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S P A C E T E A M O N L I N EUPDATE # 74 - March 15, 1999 PART 1: I'm back online I'M BACK ONLINE
It's hard to believe how dependent one can get on a machine, but for the past couple of days, the techie powers that be have been transferring my overly-loaded computer onto a new system, and yesterday that new system just up and died! I've been frantically hopping from computer to computer (no one dares leave for a breath of fresh air lest they find their computer occupied on return). It appears I'm back up now and anxious to get this out to you albeit a day later than planned. Hope you still had in mind today's two chats. The schedule of live interactions is full, with NASA Quest's Chat Manager, Oran Cox, maintaining a full docket of offerings, the flavor of the month a focus on Women's History Month and Female Frontiers. This week we'll initiate the new Female Frontiers puzzle headed up by one of your Student Ambassadors, Stephanie Wong. I'll write more on the other elements of this project leading up to the July launch of STS-93 next week. Stay tuned, Linda
QuestChats require pre-registration.
->Wednesday, March 17, 10:00 a.m. PST (1:00 p.m. EST)
Tour of the ISS Mockup and Training Facility at JSC
Join us for the on-going tour guide at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in
Houston, Texas for our regularly scheduled tour of the International Space
Station mockup and training facility.
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/ltc/sto/tours/index.html
->Wednesday, March 17, 8:30 a.m. PST (11:30 a.m. EST) Chat with Jean
Bartik, First programmers started out as "computers." See her profile at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/bartik.html
Registration coming soon at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/schedule.html
->Tuesday, March 23 10:00 a.m. PST (1:00 p.m. EST)
Chat with Sally Ride, First American woman in Space. See her profile at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/ride.html
Registration coming soon at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/schedule.html
->Wednesday, March 24, 10:00 a.m. PST (1:00 p.m. EST)
Space Team Online Presents "ISS Behind the Scenes"
Join us for the continuing series of broadcasts from the Kennedy Space
Center ISS program. This month we feature the Space Station Processing
Facility. http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/ISS
->Friday, March 26, 10:00 a.m. PST (1:00 p.m. EST)
Female Frontiers Chat with Shirley Temple Black, First female chief
protocol, first child actress to win Academy Award.
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/schedule.html
For continuing Female Frontiers schedule see:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/frontiers/schedule.html
For March Space Team Online chats see:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/chats
FEMALE FRONTIERS PUZZLE
We had a lot of fun with the puzzle we did for the Challenge Project. We'd like to turn our focus onto the Female Frontiers with some challenge questions surrounding that mission. The puzzle itself is in production, but we will begin tallying correct responses and keeping track of scores right away. Expect a challenge question weekly. Question 1: Answers due by Tuesday, March 23, 1999: The Chandra X-ray Observatory (that will be carried into space aboard STS-93) is one of NASA's Great Observatories. Which are the other observatories? Which one had a repair mission and what are its new scientific instruments? Send your answers to Student Ambassador, Stephanie Wong: wongtong@connect.ab.ca RESPONDING TO YOUR NEEDS
Our recent survey asked: "Were your needs met?" and many responded with requests and suggestions for improvement. For the next several weeks I will attempt to respond to some of the comments we see repeated over time: *Careers in NASA, space industry, how students could apply for work experience, and what types of qualifications they would require; This question is asked often, and doesn't surprise me a bit! Working for NASA is exciting and definitely something to to strive for. There are several sources of information that might help to answer your questions: The official NASA response may be found at: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codef/codefp/jobinfo.html Much of NASA's work is done by contractors, so investigating possibilities with firms that work with NASA under contract is another way to go. If your goal is to be an astronaut, the fact sheet that contains that information may be found at: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/factsheets/asseltrn.html *Chats during afternoon hours on the west coast. Could do with some chats at weekends - cannot use them on weekdays. This is a question that we get often, and would truly like to accommodate. The greatest difficulty we have with setting chat times is the schedules of our experts. We at NASA Quest are not a large team either, and we like to have a weekend to relax as well. We are exploring some real possible solutions. For example, our forums run over a period of time allowing for posting during non-business hours. Though it does lose the element of live interaction, it is an attempt to include as many people from as many time zones as possible. We will continue to address this issue as creatively as possible (within reason). *Chats with astronauts live I'm delighted that this one came in when it did. As you can imagine, the astronauts are in great demand, but are also tremendously busy going about the business of being astronauts. There are times when we would like to access them more often than we do. Fortunately through our STO team members we are sometimes able to what we can't, case in point our broadcast last week courtesy of Lonnie Moffitt. Were you able to join us live from the VMS (Vertical Motion Simulator) here at NASA Ames Research Center as Astronaut Paul (Paco) Lockhart walked us through a simulated shuttle landing? It was truly exciting and is archived at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/vms Also