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Unmanned Spaceflight.com _ Manned Spaceflight _ STS120

Posted by: climber Oct 22 2007, 07:14 PM

For once, STS number will correspond to actual fight number.
We're less than 24 hours to launch of what is said the most complex fligth of the ISS assembly.
One first : The CDR of the shuttle will be a female (Pam Melroy) and she'll be greated by the first female CDR of the ISS (Peggy Whitson)
here is the countdown timeline : http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts120/fdf/120countdown.html
Have a good flight.

Posted by: djellison Oct 23 2007, 03:40 PM

And away she goes smile.gif

 

Posted by: dvandorn Oct 23 2007, 03:42 PM

Smooth launch thus far, no sign of major foam loss or anything like that... looking good!

-the other Doug

Posted by: djellison Oct 23 2007, 03:44 PM

Just saw a bit of ice or foam come off - but it's way beyond that point when the dynamic pressure means it doesn't matter.

Doug

Posted by: dvandorn Oct 23 2007, 03:46 PM

Yep, saw that -- sort of a corner of my eye kind of thing. Looked like a small piece of something, and as you say, way too late in the profile to be of concern.

-the other Doug

Posted by: AndyG Oct 23 2007, 03:47 PM

The live ET video feed is excellent.

Andy

Posted by: djellison Oct 23 2007, 03:50 PM

And MECO - lovely flight. Harmony + Columbus + Kibo = busy few months smile.gif

Doug

Posted by: dvandorn Oct 23 2007, 03:50 PM

That was a little odd, though -- at ET sep, saw a huge number of little sparklies, more than normal, and there was a continuing flow of high-velocity particles which seemed to come from the direction of flight (behind the camera). More than I can recall on prior missions, anyway.

I'd think that by the time the orbiter had backed off a ways, its RCS wouldn't be impinging on the ET. I wonder what was blowing off the nose of the tank and being propelled back along the flight vector so fast?

-the other Doug

Posted by: AndyG Oct 23 2007, 03:53 PM

oDoug - could it be just a lighting issue? I don't recall such a good view in recent flights.

Andy

Posted by: nprev Oct 23 2007, 03:57 PM

Saw that too, Doug; gave me pause... huh.gif

Speculation here, but seems like condensation was an issue on this flight...recall the H2 icing issue that they re-examined. Hopefully this was just 'snow'.

Posted by: dvandorn Oct 23 2007, 03:57 PM

Could be lighting -- there was good sunlight along the belly of the orbiter as it separated from the ET, perhaps the sun angle simply was advantageous in highlighting sparklies that are always there.

Interestingly, I thought they weren't supposed to launch into cloud decks as low as the one they launched into...? Maybe the post-Columbia launch restrictions are being eased a bit?

-the other Doug

Posted by: climber Oct 23 2007, 04:16 PM

QUOTE (dvandorn @ Oct 23 2007, 05:57 PM) *
Could be lighting -- there was good sunlight along the belly of the orbiter as it separated from the ET, perhaps the sun angle simply was advantageous in highlighting sparklies that are always there.

Interestingly, I thought they weren't supposed to launch into cloud decks as low as the one they launched into...? Maybe the post-Columbia launch restrictions are being eased a bit?

-the other Doug

I saw whatever it was too. Looked like particules coming "our" way at MECO.
Talking about clouds they gave me a sense of movement a few minutes before MECO. Regarding cloud decks, they were only scattered; the view from were the clock is showed nearly bleue skies so I guess they had enough clearance should a RTLS had occured. This is my feeling.
Now, I'm waiting another hour to see the ISS from where I live (may be not dark enough) and one hour and 15 minutes to see Discovery...I'll tell you.

Posted by: Marz Oct 23 2007, 04:45 PM

This is sweet watching the ISS mature into the final stages of construction. I wonder if there is going to be another strange magnetic moment "moment" when Harmony is connected to the structure. Columbus will be a nice Christmas present!

Is there anywhere I can find a list of scheduled experiments planned for Columbus? Will it be ready for action in 2008?

Posted by: climber Oct 23 2007, 04:58 PM

QUOTE (Marz @ Oct 23 2007, 06:45 PM) *
Is there anywhere I can find a list of scheduled experiments planned for Columbus? Will it be ready for action in 2008?

Colombus will be lifted along with two ESA astronauts, Leopold Eyharts and Hans Schlegel, the former be in charge to check validate Colombus during a two months + flight.

