Changes To Last Two Planned Shuttle Launches

NASA is planning to make some changes to the target launch dates for the last two scheduled space shuttle flights. Scientists with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, program recently decided to change out the current magnet in the particle physics experiment module that will be attached to the International Space Station to a longer lasting one.

This will take advantage of NASA's plan to extend station operations until at least 2020.

Because of the magnet change, space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission, which will carry the AMS experiment to the station and was targeted to launch July 29, now is expected to launch no earlier than mid-November 2010. An exact target launch date hasn't yet been determined.

The AMS is designed to help study the formation of the universe and search for evidence of dark matter and antimatter by measuring cosmic rays.

Space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission currently remains targeted for its Sept. 16 launch date, but managers will continue to assess its readiness for flight and make changes as appropriate.

Space Shuttle Program managers are meeting at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a Flight Readiness Review, or FRR, for space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming STS-132 mission.

The agency-level FRR is scheduled for May 5. During the 12-day mission, Atlantis and six astronauts will deliver an Integrated Cargo Carrier and a Russian-built Mini Research Module to the International Space Station.

At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the flight crew is taking part in an integrated ascent simulation.

Liftoff is targeted for May 14 at 2:20 p.m. EDT.

Discovery returns to Earth

HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) – Discovery made a safe return to Earth Tuesday after a two-week resupply mission to the International Space Station that broke new ground by putting four women in orbit for the first time.

The shuttle and its seven-member crew finally touched down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:08 am (1308 GMT) after a series of earlier delays due to rain and fog.

"Welcome home. Congratulations on an outstanding mission," Mission Control said after the Discovery put more women in orbit than ever before, with three female crew joining one woman already on the space station.

"What a great mission," replied Discovery commander Alan Poindexter. "We enjoyed it."

The mission also marked the first time that two Japanese astronauts were in space at the same time, with Discovery mission specialist Naoko Yamazaki joining Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

And it signaled a growing awareness among NASA's ground team and astronauts that the vaunted shuttle program is winding down, marking the end of an era in human spaceflight.

"It's a little bit bittersweet, but we do have to recognize that like anything else, there does have to be an end to any major program," said Pete Nickolenko, NASA's launch director, during a post-landing news briefing.

"We recognize that we are facing that, that we are coming up to it," he said.

Meanwhile, Bryan Lunney, the NASA flight director who supervised Discovery's descent and will also oversee the final shuttle flight, said it is a bit too early to get misty-eyed.

"For me, we are heads down focused on the mission, trying to make sure it's safe and successful," he said.

"I haven't gotten too philosophical or concerned about the future. I'm just taking care of business," Lunney said.

Discovery dropped from orbit Tuesday over the Pacific Ocean and followed a rare course that took it over much of the US upper Midwest and Southeast, leaving a glowing contrail for ground observers.

The shuttle's crew delivered nearly eight tonnes of scientific equipment and other supplies intended to fortify the orbiting science laboratory for operations well beyond the final shuttle flight.

The new research gear includes an Earth observation rack to hold cameras and spectral scanners for studies of the atmosphere, geological formations, and weather-induced crop damage.

Another new experiment monitors changes in the muscle and joint health of the astronauts in the absence of gravity. A new freezer will store specimens for medical and biological experiments.

During three spacewalks, two of the astronauts wrestled with bulky bolts to replace a boxy coolant tank that is essential to the long-term function of the station's life support systems.

Discovery has only one more flight before it is mothballed, while NASA counts just three more missions until it retires its entire shuttle fleet and embarks on a new phase in human spaceflight.

The US space agency will have to turn to Russia to transport Americans to the orbiting science laboratory while it tries to foster a commercial space taxi industry.

President Barack Obama has drawn fire for shelving plans outlined by his predecessor George W. Bush -- which he argues are too costly -- for NASA to develop a new generation of spacecraft for missions to the moon and Mars.

Shuttle Atlantis will fly next, with a lift off tentatively scheduled for May 14.

