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\u201cThe vehicle was powered up to support ET Door Functional preps and remained up to support Flight Control RCS (Reaction Control System)\/Sensor testing (MDM FA4 retest). Once all powered testing requirements were completed, the vehicle was powered down for the remainder of the year,\u201d noted processing information on L2.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe side hatch was closed in support of waterproofing operations. MEI (Main Engine Ignition) work on the LPOD stinger door in work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stacking of STS-131\u2019s Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) will also continue when engineers arrive back after the holidays, with the left booster currently being secured on the Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) in the VAB.<\/p>\n
NASA mission updates
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STS-131 Specific Articles: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/tag\/sts-131\/<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Left Aft Booster was set down on the MLP as scheduled; work to install Hold Down Post Studs and perform tensioning continues.\u201d<\/p>\n
ET-135 arrived in the Turn Basin near the VAB on Christmas Day, ahead of being towed into dock. There it will remain for an extended period of time \u2013 last seen with ET-117, which spent 24 days on the barge at KSC \u2013 prior to being removed from the barge and towed into the VAB.<\/p>\n
\u201cET-135, aboard Pegasus\/Freedom Star, departed Gulfport Monday and are heading for Port Canaveral. Anticipated arrival at the VAB Turn Basin is 12\/25,\u201d noted mid-week information. \u201cOffload is scheduled for 1\/5\/10 with the lift into the VAB Checkout Cell scheduled for 1\/6\/10; both support the STS-131 timeline.\u201d<\/p>\n
ET-133 Performance:<\/p>\n
With ET-134 already stacked to the STS-130 vehicle, two tanks at KSC will benefit from the lessons learned from the previous flight to launch from the Cape \u2013 STS-129.<\/p>\n
![\"A2\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/A214.jpg\" "\\"A2\\"")
ET-133\u2019s performance was reviewed at the end of mission IFA (In Flight Anomaly Review) at a mid December Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) meeting, which found the tank\u2019s overall performance was excellent.<\/p>\n\u201c16-Nov-09, STS-129 \/ ET-133: Launch at 1928 GMT on 11\/16\/09 (1328 hrs Central time on 11\/16\/09): Pre-launch Performance Assessment: Electrical and Propulsion systems performed nominally. No leakage detected at the GUCP (Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate) during the transition to topping,\u201d noted the Lockheed Martin ET-133 IFA presentation \u2013 available with the other 12 IFA presentations on L2.<\/p>\n
\u201cTPS (Thermal Protection System foam) performance nominal or acceptable. Three typical TPS cracks on -Y Vertical Strut. No I-T Acreage valley cracks observed. Crack on Feedline Support Strut foam at Xt 1871. Frost formations at the umbilical side of LH2 Recirc Line Closeout.<\/p>\n
\u201cPost Flight Performance Assessment in work: Electrical and Propulsion systems performed nominally. Structural System performance nominal. ET\/Orbiter separation and ET Disposal nominal.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A6\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/A61.jpg\" "\\"A6\\"")
Foam liberations during early ascent are obviously the main concern for the performance of the tank from a non propulsion standpoint during launch, with the presentation showing the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) engineers once again handed NASA a great tank, with only minor liberations observed via an area of onboard cameras \u2013 including the debuting flight deck camera.<\/p>\n\u201cTPS assessment: Five observations from initial ET Camera review. Three loss locations identified in Umbilical imagery. No anomalous observations noted from the Orbiter cockpit camera. Crew Handheld assessment identified nine additional areas of interest. No anomalous observations noted from the 16mm film.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of the tank\u2019s LH2 and LO2 IFR (Ice Frost Ramps) \u2013 the latter filmed by the new flight deck camera \u2013 were shown to be in excellent condition after ET sep, after the IFRs had suffered from a few minor liberations during recent flights.<\/p>\n
![\"A5\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/A52.jpg\" "\\"A5\\"")
Also an item of interest, the foam losses from the intertank region \u2013 observed on ET-131\u2019s flight with STS-127 \u2013 resulted in \u201cpull tests\u201d and \u201cplug pulls\u201d on subsequent tanks, concentrating on the top side that holds the greatest threat to the orbiter in the event of liberations.<\/p>\nAs expected, ET-133 did not lose any foam from the top side of the tank, but did lose several areas of foam from the backside of the intertank \u2013 known as the -Z side \u2013 which appear to match the locations of foam loss from ET-131 \u2013 at least on the backside of the tank \u2013 and the potential mechanism that caused the losses from STS-127\u2019s tank.<\/p>\n
\u201cEight losses identified on -Z Intertank: Preliminary assessment indicates these losses are consistent with ET-131 intertank foam loss per the special investigation,\u201d added the presentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cLosses are not to the same extent or degree, but appear to have the same failure mode. There are indications of primer in most locations, but imagery is not conclusive. Coincident with similar locations as those observed on ET-131.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A4\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/A48.jpg\" "\\"A4\\"")
Those losses from ET-131 are understood to have been caused by a contaminant \u2013 likely to be dust \u2013 making its way on to the structure of the tank ahead of the application of the TPS foam, thus reducing the foam\u2019s adhesiveness. Another investigation was called for ET-133\u2019s intertank events, with the hope that processing photographs may confirm a similar situation.<\/p>\nIf so, it\u2019s unlikely to be a problem with the remaining tanks on the manifest, as ET-133 was the last tank to undergo intertank production prior to the findings from the ET-131 investigation \u2013 resulting in new procedures for intertank production.<\/p>\n
Regardless, pull tests are still likely to be carried out on future tanks after they arrive at KSC, under the order of SSP (Space Shuttle Program) managers \u2013 who have changed the \u201crisk\u201d status accordingly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIFA recommended for foam loss on -Z Intertank: Hazard Reports have been modified to address increase in risk associated with this failure mode from \u2018remote\u2019 to \u2018infrequent\u2019,\u201d added the IFA presentation. \u201cWill add this occurrence to existing documentation regarding IFA from ET-131 Intertank foam loss to document and track accordingly.<\/p>\n
\u201cFailure mode is believed to be the same as observed on ET-131, but to a lesser degree. Actions have already been taken to perform additional bond adhesion tests on ET-134 and beyond in response to this occurrence.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the intertank events should not detract from the excellent performance of the tank\u2019s TPS foam, especially after all the related challenges since Return To Flight. None of the foam losses exceeded the strict safety limits, which ultimately resulted in the extremely clean heat shield on Atlantis after she made it into orbit.<\/p>\n
\u201cSummary: Preliminary assessment of ET flight performance on STS-129 complete,\u201d the presentation concluded. \u201cTPS system performance assessment ongoing. Three losses of interest in critical debris zone: 8 Losses observed on -Z intertank acreage being evaluated. No loss exceeds safety risk assessment mass. All other systems performed nominally.\u201d<\/p>\n
L2 members<\/em><\/em>: Documentation \u2013 from which the above article has quoted snippets \u2013 is available in full in the related L2 sections, now over 4000 gbs in size<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
External Tank ET-135 has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), following its journey from New Orleans in the Pegasus Barge. The tank will remain inside the barge until the new year, ahead of being towed into the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for processing. Meanwhile, engineers are continuing to evaluate the foam loss observed from […]<\/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":[9021,9201,3659],"class_list":["post-40905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-et","tag-et-135","tag-sts-135"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40905"}],"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=40905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}