Posted by: djellison Oct 23 2007, 05:53 PM

QUOTE (Marz @ Oct 23 2007, 05:45 PM) *
I wonder if there is going to be another strange magnetic moment "moment" when Harmony is connected to the structure.


Well- during this flight they'll dock it to one port, then after Discovery leaves, they'll undock the PMA the shuttle used, move it onto the end of Harmony, undock Harmony, and put it back on where the PMA was - so that the next shuttle will dock to Harmony, not Destiny....so if there's a moment, it'll happen twice smile.gif

Doug

Posted by: climber Oct 23 2007, 06:19 PM

QUOTE (dvandorn @ Oct 23 2007, 05:57 PM) *
Could be lighting -- there was good sunlight along the belly of the orbiter as it separated from the ET, perhaps the sun angle simply was advantageous in highlighting sparklies that are always there.

Interestingly, I thought they weren't supposed to launch into cloud decks as low as the one they launched into...? Maybe the post-Columbia launch restrictions are being eased a bit?

-the other Doug

Pam Melroy report having seen some ice debris after Meco : could be what we've seen.

Posted by: djellison Oct 23 2007, 06:36 PM

We had that rather cool ice-duvet a few flights back not long after launch. There is so much cryogenic fun to be had, it's not suprising.

Doug

Posted by: punkboi Oct 24 2007, 08:16 AM

Send a personal message to the space shuttle Discovery astronauts!

http://spacecenter.org/message.asp

All the messages will be placed on a CD that will be presented to the crew at Johnson Space Center after they return home from STS-120.

Posted by: Marz Oct 24 2007, 04:57 PM

Thanks for the link Punkboi!

There were definitely some Jedi mind tricks being played on me last night. We were watching a very bright ISS cross the skies over Dallas, Texas. As it approached the south, a low flying helicopter caught our eye... when we looked back, the ISS had vanished! The same trick happened again with Discovery just a few minutes later; we glanced away, and then it disappeared. I'll watch again this Saturday to see just how fast the fade is, and this time shall not be so easily distracted!

Posted by: nprev Oct 28 2007, 11:02 PM

Dammit... sad.gif

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/science/space/28cnd-shuttle.html?hp

Another ISS issue.

Posted by: jmjawors Oct 28 2007, 11:16 PM

I considered it good news today. This problem has been around for 50 days or so (getting that number from the press conference earlier), and now they have a lead on what's causing it. We're heading in the right direction...

Posted by: punkboi Oct 29 2007, 07:42 AM

QUOTE (nprev @ Oct 28 2007, 04:02 PM) *
Dammit... sad.gif

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/science/space/28cnd-shuttle.html?hp

Another ISS issue.


Meh. Just another lame, dramatic headline to grab attention for this situation. Kinda like how CNN and MSNBC both had headlines to the likes of "Spacewalkers make disturbing find" for their article on the SARJ situation.

It's not like Dan Tani found a human bone jammed inside the rotary joint. mellow.gif

Posted by: djellison Oct 29 2007, 08:15 AM

It's a real problem - normally I'd chastise the press for making dodgy headlines - but the motor is pulling .3 to .8 amps instead of the .1 the other side pulls. Its a genuine problem which could result in an MER-A Front-Right wheel like issue at some point in the future - and if that happened it would mean they'd have to have some careful power management in the future.

Doug

Posted by: nprev Oct 29 2007, 11:25 AM

How much modularity is there in the design? The only fix I can think of short of a full replacement is a beefed-up motor, provided that we're just dealing with an otherwise non-damaging friction problem in the joint (big assumption, I know). Dunno what the current rating of the motor windings are, but if it's pullling three to eight times normal load, those windings aren't going to last much longer... unsure.gif

Posted by: jmjawors Oct 29 2007, 06:14 PM

QUOTE (djellison @ Oct 29 2007, 03:15 AM) *
It's a real problem - normally I'd chastise the press for making dodgy headlines - but the motor is pulling .3 to .8 amps instead of the .1 the other side pulls. Its a genuine problem which could result in an MER-A Front-Right wheel like issue at some point in the future - and if that happened it would mean they'd have to have some careful power management in the future.

Doug


Funny... I used that same analogy when describing the situation to a friend earlier today (with Spirit's right-front wheel).

Looks like they're kajiggering (a highly technical term) the upcoming EVA's. Going to take a look at the port SARJ as a baseline comparison (to see what a "normal" SARJ should look like) and talking about pulling all the thermal blankets off the starboard SARJ to see how widespread this is.

