(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n
The Wednesday morning processing report from the Dryden also noted that the travel plans for the duo remain fluid. It has since been confirmed the duo will arrive back in Florida on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cDryden Turnaround Operations: Orbiter hard mate to the SCA, and sling disconnect were completed yesterday. SCA ferry flight departure is scheduled for 1000 EST today, with an expected arrival at KSC Thursday or Friday depending on weather.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/a28.jpg\")
Several items of interest will be fully checked over, once she arrives back into her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-2), notably evaluations on her left OMS Pod, which came into contact with a platform\/crane during early post flight processing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile backing up the orbiter for tow to the MDD (Mate\/DeMate) the mobile condor flip-down made contact with the top of the LH OMS Pod. Inspections performed: Minor damage to blanket outer fabric,\u201d noted the STS-126 Ferry Flight Readiness Review (FRR) presentation, available on L2.<\/p>\n
\u201cC-9 coating applied to prevent further blanket damage during ferry. No evidence of structural damage. No concern for ferry flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Endeavour also experienced an unexpected vehicle shutdown during her stay in California, which occurred during the transition from orbiter to ground power.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring transition from vehicle to ground power, all power was lost to the orbiter vehicle. Ambient temperature at the time of powerdown was below 45 degrees F,\u201d noted the Ferry FRR presentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo concerns addressed for RCS thruster temperature exposure and fuel cell heater operation without coolant flow. RCS thruster temperature exposure. Concern for RCS thruster leakage for sustained temperatures below 45 deg if heaters are not active.<\/p>\n
See Also<\/h4>\n\n- STS-126 POST FLIGHT UPDATES<\/li>\n
- L2 STS-126 Special (3,500mb)<\/li>\n
- Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cAmbient temperatures increased above 45 degrees F approximately 3 hours after powerdown. Heated purge air through Orbiter purge circuits remained on. No thruster leakage detected. Unlikely that thruster temperatures fell below the threshold of concern with the short time exposure and positive purge flow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although engineers won\u2019t know for sure if damage to vehicle systems was sustained during the powerdown, until she returns to KSC, a mitigation plan \u2013 relating to Fuel Cell 2 \u2013 was set up for her cross country ferry trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cDue to the sequence of events when main B bus lost power, fuel cell #2 was active while the coolant pump was off. This may have resulted in sustaining heater operation with a stagnant coolant loop and may have caused overtemp and partial decomposition of the FC-40 coolant,\u201d added the presentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cFuel cell #2 will be prepped for ferry flight as follows: 1) Fuel cell 2 will remain depressurized after PRSD detank. 2) No coolant sampling or deservicing at DFRF Coolant system will be evaluated when orbiter returns to KSC.<\/p>\n
\u201c3) Depressurize the water tanks to remove potential of water leakage back into fuel cell. 4) Water drain (freeze protection) procedure performed to re-pressurize the
\nwater tanks and to gravity drain water from FCP 2 prior to ferry flight. 5) Installed fuel cell reactant jumper assembly to maintain stable internal pressure during ferry flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Due to the impressive performance of Endeavour Thermal Protection System (TPS) during he mission, and her External Tank (ET-129) during STS-126\u2019s ascent, very few items of TPS interest came back down to Earth with the orbiter.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/a36-300x146.jpg\")
Those that did, mainly relating to gap filler protrusions, did not suffer from any additional damage. On the mostpart, they simply folded back during the hi velocity and loading of re-entry. Engineers removed any gapfillers that were loose ahead of departure from Edwards Air Force Base.<\/p>\n
\u201cPort OMS pod gap filler protrusions: Gap fillers protrusion heights post-landing similar to on-orbit imagery. OMS pod gap fillers folded over due to airflow on entry. Suspect gap fillers removed as required for ferry flight,\u201d noted one example on the Ferry FRR presentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cTPS Anomalies: Rationale: All tile damages and gap filler protrusions have been dispositioned as acceptable for the Orbiter\u2019s trip back to Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also, during Endeavour\u2019s tow from the Edwards runway last weekend, the left hand outboard tire incurred a small puncture. The depth is uncertain, and the tire was not deflated, but engineers decided it would be the best option to change all four tires with roll around tires (RATs).<\/p>\n
