NASA managers wrapped up a two-day flight readiness review Thursday and formally cleared the shuttle Discovery for blastoff July 13 on the first post-Columbia shuttle mission. If all goes well, the countdown will begin at 6 p.m. July 10 for a launch attempt at 3:50:47 p.m. on July 13, weather permitting.

Shuttle program manager Bill Parsons said engineers still must close out open paper work and resolve a few last-minute issues, including questions about the age and certification of an actuator that drives the shuttle's body flap.

Full Story

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts114/050701frr/

"All inquiries carry with them some element of risk. There is no guarantee that the universe will conform to our predispositions. But I do not see how we can deal with the universe-both the outside and the inside universe-without studying it. The best way to avoid abuses is for the populace in general to be scientifically literate, to understand the implications of such investigations. In exchange for freedom of inquiry, scientists are obliged to explain their work. If science is considered a closed priesthood, too difficult and arcane for the average person to understand, the dangers of abuse are greater. But if science is a topic of general interest and concern - if both its delights and its social consequences are discussed regularly and competently in the schools, the press, and at the dinner table - we have greatly improved our prospects for learning how the world really is and for improving both it and us."

-"Broca's Brain," Broca's Brain, p. 12.

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli

Two Days Away From Launch

Fuel sensor glitch forces launch scrub

more Info

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts114/050713scrub/

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/050713_rtf_sts114_scrub.html

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli

Shuttle mishap is sobering reminder

By Marcia Dunn
ASSOCIATED PRESS

July 13, 2005

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – With the countdown for Discovery in its final hours, NASA was dealt an embarrassing setback yesterday when a window cover fell off the shuttle and damaged thermal tiles near the tail. But the space agency quickly fixed the problem and said it was still on track for launch today.

The mishap was an eerie reminder of the very thing that doomed Columbia 2½ years ago – damage to the spaceship's fragile thermal shield.

The lightweight plastic cover on one of Discovery's cockpit windows came loose while the spaceship was on the launch pad, falling more than 60 feet and striking a bulge in the fuselage, said Stephanie Stilson, the NASA manager in charge of Discovery's launch preparations. No one knows why the cover – which was held in place with tape – fell off, she said.

Two tiles on an aluminum panel were damaged, and the entire panel was replaced with a spare in what Stilson said was a minor repair job.

The cover, which weighs less than 2 pounds, struck a part of the fuselage that houses one of the engines used by the shuttle to maneuver in orbit. Launch managers were still awaiting an engineering analysis on whether the blow caused any damage to the engine hardware, but Stilson said she was confident there would be no problems.

Word of the mishap came just two hours after NASA declared Discovery ready to return the nation to space for the first time since the Columbia disaster.

Discovery and its crew of seven were set to blast off at 12:51 p.m. PDT. The last few technical concerns had been resolved yesterday afternoon at one final launch review by NASA's managers.

"It is utterly crucial for NASA, for the nation, for our space program to fly a safe mission," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said after the meeting. "We have done everything that we know to do."

The families of the seven astronauts killed during Columbia's catastrophic re-entry praised the accident investigators, a NASA oversight group and the space agency itself for defining and reducing the dangers.

Like those who lost loved ones in the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire and the Challenger launch explosion, the Columbia families said they grieve deeply "but know the exploration of space must go on."

"We hope we have learned and will continue to learn from each of these accidents so that we will be as safe as we can be in this high-risk endeavor," they said in a statement. "Godspeed, Discovery."

Discovery will be setting off on the 114th space shuttle flight in 24 years with a redesigned external fuel tank and nearly 50 other improvements made in the wake of the Columbia tragedy.

A chunk of foam insulation the size of a carry-on suitcase fell off Columbia's fuel tank at liftoff and slammed into a reinforced carbon panel on the shuttle's wing, creating a hole that brought the spacecraft crashing down in pieces during its return to Earth on Feb. 1, 2003.