It's a big problem, that's for sure. We're just at the beginning of the troubleshooting, and it was mentioned in the presser earlier today that all the "wearable" parts have replacements. Whether that actually applies to this situation... I guess that's what we're waiting to find out.

In other news -- P6 relocation is going well, S1 radiator deployment went well and Harmony processing is ahead of schedule.

Posted by: nprev Oct 29 2007, 06:31 PM

QUOTE (jmjawors @ Oct 29 2007, 11:14 AM) *
We're just at the beginning of the troubleshooting, and it was mentioned in the presser earlier today that all the "wearable" parts have replacements.


Gotta find out where those metal shavings are coming from (just found out about them today). To me, that says that the motor's probably okay, but there's a lot more friction than normal in the joint...

Posted by: punkboi Oct 29 2007, 08:47 PM

The tile repair test (TRAD) for EVA-4 has been scrapped...and that spacewalk will now be devoted to SARJ troubleshooting, according to today's Mission Status Briefing.

Posted by: nprev Oct 29 2007, 08:57 PM

Wow. They're taking this pretty seriously then; sounds almost like a one-time inspection (OTI) for aircraft.

Sensible though in a lot of ways. Seems to be no reason that the TRAD couldn't be performed by the station crew at a later date.

Posted by: jmjawors Oct 29 2007, 09:12 PM

QUOTE (nprev @ Oct 29 2007, 03:57 PM) *
Wow. They're taking this pretty seriously then; sounds almost like a one-time inspection (OTI) for aircraft.

Sensible though in a lot of ways. Seems to be no reason that the TRAD couldn't be performed by the station crew at a later date.


And actually it was *supposed* to be done at a later date, but was moved to STS-120 at the last minute because of the infamous "gouge" on Endeavour.

Yeah... this SARJ deal really bothers me. But NASA has done many amazing recoveries both on the manned and unmanned side in the past... we're just at the very beginning of troubleshooting now.

*fingers crossed*

Posted by: nprev Oct 29 2007, 09:40 PM

http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKN2540649020071029 now reporting that a preliminary onboard analysis revealed that the shavings are iron, not aluminum, implying that the joint mechanism itself was the source...not good. Might well be the motor-joint interface, hope it's not stripping out.

Posted by: jmjawors Oct 29 2007, 09:48 PM

QUOTE (nprev @ Oct 29 2007, 04:40 PM) *
http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKN2540649020071029 now reporting that a preliminary onboard analysis revealed that the shavings are iron, not aluminum, implying that the joint mechanism itself was the source...not good. Might well be the motor-joint interface, hope it's not stripping out.


Very true. They took a magnet to some of the filings they collected yesterday. Definitely not from the thermal shielding, which would have been preferable. sad.gif

But it's still not clear what it's from. Once those samples get back to the ground they can identify the actual components they came from.

Sample-return... a pretty good idea! wink.gif

Posted by: nprev Oct 29 2007, 10:07 PM

I'm still holding out hope that it's manufacturing residue--FOD (foreign object damage) in aerospace terminology--but not sure if that would be better; how in hell would you get it all out in micrograv & vacuum?

Guess strong magnets would be one way, but I can see them being quite problematic on a spacewalk.

Posted by: dvandorn Oct 30 2007, 04:45 AM

I'm betting the ultimate response is going to be to find a compromise position in which the SARJ will be parked and from which it will never thenceforth be moved. Yeah, it'll impact power budgets a little -- but the solar cells were always designed to give good margins for running more equipment than is now being planned. I don't think ISS will have rolling brownouts.

-the other Doug

Posted by: punkboi Oct 30 2007, 07:34 AM

QUOTE (dvandorn @ Oct 29 2007, 08:45 PM) *
I don't think ISS will have rolling brownouts.

-the other Doug


Wouldn't THOSE be "interesting" (RE: scary) moments for the crews onboard...

Posted by: jmjawors Oct 30 2007, 02:18 PM

Initial inspection of the port (i.e. fully functional) SARJ showed no signs of contamination. So whatever is happening on the starboard side to create those metal "flakes" is definitely an anomaly.

Meanwhile, P6 relocation is complete. The radiator is deployed and soon they'll attempt to unfurl the arrays.

Posted by: stevesliva Oct 30 2007, 03:28 PM

Yeah, the good news for this mission is that they'd at least planned to double up the arrays on the GOOD side.

Posted by: nprev Oct 30 2007, 03:44 PM

Hmm. Still wonder if they're FOD. Wonder if flight safety would ever sign off on sending somebody out there (tethered tightly, of course) with a compressed air canister to try to blow the damn things out & then see if the current load decreases; they might be getting stuck in the mechanism.

