|
   |
 |
                 
|
S P A C E T E A M O N L I N EUPDATE # 65 - January 8, 1999 PART 1: New Year, New Projects NEW YEAR, NEW PROJECTS:
January is only a week old, and already we are picking up our pace here at Quest, setting up lots of chances to participate in activities. I want to list and describe briefly a couple of special opportunities that are available. Please visit the site from our Featured Events page for more details: The CASE project will take a student-eye look at the preparation of an experiment (Cell Adhesion Space Experiment) to fly on STS-93 sometime in March. Activities specific to this project will be announced only to registered participants. The first chat will occur later this Month. To register and read more about the CASE project: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/case Projects from Space: The Kent School District, in conjunction with MC2 Learning Systems and the NASA Quest Project, invite your students to join the men and women of NASA who are working to make human space exploration a reality. Through research and collaboration with other classrooms students will learn and explore topics dealing with space survival. Register by January 28 to participate in the Spring launch February 8. See the link at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events And, of course our own Female Frontiers: where Quest's Space Team Online, Women of NASA and Learning Technology Channel join together to spotlight the upcoming Shuttle mission, STS-93, in which Eileen Collins becomes the First Woman Shuttle Commander. She, and other women who pioneered their fields, will inspire us to follow our dreams! A roster of profiles and a schedule of interactive events is developing at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers I hope to see a lot of you online, Your Quest representative, Linda UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS QuestChats require pre-registration. Unless otherwise noted, registration is at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/chats Tuesday, January 12, 1999, 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) The first of the Female Frontiers project chats: Chat with Nancy Roman - First Chief of Astronomy and first female to hold executive position at NASA. Her profile is available at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/roman.html Register through the FF schedule page at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/schedule.html ->Thursday, January 14, 1999, 1 PM PST (4 PM EST): Tim Terry, space flight training/facilities operations lead Tim leads the efforts of the training team in preparing specific crews for specific missions. The training lessons are geared towards all phases of flight -- ascent, on-orbit and entry. Prepare for this chat by reading Tim's profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/terry.html Wednesday, January 20, 1999, 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) Female Frontier's Chat with Jean Bartik, First programmers started out as "computers. Please read her profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/bartik.html Register through the FF schedule page at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/schedule.html ->Wednesday, January 20: 10 AM PST (I PM EST) Tour of the International Space Station Training and Mockup Facility You are invited to join our tour guide at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. You will be able to ask your questions during the tour and have them answered during the event. If you are not able to join us this month, we hope you an make next month's tour. For more info: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/tours/index.html ->Thursday, January 28, 1999, 10 AM PST (1 PM EST): Mark Weller, facility systems electrical engineer Mark is involved in nearly all launch pad related operations. He works with electronic technicians and electricians to repair launch damage, make system upgrades, and provides support for special tests. Mark Weller's profile describes his multifaceted job. It's at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/weller.html CHALLENGE PUZZLE QUESTION #8 http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/puzzle New question: Deadline 1/15/99 According to a NASA press release posted yesterday, today, January 8, 1999, the STS-95 crew will be traveling to Washington D.C. to discuss their mission with NASA Headquarters employees. Where will they be going immediately after this presentation? Last week's question: Deadline 1/8/99 On his website, in speaking about his first orbital flight on February 20, l962 in Friendship 7, John Glenn says, "The mission was delayed ___ times, sometimes due to equipment malfunctions or improvements and sometimes due to weather. I actually suited-up on ___ occasions." Fill in the two blanks with the correct numbers. We are approaching the end of the puzzle, and some of you are trying to guess at the picture. Remember, points are scored for each piece you remove, so it's better to do them all. There is no advantage to being the first to send in your description. But for those who want to begin, consider answering the following questions: * Who is the primary person pictured? * When? (with a touch of research you can pinpoint the day!) * What are the circumstances? * Who else is in the picture? * Where are they? Be as specific as you can. [Editor's note: Mike is best known to some of us as the voice that narrated the launch webcast of STS-95. In his "day job" Mike is a Test Project Engineer at KSC. ] BACK TO THE FUTURE http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/ciannilli.html January 7, l999 It has been quite an interesting time. Unique in the fact that in the present we have seen images of the past and a look into the future. Just two months ago John Glenn recaptured the imagination of America as he rocketed once again into space and the history books. Then just one month later a new window into the future opened as we began the construction of the International Space Station. The launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-88 was first scheduled for Thursday, December 3, 1998. As the rain stopped shortly before the pickup of the countdown at the T - 9 minute point, it looked as if we were going to fly that night. The count picked up and just after passing the T - 5 minute point as the hydraulic systems were brought up, an unexpected master alarm rang in the cabin. The space shuttle has a system called the Caution and Warning System that monitors the critical systems. When something does not fall within the proper range an alarm, called a master alarm, is sounded. This alarm caused the countdown to