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UPDATE #129 - August 23, 2000PART 1: We're Back WE'RE BACK
In the next several weeks you will be introduced to the new face of NASA
Quest. We have devoted a lot of time to incorporating your feedback into
what we believe will be a more useful and easy-to-understand tool, putting
you in touch with NASA people and activities.
On a personal note, I'd like to thank many of you for your patience and
kind notes during the "recess" I've taken from writing Updates. Beyond the
summer slow down that is typical, I have been on a bit of a medical leave,
but plan to be fully functional and ready for an exciting new year of
online events come September 1. Here are some highlights:
September will open with an 8:31am Eastern time (12:31pm GMT) launch of
STS-106 on the 8th. Our Women of NASA project will be in attendance and
reporting their experiences in journals. You can watch the launch from
http://quest.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/launch and see the NASA Quest Women of NASA
pages at http://quest.nasa.gov/women for more about those activities.
The first week in October we anticipate the 100th launch of a space
shuttle. There will be some exciting happenings at Kennedy Space Center,
including a webcast from the launch to kick off our:
* KSC Shuttle Countdown: Landing to Launch
Back by popular request, we are putting together the combination of
WebChats and WebCasts and TeacherŐs resources in a series similar to last
year's events. This year we will spend more time featuring the processing
of components of the International Space Station components. The majority
of the live, interactive events will be held on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m.
Pacific Time. The developing schedule will be housed at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/ksc
* JSC Focus: the International Space Station - Our first tour is scheduled
for Wednesday, September 13 at 10am Pacific. Coupled with the monthly
tours from the Johnson Space Center, we will be hosting chats with team
members from JSC who are working on the ISS. The developing schedule will
be housed at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/iss
As usual, we are anxious and open to suggestions that can help you to
better take advantage of the NASA Quest offerings. Please let me hear from
you if I can be of help. Please use my address below instead of responding
to this Update.
Looking forward to working with you to make this a great year!
Linda Conrad
Please be sure to visit each site before the scheduled time. Usually these events require pre-registration and some include preparation. ->Friday, Sept. 8, 5:31am PDT (8:31 a.m. EDT, 12:31pm GMT) Launch of Atlantis on Mission: STS-106, the 4th ISS Flight (2A.2b) - SPACEHAB. You can watch the NASA TV coverage from http://quest.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/launch ->Wednesday, Sept. 13, 10:00-11:00am PDT (1-2:00pm EDT, 5-6:00pm GMT) Join us for a live webcast tour of the Mockup and Training Facility for NASA's ISS Astronaut Program. Registration information coming soon to: http://quest.nasa.gov/space/events/iss ->Thursday, Sept. 14, 10:30 -11:30 am PDT (1:30-2:30pm EDT, 5:30-6:30pm GMT) QuestChat with Chris Gerty as he will be chatting right after his shift on-console during the flight of STS-106. Chris Gerty is part of a team that helps researchers and scientists prepare their science experiments and equipment for shuttle launches. The team makes sure the equipment travels to and from space safely, and functions properly during a mission.Read Chris Gerty's profile at: http://quest.nasa.gov/space/team/gerty.html and his journal in Part 3 below. Pre-register and join the chat from: http://quest.nasa.gov/common/events.cgi?prj_sto To see a complete listing of NASA Quest's offerings, see the schedule of events at: http://quest.nasa.gov/common/events [Editor's note: Some of you may remember the special series we did on the mission of STS-99 - http://quest.nasa.gov/ltc/jpl/srtm.html Here's a unique "back room" look at the mission. Join Chris for his chat September 14.] BEHIND THE SCENES DURING STS-99 http://quest.nasa.gov/space/team/gerty.hml August 20, 2000 After about a year and a half of simulations to make sure I was ready, I worked on console in the back room during one flight (STS-99). STS-99 deployed an antenna on the end of a 60-meter truss that extended out the side of the shuttle's payload bay. Using this antenna, it mapped the surface of the Earth in three dimensions -- an amazing task that had never been attempted before. In Mission Control, the simulations do a very good job in preparing you for the real flight, but I don't think anything can fully prepare someone for the feeling you get during a real mission. As soon as we lifted off the pad, the hearts and minds of everyone in the control center were on board as well. We truly felt as if we were joining the six astronauts, and we were so intently focused on our job that we were ready for anything. As the mission