Posted by: djellison Oct 30 2007, 04:28 PM

Looks like damage on the 4b array - one of the lines seems to have caught around one of the eyelets...and I don't think they could reach that on EVA where it is right now.

Doug

 

Posted by: jmjawors Oct 30 2007, 04:35 PM

Thanks for posting that screenshot, Doug. I was looking to do the same.

But wow... my heart skipped a beat when I heard Pam say "abort" and the view shifted to that tear. ohmy.gif

Posted by: djellison Oct 30 2007, 04:48 PM

VERY cool customers on orbit - handling what could be quite a major issue like utter pro's. They've shot loads of photos at this angle, and they're not going to rotate the beta joint to get it from a slightly different angle.

 

Posted by: jmjawors Oct 30 2007, 04:53 PM

QUOTE (djellison @ Oct 30 2007, 11:48 AM) *
VERY cool customers on orbit - handling what could be quite a major issue like utter pro's. They've shot loads of photos at this angle, and they're not going to rotate the beta joint to get it from a slightly different angle.


They absolutely are. If I were up there it would be a mixture of stunned silence and a barrage of choice four-letter words.

Posted by: djellison Oct 30 2007, 05:05 PM

They've backed it up half a bay - they're going for another half bay now.


 

Posted by: Stu Oct 30 2007, 06:05 PM

... and from Nasaspaceflight.com...

At the same time, engineers on the ground are looking into indications that Discovery suffered a large MMOD (micrometeoroid/orbiting debris) strike to her port wing this morning. It is not known, but likely, that the strike was still not strong enough to cause any damage to the orbiter.

A ripped solar panel and a meteoroid strike on the wing on the same day... guess that'll teach some people - mentioning no names, no-one here I hasten to add - to dismiss an uneventful, smooth shuttle launch as "almost boring", eh? unsure.gif

Posted by: nprev Oct 30 2007, 06:14 PM

Good grief. sad.gif Just what we didn't need right now. Sounds like the arm is gonna get another workout, on top of everything else they need to do...

Posted by: punkboi Oct 30 2007, 06:15 PM

*Sigh* Good luck and anything solar power-related just hasn't been going hand-in-hand with the ISS... huh.gif

Posted by: nprev Oct 30 2007, 06:54 PM

Well, the panel rip is, as of now, CNN.com's lead story; let's see how long it takes them to seize on the MMOD event...

Posted by: Stu Oct 30 2007, 07:17 PM

Probably not long... after all, when it comes to reporting 'space' there's no news like bad news, right? I mean, forget the fact that we have just seen ISS's living and working space increased by almost 20%; forget the fact that there's been the historic first meeting on-orbit of two female spacecraft commanders; forget the fact that human beings are conducting risky spacewalks far above the Earth, let's focus on the BAD news... mad.gif

Posted by: stevesliva Oct 30 2007, 07:44 PM

Cue the "broken wing" headlines. Yes, I know neither word is appropriate, but that won't matter...

Posted by: jmjawors Oct 30 2007, 07:53 PM

Press conference just wrapped up. In a nutshell:

- Still need to evaluate the high-res photos to determine just WHAT this tear is
- Arrays only short by 3% as far as power production
- Structural integrity at issue with full-deployment
- EVA 4 being evaluated for possible P6 activities
- SARJ troubleshooting still in work

Did I miss anything? Probably... but those were some highlights.

Posted by: David Oct 30 2007, 09:57 PM

QUOTE (Stu @ Oct 30 2007, 07:17 PM) *
Probably not long... after all, when it comes to reporting 'space' there's no news like bad news, right? I mean, forget the fact that we have just seen ISS's living and working space increased by almost 20%; forget the fact that there's been the historic first meeting on-orbit of two female spacecraft commanders; forget the fact that human beings are conducting risky spacewalks far above the Earth, let's focus on the BAD news... mad.gif


Why the hand-wringing? Obviously, it really isn't good news for the space station -- this isn't made up, or insignificant -- but the axiom that "good news" is no news is true for everything in the news business, not just space. And from the point of public relations, bad news can be "good news" if it's handled well; first, it gets the program noticed, which is "good news" for a program whose major PR problem is being ignored; second, "adversity overcome" stories are always good media (assuming the adversity is overcome).

From the point of view of reality rather than PR, aren't these basically engineering flights, and isn't the point to find out where things can go wrong in space construction? Obviously, everyone would prefer a clean, unproblematic mission, but it's the problems that really provide the lessons and boost us up the learning curve. What would be really bad news is if the same problems kept happening over and over again.

