Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:39:04 -0600
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians at Launch Pad 39A have installed an environmental enclosure on space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank for a tanking test planned for no earlier than Wednesday, Dec. 15.
The test will help verify repairs associated with cracks on the tops of two 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets, called stringers, on the external tank and help engineers determine what caused the cracks in the first place. Technicians repaired the cracks and reapplied foam insulation on the stringers last month.
Tanking test plans call for recording temperature and strain gauge measurements in the intertank region near the top of the external tank where the stringers are located.
Managers determined last week more tests and analysis were needed before proceeding with Discovery’s STS-133 mission to the International Space Station. Discovery’s next launch opportunity is no earlier than Feb. 3 at 1:34 a.m. EST.
Thursday, 9 December 2010
SPACEX’S Dragon Spacecraft Re-enters Successfully
Lands on Target in the Pacific Ocean, 500 miles Off of the Coast of Southern California
SpaceX/NASA to Hold Post-Mission Press Conference at 3:30 PM EST
Cape Canaveral, FL – Today, SpaceX became the first commercial company in history to re-enter a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit.
SpaceX and NASA will have a post-mission press conference at 3:30 PM EST at the press site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Participants include:
Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and CTO
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President
Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Manager
Watch it live at www.nasa.gov/ntv
SpaceX launched its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 10:43 AM EST from the Air Force Station at Cape Canaveral.
The Dragon spacecraft orbited the Earth at speeds greater than 17,000 miles per hour, reentered the Earth’s atmosphere, and landed in the Pacific Ocean shortly after 2:00 PM EST.
This marks the first time a commercial company has successfully recovered a spacecraft reentering from low-Earth orbit. It is a feat performed by only six nations or government agencies: the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, and the European Space Agency.
It is also the first flight under NASA’s COTS program to develop commercial supply services to the International Space Station. After the Space Shuttle retires, SpaceX will fly at least 12 missions to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station as part of the Commercial Resupply Services contract for NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft were designed to one day carry astronauts; both the COTS and CRS missions will yield valuable flight experience toward this goal.
View the press kit: http://www.spacex.com/downloads/cots1-20101206.pdf
SpaceX/NASA to Hold Post-Mission Press Conference at 3:30 PM EST
Cape Canaveral, FL – Today, SpaceX became the first commercial company in history to re-enter a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit.
SpaceX and NASA will have a post-mission press conference at 3:30 PM EST at the press site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Participants include:
Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and CTO
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President
Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Manager
Watch it live at www.nasa.gov/ntv
SpaceX launched its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 10:43 AM EST from the Air Force Station at Cape Canaveral.
The Dragon spacecraft orbited the Earth at speeds greater than 17,000 miles per hour, reentered the Earth’s atmosphere, and landed in the Pacific Ocean shortly after 2:00 PM EST.
This marks the first time a commercial company has successfully recovered a spacecraft reentering from low-Earth orbit. It is a feat performed by only six nations or government agencies: the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, and the European Space Agency.
It is also the first flight under NASA’s COTS program to develop commercial supply services to the International Space Station. After the Space Shuttle retires, SpaceX will fly at least 12 missions to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station as part of the Commercial Resupply Services contract for NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft were designed to one day carry astronauts; both the COTS and CRS missions will yield valuable flight experience toward this goal.
View the press kit: http://www.spacex.com/downloads/cots1-20101206.pdf
The SpaceX Falcon 9 Lifts Off
12.08.10
› View Now
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft launched from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010, at 10:43 a.m. EST.
› View Now
› View Now
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft launched from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010, at 10:43 a.m. EST.
› View Now
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Tanking Test Being Planned for Middle to Late Next Week
Engineers met yesterday to discuss plans for an instrumented test on space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank. The test will verify repairs associated with cracks on two 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets, called stringers, on the shuttle's external tank. NASA repaired the cracks and reapplied foam to the exterior of the stringers. Details still are being discussed. Plans call for temperature and strain gauge measurements in the intertank region near the top of the tank during the test. The tanking test is being planned for the mid- to late-next week.