During its 12-day mission, six astronauts will deliver a Russian mini-research module and external spare parts, including power storage batteries, a communications antenna and a radiator as well as Canadian and European robot arm components.

Endeavour is to follow, with a launch scheduled for July 29. Its cargo includes the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, an internationally-sponsored physics investigation for the study of cosmic radiation and anti-matter.

If the scheduling holds, Discovery will lift off for the station on September 16 for the final shuttle flight carrying yet more cargo and a pressurized storage module.

STS-131: Discovery closing in on ISS docking

Discovery is continuing to close the gap between herself and the International Space Station (ISS) for a Flight Day 3 rendezvous that will result in docking at 02:44am Central time. Bar the Ku band failure, Discovery is in great shape, and enjoyed a nominal ascent on Monday morning, according to opening MMT (Mission Management Team) reviews – which included one early debris event, relating to a potential tile liberation from the Rudder Speed Brake (RSB).

STS-131 Status:

Despite the loss of the Ku band Forward and Return links, Flight Day 2’s opening inspections of Discovery’s Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) and Thermal Protection System (TPS), were completed within a nominal timeline.

Engineers on the ground followed the process via still images sent down on the S-Band link, while the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) will start their review once around six tapes – each containing several gigabytes of converted video footage – is downlinked to the ground via the ISS’ Ku assets.

Other tasks completed included EMU checkouts for the three EVAs of the mission, the Orbiter Docking System (ODS) centerline camera installation, NC-3 rendezvous OMS engine firing, and the ODS (Orbiter Docking System) extension and rendezvous tools checkout – prior to crew sleep, which began at 11:21 Central on Tuesday morning.

Flight Day 3 begins with crew wakeup scheduled for 19:21 Central, followed by several burns – including the TI burn scheduled for 00:08 Central time. Discovery and her crew will arrive below the ISS for the initiation of the R-bar Pitch Maneuver (RPM) at around 01:42 Central.

The RPM – Rbar denoting along the radius vector of the ISS, downward – allows the ISS crew to perform a high resolution photo survey of the lower surface TPS tiles to screen for ascent debris damage.

The nine minute maneuver – which involves the orbiter being commanded through a 360 degree back-flip – was debuted on STS-114’s Return To Flight mission, following months of planning by shuttle experts at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and has been hailed as one of the major steps forward in ensuring the health of an orbiter prior to clearance being given for re-entry.

Opening DAT item of interest:

Even without the vast amount of imagery that would nominally be flooding down into the DAT office by now, the highly efficient team have still managed to clear several areas of the orbiter already.

“Full Coverage and Cleared Items: Starboard T0. Port OMS Black Tile Region. Starboard OMS Black Tile Region. Starboard Upper Carrier Panels 1, 5-9, 13-22. Port Upper Carrier Panels 1-13, 18-19, 21-22. Starboard Lower Carrier Panels 3, 6, 8-22. Port Lower Carrier Panels 1-6, 12-22,” noted a Tuesday DAT presentation – available on L2.

“TPS Items Missed/Partial Coverage but will be Picked up During RPM: Lower Starboard Carrier Panels 1-7. Lower Port Carrier Panels 7-11. Upper Starboard Carrier Panels 2-4, 10-12. Upper Port Carrier Panels 14-17, 20.

“TPS Items Requiring Look at Downloaded Video after Docking: Starboard Forward Fuselage. Port T0. Port Forward Fuselage.”

Ascent footage has also resulted in the first item of interest for evaluation, relating to what appears to be a liberation from the RSB, observed at 42 seconds into flight – as the vehicle was going supersonic.

“Debris event during accent at 42.229 MET (Mission Elapsed Time) from port upper RSB trailing edge. Appears to be tile loss,” added the DAT presentation which provided several slides on the RSB event.

“RPM imagery may provide some detail from aft views. Identified station assets with access to damage site. Two cameras have visibility to area.”

