- \n
- LIVE STS-129 UPDATES<\/li>\n
- L2 STS-129 Special Section<\/li>\n
- Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cOV-104 (STS-129): Got the EMU functional completed. The airlock has been closed out for flight. The payload was installed to the PCR (Payload Checkout Room) on Friday. The Payload Bay Doors (PLBDs) have been opened, and installation of the payload (is due) this Wednesday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Processing is working alongside two items of interest that were discussed at the Agency level Flight Readiness Review (FRR) last week at the Kennedy Space Center, one of which \u2013 the replaced Waste Collection System (WCS) hardware \u2013 requires a one flight waiver to be issued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMentioned at FRR that they would take a Level 3 waiver to the 20G crash requirement for the WCS bracket because they could not show it good by analysis,\u201d noted the Orbiter Project on the latest Shuttle Standup\/Integration report (L2). \u201cLate last week, they conducted a test with a similar bracket, and showed that the bracket has greater than 20G capability, which will support the waiver.\u201d<\/p>\n
STS-129 Specific Articles: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/tag\/sts-129\/<\/p>\n
NASA educational resources
<\/path>Spaceflight history books <\/path>SpaceX launch tickets <\/path>\n (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n
Described as a \u201cgreat test to pull that 20G crash load,\u201d by NASA\u2019s Chief Engineer on the report, the bracket on the system \u2013 which is at the center of the issue with the WCS \u2013 will be replaced by a titanium substitute after STS-129.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe work on the WCS and all that was outstanding, and it was good to hear this weekend that the testing went well, so that we have the one flight waiver before we get our titanium bracket,\u201d added Space Shuttle Program (SSP) manager John Shannon on the standup.<\/p>\n
![\"A2\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/A22.jpg\" "\\"A2\\"")
The bulk of SSP interest remains with the evaluations into a potential issue with a very small area of the orbiter. This area \u2013 known as a stinger \u2013 failed to be cleared by recent analysis into the concerns that recent acoustic environment analysis of the Space Shuttle Main Engines during ignition could cause stressing \u2013 and potentially cracking \u2013 in the attach pins\/stinger.<\/p>\nThe stinger is likely to be fine for the life of the program, but the SSP are using due diligence both physically \u2013 via borescope inspections which have begun \u2013 and via test articles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a suggestion last Friday that there was a discrepancy in the stinger loads analysis that did not pan out. Structures has the analysis down pretty well and is working on a new (computational) model,\u201d added the Orbiter Project at the Johnson Space Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinished the machining of a new attach point. That is complete less match drilling, dry film lube, and coupon testing. Will try to have a few of those available for folks to pull and bend. KSC has requested one to try some NDE (Non Destructive Evaluation) techniques. Disassembly of the qualification article was ongoing over the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRegarding MEI activities, there will be a meeting to bring some of the broader community in regarding some of the stress and fracture work that is ongoing, and some of the ideas that have come out of the other Centers,\u201d NASA\u2019s Chief Engineer added.<\/p>\n
![\"A3\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/A32.jpg\" "\\"A3\\"")
Described as a \u201cteam challenge\u201d by Mr Shannon, the forward plan still involves the possibility of installing additional instrumentation, specifically into the area in question, in order to measure the loads on the stinger during Atlantis\u2019 launch \u2013 even though only two weeks remain in the pad flow.<\/p>\n\u201cIt was a very good FRR on Thursday. The team extremely well. We are the beneficiaries of a very good series of flights and not many issues in work,\u201d noted Mr Shannon in conclusion to the Standup meeting this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a challenge as a team. Everybody is doing extremely well on understanding the main engine ignition overpressure. Getting instrumentation on is a doable thing. It is going to challenge us, but it is the kind of thing that our team really likes to do, and excels at.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are hitting it from both the pad side and the vehicle side. Gathering more data is important, and it sounds like the team is doing well. Whether or not we agree there is a problem, we should go ahead and get the instrumentation on. We will not really know until we collect more data.\u201d<\/p>\n
A full outline \u2013 based on a large FRR presentation \u2013 will be published later this week.<\/p>\n
NBL Incident:<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, an incident at the NBL has closed the pool until Wednesday, following a pressure supply system issue during one of the training runs last week.<\/p>\n
![\"A4\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/A41.jpg\" "\\"A4\\"")
The giant pool is used to train spacewalkers, with mock ups of the International Space Station structures and orbiter payload bay at the bottom of the pool, allowing for training to take place in a similar micro-G environment to that on orbit. It was not mentioned which crewmember was involved in the incident, although he\/she did not suffer any injuries.<\/p>\n\u201cHad a NBL Facility issue last week. The pressure supply system failed to overpress a suit. They expect the NBL to be back up on Wednesday. The integrated team is working the issue,\u201d noted JSC\u2019s MOD on the Standup.<\/p>\n
No major interruptions to crew training are expected, although two training runs \u2013 for STS-132 and STS-130 respectively \u2013 have been cancelled during the NBL\u2019s shutdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid have an NBL Facilities event on October 28. The control valve failed open on a suited event, which put 7.84 psid into the suit. The crewmember was not injured,\u201d added the EVA department on the Standup. \u201cThey did find a bad connect on the ECS (Environmental Control System).<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Friday, they did some testing with the relief valve in the suit, and it did pass its crack and reseat. They took one off the shelf, and it also passed its crack and reseat. There will be a quarter manned test; they will take the suit 40\u2032 down to the bottom of the pool, limit the flow into the suit at 15 SCFM to make sure the suit can stay below 8 psi, which is where the suit can get some structural failure and leakage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHope to open the pool again on Wednesday. They cancelled two runs for crews STS-132 and STS-130.\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":"
Engineers are closing in on a plan to install instrumentation on Atlantis \u2013 in time for her November 16 launch date \u2013 in order to understand a potential issue with a stinger structure on the aft of the vehicle, which may be susceptible to the stresses of Main Engine Ignition (MEI). Meanwhile, a crewmember avoided […]<\/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":[9064,9199],"class_list":["post-40947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-mei","tag-sts-129"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40947"}],"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=40947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}