progressed, we started getting pictures back from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as they processed the data. The detail was incredible! Posters started filling up the walls between the Front Control Room and on some of them you could see terrain as small as streams and beaches and highways! Some posters were printed red and blue and had 3-D glasses hanging off of them. I remember feeling a mixture of awe and pride when I saw John Young, the first Space Shuttle commander, with these red and blue 3-D glasses on, pointing out the different docks of Pearl Harbor! On the second day of STS-99 the controller in charge of the shuttle's propellant (PROP) started noticing increased firing of the jets that control the attitude (the direction the shuttle points) in space. Since long structures in space tend to rotate on their own, a small thruster was put on the end of the mast to balance out this force, so that shuttle propellant wasn't wasted. The PROP officer's data told him that the thruster was not doing its job. In the "Payloads" back room, we decided to look at some history data on the pressure of the tank that provided the gas for this small thruster. Sure enough, right at the moment that PROP saw the increase in shuttle prop usage, we saw that the pressure in this tank took a turn for the worse. Before the flight, engineers had looked at the possibility of this thruster failing, and in every simulation, there was not enough shuttle propellant to finish the 9-day mission. Faced with this scenario, there were two things we had to do: find a way to fix the thruster, and save as much of the shuttle's propellant as possible. Over the next three days, every controller brainstormed as to why the thruster was failing, and what could be done to fix it. Unfortunately, the thruster was at the end of a 60-meter long mast, and the crew could not reach it, or even take a picture of it to send down to MCC for analysis. The only control we had over this thruster was one switch, which had an "ON", and an "OFF". So every 24 hours or so, we turned the switch off, and back on again. This helped the PROP officer a little bit, but not enough to last until the end of the mission. During this time, PROP was looking so intently on our usage of fuel he noticed something else . . . every time the crew exercised, we would use less fuel. The astronaut bicycle was stabilizing the shuttle! It didn't have much effect, but every little bit counts! The PROP officer noticed something else interesting. Each mission, the shuttle's systems and the astronauts produce waste water, which is shot out of the side of the shuttle. He noticed that while this was happening, the shuttle's fuel usage also went down! So with a complicated plan of dumping all of the waste water out the side of the orbiter, along with some other ways to save fuel (we didn't make the crew exercise more), we found a way to keep the shuttle pointed accurately for the entire mission, plus a half-day longer than planned! But the tense moments were not over. After we had finished mapping the Earth, the mast had to be retracted into a metal canister only a few meters long. The mast retracted perfectly, until the last two inches. It was later learned that the extreme cold and heat of deep space had slightly warped the truss structure, and caused it to bind up inside the canister before it was all the way inside. If the truss could not be fully stowed, there were plans to release the entire thing (truss, canister, and antenna) into space, so that the crew could get home safely. Fortunately, heaters had been installed inside the canister, and after less than an hour, and only two more tries, the canister closed and latched just like it was designed to do. This was a very exciting flight - and what an experience for my first time in mission control! Just like on any team (in sports, school, or a job), sometimes there are really tough times, but when you overcome them, it makes you really proud to be part of that team! [Editor's note: Again our KSC correspondent, Brandt, brings his insights and enthusiasm to the start of a new scholastic year. Please do take the time to see the online version with the pictures he refers to at: http://quest.nasa.gov/space/team/journals/secosh/08-03-00.html ] By: Brandt Secosh http://quest.nasa.gov/space/team/secosh.html August 3, 2000 It is time to start a new year of Space Team Online and we are looking forward to it! Let's start by welcoming you back to school. I hope each of you had a great summer and are ready for some of the exciting events that will be happening in the space program. Looking at the launch schedule, it has International Space Station written all over it! As many of you know, the Russian built Zvezda module is now a integral part of the International Space Station. Joined with Unity and Zarya, all of the on-orbit components create the third brightest object in the sky! The Earth's moon and Jupiter are the only objects brighter than the station! Did you know that you can view the International Space Station