In other words, yes this is bad, but it's not the end of the world, nor the end of the space program, and if dealt with well it can be positive both for PR and for what we learn about dealing with construction in space.

Posted by: climber Oct 30 2007, 10:15 PM

QUOTE (David @ Oct 30 2007, 10:57 PM) *
What would be really bad news is if the same problems kept happening over and over again.

In other words, yes this is bad, but it's not the end of the world, nor the end of the space program, and if dealt with well it can be positive both for PR and for what we learn about dealing with construction in space.

I guess we have two general "stuffs" that give recurent troubles : Big solar panels and tethers

Posted by: Stu Oct 30 2007, 11:10 PM

You're kinda preaching to the converted here David smile.gif No hand-wringing going on here; I personally think that this could be a great opportunity for NASA to get some good PR - stressing how vital a human presence in space is to tackle just this kind of event, you know? Robots are fine, very clever little guys, but you can't beat a man - or a woman - on the scene with a keen pair of eyes and a spanner to thwack things with. rolleyes.gif

Guess we'll see how they handle it.

Posted by: nprev Oct 30 2007, 11:36 PM

True enough...but what worries me is that media coverage of NASA invariably minimizes--or outright ignores--the positive & accentuates the negative, which always brings the "we shouldn't be spending all this money in space" crowd right out of the woodwork. It's been an uphill battle since Apollo 11, and there's no relief in sight.

PR aside, starting to worry a bit about task saturation for the crew of Discovery. Dealing with two new station maintenance issues plus the MMOD event are not insignificant add-ons to their workload...

Posted by: Stu Oct 30 2007, 11:46 PM

NASA's manned space exploration program could get good - great - PR if they worked a bit harder at it. They almost seem embarrassed to stand up and shout how amazing the stuff they do is, I've always thought. And they don't make nearly as effective use of their on-orbit imagery as they could either. There's a http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-120/ndxpage1.html that puts up new images of a mission regularly, but for some reason they don't just add the new images onto the end of the existing ones, they roll a dice to decide where they're going to drop them in. So today any sane person would expect new images to start at p32 but they'll probably be somewhere between 22 and 26... it's ridiculous and not helpful at all.

But that's a minor, personal gripe. I'm just amazed by everything they do up there and wish they got more credit for it.

Posted by: jmjawors Oct 31 2007, 01:31 AM

Here's a better view of the tear:

 

Posted by: nprev Oct 31 2007, 02:34 AM

Damn. Frankly, I'm amazed that this only causes a 3% reduction in power production; looks like the rip severed one of the conductive paths. The arrays must be like really electrically parallel in design to minimize the effects of regional losses.

Posted by: jmjawors Oct 31 2007, 02:56 AM

The way I'm hearing it, the 3% loss in power is actually due to the array not being fully deployed. The tear is not along any of the cells, so they are "fine." The task now is to get this tear into a configuration where the array can be fully extended, not only to maximize power but also to have it in a good structural posture.

Yeah, it sure does look as though a pathway was torn. But according to the presser earlier on that's apparently not the case.

*shrug*

We'll certainly know a lot more tomorrow.

Posted by: jmjawors Oct 31 2007, 04:45 PM

EVA-4, originally scheduled for tomorrow, has been postponed until Friday at the earliest and is now dedicated to P6. Ground planners are apparently having a difficult time coming up with a good plan.

Meanwhile, EVA-5, which was actually a stage-EVA to be done while Discovery was docked, will now be done after Discovery departs.

Posted by: jmjawors Nov 1 2007, 10:54 PM

EVA-4 now on for Saturday.

Station arm will grapple the OBSS (shuttle's inspection boom) for use as an extension, and spacewalker Scott Parazynski will be at the end of that.

This is pretty white-knuckle stuff!

Posted by: ollopa Nov 2 2007, 12:06 AM

I'm sure I'm not the only member of this forum who's old enough to remember the last time U.S. astronauts set out to fix a balky space station solar array ! Younger members might want to look at this before Saturday's EVA :


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTwUg76BCNE

Posted by: David Nov 2 2007, 12:40 AM

QUOTE (ollopa @ Nov 2 2007, 12:06 AM) *
I'm sure I'm not the only member of this forum who's old enough to remember the last time U.S. astronauts set out to fix a balky space station solar array !


