- \n
- LIVE STS-130 UPDATES<\/li>\n
- L2 STS-130 Special Section<\/li>\n
- Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
After going GREEN for weather at the Kennedy Space Center just after 3a.m., it was learned that weather conditions at the one remaining good TAL (Trans-oceanic Abort Landing) site in Istres, France also went RED for weather as a frontal system moved into the area, bringing with it an unacceptably low cloud deck.<\/p>\n
Up until that point, all three TAL sites had be trending in the direction of the previous day\u2019s (Sunday\u2019s) forecast \u2013 with Zaragoza, Spain being NO GO for rain showers within 20NM (nautical miles), Moron, Spain being NO GO due to low clouds and rain showers, and Istres, France being GO.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, thanks to real-time observations from Shuttle TAL support personnel in Zaragoza, Spain, the Space Flight Meteorological Group in Houston, along with Houston Flight (the Ascent Flight Director), was able to confirm the clearing of rain showers around Zaragoza \u2013 thereby resulting in an acceptable TAL weather forecast.<\/p>\n
With the final weather hurdle cleared, shuttle Endeavour lifted off right on time at 04:14:08 EST, February 8, 2010 \u2013 lighting up the Florida sky for hundreds of miles in a spectacular (and what is believed to be the final) night time launch from the Kennedy Space Center. The launch of Endeavour was visible up the entire Eastern seaboard and inland portions of the Eastern United States as well as portions of The Bahamas.<\/p>\n
Spaceflight
<\/path>NASA mission updates <\/path>Space Technology <\/path>\n (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/A51.jpg\" "\\"A5\\"")
During the standard post-launch news conference, KSC Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses and Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach discussed the frost seen on the External Tank during STS-130\u2019s two launch attempts as well as the discussions during the first attempt of waving the RTLS (Return To Launch Site) abort cloud ceiling rule.<\/p>\nIn response to the NASASpaceFlight.com question regarding frost on the External Tank, Mike Moses stated that frost is actually a common occurrence on the External Tank; however, it usually is not as visible as it was during the STS-130 launch campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrost isn\u2019t all that uncommon. Just an environmental condition. Light helps a lot a night [in terms of seeing the frost clearly]. In the Xenons it glows. You don\u2019t normally see it when we\u2019re in different lighting conditions.\u2019<\/p>\n
Moses continued by explaining why the presense of frost on the exterior portions of the tank are not a concern for liftoff debris.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith frost you\u2019re looking at light fluffy stuff. As soon as [the SRBs ignite] and you go there\u2019s no mass [with the frost] to fall off.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a frost standpoint, the rules talk about when you\u2019re going to get frost and what frost leads to. You\u2019re more worried about frost that forms and masks ice formation under it or on top of it because, from an imagery standpoint, it makes [the ice] harder to detect. We have really good techniques these days with the Ice Teams, the IR cameras, and all the Hi-Resolution photography and we can really zoom in and look exactly where that frost is [and what its properties are].<\/p>\n
In response to the potential ice buildup under and on top of the frost, Moses stated that \u201cWe talked about at several points throughout the count. As each camera angle came up and rotated through the views, some of us in the management room were seeing views of the tank we hadn\u2019t seen before. We ask the engineering team, \u2018hey does [the frost] look like [it\u2019s] growing?\u2019 And every single time the Ice Team came back and said \u2018that\u2019s the same exact condition as it was when we were there and nothing has changed; there\u2019s no growth there.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we didn\u2019t have any worries with that and the experts who do this every day didn\u2019t have any worries with the frost.\u201d<\/p>\n
STS-130 Specific Articles: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/tag\/sts-130\/<\/p>\n
In addition to the discussion about the frost, Mike Moses and Mike Leinbach also explained the considerations and conversations about waving the RTLS cloud ceiling rule that took place right before the scrub of Endeavour\u2019s first launch attempt on February 7.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Flight Rules cover what we need for RTLS in terms of ceiling and visibility. [The cloud ceiling] limit is 5,000ft for RTLS and the Range rules for visibility sit at about 4,000ft depending on thickness of clouds.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, we\u2019ve always had this slight disconnect about what the Range would be go for and what RTLS landing would be go for. And they\u2019re off by about a 1,000ft. Over the years, we\u2019ve learned to constantly evaluate that if you have a condition that is acceptable for the Range but not RTLS, what does it take to be acceptable [across the board].<\/p>\n
In that manner \u201ceach of the pilots practice various visibility runs. They learn what the need to have to be comfortable: what would be good [and] what would be bad. Really, you\u2019re looking for a [cloud] deck that allows you to gain the horizon as you\u2019re rolling around the HAC (Heading Alignment Circle) so you understand clearly where you\u2019re at.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast night we had that in the fact that there was nothing above that [cloud] deck. So clear skies up to that point (about 3,800ft).<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/A46.jpg\" "\\"A4\\"")
