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UPDATE # 103 - January 3, 1999PART 1: Upcoming Events for the New Year UPCOMING EVENTS FOR THE NEW YEAR
The successful STS-103 Hubble Space Telescope Servicing mission was completed with a 7 p.m. Eastern Time touchdown, December 27. By midnight, Discovery was being towed to the OPF to begin its Landing-to-Launch processing. Was that a good way to slot in a reminder of our series due to resume? ->January 12 10-11:30am PST (1-2:30pm EST, 6-7:30pm GMT) from the Launch Control Center join us from: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/ksc99 Also slated for January: ->Thursday, January 13, 2000 10-11am PST (1-2pm EST, 6-7pmGMT) Webcast from the International Space Station Mock-Up and Training Facility at Johnson Space Center. Join us from: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/tours/index99.html Thursday, January 13 11am-12noon (2-3pm EST, 7-8pmGMT) QuestChat with Craig Schafer Craig is responsible for making sure that payloads on board the International Space Station (ISS) are secure and stable while on orbit. See Craig's profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/schafer.html Join the chat from: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/common/events.cgi?prj_sto We are planning a series of in-depth programs surrounding the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) or STS-99. This is an international project spearheaded by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and NASA, with participation of the German Aerospace Center DLR. In cooperation with NASA's JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), we are planning a series of live events so that you may interact with the people involved in this mission. ->The first broadcast is slated for Launch minus 10 days - the date of the launch is under review but should be late January, early February. Stay tuned here, and we'll keep you updated. Also you can watch our Launches page at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/launch For more information on the mission see: http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-99/mission-sts-99.html and on the SRTM, see: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/ The Puzzle will continue with a new challenge next week. Happy New Year, Linda Conrad [Editor's note: Lisa is a Space Shuttle flight controller in the Mission Control Center (MCC). Her involvement in the most recent flight (STS-103) helps to illustrate her responsibilities as a mission is in progress.] WORKING STS-103 AND OTHER PROJECTS http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/shore.html December 21, 1999 Interviewer: Lori Keith The year 1999 is just about over, but it sure was exciting. I was certified as the first-ever female Ascent Flight Dynamics Officer or Ascent FDO (pronounced Fido, like a dog's name), and in July, worked during mission STS-93. This mission was also unique and historic in the fact that the commander, Eileen Collins, was the first female shuttle commander. A lot of outreach activities surrounded this mission, and I participated in several events with Space Team Online's sister project, Women of NASA (WON). STS-93 was an interesting flight, besides the historic features, because during ascent there were engine and wiring problems and a nozzle leak. The nozzle leaking propellant resulted in a slight underspeed (15 foot per second). This means that the orbiter ran out of gas before it reached its target velocity which caused the orbit to be seven miles lower on one side than we planned. This happened because in response to the leak, the orbiter increased the propellant flow through the engines causing it to be used up faster than anticipated. This event ended up having no negative impact on the mission, but it was my job to inform everyone in the MCC that we had an underspeed. All these problems or malfunctions resulted in many actions and investigations. The findings of these investigations caused the delays of the last two flights, STS-103 and STS-99, while inspections of and repairs to the shuttles were made. Crew safety is always the most important issue at NASA. We didn't want to fly again until we were sure that we wouldn't have these problems again. STO and WON worked together to bring Female Frontiers (FF) to the Internet. FF had several special events planned around the launch of STS-93. One event was an open forum chat. The students asked lots of interesting questions. Then in October, the four FF ambassadors came to the Johnson Space Center (JSC) to meet and have their picture taken with Commander Eileen Collins, Yvonne Cagle and Ellen Ochoa, all astronauts. Much of this was also in conjunction with the Virtual Take Your Daughters to Work Campaign (sponsored by the Ms. Foundation). The four girls were treated to a tour of the Mission Control Center and an overview of JSC. I was their tour guide for part of the day. It was a lot of fun. My last flight was STS-103, the Hubble Space Telescope Servicing mission, which is still in progress. I worked as the Trajectory officer, which is like the second-in-command FDO. This flight was a bit tricky, as it involved a low-inclination rendezvous with the telescope. The launch targeting was a little different then what we usually do for a space station rendezvous, which is at a higher inclination. The launch window constraints were a bit more challenging, and we had more ascent performance (fuel) on board because the flight is so light. The flight was a great experience. I was beginning to wonder if we were going to be able to get off the ground before time ran out at the end of the year. We had several delays throughout December while the folks at the Cape made sure that everything on the vehicle was ready to fly. When we finally did try to launch on Friday, December 17, the weather didn't cooperate with us. We have rules that say how close thunderstorms can be to the launch pad, how many clouds can be in the area, and how strong the winds can be. If any of these constraints are out of limits then it's not a good day to launch. On Friday night, we had several weather violations. The