NASA managers have targeted Discovery's launch for no earlier than Feb. 3 at 1:34 a.m. EST. Shuttle managers determined more tests and analysis are needed before proceeding with the launch of the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station.
NASA will review and analyze the data from the tests before setting a launch date. Because of Discovery's delayed launch, the earliest opportunity for the liftoff of the final scheduled shuttle mission, STS-134 on Endeavour, is April 1.
Today at NASA's Johnson Space Center, the STS-133 crew is reviewing its flight plan.
NASA managers have targeted Discovery's launch for no earlier than Feb. 3 at 1:34 a.m. EST. Shuttle managers determined more tests and analysis are needed before proceeding with the launch of the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station.
NASA will review and analyze the data from the tests before setting a launch date. Because of Discovery's delayed launch, the earliest opportunity for the liftoff of the final scheduled shuttle mission, STS-134 on Endeavour, is April 1.
Today at NASA's Johnson Space Center, the STS-133 crew is reviewing its flight plan.
TODAY: SpaceX to Make First Launch Attempt for COTS Demo 1
Hawthorne, CA – Today SpaceX released the following information on today’s launch day activities for the first SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon demonstration launch for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.
SpaceX will make its first launch attempt on TODAY, December 8th from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch window extends from 9:03 AM to 12:20 PM. EST/ 6:03 AM to 9:20 AM PST. We are now counting down for a 9:06 AM EST attempt.
SpaceX has discovered the root cause of the two small cracks in the aft end of the 2nd stage engine nozzle extension. A GN2 vent line caused fluttering of the the thinnest portion of the nozzle extension, creating the cracks. SpaceX engineers repaired the extension by trimming off the end where the cracks are located and corrected the root cause by diffusing the vent.
SpaceX plans to launch its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon capsule is expected to orbit the Earth at speeds greater than 17,000 miles per hour, reenter the Earth’s atmosphere, and land in the Pacific Ocean roughly 3 1/2 hours later. This will be the first attempt by a commercial company to recover a spacecraft reentering from low-Earth orbit. It is a feat performed by only 6 nations or government agencies: the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, and the European Space Agency.
It is also the first flight under NASA’s COTS program to develop commercial supply services to the International Space Station. After the Space Shuttle retires, SpaceX will fly at least 12 missions to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station as part of the Commercial Resupply Services contract for NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft were designed to one day carry astronauts; both the COTS and CRS missions will yield valuable flight experience toward this goal.
Webcast
The COTS Demo 1 launch will be webcast at http://www.spacex.com/.
The webcast will begin approximately 45 minutes prior to the opening of the daily launch window, at 8:15 a.m. EST / 5:15 a.m. PST / 13:15 UTC. During the webcast, SpaceX hosts will provide information specific to the flight, an overview of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft and commentary on the launch and flight sequences.
Launch Day Viewing for Media
U.S. media wishing to attend the launch day viewing must be credentialed through NASA following the instructions in the NASA advisory below. On launch day, the NASA News Center at the KSC press site will open at 6 a.m. For launch viewing, reporters and photographers will be taken to from the KSC press site to the NASA Causeway between stations C & D by bus. The bus will leave the press site for NASA Causeway at L-1 hour and will return to the press site once Falcon 9/Dragon are no longer visible.
Post-Mission News Conference
A post mission press conference will be held one to two hours after splashdown of the Dragon spacecraft at the press site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Participants include:
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President
Phil McAlister, NASA Commercial Space Flight Development Acting Director
Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Manager
SpaceX will make its first launch attempt on TODAY, December 8th from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch window extends from 9:03 AM to 12:20 PM. EST/ 6:03 AM to 9:20 AM PST. We are now counting down for a 9:06 AM EST attempt.
SpaceX has discovered the root cause of the two small cracks in the aft end of the 2nd stage engine nozzle extension. A GN2 vent line caused fluttering of the the thinnest portion of the nozzle extension, creating the cracks. SpaceX engineers repaired the extension by trimming off the end where the cracks are located and corrected the root cause by diffusing the vent.