With RPM footage scheduled to arrive on the ground during Wednesday morning, a full evaluation of the area will be conducted by DAT.

They will also have a potential view of the liberation via the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) cameras that face aft during ascent. Footage will be available once the recording devices have been removed from the recovered boosters later this week.

“SRB Retrieval Status: Liberty Star and Freedom Star are in tow and expected at the dock Wednesday at 0800 and 1000 EDT respectively,” noted the NASA Test Director (NTD) report on L2. “Open Assessment is expected to begin on Thursday at 0700 EDT.”

It is unlikely a tile liberation on the RSB would be a problem for entry, given they are mainly used to provide ascent heating protection.

Opening Ascent Report:

The veteran orbiter’s performance during ascent was completely nominal, per the opening ascent report – one of several reports which review the propulsion systems used for the eight and a half minute ride to orbit.

“The STS-131 mission was launched at 095/10:21:24.992 GMT on April 5, 2010, on the thirty-third Space Shuttle Program (SSP) mission to the ISS, and the 38th flight of the OV-103 (Discovery) vehicle,” noted the ascent report (L2).

“SRB separation was visible. A nominal Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) assist maneuver was performed following SRB separation. Ignition occurred at 095/10:23:41.0 GMT (00/00:02:16.0 Mission Elapsed Time (MET)), and cutoff for the maneuver was 095/10:25:25.6 (00/00:04:00.6 MET). The maneuver was 104.6 sec in duration.

“MECO occurred at 095/10:29:49 GMT (00/00:08:24 MET). The ET separated from the Orbiter at 095/10:30:10 GMT (00/00:08:45 MET).”

Once on orbit, Discovery continued to perform well, bar a transducer on the Main Propulsion System (MPS) Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) inlet pressure measurement failing Off Scale Low (OSL). This issue holds no mission impact.

“A nominal OMS-2 maneuver was performed at 095/10:58:39.6 GMT (00/00:37:15.6 MET). The maneuver was a dual engine firing that was 128.4 sec in duration with a differential velocity (ΔV) of 196.9 ft/sec. The achieved orbit was 31.6 by 123.6 nmi,” the report continued.

“Just prior to Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) 3 start, the MPS LH2 inlet pressure measurement began behaving erratically at 095/10:21:15 GMT and eventually went to Off-Scale Low (OSL) (on orbit). The loss of these data remains no concern for the remainder of the flight.

“The payload bay doors were opened at 095/11:52:01 GMT (00/01:30:36 MET). The Ku-Band antenna was deployed and the self-test was performed. The approval for On-Orbit operations was given the crew at 095/11:53 GMT (00/01:32 MET).”

This article will be updated during the Flight Day, with another article outlining the specifics of the Fuel Cell 2 and Ku Band MER (Mission Evaluation Room) findings.

Source:- http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/04/sts-131-discovery-iss-rsb-liberation-during-ascent/

Is A Human Space Flight Compromise Emerging?

Only a week and a half remain before the much-anticipated Space Summit at NASA KSC on 15 April. While no public mention has been made as to venue, agenda, participants, audience etc., there does seem to be a general consensus forming behind the scenes as to what sort of rethinking might be acceptable to all parties with regard to where NASA human spaceflight is going.

This is the consensus that seems to forming in and among NASA, OSTP, and NSC: Ares 1 and 5 remain cancelled. Orion is continued - but in a "Lite" variant designed to ferry people to and from ISS. This "Orion Lite" would fly on human-rated EELVs and would be, in essence, a government competitor to what NASA is also encouraging the so-called "Merchant 7" (SpaceX, Orbital et al) to develop. The commercial activities would remain unchanged from what was announced in February. Meanwhile, NASA will continue to fly the Space Shuttle albeit at a stretched out rate (2 or so flights/year) while ET production is restarted.