I am old enough to remember that, but in fact I don't -- most likely because I was too busy playing with blocks at the time. blink.gif I didn't start getting interested in space until about 1976. But I did know about the event (from about 1976, again) and it was the first thing that came to mind when I saw that tear in the panel...

Posted by: nprev Nov 2 2007, 01:04 AM

I remember... smile.gif ...I was ten. Confess I didn't follow it too closely because I ws spending a summer in Bremerton, WA with my relatives & having a ball with discovering marine life (not much of that in Montana)...The videos are great, and you're right. The adaptive nature of humans, our dexterity, and our on-site analysis capabilities cannot be underestimated in importance for complex repair activities. We got the robots beat for at least 20 years or so... rolleyes.gif

Posted by: dvandorn Nov 2 2007, 04:41 AM

Well, the last time we tried to fix a space station solar wing, it was a mite bit different...

First off, we had only a few tens of hours of experience in zero-G EVA at that time, and while we sort of basically knew the need for footholds and handholds, we didn't know as much about how you had to anchor yourself properly in order to apply force through your body. Which is how Pete Conrad ended up flying, in his own words, "ass over teakettle" after he used his legs to exert pressure on a tether that was hooked to the end of the solar panel. Panel breaks free, the line goes slack, and Pete flies off the surface of the Skylab with all the power his legs had mustered.

Good thing the umbilical attaching Pete to the airlock was strong. He hauled up to the end of his line, stopped suddenly, and after positioning himself he pulled himself back along the umbilical.

Problem is, there were no TV cameras pointing at the right places to truly capture the event! We sort of saw Pete's legs go flying out of the picture when the SAS deployed, but only have his own colorful telling of the story for the details of what followed...

BTW -- I was 17 years old and followed the Skylab flights quite closely. Oh, for that amount of enclosed space again within a habitable volume! Nothing else has ever come close. (And if you've ever visited the backup Skylab, on display at the NASM, you'll realize that it wasn't all THAT huge in and of itself...)

-the other Doug

p.s. -- not only do I remember Skylab, I actually submitted a proposal for the Skylab student experiment program. It wasn't accepted, alas -- I was proposing studying cancer growth in mice in a microgravity ennvironment, and the hassles of keeping the mice were more than NASA wanted to deal with for a "simple" student experiment. But as I say -- I not only remember it, I tried to get an experiment flown on it! DVD

Posted by: ddeerrff Nov 2 2007, 09:45 PM

In regards to the spacewalk to fix the snagged panel, news reports are stating the astronaut:
"runs the risk of being shocked as he tries to fix the damaged panel."

Shorting something out and getting a few sparks I can see, but the idea of there being enough voltage there to be a shock hazard - particularly through the suit - is surprising to me. What buss voltages are they running there?

Posted by: djellison Nov 2 2007, 09:46 PM

That's tabloid sensationalism again. They had a senior EVA guy from the astronaut office at the press con yesterday saying that they're taping up any metal parts of the suit, they're using insulated tools - there's no chance of getting a discharge.

Doug

Posted by: jmjawors Nov 2 2007, 10:15 PM

QUOTE (ddeerrff @ Nov 2 2007, 04:45 PM) *
In regards to the spacewalk to fix the snagged panel, news reports are stating the astronaut:
"runs the risk of being shocked as he tries to fix the damaged panel."

Shorting something out and getting a few sparks I can see, but the idea of there being enough voltage there to be a shock hazard - particularly through the suit - is surprising to me. What buss voltages are they running there?


And at today's presser it was pretty flatly stated that an astronaut "cannot" get shocked from this. A lot of very unusual and unlikely things would have to happen in tandem for a shock to occur. That said, it's still "no-touch."

In just a tad over 12 hours, this things starts!

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Nov 2 2007, 11:31 PM

NASA TV

 

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Nov 2 2007, 11:34 PM

replaying yesterday's tour

 

Posted by: Shaka Nov 3 2007, 12:42 AM

The repair procedure has now been published: http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-110207a.html#cufflinks
Dam', you've gotta love these techies. Of course, if I was up there, the procedure would founder on the aluminum cutting step. I hate tin snips, and can never cut a straight line with them. I hope it's easier in zero G.

Good Luck, Crew! Win one for the Gipper. cool.gif

Posted by: nprev Nov 3 2007, 02:24 AM

blink.gif ...McGuyver was obviously a NASA dropout. Those guys devised (and documented, complete with pics!!!) this procedure & walked the crew through a test build that fast?!?!?!!!

I'm just a guy with an engineering degree; those guys are ENGINEERS!!! Boy, is my tax money well spent on their undoubtedly very inadequate salaries!

