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PART 1: Hooray for Pine View Middle Schoo HOORAY FOR PINE VIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL
Congratulations to Pine View Middle School in Land'O Lakes, Florida. Recently they participated in the Shuttle Simulation activity. After a successful launch, the middle school astronauts from Ms. Niles' class collected some great scientific data while "on-orbit". They've provided beautiful graphs of their results which are available at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/simulations/niles.html Take a look at what an outstanding job they did. SURVEY COMING SOON
A while back, we wrote about a forthcoming email survey which has still not yet been sent. We are finally ready, so you can expect the survey in your email box this coming Tuesday or Wednesday. Since we are spending US taxpayer dollars on Shuttle Team Online, we have to demonstrate to NASA management that the project is having an outreach impact. To assess the impact, we will be relying on the results of the email survey. Please help us by taking the time to respond to this survey; it should only take a few minutes to reply. A significant response rate to the survey will best help us make a case to NASA management that Shuttle Team Online is worth continuing into the future. In advance, thank you very much for helping. [Editor's note: Kathleen is a communications engineer at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). She makes sure that when a payload and the people who built it arrive at KSC, they have the voice, video, and data support they need in order to process and test their systems before the payload is launched into space. Since each payload is unique, each requires a different level and type of support while at KSC.] STARTING OVER AGAIN ON DEFINING COMMUNICATION NEEDS
Kathleen Potter http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/potter.html April 29, l997 Normally, once a mission lands and starts deintegration (unloading the payloads from the orbiter) my involvement ends. However, with STS-83 landing early and planning on reflying, I had to start all over again! Luckily a lot of my work had already been done the first time around, so now it's just a matter of making changes to fit the new processing schedule. The first thing we needed to know was whether this would be considered a reflight of the same mission (STS-83R) or a new mission with a new number (STS-94). After a couple of weeks, it was officially decided that this would be a new mission, STS-94. The reason we need to know this is because it determines how we document the resources required by a payload. Each unique payload has a document called a PRD (Program Requirements Document) written for it. The PRD contains the resources the payload will need for processing and testing starting from when it arrives at KSC and ending after launch. The PRDs for each individual payload plus some KSC requirements, are then combined to form an Operations Requirement (OR). For this mission, we have MSL-1 (Microgravity Sciences Laboratory -1, a space laboratory which focuses on microgravity research using the low-gravity environment of earth orbit) and CRYOFD (a Cryogenic Test Bed for testing the performance of various types of heat pipes). If this flight had been kept STS-83, we would have revised the STS-83 OR. Since the flight is now STS-94, we will put together a new OR for STS-94. We will do this by first determining what processing and testing is required by each payload and then figuring out what type of support they need. Each support item required is then copied from the PRDs into the OR. Since all the testing and processing will be done at the OPF and at the Pad, we take all the requirements related to these areas and add them to the OR. We also have to extend data and voice circuits to Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Alabama so that the people at MSFC can support MSL-1 testing. Those items will be placed into the OR also. The reason an OR is important to us is that it lets the people that are supplying the support know what is required. In our case, we are interested in the communications support such as voice channels for people to talk to each other on, data circuits for transferring data from the payload to the ground support equipment or out to MSFC, and video circuits for looking at video from the spacelab or from cameras in the OPF and at the Pad. Each person (or group) responsible for providing support to a payload will respond with a WILCO (yes, I have that resource available and can supply it to you when you need it), a NOWILCO (no, that capability does not exist and this is what you need to do to get it), or something in between (yes, we can do that but you need to do this first). So the OR combined with the responses gives us a complete picture of what is required by the payload, what is available for them to use, and what additional steps may need to be taken in order to have all the required resources available. It also tell the suppliers what they will need to supply so that they can make sure that the resources will be available when needed. And it gives us a common document to look at if questions arise. [Editor's notes: Steve works for the Instrumentation and Communications group (INCO). The INCOs prime job is to make sure that all the equipment on the shuttle that is used to communicate with the crew and to transmit data from the shuttle to the ground is in working order.] GETTING READY FOR THE TEST
Steve Sides http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/sides.html March 24, l997 The last four weeks have flown by! I have been continuing my training for certification as an INCO flight controller and working the software issues with the new command system. During the six or so flight simulations that I have participated in, I have learned several things about the Ku band communications systems. The Ku band systems are used for two main functions. One of the functions is as a high bandwidth communications link through the TDRS satellite, then to the ground. The other function is for rendezvous RADAR. When the system is configured for RADAR it is used to tell the crew how far away and how fast they are getting closer to some payload or space station. We do lots of simulations to practice rendezvous with the Russian Mir space station. The new command system will be tested for operational support this week. I have been working several scripts (procedures) that will be followed during ORTs (operational readiness tests). These procedures integrate all of the flight control positions into one massive test so that we are sure that nothing gets missed during the test. STS-94 PRESS RELEASE