be held at T - 4 minutes. Now, with only a five-minute launch window to work with, the launch team worked hard to identify and understand the problem. This troubleshooting continued as the clock was restarted to be once again stopped at T - 31 seconds in an effort to use the window as effectively as possible. However, in the end the team just simply ran out of available time. Personally, I view launch scrubs not as a negative experience, but as a learning experience. Clearly it is not a desirable thing. However, to me it proves that the system works. If an alarm sounds we know the vehicle isn't ready to fly. If we don't get a problem indication, then we can place a high level of confidence in the fact that from an engineering standpoint we are ready to go. The bottom line to me is that we only fly if we are 100% sure we are ready to fly! Any less than this is sufficient reason to scrub the launch. Simply put, we can always launch another day. The TOP PRIORITY is to make sure we have as safe and successful launch as possible. After an intensive evaluation it was determined that the problem the night before was understood and we were ready to fly. On a beautiful clear night, less than 24 hours later, the Space Shuttle Endeavour brilliantly lit up the sky and raced into space. This was a special experience for me for another reason. My Mom and Dad came up to the Cape to watch the launch with me. It is always great to have them here for a launch. After all, they are the reason I am here in the first place. Endeavour's crew then carried out a very successful mission to start the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). The orbiter carried up the Unity module. It was connected through a series of spacewalks to Zayra module that was launched by Russia a little over a week before. Unity will serve as a node of docking ports for additional modules to be connected later. The crew even got the chance to go into the space station to transfer equipment and setup various items for future crews. A couple of days after undocking from the ISS, Endeavour made a flawless nighttime landing at the Kennedy Space Center. Due to the "missing of the window" and subsequent scrub on December 3, many people have been asking about launch windows. Therefore, I thought I would take a moment to discuss them. A launch window is a period of time during which the Space Shuttle can be launched. Launch windows vary in length of time for a variety of reasons. Typically, the biggest factor in determining the beginning and end of a launch window is a payload. If the payload must be delivered to a specific location in space, the window (or allowable timeframe) can be very short. Also, missions that require the orbiter to be placed into a very specific orbit, such as a docking mission, would require a precise launch window. For example, the STS - 95 medical research flight of John Glenn had a two-hour window since the mission did not require a specific orbit. In contrast, on STS - 88 Endeavour needed to dock with a space station module in orbit and had only a five-minute window to get into the proper orbit. On the long side, a two-hour window is the longest possible. This is because the flight surgeon requires the crew spend no more than two hours on their backs awaiting launch. Windows can also be determined by conditions not only here at the launch site but also those halfway around the world. For instance, if an emergency abort landing were required in Europe or Africa, lighting conditions, such as approaching darkness, could be a factor. In addition, several other smaller factors also influence the timing and length of a launch window. As true with most things all launch windows are not the same. Some windows actually have "preferred launch windows" inside them. For example, those we will be using for the ISS flights. We call it a five-minute window, however, the total available window is actually 10 minutes long. In this case the start of the five-minute window is at the middle of the total window. We could launch up to five minutes prior to the preferred launch time in the middle if necessary. However, if all is going well with the countdown and no problems are ongoing or expected we will shoot for the halfway point (start of the five-minute window). The primary consideration for this is the amount of propellant needed to complete the mission. Launching exactly halfway in the 10-minute time frame would require the least amount of propellant in space to rendezvous with the target. The earlier or later you move from this point, the more you use. With limited quantities onboard, efficiency is a very important thing. As we move into 1999 I would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year. This year again promises to be an exciting year in the Space Shuttle Program. As we near the end of an incredible half century of spaceflight and look back upon an historic past, we near the dawn of an exciting future. STATUS OF COLUMBIA PROCESSING
Below, we provide reports on the processing of Shuttle Columbia taken from the detailed daily reports found at the NASA Shuttle Status web site at http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/status.htm At times 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. Columbia's payload bay doors were opened earlier this week following the holiday down period. Also this week, workers replaced a transducer for orbiter freon coolant loop No. 2 and testing of the new component is complete. Columbia's forward and midbody compartment closeouts are in work. Potable water sampling is in progress. In the Vehicle Assembly Building, external tank and solid rocket booster closeouts continue. STS-93 SCHEDULED OPERATIONAL MILESTONES (dates are target only): Payload bay doors closed prior to OPF rollout (Jan. 13) Orbiter weight and center of gravity tests (Jan. 28) Orbiter transferred to VAB for external tank mate (Feb. 1) SUBSCRIBING & UNSUBSCRIBING: HOW TO DO IT!
If this is your first message from the updates-sto list, welcome! To catch up on back issues, please visit the following Internet URL: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/updates To subscribe to the updates-sto mailing list (where this message came from), send a message to: listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov In the message body, write these words: subscribe updates-sto CONVERSELY... To remove your name from the updates-sto mailing list, send a message to: listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov In the message body, write these words: unsubscribe updates-sto If you have Web access, please visit our "continuous construction" site at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space |
||
|
|
|
