Debris Shedding Off Et During Launch Options

[Chmee]

It appears during the Discovery launch that a fairly large piece of debis fell off the the External Tank and coming fairly close to the wing...

ET Shedding

[TheChemist]

A reporter asked about it in the press conference still running, and the reply was (approx.) that "we will wait for the experts to give us insight into that".

[Chmee]

It is not obvious from the picture but this happened just after SRB seperation..

[dvandorn]

The replay makes it pretty obvious that the debris that was shed came nowhere near the orbiter itself. But it was a pretty substantial piece of debris.

Bill Parsons, I think it was, made the point that we have never had good images of the shuttle stack from an on-the-tank POV after SRB sep. As he said (paraphrasing slightly, I'm sure), "this might be something that has happened on every flight, we really don't know. We've never seen the vehicle like this during this phase of flight before. This is all new data that we've never had before."

-the other Doug

[ilbasso]

Speaking of interesting and not-seen-before perspectives, there's a very cool view of the launch at the NASA web site - a video of the launch as viewed by a WB-57 chase plane. (Go to Shuttle launch and the link to the streaming video is on the lower right of the screen.) I don't know what the service ceiling of a WB-57 is, but they were above the shuttle for quite a long time. You also get a feel for the acceleration of the shuttle, something you don't get from ground-based cameras, which just show the vehicle receding from view. Here, you see the clouds going by ever faster.

[djellison]

I wonder what the flash up by the cockpit is at around 29s into that movie
Doug

[ilbasso]

I think it's sun reflecting off the cockpit window. The angles make sense.

[djellison]

Thats what I first though - but it just seemed a bit..WAHAHbright! for that. You're probably right though

Doug

[ilbasso]

Maybe it was the sun reflecting off the clenched teeth (smiling, of course) of the people in the cockpit?

[djellison]

I thought for a second it might have been someone in the cockpit using flash photography, then I thought perhaps RCS (but that's not going to happen at that low altitude) Window glint is the most likely, I agree

Doug

[tty]

Speaking of interesting and not-seen-before perspectives, there's a very cool view of the launch at the NASA web site - a video of the launch as viewed by a WB-57 chase plane.  (Go to Shuttle launch and the link to the streaming video is on the lower right of the screen.) I don't know what the service ceiling of a WB-57 is, but they were above the shuttle for quite a long time.  You also get a feel for the acceleration of the shuttle, something you don't get from ground-based cameras, which just show the vehicle receding from view. Here, you see the clouds going by ever faster.

Service ceiling is about 65,000 feet and they routinely fly over 60,000 feet, so it would be above the shuttle until well after it has reached max Q.

tty

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts114/status.html

1550 GMT (11:50 a.m. EDT)

"There are some folks in the imagery world that have found some things that they are concerned about on the tank. I have not persobnally been involved in any of the analysis and I cannot help you to understand what the imagery folks have seen on the tank at all," lead shuttle flight director Paul Hill told reporters a short time ago during today's mission status briefing.

Although he didn't have much additional information, he did say: "They are concerned about some things they have seen on the PAL ramp."

Known as the Protuberance Air Load (PAL) ramp, this area of foam was designed to prevent unsteady air flow underneath the tank's cable trays and pressurization lines.

The Mission Management Team will be meeting this afternoon to review the ongoing engineering analysis of launch photography. NASA will hold a news conference at 6 p.m. EDT following the meeting to brief the news media and public on the situation.

[djellison]

I thought it looked like the foam right infront of the ET camera was actually wobbling during the climb up the hill - did anyone else see that?

Doug

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

Yikes, I hope this isnt something serious, I didnt see anything hit the shuttle though. Perhaps it's just related to the tank rather thatn the shuttle/tank.

Check out NASA TV right now:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html?skipIntro=1

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

WOW... looks like the next shuttle launch is off:

2212 GMT (6:12 p.m. EDT)

Parsons says the next shuttle launch will not occur until this foam loss is understood and resolved. "I don't know when that will be."

2211 GMT (6:11 p.m. EDT)

The lost PAL ramp foam did not hit the orbiter, Parsons says.