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UPDATE # 101 - December 7, 1999 PART 1: Upcoming Events UPCOMING EVENTS
I have just returned from two weeks away, and I want to get a brief Update off to you so you don't miss tomorrow's: "Space Shuttle Countdown: Landing to Launch" December 8, 1999 10-11:30am PST (1-2:30pm EST, 6-7:30pm GMT) This segment takes us back to the Vehicle Assembly Building as Mike and Brandt give you a virtual tour of the inside of this huge building http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/ksc/dec Also coming up is: Tuesday, December 14, 11a.m. - noon PST QuestChat with Karl Sabbagh, writer, producer and director of Space Station, a special two part documentary airing on PBS on December 14 and 21. To attend or leave questions go to: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/chat/prj_sto/12-14-99ks/main/chat.cgi Wednesday, December 15, 10-11a.m. PST QuestChat with Michael Ciannilli, who co-hosts the Landing to Launch series. On his job he monitors all of the systems on the orbiter as they are tested, and addresses any problems that as they occur. He also supports a wide variety of shuttle upgrades and the next generation of launch vehicle studies. To attend or leave questions early go to http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/ksc99/ Wednesday, December 22, 1999 10-11:30am PST "Tour the International Space Station" The Space Vehicle Mockup Facility in Houston, Texas is the center for manned spaceflight and headquarters for the International Space Station Program. The audience will be given a LIVE tour of the International Space Station trainers, Space Shuttle mockups, Underwater Neutral Buoyancy Labs and Centrifuges. You will get inside the Living Quarters where Astronauts will spend their work, play, rest and recreation time aboard the ISS. "Tour the International Space Station" http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/tours/index99.html I'll follow up with the other typical categories next time. See you online! Linda Conrad [Editor's note: Lorna does not yet have an online profile, but below explains a piece of equipment designed to make for efficient storage in a tight space like the International Space Station. Hopefully she will fill us in on what her new job involves soon.] M-BAGS: SUITCASES FOR THE ISS
by Lorna DeArmond December 5, 1999 Interviewer: Lori Keith This is my first journal, and I am excited to be sharing my time with you. I want to tell you about a project that I worked on before I changed jobs. The company I work for, Johnson Engineering (J.E.), has the contract for the ISS Resupply Stowage Platform (RSP), which includes the M-Bags. M-Bags are like compartmentalized suitcases, and they are used to store things on the International Space Station (ISS). Many things that go up in the shuttle go in a Cargo Transfer Bag, or CTB: toothbrush, clothes, laptop, camera equipment, personal items/equipment, all soft goods, toolkits, and anything else needed in orbit. CTBs are kind of like carry-on luggage and shaving kits. M-Bags are the big suitcases that the little bags (CTBs) fit into. There are two sizes of M-Bags. The large bag, M-01, carries six CTBs: a triple CTB, a double CTB and two half CTBs, which equals six CTBs. The smaller bag, M-02, is two-thirds the size of the M-01 and carries four CTBs: a double and two singles, for example. The photo is of a M-02 M-Bag with a double and two single CTBs inside. The concept for the M-Bag started from an idea from a stowage integration meeting. J.E. suggested something to store the CTBs in during flight and on-orbit. The concept was presented to the Flight Hardware director, then J.E. came up with a conceptual design. Preliminary conceptual designs were done and taken to NASA, and NASA gave us the contract to develop this, along with the Resupply Stowage Platform we were already working on. Since the M-Bags were added to the contract between PDR (Preliminary Design Review) and CDR (Critical Design Review), J.E. had to work fast to catch up to speed in a short frame of time. The concept was developed, qualification (or qual) testing was done, and prototypes were built. For testing, qual units are identical to flight units. All testing passed, and now J.E. will begin manufacturing them. J.E. has a sewing laboratory headed up by a former Navy captain who's the guru of the sewing lab. Several people work as seamstresses sewing M-Bags and other items. Jan Martinez, the sub-system manager for the project, provided me with some input. Jan is a textile/materials engineer. She explained that the M-Bag is made of HT90-40 Nomex on the external and internal layers of the bag walls. Premium 13 mil Chemglas is used as a stiffener (to keep the form), and the outer wall has 3/16" thick layer of Minicel foam. Briefly, she mentioned a few of the many things that were tested pre-flight: one-handed fasteners, grasp areas, barcode labels, zippers, straps, buckles, material flammability, material toxicity/off-gassing, strength, all CTBs fit, etc. So the CTBs store inside the M-Bags. The M-Bags store inside the Resupply Stowage Platform, which stores things up on the ISS. Astronauts have to know what is in each bag and where each bag is kept on board the ISS. J.E. is also responsible for creating and maintaining stowage drawings -- showing how many CTBs and M-Bags there are and what is stored where exactly -- on the manifest. J.E. works/handles most of the stowage requirements for the ISS -- from packing, to shipping, to supporting the flight. That was kind of a quick overview of a particular piece of hardware - from idea conception to actual manufacturing and usage of the item. I hope you enjoyed this first journal, and I look forward to writing again. STATUS OF ORBITER PROCESSING - PREPARING FOR STS-103 Typically this area is devoted to processing of the Columbia Orbiter. At this time Columbia is in California so we will continue to use this area to update you on the mission in focus, in this case STS-103, the Hubble Servicing Mission: The seven-member STS-103 flight crew arrived at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility yesterday at about 8:20 p.m. During the days leading up to launch, the crew will participate in orbiter and mission familiarization activities. They will take opportunities to fly in the Shuttle Training Aircraft and will undergo routine preflight medical exams. At the launch pad, workers completed replacement of Discovery's mass memory unit No. 1, and workers continued efforts to close out Shuttle Discovery's aft compartment for flight. During routine engine compartment inspections Monday, workers found a 1/8-inch nick in the insulation of a Shuttle main engine wire. The wire provides command and feedback support for Discovery's No. 2 main engine. Following an engineering evaluation meeting this evening, Shuttle managers decided to replace the damaged wire and reported that a one-day launch slip is possible. Managers will further assess the impact to the processing schedule and expect more information by late tomorrow. This afternoon, Shuttle managers moved the launch of Shuttle Discovery to Dec. 11 at 11:42 p.m. The delay accommodates additional wiring work in the orbiter's aft compartment. Today, technicians are completing efforts to replace and retest a wiring harness that provides command and feedback support to the main engine No. 2 controller. One wire in the harness had a 1/8-inch nick in its Teflon insulation, and engineers decided last night to replace the entire harness. Engine No. 2 will undergo flight readiness tests, and leak checks will be repeated. Aft compartment close-outs are expected to conclude early Thursday, and the launch countdown is set to begin at 4 a.m. Thursday. The flight crew will take advantage of the additional time to review mission plans and spend time with family members.
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