of the STS-35 and STS-38 component history, including acceptance test procedure requirements and data, as well as design changes are being looked at. Independent of these events, a component redesign to replace the current umbilical disconnect with a new design has been underway and is well into the preliminary design phase. The new disconnect incorporates safety improvements, including redundant seals at all locations.
Processing of the STS-38 vehicle has been suspended. Engineers are continuing troubleshooting efforts at pad 39A. Next week, Atlantis will undergo a leak test in which rocket fuel is pumped into the Main Propulsion System at 4,800 gallons per minute. NASA spokesman Ed Campion said, “We’re setting up a very elaborate test. We want to make this the most complete test we can set up so that we can pinpoint the leak and quantify the amount of liquid hydrogen that is leaking.”
All of the tests are striving to pinpoint that “it’s this particular interface and it’s this big,” Lenoir said Tuesday in an update briefing. He said it will take several weeks to analyze the results of all the tests. “If we get through all that and we haven’t found the leak, then in all honesty, I’m not sure where we go from there. That’s a tough one. Maybe we’ll all go on vacations.”
Prior to the July 4 holiday, a pressurization test on the External Tank was conducted and revealed no leaks at the 17-inch disconnect area. The tank was pressurized to flight level with helium while engineers monitored for leakage. As part of the test, the tank pressure was decreased incrementally to collect baseline leakage conditions at ambient temperatures. Engineers are reviewing data and getting signatures from the leak detectors and sensors on various parts of Atlantis.
Meanwhile, Discovery continues processing toward her planned launch in October to deliver the Ulysses probe into space. The orbiter will not be mated to its ET until the investigation team has completed its analysis of the leak.
The ET/Orbiter Disconnect Investigation Team is split into five groups, each with a specific area to evaluate:
1) Design and Analysis Team – reviewing all aspects of the disconnect design and test including mating tolerances, thermal effects, specifications, acceptance test procedures and design changes.
2) Hardware Processing Team – reviewing all hardware processing procedures, ground support equipment, and leak check processes including any revisions or changes.
3) Data Analysis Team – establishing a formal sequence of events and leak results for the investigation team and analyzing all data including effects of purges, winds, and test configurations.
4) Fault Tree/Test Requirements Team – developing a complete fault tree to ensure that all possible causes are being investigated. It will collect requirements and develop plans for any unique tests that need to be performed. The group also will investigate recommendations for revised flight hardware test procedures.
5) Independent Review Team – reviewing and evaluating all data from other teams as an independent group.
NASA today ruled out misalignment as a cause of the leaks which have plagued both Columbia and Atlantis. “We have analyzed that and reanalyzed that, and we cannot make that come even close to giving anything that would be suspicious,” said William Lenoir. He said, further, that the External Tanks could be ten times more crooked than they in fact are and still not cause a leak.
(Kyle Herring, JSC Space News Roundup, July 6, 1990; Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990 – edited)
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#98 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:20
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July 9: NASA “CLOSER” TO UNDERSTANDING FUEL LEAKS
NASA said today that it considers a Teflon seal a primary suspect for causing the liquid hydrogen leaks which grounded the shuttle fleet. Associate Administrator for Spaceflight William Lenoir said that although the space agency is closer to understanding the fuel leaks, only one of two planned flights might be launched before the scheduled October Ulysses mission launch.
“We have not yet given up on the ghost of two flights before Ulysses, but being frank and honest, it’s extremely unlikely at this point that we would get two flights off,” Lenoir said.
Robert Crippen, Shuttle Program Director, said that the shuttles could be leaking for different reasons. “We don’t really know what we are dealing with, or when we can fly again,” Crippen said. Further search for sources of the leaks will continue July 13 or 14 when another test will be conducted on Atlantis at Launch Pad 39A. (Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990 – edited)
July 9: NASA GROUNDS TWO VETERAN SHUTTLE COMMANDERS
NASA today grounded two of its veteran Space Shuttle commanders for flight safety infractions, including the Navy officer involved in a weekend accident at a Texas air race that killed a pilot. In an unprecedented move, space agency officials stripped both men of commands on upcoming space flights and temporarily barred them from use of high performance training jets owned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Disciplined were Navy Commander Robert L. "Hoot" Gibson, 43, and Navy Captain David M. Walker, 46. Gibson was specifically reprimanded for his participation in an air show race near New Braunfels in central Texas on Saturday, July 7. According to witnesses, Gibson's racer collided with a second aircraft piloted by Henry W. Jones Jr. of Newport News, Virginia. Jones' plane plummeted into a cornfield, killing the pilot. Gibson landed safely.
