{"id":41618,"date":"2007-08-23T20:42:09","date_gmt":"2007-08-23T12:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/endeavours-initial-tps-assessment-encouraging\/"},"modified":"2007-08-23T20:42:09","modified_gmt":"2007-08-23T12:42:09","slug":"endeavours-initial-tps-assessment-encouraging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/endeavours-initial-tps-assessment-encouraging\/","title":{"rendered":"Endeavour\u2019s initial TPS assessment encouraging"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Endeavour\u2019s opening Thermal Protection System (TPS) assessment shows a major reduction in the amount of \u2018hits\u2019 on her tiles and RCC panels, compared to Atlantis\u2019 flight \u2013 STS-117.\n<\/p>\n<p>  A full assessment is currently being conducted inside Endeavour\u2019s OPF-2 (Orbiter Processing Facility), to be compiled into a report after August 26. So far, Endeavour appears to be one of the \u201ccleanest\u201d post flight orbiter in recent history.\n<\/p>\n<p><em><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"129\" alt=\"\" hspace=\"5\" src=\"http:\/\/forum.nasaspaceflight.com\/forums\/get-attachment.asp?action=view&amp;attachmentid=13910\" width=\"600\" align=\"left\" vspace=\"5\" border=\"0\/\"><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>**The most comprehensive collection&nbsp;of&nbsp;Shuttle, Ares, Orion&nbsp;and ISS&nbsp;related presentations and mission documentation, plus expansive daily processing documentation and updates&nbsp;are&nbsp;<font color=\"#0000ff\"><em>available to download&nbsp;on L2<\/em><\/font><font color=\"#0000ff\"><em>&nbsp;**<\/em><\/font><em><font color=\"#ff0000\"><\/font><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Special STS-118 L2 Section continues with post flight documentation (over&nbsp;1,700mb of MMT level documentation already uploaded into the section&nbsp;\u2013 which includes processing memos, mission notes, videos, handbooks, checklists.)<\/p>\n<p>Re-live very special live updates of actual NASA&nbsp;mission notes direct from mission control, allowing you to follow the mission at the same time as NASA, along with real NASA\/USA engineers helping&nbsp;update and explain&nbsp;status live. All totally unavailable anywhere else on the net.<\/p>\n<p><em><font color=\"#0000ff\">**LIVE news updates on&nbsp;Endeavour&nbsp;STS-118 Post Flight and STS-123 Processing**<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><font color=\"#0000ff\">**LIVE news updates on Atlantis&nbsp;STS-122&nbsp;Processing**<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Spaceflight<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>NASA mission patches<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>NASA educational resources<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p><em><font color=\"#0000ff\">**LIVE news updates on Discovery&nbsp;STS-120&nbsp;Processing**<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Over 1,200mb of Hi Res Extended Launch and Landing video now available to download from L2.<\/p>\n<p><em><u>Article:<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The report was based on a runway assessment at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) \u2013 shortly after she landed at the end of her two week mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The data was used to collate a map of \u2018hits\u2019 on the orbiter into presentations (available on L2).<\/p>\n<p>While the number of \u2018major dimension\u2019 hits was slightly higher than seen on Atlantis after STS-117 \u2013 mainly relating to the multiple areas of tile damaged near the starboard Landing Gear Door \u2013 the total amount of \u2018lower surface\u2019 hits was much lower than observed on previous flights with parallel assessment charts. <\/p>\n<p>\u2018The Orbiter TPS sustained a total of 174 lower surface hits of which 30 had a major dimension of one inch or larger,\u2019 noted an assessment report. \u2018This number will change when we are able to do a close up hands on inspection. The hits on the windows and OMS pod tiles will be added for the final report.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>This is much lower than the 247 hits \u2013 rounded up to 292 hits \u2013 noted at the same time period after Atlantis had landed after STS-117 \u2013 a flight that was praised as another example of reduced lower TPS damage on a post flight orbiter.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"130\" alt=\"\" hspace=\"5\" src=\"http:\/\/forum.nasaspaceflight.com\/forums\/get-attachment.asp?action=view&amp;attachmentid=13815\" width=\"200\" align=\"left\" vspace=\"5\" border=\"0\/\"><font color=\"#0000ff\">**Ride home through the fire,&nbsp;sparks&nbsp;and plasma of re-entry with Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour. FOUR&nbsp;Stunning high quality&nbsp;2hr, 355-400mb Camcorder and HUD videos \u2013 from payload bay closure \u2013 through re-entry with a&nbsp;astronaut held camcorder video \u2013&nbsp;to post landing \u2013 several more videos showing landing from 90,000 ft also available**<\/font><\/p>\n<p>Some of the hits can occur as the orbiter is rolling out on the runway, picking up any small pieces of debris on the strip, after touching down at around 200 miles per hour. While the runway at the SLF is thoroughly checked before the orbiter lands, a post landing walkdown is also conducted.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018A post landing walk-down of the runway was performed. The only flight hardware found was a TCS strap. All components of the drag chute were recovered. The drag chute hardware and components appeared to have functioned normally. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"122\" alt=\"\" hspace=\"5\" src=\"http:\/\/forum.nasaspaceflight.com\/forums\/get-attachment.asp?action=view&amp;attachmentid=29280\" width=\"155\" align=\"left\" vspace=\"5\" border=\"0\/\">\u2018Both reefing and line cutter pyrotechnic devices were expended,\u2019 added the report, before highlighting what may have been a minor issue with the drag chute.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Both reefing lines were still attached to the main chute. One line had been tied off to a ring and did not separate. The other line did not fully cut even though the pyro cutter had fired,\u2019 the report noted, before confirming that, \u2018the remaining drag chute components and hardware appeared to have functioned nominally.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Every other element of post landing on the orbiter appears to have worked as planned, confirming the visually successful landing of Endeavour on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Tire material loss on the main landing gear and nose landing gear tires was nominal,\u2019 the report added. \u2018The main landing gear door corner tiles did not have any chips. The RH (Right Hand) nose landing gear door had a 2\u201d x 0.5\u201d chip off the side of a tile.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The LH (Left Hand) and RH ET\/Orbiter umbilical pyros appeared nominal. There did not appear to be any umbilical plate warping. The orbiter nose cap, LH RCC (Reinforced Carbon Carbon), and RH RCC panels all appeared to be in nominal condition.<\/p>\n<p>The SSME DMHS (Dome Mounted Heat Shield) blankets all appeared to be in excellent condition, with a very low amount of fraying. The base heat shield tiles had very little damage between the engines, especially as compared to STS-117.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There were small damages to two of the tiles on the underside of the vertical stabilizer. This is most likely drag chute induced tile damage. The rudder speed brake trailing edge did not appear to have any tile damage. Windows 3, 4, and 5 appeared to have some hazing on them. Windows 4 and 5 each appeared to have a small streak on the surface.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Endeavour \u2013 now back inside OPF-2 and undergoing a level of post flight deservicing \u2013 has an <font color=\"#0000ff\">extended processing flow ahead of STS-123 in February 2007<\/font>. <\/p>\n<p>Worst case fears that up to 12 weeks of that flow would be on repairing her structure under the gouge in her TPS have been completely dismissed, after engineers took a close look at the cavity last night.<\/p>\n<p>The red filler bar, made of Nomex felt, appears to be untouched by the heat of re-entry, with one engineer noting that it appears to have \u2018a bit of soot\u2019 on it, requiring a \u2018wipe down with a cloth\u2019 \u2013 a far cry from the extensive processing repairs that were noted as one scenario of not carrying out an EVA repair during STS-118. A full evaluation will take place once TPS engineers remove all the tiles from the area.<\/p>\n<p><font color=\"#0000ff\"><em>**CLICK HERE FOR ALL NINE ARTICLES ON ENDEAVOUR\u2019S TPS Damage**<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n<p>Post flight processing will continue inside the OPF for a few days, which includes initial preparations for Aft access via vent plug installations, SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine) bearing purge, potable water sampling, PRSD (Power Reactant Storage and Distribution) cryogenic offload and the continued post flight inspections.<\/p>\n<p><em><font color=\"#0000ff\">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<p><font face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"60\" alt=\"\" hspace=\"5\" src=\"http:\/\/forum.nasaspaceflight.com\/forums\/get-attachment.asp?action=view&amp;attachmentid=12993\" width=\"468\" align=\"left\" vspace=\"5\" border=\"0\/\"><\/font><\/p>\n<p><em><font face=\"Arial\" color=\"#0000ff\" size=\"2\">**STARLIGHT: NEW STS-117 MISSION&nbsp;REVIEW&nbsp;MUSIC&nbsp;VIDEO**<\/font><\/em><font face=\"Arial\"><\/font><font size=\"2\"><em> <\/em><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font color=\"#ff0000\">**ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE: BRAND NEW STS-117 MISSION&nbsp;REVIEW&nbsp;MUSIC&nbsp;VIDEO \u2013 AS SEEN BY THE STS-117 CREW!!**<\/font>&nbsp;-.<br \/><font size=\"1\">(<em>Video section is FREE, but you need to sign up as a member of the forum to enter the video section of the site. We only use your e-mail to send you your password. It will not be used for spam etc.)<\/em><\/font><em><\/em><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\"><em>**NASASpaceflight.com Job Opportunities**<\/em><\/font><em><font face=\"Arial\" size=\"2\">&nbsp;<br \/><\/font><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Endeavour\u2019s opening Thermal Protection System (TPS) assessment shows a major reduction in the amount of \u2018hits\u2019 on her tiles and RCC panels, compared to Atlantis\u2019 flight \u2013 STS-117. A full assessment is currently being conducted inside Endeavour\u2019s OPF-2 (Orbiter Processing Facility), to be compiled into a report after August 26. So far, Endeavour appears to [&hellip;]<\/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-41618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41618"}],"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=41618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41618\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}