you can find my journal of the day at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/journals/conrad/03-11-99.html [Editor's note: William Foster is a ground controller at NASA's Mission Control in Houston. As such he is responsible for maintaining voice and data communications between the MCC and the space shuttle. ] ASCENT SIMULATIONS, PREPARING FOR THE REAL THING http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/foster.html March 6, 1999 Launch is the most dynamic event in a space shuttle mission, as it is with any space flight. Things that go wrong during this phase can do so very quickly, giving little or no time to react. Because of this, the launch phase is simulated more than any other part of a shuttle mission. These simulations, known as ascent sims, begin approximately four to nine minutes before launch and last until the shuttle has gotten into a safe orbit or has performed one of several possible aborts. The sims are run with a full team of flight controllers in the Mission Control Center and with up to four astronauts in the motion-base simulator. This simulator has a shuttle flight deck mounted on eight hydraulic legs that let it go through most of the physical movements the real shuttle crew compartment would experience during launch except, of course, the full G-forces of a shuttle launch. The MCC and motion-based simulator are in separate buildings at the Johnson Space Center, but they are connected via voice and data communications cables. Besides the MCC and the simulator, a third aspect of each sim is the training team of personnel that provide carefully scripted malfunctions. This allows both the crew and flight controllers to see and respond to any number of problems on board, in the MCC, or in the various communications networks. All three groups working together comprise some very realistic and valuable training for upcoming shuttle missions. Simulations do not happen overnight. They are carefully planned weeks ahead of time and integrated into a tight schedule of activities involving the control center, simulators, crew schedule, and flight director schedule. On the day of the sim, the simulator facility gears up first, running the motion-base simulator through a series of checkouts to ensure it is working properly and safely for the crew. The hydraulic legs are very smooth when working right, but the potential for accidents is real, and the powerful legs could cause serious injury if precautions are not taken. The control center is not far behind, with the Facility Systems Managers finalizing the required configuration for the workstations, front end processors, and networks. The mainframe computers are brought up next, followed by a series of interface checks between the MCC and simulators. This whole sequence of events can take two to three hours. It begins around 4:30 to 5:00 a.m. so the facilities are ready for the flight controllers and sim controllers to come in between 7:00 - 7:30 a.m. to make their initial inputs for the sim. Around 7:30 a.m., the Simulations Supervisor and Flight Director will report to their respective stations. These are the two people that orchestrate the whole event, with "Sim Sup" leading the training team and "Flight" leading the flight control team. The astronauts, who have spent a lot of standalone training time both in and out of the simulators, head up to the motion base cockpit a few minutes before the "go-to-run" time of 8:00 a.m. When everything goes right, which happens most of the time, the last few minutes before going to run are very routine. Flight and Sim Sup exchange a few comments over the voice loop to make sure they are in sync on key aspects of the sim. The Ground Controller (GC) coordinates a "checkpoint" on some of the computer equipment that will be used to recycle back to the beginning of each ascent case. Finally, Sim Sup picks a time, typically 8:00 a.m., when the first case actually starts. The Sim Control position sets the simulators to start at that time, the cockpit is raised to the vertical position for launch, and the GC sets the MCC clocks to start at the same time. When the clock picks up, all parties verify that their equipment is working properly and the MCC host computer is synchronized with the mission time generated by the simulator. The sim has begun, all systems go for launch. From this point on, this is no longer a game. The countdown clock picks up at T-9:00 for the first case. No sooner has it started than a voice is heard over the flight director loop about a condition that is out of range, and we are no go for launch. Flight calls up the NTD at the launch site (this role is played by the Sim Sup) and reports no-go for launch. NTD acknowledges, then announces as Sim Sup that the malfunction will be removed. During the next several minutes several other marginal conditions are noted but nothing that prevents launch. The clock continues to count until the announcement of liftoff is made. All eyes are riveted on their displays. On the other side of JSC, the crew is going through the robust vibrations of launch. The dials and displays on board are moving rapidly, and, outside the windows, the launch tower is disappearing below. The roll program begins and the view out the window rotates as the crew heads to their "window in space." Outside the cockpit, the platform holding the cockpit is rocking and shaking vigorously as it tries to precisely mimic the motions that would be felt during a real ascent. Just behind the simulator is a room full of operators controlling the simulator, also intent on their displays. Down the hall, the Network Simulators are busy making sure data is getting to the MCC as though it were coming from the Merrit Island Tracking Station (known as MILA), and from subsequent data sources including Ponce de Leon (PDL), Bermuda (BDA), Wallops Island (WLPS) and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Next to them, the Simulation Networks controllers (Simnet) are planning malfunctions to keep the ground control team in the MCC busy. Back in the MCC, Flight is notified of a