STS-120 Processing Latest

[Chris Bergin]

Andy USA - 24/8/2007  1:58 PM

Florida Today's main story headline is NASA is unlikely to do anything with the tanks and fly them as they are. So who's telling the truth??

I haven't had a chance to look at that story, but we're accurate - and they've actually started taking the foam off the brackets already. Four brackets will undergo repair now, with ET-125 also found to have cracks.

They may STILL get away with no delays...but it's been evaluated.

Will write another article, but they are absolutely not flying this tank as-is.

[psloss]

Andy USA - 24/8/2007  8:58 AM

Florida Today's main story headline is NASA is unlikely to do anything with the tanks and fly them as they are. So who's telling the truth??

That was written Tuesday night after the STS-118 post landing news conference.  Things have changed since then.

[Chandonn]

One thing you'll learn here is that this site has all the info days before it reaches the general media.

[Andy USA]

Thanks guys. I should have known better!

[Chris Bergin]

psloss - 24/8/2007  2:16 PM

Andy USA - 24/8/2007  8:58 AM

Florida Today's main story headline is NASA is unlikely to do anything with the tanks and fly them as they are. So who's telling the truth??

That was written Tuesday night after the STS-118 post landing news conference.  Things have changed since then.

Ah yes, from the Gerst comments. I too would have backed no repair from that also. It was the XRays finding the cracks yesterday that's changed things.

[shuttlefan]

Chris Bergin - 24/8/2007  8:16 AM

Andy USA - 24/8/2007  1:58 PM

Florida Today's main story headline is NASA is unlikely to do anything with the tanks and fly them as they are. So who's telling the truth??

I haven't had a chance to look at that story, but we're accurate - and they've actually started taking the foam off the brackets already. Four brackets will undergo repair now, with ET-125 also found to have cracks.

They may STILL get away with no delays...but it's been evaluated.

Will write another article, but they are absolutely not flying this tank as-is.

Just to clarify, is ET-125 for STS-122, the Columbus launch?

[Chris Bergin]

shuttlefan - 24/8/2007  2:46 PM


Just to clarify, is ET-125 for STS-122, the Columbus launch?

Yes sir

[nathan.moeller]

Andy USA - 24/8/2007  7:58 AM

Florida Today's main story headline is NASA is unlikely to do anything with the tanks and fly them as they are. So who's telling the truth??

NASA will tell the truth.  The media can really jump the gun on things like this in order to make NASA look bad and complacent by hanging pre-Columbia symptoms over their heads.  This site will have the truth as soon as it's available.  Count on that

[nathan.moeller]

shuttlefan - 24/8/2007  8:10 AM

Chris Bergin - 24/8/2007  6:08 AM

Rocket Ronnie - 24/8/2007  4:55 AM

Do we know how long it would take to trim the brackets?

We're looking to find out. Not sure if that's the plan yet - or what this will mean for the schedule - but sure is heading that way.

Either way, I think it's getting safer and safer everyday to say that there will be at least a small delay to STS-120, right Chris?

There's still wiggle room in the schedule, but if there's any sort of delay in the interest of flying ET-120 safely, that's absolutely fine by me.

[shuttlefan]

nathan.moeller - 24/8/2007  9:08 AM

shuttlefan - 24/8/2007  8:10 AM

Chris Bergin - 24/8/2007  6:08 AM

Rocket Ronnie - 24/8/2007  4:55 AM

Do we know how long it would take to trim the brackets?

We're looking to find out. Not sure if that's the plan yet - or what this will mean for the schedule - but sure is heading that way.

Either way, I think it's getting safer and safer everyday to say that there will be at least a small delay to STS-120, right Chris?

There's still wiggle room in the schedule, but if there's any sort of delay in the interest of flying ET-120 safely, that's absolutely fine by me.

Agree with you 120% Nathan.

[Chandonn]

I'll admit to a little "go fever" about STS-120.  This will see the first habitable volume added to ISS since Quest and Piers in 2001!  I'm hoping the delay will be absorbed into the remaining "wiggle room".