SpaceX plans to launch its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon capsule is expected to orbit the Earth at speeds greater than 17,000 miles per hour, reenter the Earth’s atmosphere, and land in the Pacific Ocean roughly 3 1/2 hours later. This will be the first attempt by a commercial company to recover a spacecraft reentering from low-Earth orbit. It is a feat performed by only 6 nations or government agencies: the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, and the European Space Agency.
It is also the first flight under NASA’s COTS program to develop commercial supply services to the International Space Station. After the Space Shuttle retires, SpaceX will fly at least 12 missions to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station as part of the Commercial Resupply Services contract for NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft were designed to one day carry astronauts; both the COTS and CRS missions will yield valuable flight experience toward this goal.
Webcast
The COTS Demo 1 launch will be webcast at http://www.spacex.com/.
The webcast will begin approximately 45 minutes prior to the opening of the daily launch window, at 8:15 a.m. EST / 5:15 a.m. PST / 13:15 UTC. During the webcast, SpaceX hosts will provide information specific to the flight, an overview of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft and commentary on the launch and flight sequences.
Launch Day Viewing for Media
U.S. media wishing to attend the launch day viewing must be credentialed through NASA following the instructions in the NASA advisory below. On launch day, the NASA News Center at the KSC press site will open at 6 a.m. For launch viewing, reporters and photographers will be taken to from the KSC press site to the NASA Causeway between stations C & D by bus. The bus will leave the press site for NASA Causeway at L-1 hour and will return to the press site once Falcon 9/Dragon are no longer visible.
Post-Mission News Conference
A post mission press conference will be held one to two hours after splashdown of the Dragon spacecraft at the press site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Participants include:
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President
Phil McAlister, NASA Commercial Space Flight Development Acting Director
Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Manager
Demonstration Flight Of Falcon 9 Rocket Set For Wednesday
Mon, 06 Dec 2010 23:00:00 -0600
The first demonstration flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program has been scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 8, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Friday, 3 December 2010
Backscatter Scans of Tank Continue
Fri, 03 Dec 2010 07:15:05 -0600
NASA space shuttle managers met Thursday at a Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) to review repairs and engineering evaluations associated with shuttle Discovery and cracks on two 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets, called stringers, on the shuttle's external tank. NASA will continue to review and analyze the data before setting a launch date. NASA managers are meeting daily to assess the data and progress being made.
Technicians at Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39A will continue to collect data on the stringer repair by performing backscatter scans, which bounces radiation off space shuttle Discovery’s external fuel tank, through the weekend.
At NASA's Johnson Space Center, the STS-133 crew will review rendezvous procedures today.
NASA space shuttle managers met Thursday at a Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) to review repairs and engineering evaluations associated with shuttle Discovery and cracks on two 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets, called stringers, on the shuttle's external tank. NASA will continue to review and analyze the data before setting a launch date. NASA managers are meeting daily to assess the data and progress being made.
Technicians at Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39A will continue to collect data on the stringer repair by performing backscatter scans, which bounces radiation off space shuttle Discovery’s external fuel tank, through the weekend.
At NASA's Johnson Space Center, the STS-133 crew will review rendezvous procedures today.
NASA Targets Shuttle Discovery's Launch For No Earlier Than Feb. 3
WASHINGTON -- NASA managers have targeted space shuttle Discovery's launch for no earlier than Feb. 3 at 1:34 a.m. EST. Shuttle managers determined more tests and analysis are needed before proceeding with the launch of the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station.
The Program Requirements Control Board met Thursday and reviewed engineering evaluations associated with cracks on two 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets, called stringers, on the shuttle's external tank. NASA repaired the cracks and reapplied foam to the exterior of the stringers.