Almost every day since then, engineers have struggled to keep foam, ice and other debris from popping off the tank. They will not know whether they succeeded until Discovery flies.

if someone cane help

http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/news/ECO_graphics.html

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli

if someone cane help

http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/news/ECO_graphics.html

One of the wires has an intermittent break :(

(Or 1001 other things in the circuitry or sensor or programming... :( )

(And have you seen the cabling and connectors on the launch pad? Very scary!)

Good luck to all,

Regards,
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

NASA: Space Shuttle Discovery to Launch July 26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA will restart the countdown for the space shuttle Discovery Saturday, with plans to launch the orbiter spaceward on July 26 after more than week of work to pin down a fuel sensor glitch, mission managers said late Wednesday.

“Right now we think we have eliminated all the common causes,” shuttle program manager Bill Parsons said of the glitch during a press briefing here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). “We believe we’ve done everything we possible could on the vehicle.”

Discovery’s STS-114 mission, NASA’s first shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia disaster, is now set to launch at 10:39 a.m. EDT (1439 GMT) on July 26.

Fingers crossed that all goes well

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli

17:30 Hours left until start


NASA - Return to Flight

On Track for Tuesday's Launch!

Allard Beutel/Jessica Rye
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 321/867-2468)

July 24, 2005
RELEASE: 05-200


NASA Go for Return to Flight Launch Attempt Tuesday

NASA gave the green light for a launch attempt Tuesday for Space Shuttle Discovery on its Return to Flight mission (STS-114). Launch is scheduled for 10:39 a.m. EDT, and it will be carried live on NASA TV.

Senior NASA managers met Sunday at Kennedy Space Center for a launch readiness meeting. Discussions focused on recent problems related to a liquid hydrogen low-level fuel sensor inside the external fuel tank, which prompted postponement of the Shuttle’s launch on July 13. Since then, engineers have been working around-the-clock on troubleshooting the sensor system issue.

During the countdown, managers will monitor for recurrence of the problem. If any new sensor-related issues occur, engineers would stop the countdown to reassess the situation.

During their 12-day mission to the International Space Station, Commander Eileen Collins and her six fellow astronauts will test new techniques and equipment designed to make Space Shuttles safer. They also will deliver supplies and make repairs to the Space Station.

NASA TV is carried by MPEG-2 digital signal accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. It’s available in Alaska and Hawaii in analog through Return to Flight on AMC-7, at 137 degrees west longitude, Transponder 18, at 4060 MHz, vertical polarization, audio at 6.8 MHz. A digital video broadcast compliant integrated receiver decoder is required for reception. NASA TV is also available on the Internet at:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For the latest about the STS-114 mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight

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this will be a great Stage in History

and a Quote

"I am convinced that human flight is possible and practical."
-- Wilbur Wright, 1899

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli

Yes it will Sir Ulli. I'm very excited to hear about the shuttle going back into space. It will be a very big milestone.

Jeremy

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Yes it will Sir Ulli. I'm very excited to hear about the shuttle going back into space. It will be a very big milestone.

Jeremy

the next Step will follow


Zefram Cochrane bringing faster-than-light travel technology to humanity

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli

i'm glad to see the shuttle fly again, but, the shuttle program is a huge
waste of tax payer money. It's 70's tech in a 21st centry eara. Just to
put fuel in the external tank, not counting the cost of the fuel is in
exses of 100,000. ????? It is a cash gobbling monster. Please dont misjudge
me, I support space exploration and manned space flight also, but the shuttle
needs to go. There is many more options out there but NASA is so closed minded
on the shuttle. It's the big money game and they have all the cards. Luckely
we have people like Sir Richard Branson and the Rutans who know we can do better. There vehicle uses old tire rubber as fuel for there ship. How inventive... Sure it's small but it's a first step. And wow what a first step.
It cost NASA 1 billion dollors just to redisign the shuttle just for this launch. 1 billion dollors. WE as armchair scientists could have came up with a whole new system that would replace the ageing fleet for that cost. I personally have designed in my head a few differant ships the use the reliable delta rocket. i went to the site of the delta and looked at the spec and then used them to see what might work and it is a relatively cheap rocket to buy, but NASA is NASA and try to build something like that and see what they have to say about it. WE and a voice in science need to get together and voice are concern's. I dream of the day that I can go up there but with NASA and our own government in control that will never happen. The shuttle is a has been and we need better. The world needs better. NASA is a big waist of money. God bless Branson and Rutan..
I am sorry if this upsets some but we deserve better.