She will be rolled from the SLF to her OPF on these replacement tires, where deservicing operations will continue, ahead of preparations for her next flight \u2013 STS-127.<\/p>\n
This article will be updated during Endeavour\u2019s Ferry trip back to Florida.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Click HERE to watch MaxQ\u2019s amazing STS-126 Review Video.<\/p>\n
L2 members<\/em><\/em>: All 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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) and Endeavour departed from Edwards Air Force Base on Wednesday, for a cross country ferry trip that will take in stops in Texas and Louisiana \u2013 subject to change due to weather \u2013 before arriving back in Florida on Friday. A flyover of the Johnson Space Center was completed around […]<\/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":[9208,9219,7935],"class_list":["post-41240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-ferry","tag-sts-126","tag-tps"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41240"}],"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=41240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41240\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cAmbient temperatures increased above 45 degrees F approximately 3 hours after powerdown. Heated purge air through Orbiter purge circuits remained on. No thruster leakage detected. Unlikely that thruster temperatures fell below the threshold of concern with the short time exposure and positive purge flow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although engineers won\u2019t know for sure if damage to vehicle systems was sustained during the powerdown, until she returns to KSC, a mitigation plan \u2013 relating to Fuel Cell 2 \u2013 was set up for her cross country ferry trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cDue to the sequence of events when main B bus lost power, fuel cell #2 was active while the coolant pump was off. This may have resulted in sustaining heater operation with a stagnant coolant loop and may have caused overtemp and partial decomposition of the FC-40 coolant,\u201d added the presentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cFuel cell #2 will be prepped for ferry flight as follows: 1) Fuel cell 2 will remain depressurized after PRSD detank. 2) No coolant sampling or deservicing at DFRF Coolant system will be evaluated when orbiter returns to KSC.<\/p>\n
\u201c3) Depressurize the water tanks to remove potential of water leakage back into fuel cell. 4) Water drain (freeze protection) procedure performed to re-pressurize the
\nwater tanks and to gravity drain water from FCP 2 prior to ferry flight. 5) Installed fuel cell reactant jumper assembly to maintain stable internal pressure during ferry flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Due to the impressive performance of Endeavour Thermal Protection System (TPS) during he mission, and her External Tank (ET-129) during STS-126\u2019s ascent, very few items of TPS interest came back down to Earth with the orbiter.<\/p>\n
Those that did, mainly relating to gap filler protrusions, did not suffer from any additional damage. On the mostpart, they simply folded back during the hi velocity and loading of re-entry. Engineers removed any gapfillers that were loose ahead of departure from Edwards Air Force Base.<\/p>\n
\u201cPort OMS pod gap filler protrusions: Gap fillers protrusion heights post-landing similar to on-orbit imagery. OMS pod gap fillers folded over due to airflow on entry. Suspect gap fillers removed as required for ferry flight,\u201d noted one example on the Ferry FRR presentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cTPS Anomalies: Rationale: All tile damages and gap filler protrusions have been dispositioned as acceptable for the Orbiter\u2019s trip back to Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also, during Endeavour\u2019s tow from the Edwards runway last weekend, the left hand outboard tire incurred a small puncture. The depth is uncertain, and the tire was not deflated, but engineers decided it would be the best option to change all four tires with roll around tires (RATs).<\/p>\n
She will be rolled from the SLF to her OPF on these replacement tires, where deservicing operations will continue, ahead of preparations for her next flight \u2013 STS-127.<\/p>\n
This article will be updated during Endeavour\u2019s Ferry trip back to Florida.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Click HERE to watch MaxQ\u2019s amazing STS-126 Review Video.<\/p>\n
L2 members<\/em><\/em>: All 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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) and Endeavour departed from Edwards Air Force Base on Wednesday, for a cross country ferry trip that will take in stops in Texas and Louisiana \u2013 subject to change due to weather \u2013 before arriving back in Florida on Friday. A flyover of the Johnson Space Center was completed around […]<\/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":[9208,9219,7935],"class_list":["post-41240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-ferry","tag-sts-126","tag-tps"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41240"}],"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=41240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41240\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}