**The most comprehensive collection of Shuttle, Ares, Orion and ISS related presentations and mission documentation, plus expansive daily processing documentation and updates are available to download on L2<\/em><\/font> **<\/em><\/font><\/font><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n STS-120 build up of documentation in action on L2 \u2013 including major baseline presentations on orbiter and ET-120. Presentations and memos on the ET-120 repair status also available.<\/p>\n **LIVE news updates on Endeavour STS-118 Post Flight and STS-123 Processing**<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n **LIVE news updates on Atlantis STS-122 Processing**<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n **LIVE news updates on Discovery STS-120 Processing**<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n Over 1,200mb of Hi Res Extended Launch and Landing video now available to download from L2.<\/p>\n Article:<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n Initially, the tank looked like it was going to be clear to fly without any modifications. However, due diligence checks on the brackets on ET-120 (STS-120) and ET-125 (STS-122) \u2013 called after the foam liberation event during Endeavour\u2019s ride uphill during STS-118 \u2013 found \u2018linear indications\u2019 via X-Ray checks on the brackets<\/font>. <\/p>\n \u2018Decision made yesterday to repair Feedline brackets,\u2019 noted launch processing documentation on Friday. \u2018Preps and paper were completed last night. Three brackets will be repaired and potentially one more. <\/p>\n \u2018Removal of Closeout Foam and SLA will be in work today, with MAF is scheduled \u2018on-site\u2019 tomorrow (Saturday) to begin repairs on the Feedline Support Brackets. Analysis is in work on the 4th bracket.\u2019<\/p>\n That fourth bracket is also deemed to have \u2018linear indications,\u2019 and will be repaired. Meanwhile, at MAF, ET-125 \u2013 due to be completed for shipping at the end of the month \u2013 has one bracket on its 17in LO2 feedline bracket that showed similar indications, thus will also be repaired.<\/p>\n \u2018All five X-Rays were completed on the LO2 feedline. Preliminary results see a linear indication on stations 1129, 1377, 1623 and 1871. Station 1974 was nominal,\u2019 added a separate processing report on Friday morning. <\/p>\n A delay to the STS-120 stack rolling out to Pad 39A can be buffered by the two week advancement that was built in to clear space in the VAB High Bay 1 for the commencement of STS-122 stacking. HB1 the only available section of the VAB for shuttle stacking, due to maintenance being carried out on High Bay 3. <\/p>\n The latest rollout target for STS-120 was aimed at around September 16 \u2013 based on the September 9 rollover of Discovery into the VAB. This rollout date is earlier than required for pad processing, but allows an on time start for the build up of the STS-122 stack \u2013 with Atlantis\u2019 flight scheduled for December. Originally, STS-120 was set to rollout to the pad on September 13.<\/p>\n New information on Friday points to a change in the processing dates, with repairs completed by around September 3, Discovery rolling over to the VAB no earlier than September 18th \u2013 with rollout to Pad 39A delayed to September 25. Launch processing would still be able to make October 23.<\/p>\n This key issue of ensuring the VAB flow remains on track during processing for the two missions was emphasized by shuttle manager Wayne Hale, who found media reports pointing at a stand-down for the remainder of the year, as \u2018amusing\u2019. <\/p>\n \u2018Been amused to read press reports in last 36 hours on what Shuttle plans to do regarding next mission,\u2019 noted the minutes from Thursday\u2019s stand-up meeting. \u2018Everyone is working hard on determining what we need to do in the short\/long term. This story is still coming forward. Not appropriate to jump to a conclusion until we have data in front of us. <\/p>\n \u2018Have a fair amount of contingency time according to schedule. Will not have any of the team slow down their preparations for October 23 launch. Do have interesting implications to flight after that because of VAB situation. May need to make adjustments. Message to team is to keep working to dates on book so you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t become the long pole. Just give ET folks a few days to sort through recommendations. Will come to good conclusion and then send out schedules.\u2019<\/p>\n One potential solution is being looked at, involves moving STS-120\u2019s stacked boosters out of VAB High Bay 1 into High Bay 2, which is used as a Hurricane Protection Bay \u2013 in the event of an emergency rollback of a stacked shuttle from the pad. This would then allow the build-up of the STS-122 boosters while ET-120 was repaired. The two stacks could then switch positions when ET-120 was ready to be mated, if HB1 was the only bay still available.<\/p>\n ET-120 was originally set to fly on Discovery\u2019s RTF mission STS-114, until it was replaced by ET-121, following ECO (Engine Cut Off) sensor problems during tanking. Ironically, more sensor problems came to light with the tank just prior to its shipping back to KSC \u2013 which have since been resolved as ok to fly without replacement.<\/p>\n The tank was also at the center of the NASA decision to remove the PAL ramps from all tanks ahead of STS-121, after visible cracks were observed on ET-120\u2019s foam surface. The PAL ramps came into focus following a liberation event during STS-114, where a chunk of the ramp came loose during ascent.<\/p>\n Hale classes the tank as valuable due to the huge amount of data that is being gathered from successfully correcting the issues it\u2019s had, which can be applied to problems with future tanks.<\/p>\n \u2018Mr. Hale noted how valuable ET-120 is. Still continuing to learn from it. Confident will use it as a flight article,\u2019 added the Stand-up minutes from Thursday. \u2018This is a lesson for new programs on importance of taking hardware to flight condition to see performance. <\/p>\n Appreciate MAF Team; they\u2019ve shown resilience in face of technology\/material problems and keep working hard on every issue. He looks forward to seeing team at MAF tomorrow (Friday) and wants to tell them how much he appreciates their hard work. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s confident the bracket concern will be resolved and the tank will fly in the near future.\u2019<\/p>\n L2 members<\/font>: All documentation \u2013 from which the above article has quoted snippets \u2013 is available in full in the related L2 sections, updated live.<\/em><\/p>\n **STARLIGHT: NEW STS-117 MISSION REVIEW MUSIC VIDEO**<\/font><\/em><\/font> <\/em><\/font><\/p>\n **ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE: BRAND NEW STS-117 MISSION REVIEW MUSIC VIDEO \u2013 AS SEEN BY THE STS-117 CREW!!**<\/font> -. **NASASpaceflight.com Job Opportunities**<\/em><\/font> Technicians inside the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) have begun to repair four LO2 feedline brackets on External Tank (ET-120) \u2013 the tank that\u2019s set to fly with Discovery on STS-120 late October. A team of Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) engineers are also arriving at KSC on Saturday to oversee the repairs. Discovery can still make […]<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-41616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41616"}],"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=41616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41616\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}These indications imply a crack in the SLA (Super Lightweight Ablative) material in the brackets, leading to a NASA decision to repair the brackets, before mating operations with STS-120\u2019s twin Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) can take place.<\/p>\n
**Ride home through the fire, sparks and plasma of re-entry with Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour. FOUR Stunning high quality 2hr, 355-400mb Camcorder and HUD videos \u2013 from payload bay closure \u2013 through re-entry with a astronaut held camcorder video \u2013 to post landing \u2013 several more videos showing landing from 90,000 ft also available**<\/font><\/p>\n
<\/font>ET-120 has had an eventful life already, having been one of four ETs that were sent back to MAF in New Orleans from the Kennedy Space Center for modifications, following the loss of Columbia. <\/p>\n
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