weather was forecast to be just as bad the next night so we didn't even try to launch on Saturday night. Sunday night was absolutely perfect, and we lifted off right at the beginning of our 42-minute launch window. The launch was flawless, and we inserted into our expected orbit to start our rendezvous with the Hubble. As I write this, we are about to grapple the telescope and begin its repairs. My next FDO flight is STS-101, currently scheduled for launch in March. This is a Space Station flight, and will be my first ground-up rendezvous as the ascent FDO. Ground-up rendezvous is when something from the ground launches to rendezvous with something already in orbit. I'll begin doing training simulations next year for this mission. I am still working on the ascent/entry trainer, a software simulation project I mentioned in my bio. Phase 1 is completed and we are finishing up Phase 2, and then we'll begin working on the last phase. This simulation allows us to train in a more expedient manner, saving money and time, by using a single computer workstation, one-on-one, at the trainee's convenience. This saves lots of scheduling conflicts and allows us to tailor the training to meet each person's individual needs. I have also been taking Russian language classes. It's quite interesting - some parts are easy and some are bizarre. I enjoy the classes and think it's nice to exercise a different part of my brain. It's been about ten weeks now, and I am speaking some broken Russian. The classes are for an hour a day, four days a week. The first week of November, I worked Inspection Day, which is like an open house for the industry, displaying technology used by NASA. I was a tour guide in the original Mission Control Center. It was really interesting seeing people's reactions to the amount of history that occurred there. Most everyone remembered the first moon landing or was familiar with what happened during Apollo 13, and it all happened right in that room. I took on a new project - the DAE, or Downrange Abort Evaluator, which is software being developed to replace a tool used in Mission Control and hopefully be used on board the shuttle. I am the project manager for this project. I will tell you more about this in my next journal, so stay tuned . . . [Editor's note: I thought you might like to see what it is like to be spacebound on Christmas day. Below is an STS-103 Mission report. To see more like it, go to: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/news/press.html ] CHRISTMAS DAY ONBOARD THE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY
STS-103 Report # 12 Saturday, December 25 - 10 a.m. CST Christmas Day onboard the Shuttle Discovery began with seasons greetings for Commander Curt Brown, as the crew awoke to Bing Crosby's "I'll Be Home for Christmas." "Merry Christmas to all of you down there," replied Brown. "And Hubble will be home for Christmas 'cause today we're going to set her free." Discovery's astronauts will be doing the gift giving this afternoon as they return the Hubble Space Telescope to orbit, allowing it to continue its astronomical observations. About 1:45 p.m. CST, European Space Agency astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy will use Discovery's robot arm to firmly grasp the telescope. After a series of commands to disconnect from external power and confirm Hubble is ready for release, Clervoy will gently lift it out of the support structure in Discovery's payload bay where it has rested since he first plucked it from orbit on December 21. The telescope's aperture door will be commanded open, and, at 4:50 p.m., Clervoy will release the upgraded telescope. Hubble's capabilities were enhanced over the course of three spacewalks lasting a combined total of 24 hours, 33 minutes. Spacewalking astronauts Steve Smith, John Grunsfeld, Mike Foale and Claude Nicollier installed six new gyroscopes, six Voltage/Temperature Improvement Kits, a new, more efficient computer, and a refurbished Fine Guidance Sensor. Functional checks and tests of the hardware indicate that the new equipment is working properly and will further enhance the Hubble's scientific capabilities. This afternoon, the spacewalking team, including arm operator Clervoy, will take a break from their duties to discuss the progress of the mission so far in a series of interviews with CNN, the Associated Press and the Fox News Network. That interview is scheduled for 7:12 p.m. today. Discovery is in an orbit with a high point of 380 miles and a low point of 363 miles with all systems on board performing well. STATUS OF ORBITER PROCESSING - PREPARING FOR STS-99
Typically this area is devoted to processing of the Columbia Orbiter. At this time Columbia is in California being refurbished, so we will continue to use this area to update you on the mission in focus, in this case STS-99 On Monday, December 13, 1999 Space Shuttle Endeavour rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at 7 a.m., headed toward Launch Pad 39A. Once at the pad, workers will begin routine launch pad validations. All three auxiliary power units will be hot fire tested tomorrow (the 14th). The remainder of the STS-99 prelaunch work schedule is being reviewed due to the recent engine replacement and in order to accommodate STS-103 processing efforts. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 12/13/1999) STS-99 is an 11-day Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Its objective is to obtain the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of the Earth. SRTM consists of a specially modified radar system that will fly onboard the space shuttle during its 11-day mission and gather data that will produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. Besides contributing to the production of better maps, these measurements could lead to improved water drainage modeling, more realistic flight simulators, better locations for cell phone towers, and enhanced navigation safety. Watch for a NASA Quest special series of live events surrounding this mission. http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events
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