condition that will result in the loss of a main engine within the next minute. She quickly confers with the Flight Dynamics Officer (FIDO) to determine if there is enough performance to reach orbit. If not, one of several abort scenarios will have to be implemented. FIDO reports that we are a couple of hundred feet per second short of reaching orbit and can no longer return to the launch site. He recommends an Abort Once Around with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base. No sooner does this call go up to the crew and everyone settles down to work the abort, than an alarm goes off at EECOM's workstation, notifying the Environment Officer that a large cabin leak had developed. During calls from the crew on the air-to-ground loops, the klaxon sound of alarms can be heard in the background. This size of a leak will not support cabin pressure long enough for an AOA abort. This is quickly changed to a TAL (Trans-Atlantic Landing) abort to Moron, and now the crew is heading to a landing site in Africa. At seven minutes and fifteen seconds after launch, data and voice communications hands up to the TDRSS satellite. About three minutes later, all data from the orbiter stops and all displays go static. The orbiter has just gone out of range of Bermuda, which was the last chance to talk to them on UHF voice. Either there was a malfunction in the comm systems on board, with the TDRSS network, or we lost the vehicle. Since there is no recovery from a catastrophic loss of the vehicle, we do not simulate that, so we begin to work loss of comm procedures. The Data Flow Engineer calls out to the TDRSS network control center and quickly receives a report of sharp cutoff. This tells us that the network is good and there is a problem on board. GC reports the sharp cutoff on the flight loop and the Instrumentation and Communications Officer (INCO) goes to work. On the basis of past history and indications prior to the loss of data, INCO knows a command is needed on board to go to a backup comm system. He could command this from the ground if we still have a good forward link to the orbiter. With no return link, this is possible, but there is no way of knowing if the command was received. After sending the command a couple of times with no response, we have no choice on the ground but to wait for the crew to work their loss of comm procedures. In the meantime, the crew is on their own and the MCC has no insight as to the condition on board. The minutes drag on and the projected landing time in Africa approaches. "Houston, Endeavor. Comm check." With that call, we know they have commanded to the backup system, and the workstation displays come alive again. With a flurry of activity, controllers throughout the room quickly check their systems and report any anomalies to Flight. These are worked by order of priority as Flight checks the On Board Fault summary and queries various controllers about their particular problems. The minutes tick by and the front screen displays show the ground track getting closer to Moron. This shows as a red series of dots forming a line where the orbiter has been, with two separate dots ahead of the track showing where it is going. A series of yellow X's is superimposed on top of the red line. As the orbiter crosses the coastline of Africa, it is apparent that the yellow X's have diverged from the red line and the Guidance and Procedures Officer, "GUIDANCE", reports a "delta state" condition to flight. This means that the on board trajectory solution is not matching the track shown by ground and/or satellite tracking of the orbiter. Capcom calls up a "GCA", or ground controlled approach, and the crew goes manual, following cues relayed from FIDO through the CAPCOM. At the same time, GUIDANCE builds a new state vector for the orbiter, and works with INCO to transmit it to the orbiter. The yellow X's are on top of the red line again, and the GCA is terminated. "On at the 90," comes the call from Guidance, which is relayed via Capcom to the crew and acknowledged onboard. The shuttle is coming around the heading alignment cone, or "HAC", on the turn into final approach. Two minutes later the shuttle is on the ground and everyone is working an emergency power down and mode five egress to get the crew out as soon as possible. After working this procedure long enough to get the shuttle in a safe configuration, the call comes from Flight to turn around for the next run, and meet on AFD for debrief. With this call, GC asks the Computer Supervisor to restart the Mission Operations Computer from the same point the sim started, and all participants change voice loops to the one used to debrief the last run. The debrief lasts long enough to thoroughly cover all problems that occurred during the run, discussing what happened and what was done in response. If there were any concerns over how anything was worked, it is discussed and, if necessary, procedures are updated based on lessons learned. Once Flight and Sim Sup are satisfied that everything has been covered and no further questions remain with the crew or flight controllers, the debrief is concluded and everyone gets ready to launch again. A new set of faults is introduced, and the crew and flight control team are again working a series of challenges. This is repeated several more times, with a total of four to six ascent runs in a four hour period. After six hours of configuring, simming, and debriefing, it has been a full day with more than your fill of stress. But the lessons learned and experience gained are invaluable for the real thing, when you can't turnaround and try again if something goes wrong. 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 is jacked and leveled in VAB high bay 2 undergoing routine system observation during a temporary storage period. Columbia will remain in the VAB until mid-April, when Shuttle Discovery rolls out of OPF bay 1. Columbia will then be transferred to OPF (Orbiter Processing Facility) bay 1 to complete STS-93's orbiter pre-launch preparations.
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