from your location with the naked eye? See for yourself! To find out what time, direction and elevation is best suited for your area, please visit http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ . This site also works for the Space Shuttle when it is on-orbit. So, it looks like the Space Shuttle will have it's work cut out for the next two years with regular launches from Kennedy Space Center delivering and assembling the International Space Station! Please visit this site to have a look at the schedule: http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/schedule/schedule.htm A lot has changed over the summer here at KSC for us as well. We have gone through a major re-organization at the center and most of us have moved to new office locations. My new office is at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center - a very cool place rich in the history of our space program. Our office was very fortunate because we ended up with some very unique office locations. Just outside of my window, I have a very impressive garden. It is know as the Rocket Garden. I have to say that it is an inspiration every day to see these rockets standing majestically outside of my window. To me they represent the spirit of the space program and the foundation that has brought us to where we are today. The rockets from left to right are the Titan II ; Atlas Agena ; Juno II ; Mercury Atlas ; Delta ; Redstone and the Juno I . There is a photograph of a mock-up of the Apollo Command Module. Apollo was a three-part spacecraft consisting of the command module (CM), the crew's quarters and flight control section; the service module (SM) for the propulsion and spacecraft support systems (when together, the two modules are called CSM); and the lunar module (LM), to take two of the crew to the lunar surface, support them on the Moon, and return them to the CSM in lunar orbit. This first diagram will show you the launch configuration and the second will show detailed information of the CM & SM. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/ad003.gif http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/ad004.gif I couldn't resist this photograph opportunity. I am standing in front of a mural of some of my bigger than life heroes. They are the Mercury Seven. This site will explain the Mercury Seven in great detail. Be sure to read the biographies - they are excellent!!! My office location offers a glimpse of the past and as I mentioned the foundation of where we are now. The future is shaping up to be incredibly exciting. The International Space Station is becoming a reality and we will soon be putting our first crews onboard! The Space Team Online is looking forward to keeping you informed of the status of the station modules, and the delivery of them on the Space Shuttle. Once again - WELCOME BACK! STATUS OF ORBITER PROCESSING
MISSION: STS-106, 4th ISS Flight scheduled for launch September 8 Space Shuttle Atlantis, carried atop the crawler transporter, departed for Launch Pad 39B at 11:20 p.m., Aug. 13, following a successful fit check in the newly refurbished VAB high bay 2. Atlantis was hard down at the pad at 9:30 a.m. Monday. Launch pad validations are complete, and standard Shuttle main engine flight readiness testing is ongoing. Workers are installing the SPACEHAB payload into the orbiter's payload bay today. The seven-member flight crew arrived at KSC last Tuesday night at about 7 p.m. to participate in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities through Friday. Milestones: Prelaunch propellant loading of orbiter storage tanks . . . . . Aug. 23 Orbiter aft compartment close-outs begin . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug. 28 Orbiter payload bay doors closed for flight . . . . . . . . . . .Aug. 30 MISSION: STS-92, 100th Shuttle Mission scheduled for launch 10/5 Orbiter Discovery moved from OPF bay 1 to OPF bay 3 today, allowing workers to begin planned open bay modifications inside bay 1. Discovery will likely remain in OPF bay 3 until midweek, when NASA managers are expected to complete ongoing payload and ground processing assessments. KSC managers will closely monitor weather developments in the tropics as Discovery's vertical processing flow continues. Pending completion of these assessments, Discovery is expected to roll to the VAB this week to be mated to the external tank and solid rocket boosters. International Space Station engineers are evaluating the best methods to resolve a concern with the control moment gyro assembly on the Z-1 truss. The gyros are components of the attitude control system for the space station. The issue deals with assuring reliable and proper operation of the gyros at extremely cold temperatures. It is likely that correcting the concern will mean a delay in delivery of the payload to the pad from the end of August to approximately the second week of September. However, at this time there is no known impact to the Oct. 5 launch date of Space Shuttle Discovery.
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