COLUMBIA PASSES MILESTONE TOWARD QUICK REFLIGHT NASA's Space Shuttle program passed a major milestone today on its way to reflying the orbiter Columbia and the first reflight of the same payload and crew in Space Shuttle history. Columbia, which saw an abbreviated mission in April due to indications of a faulty fuel cell, was transported from Florida's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) to the Vehicle Assembly Building today where it will be mated with an external tank and solid rocket boosters in preparation for roll-out to Launch Pad 39A next week. With the Spacelab payload secure in the orbiter's cargo bay, NASA remains on track for a targeted July 1 launch date for reflight of the Microgravity Science Laboratory mission. Suspicious readings from one of Columbia's fuel cells compelled NASA managers to cut the STS-83 mission short after only four days in space, marking only the third time in Shuttle history that a mission was curtailed for mechanical reasons. The original mission was expected to last 16 days. Since the return of Columbia following the shortened STS-83 mission, the suspect fuel cell has undergone extensive analysis. The conclusion is that an undetermined and isolated incident caused a slight change in the voltage of about one-fourth of the 96 cells that make up each fuel cell. To ensure the health of the fuel cells pre-launch, the power plants will be started earlier than usual to allow for additional monitoring before liftoff. Also, the program is reviewing the possibility of installing new fuel cell performance monitors that will indicate individual cell "health" rather than a single monitor for each of three 32-cell substacks. This will provide additional insight into pinpointing large voltage shifts in a single cell, which could indicate a potential problem, or a small voltage shift in a number of cells, which is a benign situation. Presently, the performance monitor provides a gross indication of fuel cell health, which caused the team to assume the worst in the case of STS-83. As with all hardware issues on the Shuttle, fuel cell anomalies are taken seriously and reviewed extensively prior to clearing future missions for launch. Additionally, the flight rules are being reviewed to ensure that proper insight is provided to flight controllers in making decisions on the health of the fuel cells. Columbia launched on April 4 and landed in Florida on April 8 without completing the mission's science objectives. About two weeks later, Shuttle program managers decided to refly the Microgravity Science Laboratory mission on STS-94 as soon as possible within safety guidelines. "This decision demonstrated the Shuttle program's confidence in the KSC processing team," said Bob Sieck, Director of Shuttle Processing. "Special credit goes to the workers in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1. They produced a quality product in record time." When marching orders were given, NASA's Shuttle and payload communities teamed up to give Columbia and the Spacelab payload a speedy turnaround. Once in the OPF, replacement of the problem fuel cell was the first order of business and that was completed the week after landing. Managers then put into motion a strategy that minimized the amount of rework performed on the Shuttle and reduced the time required to service the payload. The ambitious schedule required that all experiment reservicing be done while the Spacelab remained in the Shuttle's payload bay. Between flights, Spacelab is normally removed and then transported to KSC's Operations and Check-out Building for rework in a spacious environment. Payload technicians overcame the Shuttle's cramped conditions and successfully completed many critical tasks such as replenishing the flammable fluids of a combustion experiment. "This is the first time that a payload has remained in an orbiter between flights," said KSC Payload Manager Scott Higginbotham. "We are excited about having accomplished something that has never been tried before." Working side-by-side with the payload team, Shuttle technicians and managers faced some challenges of their own. Normally an orbiter visits the OPF for about 85 days in preparation for its next launch, but this reflight called for about 56 days in the facility. Managers saved some time by deferring certain routine structural inspections until Columbia's next mission, but other work could not wait and had to be accomplished before launch. For example, the Shuttle's forward reaction control system, located in the nose of the vehicle, had to be removed with three out of sixteen steering thrusters requiring replacement. Also, two of the three 85-pound auxiliary power units that provide hydraulic power to Columbia's flight control systems were replaced having reached their run-time limit between overhauls. An important part of this time-saving strategy was to minimize the burden on the Shuttle processing team. "Most of the time savings in the OPF was the result of a concerted planning effort between NASA and our contractor partners," said Grant Cates, NASA flow director for Columbia. "Once the plan was in place, the team approached this challenge in much the same way that they approach every flow." To further speed up Columbia's processing for reflight, managers took one main engine scheduled to fly on Atlantis in September and two engines from Columbia's November flight. The external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters being used on STS-94 were originally slated for mission STS-85. With the original STS-83 astronauts slated to fly again on STS-94, additional time savings were achieved by leaving the crew compartment set-up virtually unchanged. The crew equipment interface test and the terminal countdown demonstration test, both familiarization exercises previously completed by the crew, were deemed unnecessary for this reflight mission. Columbia is scheduled to roll out of the Vehicle Assembly Building on June 11, bound for launch pad 39A. The STS-94 launch is currently targeted for July 1 at 2:37 p.m. EDT. Regardless of the efforts necessary to perform a quick turn- around of Columbia and its microgravity science payload, NASA managers and engineers are confident that no safety margins were compromised. STATUS OF STS-94 PROCESSING
Below and in the future, we'll provide some details about the post flight work being done after STS-83 and the subsequent processing of Columbia as it gets ready to fly again as STS-94. These reports will contain jargon and unfamiliar terms; our intent is not to confuse you, but to provide a glimpse at all the steps involved. Detailed daily reports about Columbia's processing can be found at the NASA Shuttle Status web site at http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/status.htm Since the last updates-sto message, inspections of Columbia's forward reaction control system revealed cracks in several thermal protective tiles in that vicinity. So far, about 20 tiles have been removed. Work to replace those tiles will be performed at the pad and will have no impact on the roll out schedule. Evaluations of the FRCS tiles on the other orbiters are under way and will help managers better understand the cracked tiles. Close-out work in the orbiter's mid-body went well over the weekend with Spacelab transfer tunnel installation completed last Saturday and the interface verification test completed on Sunday (June 1). Spacelab close-outs were wrapped up and then Columbia's payload bay doors were closed for flight. Also, technicians performed some tile work on the nose of the vehicle. The Space Shuttle Columbia rolled into the Vehicle Assembly Building on June 4 at about 11:20 a.m., on its way to be mated to the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. In the VAB, wiring work will continue in the Shuttle's avionics bay 4 and electrical check-outs of an auxiliary power unit will pick-up. Work to mate the orbiter to the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters was underway on Thursday, with a hard mate expected by the end of the day. STS-94 SCHEDULED OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are target only): - Shuttle interface test (June 9-10) - Roll out to pad 39A (June 11) - Flight Readiness Review (June 19)
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