Managers decided the analysis and tests required to launch Discovery safely are not complete. They are planning to conduct an instrumented test on the external fuel tank and structural evaluations on stringer test articles to determine if the analysis is correct. Details and timelines for the tanking test are in work, but plans call for temperature and strain gauge measurements in the intertank region near the top of the tank during the test.
The test also will verify the integrity of repairs made earlier when two cracked stringer sections and foam were replaced. A team of engineers and technicians will inspect the tank for evidence of any foam cracking as it would on an actual launch day. The test also will verify the integrity of repairs to the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, which leaked an unsafe amount of gaseous hydrogen during Discovery's Nov. 5 launch attempt. The date of the test is under evaluation, but likely will occur this month.
Engineers will continue to search for the root cause of the stringer cracks through data analysis and tests, including placement of manufacturing defects in separate stringers to demonstrate structural integrity in an effort to duplicate the same type of failure that occurred in November.
NASA will review and analyze the data from the tests before setting a launch date. Because of Discovery's delayed launch, the earliest opportunity for the liftoff of the final scheduled shuttle mission, STS-134 on Endeavour, is April 1.
For continued STS-133 updates as well as crew and mission information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
EVA Suit Batteries to be Removed Today
Wed, 01 Dec 2010
Technicians will remove batteries for the STS-133 crew's spacewalk suits as they prep space shuttle Discovery at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttles airlock was opened yesterday to allow crews access to the batteries. Installation of reference dots on space shuttle Discovery's ground umbilical carrier plate, or GUCP, to monitor for movement during tanking, has been delayed to Dec. 2 and 3, because of rain.
Discovery's launch is currently targeted for no earlier than Dec. 17, after shuttle managers determined more tests and analysis are needed.
The Program Requirements Control Board reviewed on Nov. 23 repairs and engineering evaluations associated with cracks on two 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets, called stringers, on the shuttle's external tank. Managers decided the analysis and tests required to launch Discovery safely are not complete. The work will continue through this week.
The next status review by the PRCB will be tomorrow, Dec. 2. If managers clear Discovery for launch on Dec. 17, the preferred time is about 8:51 p.m. EST.
NASA Sets Coverage For Cots 1 Launch Targeted For Dec. 7
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first SpaceX Falcon 9 demonstration launch for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program is targeted for liftoff on Tuesday, Dec. 7. Liftoff will occur from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch window extends from 9:03 a.m. to 12:22 p.m. EST. If necessary, launch opportunities also are available on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 with the same window.
Known as COTS 1, the launch is the first flight of the Dragon spacecraft and the first commercial attempt to re-enter a spacecraft from orbit. This is the first of three test launches currently planned in the Falcon 9 test flight series. It is intended as a demonstration mission to prove key capabilities such as launch, structural integrity of the Dragon spacecraft, on-orbit operation, re-entry, descent and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
NASA established the COTS program to procure a commercial launch service to stimulate the commercial space industry, to facilitate a private industry cargo capability to the International Space Station as soon as achievable, and to achieve cost effective access to low Earth orbit that will attract private customers.
PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE
The prelaunch news conference for the COTS 1 Falcon 9 launch is planned for L-1, currently Monday, Dec. 6 at 1:30 p.m., at the press site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA Television will provide live coverage, and the briefing will be streamed at
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.
Known as COTS 1, the launch is the first flight of the Dragon spacecraft and the first commercial attempt to re-enter a spacecraft from orbit. This is the first of three test launches currently planned in the Falcon 9 test flight series. It is intended as a demonstration mission to prove key capabilities such as launch, structural integrity of the Dragon spacecraft, on-orbit operation, re-entry, descent and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
NASA established the COTS program to procure a commercial launch service to stimulate the commercial space industry, to facilitate a private industry cargo capability to the International Space Station as soon as achievable, and to achieve cost effective access to low Earth orbit that will attract private customers.
PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE
The prelaunch news conference for the COTS 1 Falcon 9 launch is planned for L-1, currently Monday, Dec. 6 at 1:30 p.m., at the press site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA Television will provide live coverage, and the briefing will be streamed at
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.
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