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The youngest orbiter in the fleet is finally coming to the end of her only Interim Problem Report (IPR-20) of late, relating to a sensor on her LH (Left Hand) OMS (Orbital Maneuvering System) pod Main Engine Ignition (MEI), which is part of a sensor suite used to gain data on MEI Acoustic and SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine) Ignition Overpressure (IOP) Environments.<\/p>\n
Specific to an acoustic sensor called V08Y9704A \u2013 which failed to channelize during testing last year \u2013 the review of troubleshooting is aiming to close the IPR.<\/p>\n
Other work which has been carried out in her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-2) included the checkout of the orbiter\u2019s Flash Evaporator System (FES) \u2013 used to provide cooling to the ship\u2019s systems when the vehicle\u2019s Payload Bay Doors (containing the orbiter\u2019s radiators) are closed \u2013 and the closeouts of her wings.<\/p>\n
Due to the slips suffered by Discovery\u2019s STS-133 mission, Endeavour\u2019s milestones have also been moved to the right. The next key event for the STS-134 stack will be the mating of the twin Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) with ET-122.<\/p>\n
STS-134 Specific Articles: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/tag\/sts-134\/<\/p>\n
Rocket launch schedules
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\u201cThe planning date for ET mate to SRBs is no earlier than 19 January 2011; Program direction will ultimately determine the date,\u201d was the most recent update from the NASA Test Director (NTD), although this date will remain under review until next week.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/A38.jpg\" "\\"A3\\"")
The two boosters are currently stacked and awaiting ET-122 in High Bay 3 (HB-3) of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Notably, some platform rearrangement has already taken place, ahead of a potential decision to carry out Non Destructive Evaluation (NDE) scans of the tank\u2019s stringers once mated.<\/p>\n\u201cSRB BI-145\/RSRM 113 (VAB HB-3): The AP-99 platforms have been removed from \u2018B\u2019 platform to aid tank access for possible ET stringer modifications,\u201d added the NTD report (L2).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe AP-47 platforms will be removed from \u2018E\u2019 platform as well; that work is scheduled to be performed Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Should managers decide to carry out stringer modifications \u2013 likely via the same procedure which is currently being carried out on ET-137 by installing radius blocks \u2013 the STS-134 launch date would not be impacted.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/A82.jpg\" "\\"A82\\"")
Such a decision will be based on the ongoing investigation into the stringer crack issue, with ET-122\u2019s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) manufacture date of 2000 several years prior to ET-137 and ET-138, potentially clearing the tank from the root cause of ET-137\u2019s cracks \u2013 mainly specific to a \u201cmottled surface on the stringers, resulting in reduced fracture toughness.<\/p>\nWhile ET-122 \u2013 which was repaired and brought back into service after receiving damage during Hurricane Katrina \u2013 remains in the High Bay 4E (HB-4E) checkout cell, engineers are working on the tank\u2019s Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) \u2013 in order to avoid the leak which scrubbed STS-133\u2019s opening launch attempt in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cET-122 (VAB HB-4E): The GUCP QD (Quick Disconnect) will be removed Friday to perform concentricity measurements. In addition, the flight seal will be R&R\u2019d,\u201d added the NTD report. \u201cThe QD will be re-installed following ET\/SRB mate. Non-interference processing is continuing as resources allow. LO2\/LH2 Umbilical closeouts continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
STS-134 Crew:<\/p>\n
Endeavour\u2019s final flight will be commanded by Mark Kelly, who is currently on an leave of absence due to the assassination attempt on his wife \u2013 Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. With the US Navy Captain\u2019s brother, Scott Kelly, currently commanding Expedition 26 onboard the ISS, managers have praised the ISS team for keeping the commander briefed on the tragic incident of January 8.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/A47.jpg\" "\\"A4\\"")
MOD management cancelled the upcoming STS-134 flight sims out of respect, as opposed to any request by the crew, but have accepted \u2013 via a recommendation from Commander Mark Kelly \u2013 to install astronaut Rick Sturckow as the backup commander for the mission to aid with upcoming sim work.<\/p>\n\u201cI recommended to my management that we take steps now to prepare to complete the mission in my absence, if necessary,\u201d Kelly said via NASA PAO. \u201cI am very hopeful that I will be in a position to rejoin my STS-134 crew members to finish our training.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMark is still the commander of STS-134,\u201d added Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office. \u201cHe is facing many uncertainties now as he supports Gabrielle, and our goal is to allow him to keep his undistracted attention on his family while allowing preparations for the mission to progress.<\/p>\n
\u201cDesignating a backup allows the crew and support team to continue training, and enables Mark to focus on his wife\u2019s care.\u201d<\/p>\n
(All images via L2 \u2013 bar the NDE scan photo, via KSC\/NASA.gov).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Endeavour\u2019s final mission has slipped to the second half of April \u2013 as expected \u2013 due to the realignment of her older sister\u2019s STS-133 mission to February 24. The April 19 mission, which remains under the command of Mark Kelly, has a large amount of contingency time in its flow, which will allow for inspections […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9181,3366],"class_list":["post-40554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-et-122","tag-sts-134"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40554"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}