\u201cThen you look at the thickness of [the cloud deck] as you go through it. So you\u2019ve got a good reference point, you know where you\u2019re coming through, you punch through the ceiling really fast so you know you\u2019re on your approach path. And once you get through it\u2019s clear on down [the runway].<\/p>\n\u201cThe other big factor is what the wind\u2019s doing from about 10,000ft on down and the work load that that then drives for the pilot. If all he has to do is pay attention to that glides slope as he comes in, that\u2019s a little more acceptable. So we send the STA (Shuttle Training Aircraft) up there to fly that path and characterize that for us. So we send the STA up there with an astronaut to go fly that approach and go see what it really is compared to what our weather data is telling us.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what we were talking about yesterday was: could we get comfortable with the fact that, even though we were a little bit lower than our limits, we could still have good [conditions for RTLS]. And we were debating back and forth as to how comfortable we really were there. And we just didn\u2019t get there on that yesterday.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Mike Leinbach added, \u201cThere were two groups working the weather last night: the Flight Director out in Houston and the Range safety guys here over Cape-side. Both groups were \u2018no go\u2019 and they were both talking about how could they get to \u2018go.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we heard on the net was that the Flight Director probably could have gotten there. I never got comfortable at all that the Range was going to get there. In fact, we heard no discussion at all about a waver on the net from them. And so they were clearly \u2018no go\u2019 all the way down to T0. And, indeed, at T0 they were violating their criteria.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo as a Launch Director you evaluate those things. Even if we\u2019d gotten \u2018go\u2019 on both of those, I would have been hard-pressed to keep going. I thought we were getting to the point were we might have been pressing a little bit too hard. And one of the things that\u2019s in my job jar is to make sure we don\u2019t get launch fever. I\u2019m not saying we had that last night, but we were probably getting to the point where it was getting kind of close to that issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you listen to that, you listen to the rationale for developing the waver. And then you ask yourself the hard question: do we really have good reason to go fly tonight or should we stand down? And last night we were \u2018no go\u2019 from a Range Safety perspective all the way down to T0. So we never really had to implement the prerogative that I have of saying, \u2018you know, it\u2019s just not a good night to go fly.\u2019<\/p>\n
Flight Day 2 \u2013 TPS Surveys:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/A37.jpg\" "\\"A3\\"")
With the handheld photography and ET Umbilical Well imagery in the process of being downloaded to the ground for the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) to begin their evaluations into any foam liberation events, FD2 will take a first look at the health of Endeavour\u2019s heatshield.<\/p>\nShortly after reaching orbit, Endeavour\u2019s Payload Bay Doors were opened, followed by the deployment of her Ku-band antenna. Endeavour\u2019s Remote Manipulator System (RMS) was also activated ahead of Flight Day 2\u2019s inspections, along with initial post-launch checkouts.<\/p>\n
With the NC2 and NC3 Rendezvous burns planned into the flight day, the main role for the crew will be the unberthing of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) via the RMS, in order to carry out surveys of Endeavour\u2019s wing and nose cap, before heading to the OMS Pods to check for any tile damage or protruding blankets.<\/p>\n
\u201cTPS Surveys: All RCC (Reinforced Carbon Carbon) is inspected during the OBSS Starboard Wing, Nose Cap, and Port Wing surveys. The two wing surveys also cover most of the areas of the crew cabin. The OMS Pod is inspected using a handheld camera to take pictures from the aft flight deck windows,\u201d noted Flight Readiness Review (FRR) mission outline documentation (L2).<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/A26.jpg\" "\\"A2\\"")
\u201cThe OBSS survey procedures incorporate the use of supplemental IDC (Digital Camera) images during LDRI (Laser Dynamic Range Imager) scans, thus reducing the likelihood of needing Focused Inspection. The OBSS unberth procedure incorporates the LDRI 3D calibration and the starboard survey the flat field calibration.<\/p>\nThree crewmembers are required continuously during the surveys, two for the SRMS\/OBSS ops and one to operate the situational awareness cameras and sensors. Only two crewmembers are required during unberthing and berthing operations (non-laser ops).<\/p>\n
Scans of the entire starboard wing are not easily performed, or are impossible to perform while docked, which results in those areas being scheduled first. The surveys are scheduled to continue through the night passes, but the crew may elect to pause if the night time visuals are not sufficient.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe LDRI survey attitude requires no sun within a +\/-20 degree field of view (FOV) of the laser bore-sight. Additionally, no sun can be within a 10 degree half-cone directly behind the instrument; however it is highly desired to keep the sun at a 90 degree half cone behind the instrument as long as it\u2019s not directly behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Flight Day 3\u2019s RPM (Rbar Pitch Maneuver) \u2013 carried out \u201cunderneath\u201d the ISS ahead of docking \u2013 will provide a near-complete overview of Endeavour\u2019s heatshield, the OBSS inspections will give the opening insights into the extent of any damage sustained during the ride uphill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Endeavour and her crew of six have enjoyed their first full day on orbit following a stunning night-time launch from the Kennedy Space Center at 04:14:08 EST on Monday, February 8. The launch of Endeavour followed two flawless countdowns, with the only real concern for both launch attempts being the weather. Endeavour\u2019s crew spent the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29528,"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":[9183],"class_list":["post-40873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-sts-130"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40873"}],"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=40873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}