Posted by: Stu Nov 3 2007, 11:14 AM

EVA in progress... beautiful pictures on NASA TV... smile.gif


Posted by: paxdan Nov 3 2007, 11:26 AM

yeah i'm watching too

Posted by: Stu Nov 3 2007, 11:34 AM

Scott sounds like he's having a ball up there... very relaxed and laughing about the many "dangerous things to look out for... 'Not sure there's much left to touch!' he replied just now, only to be told he was only half-way thru the list! laugh.gif

Posted by: Stu Nov 3 2007, 11:51 AM

OMG... look at that...



ohmy.gif ohmy.gif ohmy.gif

Posted by: paxdan Nov 3 2007, 11:56 AM

get the camera working scott

Posted by: Stu Nov 3 2007, 12:01 PM

Yeah Scott, stop trying to photograph the comet...! laugh.gif

Posted by: jmjawors Nov 3 2007, 12:05 PM

Closeup of P6:


 

Posted by: jmjawors Nov 3 2007, 12:28 PM

Up close and personal with the damage. Seems as though he has a good handle on what the problem is.

"Sounds like you have some surgery to do, Doctor Parazynski!" - Pam Melroy

Posted by: Stu Nov 3 2007, 01:05 PM

OUTSTANDING work with big fat blobby spacesuit gloves on!!!!


Posted by: jmjawors Nov 3 2007, 02:51 PM

Unbelievable

 

Posted by: jmjawors Nov 3 2007, 03:27 PM

Array deployed!!! Words fail...

 

Posted by: K-P Nov 3 2007, 04:21 PM

QUOTE (dvandorn @ Nov 2 2007, 06:41 AM) *
We sort of saw Pete's legs go flying out of the picture when the SAS deployed


Oh LOL. laugh.gif
Apparently back then spacewalk was really no walk in the park.

Big hand for the guys up there. Great work today! Failure would have been nasty thing for the follow-up modules...
Scott was in full action. Thumbs up for him.

Btw. Stu, that view of Discovery & ISS really caught my eye too. Really gave a hint of what humanity is starting to achieve up there, step by step. Glad to be here to witness this era.

Posted by: jmjawors Nov 3 2007, 06:38 PM

One of the culprits:

 

Posted by: David Nov 3 2007, 07:46 PM

QUOTE (jmjawors @ Nov 3 2007, 03:27 PM) *
Array deployed!!! Words fail...


Now this is what I meant -- this is an amazing story, and if NASA could bring itself to talk it up instead of hoping it would be ignored, it would be excellent publicity for the brilliance and hard work of engineers and astronauts alike in taking a serious, station-threatening problem, and so totally turn it around so that the total power deficiency resulting from the failure is negligible. You could make a movie about it: it's got danger, excitement, drama, and a happy ending. Everybody would wish that it hadn't happen, but since it has happened, it can be turned into great PR with just a small amount of imagination. I don't think anybody is going to turn "anti-space" for having evidence of extraordinary competence being displayed under conditions of adversity. When you see that in workers, you don't fire them -- you give them a bonus!

Posted by: punkboi Nov 4 2007, 10:10 AM

Since it's only 3 days till landing, I thought I'd post this link again so a few more greetings could be submitted. Especially for a job well done during EVA-4 on Saturday...

http://spacecenter.org/message.asp

Give the shuttle/station crews props!

EDIT: Space Station Freedom...and reality. smile.gif


 

Posted by: nprev Nov 5 2007, 02:22 AM

Naturally, I was pulling military duty when it all went down... mad.gif

Beyond terrific work by all involved, as usual, and concur that NASA should be trumpeting this triumph of ingenuity & courage from the rooftops, instead of sweeping it under the rug as much as it can. My tax dollars doing their very, very best work... smile.gif

Posted by: Stu Nov 5 2007, 06:37 AM

You're so right nprev, NASA should make a lot more of their manned program. Reading http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts120/071104fd13/index2.htmlI got quite emotional myself, and it proves just how incredible the people involved in the shuttle and ISS programs are. We don't give them enough credit or respect.