In a statement announcing the action, Don Puddy, the space agency's Director of Flight Crew Operations, said Gibson's racing violated a June 1988 policy against participating in high-risk recreational activities that hold the potential for "major or fatal injury.” Puddy explained, “Our high-risk activity policy defines plain and simple guidelines for astronauts assigned to flight crews. They are intended to preserve our crews as assigned and apply regardless of the time prior to launch.” One of the examples cited in the policy is racing. "The race was a clear violation of the policy," Puddy said.
The specific activities that led to the disciplinary action against Walker were not revealed, though he was involved in a near-collision with a Pan Am Airbus near Washington's Dulles International Airport in May 1989. Johnson Space Center spokesman Jeff Carr said Walker's discipline involved multiple policy infractions, including the Pan Am incident.
"It clearly wasn't the only reason," said Carr. "The specific infractions are matters of his personnel record and as such are confidential. He's the only person that could discuss those.” The Walker incident occurred a few days after he returned from commanding the successful STS-30 mission that launched the Magellan planetary probe toward Venus. The naval aviator was flying a NASA T-38 jet to a Washington ceremony when his airplane passed close to the jetliner, prompting investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever replaced members of a crew for disciplinary reasons,” said Carr. “We hire test pilots because they have the ability to fly on the edge. But we want them to be conservative about it.”
Neither Gibson nor Walker could be reached for comment. “Dave and Hoot have each made substantial contributions to the shuttle and space station programs, and have performed in an outstanding manner on their respective shuttle flights,” said chief astronaut Dan Brandenstein. “These actions are unfortunate, but they’re in the best interest of us all. These policies are vitally important and are to be taken seriously.”
“Hoot” Gibson is widely regarded as one of the shuttle program's most skilled fliers. He has piloted one mission, STS 41-B, and commanded two others, including STS 61-C, the last flight before the 1986 Challenger accident. Gibson also commanded the second post-Challenger flight, STS-27, a high priority secret mission that reportedly carried a new type of reconnaissance satellite. He was slated to command a fourth mission, STS-46, the first Tethered Satellite System flight, set for May 1991. NASA said it will name a replacement at a later date. In addition to being stripped of the command, Gibson will not be able to fly NASA's T-38 jets for one year.
Walker flew as pilot on STS 51-A had been selected to command STS-44, a secret March 1991 mission for the Department of Defense. He has been replaced by Air Force Colonel Fred Gregory, a veteran of two previous space flights. Walker drew a 60-day ban from using the agency's T-38s. Once the T-38 suspensions have been fulfilled, the two astronauts become eligible again for shuttle crew assignments.
In June 1989, astronaut David Griggs died when the World War II-era trainer he was piloting at an Arkansas air show crashed during a series of aerobatic maneuvers. At the time, NASA said Griggs' activities did not violate its policies because the activity served to enhance his flying skills. (The Houston Chronicle, July 10, 1990; JSC Space News Roundup, July 13, 1990; Countdown, August 1990 – edited)
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#99 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:22
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July 11: “FATHER OF AMERICA’S SPACE PROGRAM” DIES AT AGE 88
Retired General and Reverend John Bruce Medaris, born in 1902, who was known as the “Father of America’s Space Program,” died of bone cancer today at his home in Highland, North Carolina. He served in the military for 42 years in both the Marines and the Army, where he became a General in 1955. From 1956 to 1960, as first Commander of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, which evolved into the Marshall Space Flight Center, he oversaw the launch of Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite, in 1958. Explorer was deployed via a modified Army Redstone missile, Jupiter C.
John Medaris was also responsible for gathering intelligence on German V-2 rockets and stood up to General George Patton by refusing to exaggerate reports on captured enemy equipment. After the war, he headed the Wernher von Braun team of American and German rocket engineers and sparked America’s first intermediate-range missile in 3 1/2 years, the Jupiter. During the 1950s, he spoke to Congress about the need for a well-structured and well-funded space program. Medaris was responsible for leading the way for the establishment of NASA, created in 1958 under President Dwight Eisenhower.
In 1969, the two-star General retired from the Army and was ordained an Episcopal priest in Maitland, Florida. Medaris later joined the Anglican-Catholic Church and retired to North Carolina. During his retirement he continued to advise the federal government on Strategic Defense Initiative technologies.
In May 1989, the National Space Club recognized Medaris for “his epic contribution to the birth of America’s space program.” Much of Medaris’ space memorabilia has been donated to the Evans Library at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida. Medaris, who is survived by his wife Frances, will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. (Jean, The Orlando Sentinel, July 16, 1990: Kayne, Florida Today, July 12, 1990 – edited)