In addition to closing the "gap" for American human spaceflight, stretched out Space Shuttle operations will allow a rapid implementation of a Shuttle-C ("Sidemount") HLV to be developed. This Shuttle-C HLV will carry cargo, but no crew. The Shuttle-C will be a direct upgrade to the existing Space Shuttle Orbiter system with only the Orbiter replaced with engines and a cargo carrier. Everything else remains the way it is now.

DIRECT and other "inline" shuttle-derived concepts are no longer being given serious consideration. With specific regard to DIRECT, despite their voluminous and detailed claims, the costs that they depend upon to make their case are simply incorrect and not credible - and NASA knows this (they checked with the companies involved). This is all about cost right now. Accurate costs.

While keeping Orion alive, NASA will also seek to develop a human-rated exploration spacecraft that only operates in space. The initial version will likely use unused ISS modules (enhanced MPLMs, Node X, Hab Module, ISS ECLSS) and Constellation systems. Its component parts would be launched by the Shuttle/Shuttle-C. The exploration vehicle will be assembled on-orbit at the ISS. This exploration spacecraft will be a pathfinder for more complex systems that will be able to traverse cis-lunar space on a regular basis.

These ideas will be voiced by various participants at the Space Summit. It is anticipated that NASA will be called upon to do a routine 30-60 study following the summit and that formal White House approval would come some time during the Summer.

If adopted by the White House, and accepted by Congress, this "compromise" (no doubt the White House will want to use some euphemism instead) will bring layoff numbers back down from the looming abyss that overt Constellation cancellation and Shuttle retirement would have caused; keeps the Administration's interest in commercial space alive; retains in-house NASA experience in human spaceflight systems (development and operations), brings the ISS to its full potential -and then some; and looks to field human-rated spacecraft capable of leaving LEO much sooner than Constellation is ever likely to have done.

Of course, as with just about anything associated with this Space Summit, its stealth modus operandi, and interagency squabbles, this may all change, your mileage may vary, etc. As always, stay tuned.

Discovery blasts off for International Space Station

Space shuttle Discovery’s engines ignited at 6:21 a.m. EDT Monday, April 5, for liftoff of the STS-131 mission from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The seven-member crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that will be transferred to the International Space Station’s laboratories.
The crew also will switch out a gyroscope on the station’s truss, install a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the station’s exterior. STS-131 is the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission.

Rendezvous Sensor Technology Launches on Next Space Shuttle Flight

HAMPTON, Va., (NASA) — NASA engineers and contractors have worked together for the past two years on a technology that would make it easier for future space vehicles to dock to the International Space Station.

Developed by the Orion Project Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Vision Navigation Sensor, or VNS, as well as a docking camera, have the ability to advance the capability necessary for automated rendezvous and docking. The system, which will be tested on STS-134, scheduled for this July, is a part of the Sensor Test for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation (STORRM) Development Test Objective.

Russian spacecraft docks at orbiting station

A Russian space official says a Soyuz craft carrying an American and two Russian astronauts has docked successfully at the International Space Station.

Russia's Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin says the spacecraft hooked up with the orbiting station using an automatic docking system at 9:26 a.m. Moscow time (0526 GMT) Sunday.

The Soyuz was launched Friday from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

California native Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russians Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko are joining the station's three current inhabitants.

Within three days, a seven-person crew aboard the Shuttle Discovery will dock at the station for a 13-day mission. During this period, four women will be in space at the same time, which is a first in history.

New Crew Members En Route to Station

(NASA) – Three new Expedition 23 flight engineers launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft at 12:04 a.m. EDT Friday to join their colleagues aboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin a two-day journey to the orbiting complex

Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi are currently the sole residents on the station, having arrived Dec. 22 aboard their Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft.

Caldwell Dyson, Skvortsov and Kornienko will complete the Expedition 23 crew when they dock to the station shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

Kotov, Creamer and Noguchi wrapped up a busy week Friday as they prepared their orbital home for its new residents and geared up for joint operations set to begin when space shuttle Discovery arrives on April 7. Discovery and the STS-131 crew are scheduled to launch April 5 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to deliver new science racks and ammonia tanks.