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY: M07-109

NASA SETS BRIEFINGS TO PREVIEW NEXT SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION

HOUSTON - NASA will discuss the next space shuttle mission during a
daylong series of media briefings from the Johnson Space Center on
Friday, Sept. 14. Space shuttle Discovery's 13-day mission,
designated STS-120, is targeted for launch on Oct. 23. The mission
will continue construction of the International Space Station.

The briefing schedule is (all times CDT):

8:00 a.m. -- Space Shuttle and Space Station Program overview
9:30 a.m. -- STS-120 mission overview
11:00 a.m. -- NASA TV Video File
11:30 a.m. -- STS-120 spacewalk overview
1:00 p.m. -- STS-120 crew news conference (photo opportunity follows)
2:00 p.m. -- Round-robin crew interviews

All briefings except the round-robin crew interviews will be broadcast
live on NASA Television and the Web at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Discovery's crew members are Commander Pam Melroy, Pilot George Zamka
and mission specialists Scott Parazynski, Stephanie Wilson, Douglas
Wheelock, Dan Tani and Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency.
Tani will remain aboard the station for several months and return
with the STS-122 crew. Current station Flight Engineer Clayton
Anderson will return to Earth aboard Discovery.

Discovery's crew will add a module that will serve as a port for
installing additional international laboratories. The Harmony module
will be the first expansion of the living and working space on the
complex since the Russian Pirs airlock was installed in 2001. The
mission also will move the first set of solar arrays installed on the
station to a permanent location on the complex and redeploy them.

Media planning to attend the Sept. 14 briefings must contact the
Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 5 p.m. on Sept. 12. Briefers also
will take questions from participating NASA sites. Non-U.S. media
planning to attend the briefings, regardless of citizenship, must
contact the Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 30, to
obtain credentials. Media planning to participate, either in person
or by phone, for the round-robin interviews with the crew members
must contact the Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11.

For the latest information about the STS-120 mission and its crew,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

[Chris Bergin]

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5212 - latest article based on (a lot more) L2 information.

[Lee Jay]

Interesting about moving to HB2.  Could we see a set of stacked boosters roll out of the HB2 door?

[ChrisGebhardt]

Lee Jay - 24/8/2007  1:24 PM

Interesting about moving to HB2.  Could we see a set of stacked boosters roll out of the HB2 door?

I agree. But if it enables them to do everything SAFELY and still make the final two launches scheduled for the year, then that's fine with me. Also, if they can't make the STS-122 target for Dec. 6, that's fine, too. As long as it's done safely.   (But a set of stacked SRBs all by themselves is always an awesome sight!!!!!)

[shuttlefan]

Lee Jay - 24/8/2007  12:24 PM

Interesting about moving to HB2.  Could we see a set of stacked boosters roll out of the HB2 door?

Lee Jay, if you want to see photos of stacked boosters rolling out of the VAB go to the KSC multimedia site and then use the search function and type in SRBs or Solid Rocket Boosters in 2003 and you SHOULD find photos there, as this was actually done in late-'03 to test vibration affects on the boosters from the crawler. I hope the photos are still in there.

[Lee Jay]

I assume you mean this picture with cross beam attached.

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=21386

But I'm guessing they didn't come from HB2 and also this time I think there'd be no cross beam, is that correct?  Anyway, might be interesting to see how they accomplish the switcheroo that Chris mentioned in the article, if they choose to go that way.

[psloss]

Lee Jay - 24/8/2007  1:24 PM

Interesting about moving to HB2.  Could we see a set of stacked boosters roll out of the HB2 door?

Sure -- if they store them in there after they are stacked.  The STS-106 shuttle rolled out of HB2 under similar circumstances when they fit checked it in 2000.  (It was stacked in High Bay 1.)

I don't believe High Bay 2 has work platforms for shuttle stacking and probably lacks other prerequisites for being an integration cell, but it can be used for storage.

[DaveS]

Media teleconference with Wayne Hale coming up shortly: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/news_audio.html

[ChrisC]

Ohhh, fuuuuuudge.  Real Audio ONLY?  uuuuggh.  I blame Bill Gates.

... and Rob Glaser and the reprehensible behavior of Real's software ...

Oh well, I'll read all about it here instead