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UPDATE # 133 - October 6, 2000
PART 1: Hello from KSC HELLO FROM KSC
Despite the delay, last night we had a terrific "Launch" webcast that included three girls from the Young Women of NASA Advisory Council. Following their presentations, your STO correspondent, Brandt Secosh, was joined by Mike Ciannilli, fresh from the firing room, as Mike described the reasons for the delay of the launch. The new launch is scheduled for 8:05pm (Eastern), 5:05 (Pacific) Monday Night. You may still watch the launch and hopefully some special programming from http://quest.nasa.gov/space/events/ksc Our last chat for the World Space Week is just a matter of an hour and a half away. Janis Davis Street has been a favorite of chatters, as her responsibilities include helping decide what the astronauts eat in space. I hope you can join us. See details in the next section below. Linda Conrad lindac@quest.nasa.gov UPCOMING EVENTS:
Please be sure to visit each site before the scheduled time. Usually these
events require pre-registration and some include preparation.
->October 2-5 - World Space Week, with a launch
* Friday, October 6, 10-11am PDT (1-2pm EDT, 5-6pm GMT)
Janis Davis-Street, nutritionist, who is a part of a team whose job is
determining the nutritional requirements for space flight, that is,
finding out what foods and nutrients are important for the astronauts as
they venture into space. Read Janis' profile at:
http://quest.nasa.gov/space/team/davis.html
Pre-register and join the chat from:
http://quest.nasa.gov/space/events/cc
->Wednesday, October 11, 9-10 am PDT (noon-1pm EDT, 5-6:00pm GMT)
Chat with Bill Todd while he is underwater. Bill is a simulation
supervisor in Spaceflight Training, responsible for developing and
executing the simulations used for training the astronauts and flight
control teams who will work the missions to build the International Space
Station. Bill will be
chatting with us from Aquarias, an underwater habitat used to simulate
the space environment. Read Bill's profile at:
http://quest.nasa.gov/space/team/todd.html
Pre-register and join the chat from:
http://quest.nasa.gov/common/events.cgi?prj_sto
->Thursday, October 12, 10 -11 am PDT (1-2:00pm EDT, 5-6:00pm GMT)
QuestChat with Sharon Cobb who researches and studies new materials to
determine how they will be affected by gravity.
Pre-register and join this 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: Don't miss the opportunity to chat with Aquanaut Bill Todd from the underwater habitat, Aquarius. See details above.] Living Undersea Parallels Living in Space http://quest.nasa.gov/space/team/todd.html September 23, 2000 Interviewer: Lori Keith The second week of October, from Monday the 9th through Friday the 15th, I will be living underwater off the coast of the Florida Keys, in a submersible deep-sea habitat called the Aquarius. The Aquarius is the only facility of its kind in the world, and up to this point has been primarily used to study and gather information about marine biology. It is owned by NOAA and is operated by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. NASA is interested in finding out if this deep-sea facility could also help us understand and prepare for long-term space travel. (The word facility, in this case, can also be interchanged with habitat and laboratory.) Living underwater parallels living in space in many ways. The time frame for missions involves long periods of time away from normal environments and families. Communication with others is not always immediate. Because of the fact that in both environments one can not readily come home, nor ask for help whenever necessary, repairs and/or replacements must be able to be made if necessary. While living under the sea, I will be down there long enough that my nitrogen levels will elevate to the point that I will not be able to come back up to the surface without going through 17 hours of decompression. While under water, I will be in a state of saturation (or what we call "in saturation"), which means that my body will be saturated with nitrogen. During my stay under water, I will be going out every day on long deep dives and performing data collection, along with communicating to the Mission Control Center and the habitat (during the dives). I have also planned to chat with you Wednesday, October 11, at noon Eastern / 11 a.m. Central time / 10 a.m. Mountain / 9 a.m. Pacific. (The preceding are all United States time zones.) If you can't make the chat, you can post questions to the chat room ahead of time. Also, during the chat, you can open a second browser window and go to the Aquarius web site and while chatting you can view real time video and telemetry from the facility. Keep an eye on the Space Team Online homepage for a link to the event. The habitat itself is 63 feet deep. It weighs 81 tons, and measures 43 feet x 20 feet x 16.5 feet. It has all the comforts of home including six bunks, a shower and toilet, instant hot water, a microwave, trash compactor, a refrigerator, and air conditioning. The computers onboard are linked back to the shore base, located in Key Largo, by wireless telemetry. You can view an online video about the Aquarius http://www.uncwil.edu/nurc/aquarius/video.htm and take a virtual tour at http://www.uncwil.edu/nurc/aquarius/ipix.htm if you like. This undersea project is a joint effort between NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The mission is named SEATEST, which stands for Space Environment Analog, Testing and Evaluation of Systems and Training. The objectives are to evaluate the Aquarius facility as a tool to help develop concepts for habitation of space. It's also a project for NASA and NOAA to work jointly together to develop and exchange ideas on techniques and concepts for living and working in extreme environments. Due to its location, it could possibly allow NASA to conduct a variety of research projects from an environment that is a very close analog to space. During this mission, NASA personnel will evaluate the facility for its future use in such areas as Mars exploration, physiological and psychological studies, astronaut training, scientific data collection training in extreme environments, and as a platform to communicate with the space shuttle and space station in sea-to-space link-ups. I am excited about this project and the opportunity of exploring undersea and space worlds -- two of my favorite things. :-) STATUS OF ORBITER PROCESSING
RE MISSION: STS-92, 100th Shuttle Mission scheduled for launch October 5
During the standard pretanking meeting, Shuttle managers today decided to
delay the launch of Shuttle Discovery by at least 24 hours. Engineers are
currently evaluating a concern with the Shuttle's right aft
orbiter/external tank attach bolt.
Following routine film analysis of external tank separation
during the STS-106 launch, engineers noted a 2 * - inch protrusion of the
aft attach bolt following tank separation. At separation, a frangible nut
inside the orbiter releases the 14-inch bolt which is supposed to fully
retract into the external tank's bolt housing. On STS-106, that bolt did
not fully retract.
Engineers are evaluating the cause of this occurrence and what impact a
bolt protrusion would have on the STS-92 flight if any. Following the
engineering evaluation, Shuttle managers will gather tomorrow morning to
address the issue and discuss launch options.
Engineers are also evaluating an issue with a valve inside Discovery's
main propulsion system that controls the flow rate of propellant and
mitigates vibrations in the aft compartment. During a routine test today,
the valve operated sluggishly. Engineers will evaluate whether this
condition is acceptable for flight and report back to Shuttle management.
When additional information is available, another status report will be
issued.
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