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i'm glad to see the shuttle fly again, but, the shuttle program is a huge
waste of tax payer money. It's 70's tech in a 21st centry eara. Just to
put fuel in the external tank, not counting the cost of the fuel is in
exses of 100,000. ????? It is a cash gobbling monster. Please dont misjudge
me, I support space exploration and manned space flight also, but the shuttle
needs to go. There is many more options out there but NASA is so closed minded
on the shuttle. It's the big money game and they have all the cards. Luckely
we have people like Sir Richard Branson and the Rutans who know we can do better. There vehicle uses old tire rubber as fuel for there ship. How inventive... Sure it's small but it's a first step. And wow what a first step.
It cost NASA 1 billion dollors just to redisign the shuttle just for this launch. 1 billion dollors. WE as armchair scientists could have came up with a whole new system that would replace the ageing fleet for that cost. I personally have designed in my head a few differant ships the use the reliable delta rocket. i went to the site of the delta and looked at the spec and then used them to see what might work and it is a relatively cheap rocket to buy, but NASA is NASA and try to build something like that and see what they have to say about it. WE and a voice in science need to get together and voice are concern's. I dream of the day that I can go up there but with NASA and our own government in control that will never happen. The shuttle is a has been and we need better. The world needs better. NASA is a big waist of money. God bless Branson and Rutan..
I am sorry if this upsets some but we deserve better.

we all know that this is not the last Piece of Technology, but i hope it do its work,

this technology is over 20 years old, but we have no alternative, until the new what ever the called do his work...

but the ISS is worth to do the best with the technology what we have at this Day

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli

i'm glad to see the shuttle fly again, but, the shuttle program is a huge
waste of tax payer money. It's 70's tech in a 21st centry eara. Just to
put fuel in the external tank, not counting the cost of the fuel is in
exses of 100,000. ????? It is a cash gobbling monster. Please dont misjudge
me, I support space exploration and manned space flight also, but the shuttle
needs to go. There is many more options out there but NASA is so closed minded
on the shuttle. It's the big money game and they have all the cards. Luckely
we have people like Sir Richard Branson and the Rutans who know we can do better. There vehicle uses old tire rubber as fuel for there ship. How inventive... Sure it's small but it's a first step. And wow what a first step.
It cost NASA 1 billion dollors just to redisign the shuttle just for this launch. 1 billion dollors. WE as armchair scientists could have came up with a whole new system that would replace the ageing fleet for that cost. I personally have designed in my head a few differant ships the use the reliable delta rocket. i went to the site of the delta and looked at the spec and then used them to see what might work and it is a relatively cheap rocket to buy, but NASA is NASA and try to build something like that and see what they have to say about it. WE and a voice in science need to get together and voice are concern's. I dream of the day that I can go up there but with NASA and our own government in control that will never happen. The shuttle is a has been and we need better. The world needs better. NASA is a big waist of money. God bless Branson and Rutan..
I am sorry if this upsets some but we deserve better.

In my opinion the biggest problem with the shuttle is that it is still ahead of it's time, at least in the design. It is/was designed with the idea that it would be bringing as much tonnage to earth as it is raising to orbit. That has never happened.

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BOINC WIKI

BOINCing since 2002/12/8

Today @ 16:45 CET the show will begin......

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04:00 left

Go Discovery go

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli

Today @ 16:45 CET the show will begin......

I'd tune in about 6 minutes before that or you may have missed a lot. ;)
Official time for lift off is 10:39am Eastern Time, so you add 6 hours to that.

Watching it on Nasa TV through the internet. (on Realplayer Alternative)

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It's up there, launch went without problems.

Beautiful shot of the Shuttle separating from the main fuel tank.

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It's up there, launch went without problems.

Beautiful shot of the Shuttle separating from the main fuel tank.

yes that was fantastic

The Human Spaceflight is back

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli