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UPDATE # 94 - October 4, 1999 PART 1: Were you there WERE YOU THERE?
What fun it was last Wednesday to watch our peerless team made up of Brandt Secosh and Mike Ciannilli as they opened the series entitled, Space Shuttle: Landing to Launch. We got a view of Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center from Space and then narrowed our focus to an overview of the step by step "trip" the orbiter takes from landing until it is ready for its next mission. We had lots of indication that some of you were out there, but we got no questions to pose live to our WebCast team. So, were you there? As a result of some response we've gotten, I have been working on making the process easier for you to participate actively during a live broadcast. I would invite you to take a look at this work in progress and give me some feedback. Start at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/ksc99 I would also like to know if you were there for the show, and, if so, why we didn't hear from you. Maybe they answered all your questions? As you can tell, I'm anxious to make this series a useful and well-used tool. Don't forget, you can always ask questions before the WebCast. Just enter the forum and we'll hold them until the live event. Hope to "see" you online! Linda Conrad UPCOMING EVENTS
Please be sure to visit each site before the scheduled time. Usually, these events require pre-registration, and some include preparation. Remember, you can get help if you've never chatted online before. Join your chat host, Oran Cox, during one of his weekly practice sessions. http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/practice/ ->Wednesday, Oct 13, 1999, 10-11:30a.m. PDT (1-2:30 EDT, 5-6:30 GMT) Web Cast with KSC Experts. Landing, a new beginning: Brandt Secosh and Mike Ciannilli take you to the runway and introduce you to aeronautic and navigation aspects unique to landing the orbiter. Join us from http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/ksc99 Thursday, October 14, 1999, 12-1p.m. PDT (3-4p.m. EDT, 7-8p.m.GMT) QuestChat with Luis Rodriguez Luis's primary responsibility is to make sure that design engineers and scientists use NASA-approved materials, chemicals, and electrical components when designing their experiments. See Luis' profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/rodriguez.html Register at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/common/events.cgi?prj_sto Tuesday, October 19 - 10-11:00am PDT (1-2p.m. EDT, 5-6p.m. GMT) WebCast of ISS/JSC Tours series: Tour Johnson Space Center, the center for manned spaceflight and headquarters for the International Space Station Program. http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/tours/index99.html Wednesday, October 20, 1999, 9-10a.m. (12-1p.m. EDT, 4-5p.m. GMT) QuestChat with Ken Schrock Ken uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) to help launch vehicles and spacecraft navigate themselves as they travel away from Earth. See Ken's profile at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/schrock.html Register at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/common/events.cgi?prj_sto Wednesday, October 20, 1999, 10-11a.m. (1-2p.m.EDT, 5-6p.m. GMT) QuestChat with Mark Weller Mark is responsible for the electrical power system at Launch Pad-B. This is a part of the Landing to Launch Series. To see the whole schedule see: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/ksc99 Mark's profile is at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/weller.html Register at: http://quest.arc.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.arc.nasa.gov/common/events [Editor's note: Glen Davis wrote a 4-part series some time ago covering the excitement of meeting the orbiter as it returns from a mission. With the upcoming WebCast that will cover the Landing of the shuttle it seemed appropriate to repeat this segment. The whole series may be found at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/journals/gdavis ] THE SHUTTLE IS RIGHT OVER OUR HEADS! http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/gdavis.html It's going to be about one hour before we'll have the orbiter on the ground. There are canals full of water on both sides of our convoy. The canals are full of wildlife. For now, everyone's attention is on an alligator that is on the other side of the canal. I'd say it is about six feet long. Suddenly an extremely loud "boom-boom!" breaks the silence. The wild life scatters to the four winds. Everyone's heart skips a beat as they spring to their feet. The loud "boom-boom!" is the sonic signature that a space shuttle is straight overhead and about five minutes from touch down on the runway ahead of us. Everyone's eyes are looking up to see if they can spot the shuttle against the blue sky as it drops to Earth. I spot a small white triangle high against the dark blue sky. The white triangle is the reflection of the Sun against the shuttle's tiles. The shuttle crosses overhead heading southeast. It makes a long right turn coming around and lining up with the south end of runway 33. You can see how fast the shuttle is diving by its angle and the vapor coming from its wing tips. As the shuttle approaches the end of the runway, the commander has to raise the nose up into the air to slow his speed for touch down. He'll touch down at around 180 to 220 miles per hour. Once the nose is up and the speed is down, the pilot will deploy the gear. Just before the halfway mark, the pilot will deploy the drag chute to help slow them down. When the convoy commander receives the "wheels have stopped" call from the shuttle commander, both the forward and aft convoy will start moving toward the orbiter. The air erupts with the roaring of the crowds and the roaring of the trucks as they race toward the orbiter. Both teams will stop 1,500 feet from the orbiter. From 1,500 feet, we can hear the "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" of the three auxiliary power units (APUs). The APUs are what power the orbiter hydraulics. A group of individuals called the Safety Assessment Team will put on ranger air packs and approach the orbiter. They will be checking to see if any of the hazardous liquids that are on board the orbiter are leaking. Once the checks are complete, the assessment team will give the OK for the rest of the convoy to advance toward the orbiter. Once the convoy commander has cleared me to approach the orbiter, I will approach it from its left side. I'll make a wide turn coming close to the grass at the edge of the runway then turn left 90 degrees and stop. Scott and I will get out and lower the front stabilizers to within three inches of the ground. The "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" is louder and very eerie. I can smell ammonia from the cooling system. Scott will go up the steps to the white room and open the door and release the straps holding the seal. I will inflate the seal. The orbiter move director will stand under the orbiter's hatch and, along with Scott, direct me toward the orbiter by hand signals. The move director will tell me to stop when the air-seal touches the orbiter and compresses slightly. Now that I have spotted the truck I can lower the stabilizers. I climb out off the truck and retrieve the grounding cable. With cable in hand I head for the nose wheel well. The orbiter is very hot and I can smell the distinct odor of heated parts. I locate the grounding hole and insert the cable. I gather all the stuff Scott and I have in the truck cab and head up the stairs to open the hatch. I have to do the step just mentioned before the crew transport vehicle is spotted over the stair case. Scott has already started to remove the two carrier panels that protect the hatch opening holes. Once we remove the panels we can install the milk stool. The milk stool is what we use as a handling fixture. We will now wait until the CTV has positioned itself. The flight surgeon will step out of the CTV and when he is ready we will open the hatch. These events take us up to hatch opening. My next journal will be what happens after hatch opening... 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.
Orbiter Columbia arrived in Palmdale, CA, Sept. 25 just after 1 p.m.
Eastern Daylight Time. Columbia's ferry flight atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier
Aircraft took only one day with a single refueling stop at Whiteman Air
Force Base, MO, on Friday afternoon. The orbiter stayed overnight at
Whiteman and departed for Palmdale, CA, at about 9 a.m.
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