Kotov conducted a survey of the Russian segment of the station, estimating the stowage space available for additional equipment. Afterward he set up hardware for a Russian science experiment that remotely measures methane and carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere.

Creamer spent some time in the Kibo module working with botanical experiments studying the formation of wood cells and demonstrating non-destructive techniques for collecting genetic information. The facilities aboard the station provide a unique platform for scientists on Earth to remotely study the growth of whole plants in a controlled, weightless environment.

Later, Creamer changed out the recycle filter tank assembly of the water recovery system. He also performed a fill of the wastewater storage tank assembly of the urine processor assembly, which is now running normally.

In preparation for the Soyuz docking, Creamer and Kotov configured video equipment in the Russian and U.S. segments of the station to downlink streaming video of Sunday’s activities.

Meanwhile, Noguchi conducted a monthly inspection of fire detectors and emergency provisions and gathered up additional hardware for return to Earth aboard the shuttle.

Secret Space Plane Prepares for Launch

The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) is at this point the home of two very important space vehicles, each of which still needs to prove its worth in a first test flight. If the missions are successful, then one of the spacecraft would ensure that uninterrupted access of American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), whereas the other would provide a highly-mobile space platform to the US Air Force (USAF), for a wide variety of applications. The latter mission is the secretive X37B prototype, which is also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle. It arrived at the CCAFS sometime in February, and is currently undergoing final preparations for its launch.

Scheduled for April 19, this would be the first instance in which such a machine is launched from Florida. The spacecraft has relatively small dimensions (29-foot-long, 15-foot-wide), but it is capable of great things in orbit, its manufacturers say. The space plane itself has been developed and built at the Boeing Phantom Works facility, which is located in Southern California, Space reports. The overall design resembles that of a small space shuttle, and the new instrument even has a cargo bay. But the main difference is that the X37B is an unmanned craft and that it would be used primarily for attack and defense purposes (presumably).

According to officials in the USAF, the new space plane, weighing some 11,000 pounds, will be delivered to orbit aboard an Atlas 5 deliver system. “It is now undergoing spacecraft processing including checkout, fueling, and encapsulating in the 5-meter fairing of the Atlas 5 [rocket],” a USAF spokesperson said in a statement. Occasionally, people involved in this project release updates on how the spacecraft is doing, even though other details about it are classified. The entire program is managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, Space reports.

This project was initially developed by NASA, and was only later on handed to the Pentagon. In the version of the spacecraft proposed by the American space agency, the orbiter would be endowed with a 7-foot-long payload bay, which would be capable of deploying a number of small scientific payloads. Once in the hands of the Pentagon, the X-37B received a lot of attention from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as well, which tested it throughout 2007.

Newly Renamed Commercial Spaceflight Federation Launches New Website

Washington, DC - Monday, June 15th, 2009 - The industry association of companies seeking to make commercial human spaceflight a reality has rolled out a new website and a new name. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation, previously known as the Personal Spaceflight Federation, instituted the changes after a review of the organization's messaging by industry leaders at a recent board meeting. The emphasis on commercial spaceflight recognizes the diverse business activities of the commercial human spaceflight industry, according to Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF). "There are so many uses for commercial access to space," said Alexander, "and we want to emphasize the broad cross-section of potential markets for our members' products and services."

The markets being pursued by commercial spaceflight companies include cargo and crew transportation to the International Space Station, flights of private individuals (so-called "space tourism"), science research missions, technology research and development, astronaut training, education and outreach activities, and national security applications.

"Even in this tough economic climate the commercial spaceflight industry is still growing and creating high-tech jobs - a lot of that comes from a new realization of how broadly these capabilities can be used," said CSF Executive Director John Gedmark. "Our companies are onthe forefront of major innovation, and through our new website people will be hearing much more about that in the months to come. We're looking forward to a steady stream of exciting developments in the commercial spaceflight sector in these critical next few years."

Source: Commercial Spaceflight Federation