Posted by: punkboi Nov 5 2007, 07:08 PM

Awesome image... Can't wait to see the actual still photographs when NASA posts them smile.gif

 

Posted by: PhilCo126 Nov 5 2007, 07:39 PM

Looks like one of the shuttle's windows got damaged by a micro-meteorite. Don't worry these windows are 6 centimeters in thickness (2.5 inches)
http://collectspace.com/review/sts120_mmod01.jpg

Posted by: stevesliva Nov 5 2007, 10:43 PM

QUOTE (punkboi @ Nov 5 2007, 02:08 PM) *
Awesome image... Can't wait to see the actual still photographs when NASA posts them smile.gif

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-120/ndxpage42.html

Posted by: MahFL Nov 6 2007, 11:23 AM

I just saw the ISS and Discovery fly over on the 6:13 am sighting. Its complely clear here in Jacksonville, FL. I showed my co-worker who was finishing her night shift.
pancam.gif

Posted by: Toma B Nov 6 2007, 12:37 PM

I have a question and maybe some of you guys can help me...



Why aren't solar panels that can be seen in this image of ISS parallel to each other?

Posted by: djellison Nov 6 2007, 12:44 PM

They feather them in different ways to avoid the RCS exhaust from the shuttle causing any dynamic issues as I understand it.

Doug

Posted by: jmjawors Nov 6 2007, 03:19 PM

Full inline quote removed - Doug

Exactly. In addition to that, the starboard (left side of that image) SARJ, which is the joint that rotates the solar arrays lengthwise like a pinwheel, has limited mobility right now. So they're pretty much keeping it parked for the time being.

Posted by: punkboi Nov 6 2007, 08:28 PM

The starboard SARJ ruined such a great image of the ISS... wheel.gif

Posted by: mars loon Nov 7 2007, 05:10 PM

Deorbit burn successfully completed at 1201 PM EST. Discovery is on her way home from a fabulous mission !

Posted by: climber Nov 7 2007, 05:14 PM

Now over Australia, will hit the atmosphere over Alaska for a KSC landing. Realy small world for a spacecraft.
It'll be the 66th landing at KSC.

Posted by: mars loon Nov 7 2007, 05:54 PM

Discovry is over Florida. 11 minutes to touchdown

Posted by: ustrax Nov 7 2007, 05:55 PM

I can see it! biggrin.gif

Posted by: jmjawors Nov 7 2007, 06:34 PM

Welcome back Discovery... what an amazing mission!

Posted by: PhilCo126 Nov 7 2007, 06:58 PM

Well, now we can look forward to the next Hubble repair mission...

Posted by: climber Nov 7 2007, 07:04 PM

QUOTE (PhilCo126 @ Nov 7 2007, 07:58 PM) *
Well, now we can look forward to the next Hubble repair mission...

Plenty of exiting stuff before Phil, plenty of them :
Colombus + Jules Verne + Kibo will go up before Hubble mission. ISS will be a lot different by then.
...and I'm looking forward to Hubble mission too in about another year or so.

Posted by: climber Nov 7 2007, 07:05 PM

QUOTE (ustrax @ Nov 7 2007, 06:55 PM) *
I can see it! biggrin.gif

No way! Hollywood is not under the trajectory huh.gif

Posted by: climber Nov 7 2007, 07:34 PM

Next Discovery flight : STS-124 late April 2008

Posted by: David Nov 7 2007, 08:58 PM

I'm sure Mike Griffin has many great qualities as NASA Administrator -- but shining in press briefings is not one of them. Could somebody encourage him to be too busy to attend future briefings? It seems evident that he is really unhappy about doing them, and I'm guessing some other people are unhappy about it too. I'm sure it's unintentional, but he can make a stunningly successful mission sound like a disaster. He steps all over NASA's message like a 15-year-old boy at the junior prom does his date's feet. And I don't say that out of any antipathy to his person -- it's just a reaction to his briefing performance today.

Posted by: jmjawors Nov 7 2007, 10:50 PM

HST servicing is going to be quite a thing. Can't wait for it! But as Climber said, lots to do before then.

Although Climber, I believe the HST mission is sooner than you think! wink.gif

Posted by: punkboi Nov 9 2007, 08:53 PM

Nice work, Doug.

The White House released a photo today of President Bush greeting the shuttle crew in Texas:

 

Posted by: jmjawors Nov 15 2007, 12:55 AM

I vote that whomever has the next ISS update should start a new ISS Update Thread. We're pretty far past the landing of STS 120 at this point.

Posted by: jamescanvin Nov 15 2007, 10:50 AM

QUOTE (jmjawors @ Nov 15 2007, 12:55 AM) *
I vote that whomever has the next ISS update should start a new ISS Update Thread. We're pretty far past the landing of STS 120 at this point.


Agreed, I fact I've gone one step further and moved the ISS posts that are not STS120 relevant to the dormant http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=1831&st=40&#entry103938 thread.

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