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<\/p>\n NASA once again came up against a number of objections to flying ET-119 without further modifications to the Ice\/Frost ramp, during what Hale described as a \u2018spirited\u2019 discussion. However, the current rationale remains to proceed with one major change at a time. **MSFC Claim ET Unacceptable for flight, article**<\/p>\n <\/font><\/p>\n That major change came in the form of the PAL ramp, which has been removed following foam liberation from the ramp during STS-114\u2019s ascent last year. <\/font><\/p>\n \u2018Preparations for a Shuttle launch is an intensely technological thing, but also a supremely human thing,\u2019 said Hale in his opening remarks. <\/p>\n However, the Program as a whole are pressing ahead with the July launch target. <\/font><\/p>\n \u2018Today we gathered at the Kennedy Space Center with a large team from all around the Agency to do another review to make sure we\u2019re ready to go fly,\u2019 added Hale. \u2018I\u2019m pleased to announce that we have gone through (the DVR) and we have found no showstoppers, (and) we believe we have made significant improvements since last year in the elimination of many of the hazards from foam (loss). <\/font><\/p>\n Hale was referring to the continued loss of foam that will occur on launches. The key for NASA is reducing the size of the foam loss to a level that would insure that any foam loss that strikes the orbiter would not cause a breach along the same lines as the 1.6 lbs of foam that struck Columbia \u2013 which led to her eventual collapse and destruction on re-entry in 2003. <\/font><\/p>\n NASA mission patches (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n \u2018You\u2019re going to hear me say this over and over again as we get ready for flight, there will continue to be foam coming off the tank,\u2019 noted Hale. \u2018What we have done \u2013 in a very systematic manner \u2013 is eliminate the largest hazards.\u2019<\/p>\n As far as getting to the point in time where the External Tanks have reduced the next serious hazard area, the Ice\/Frost ramp, Hale noted it might take another six to eight flights before they have removed the need for foam in those areas along the side of the tank. <\/p>\n <\/font> NASASPACEFLIGHT.COM RSS FEED \u2014> <\/font><\/p>\n The next milestone for proceeding with the launch of Discovery is the ET Design Certification Review \u2013 where data will be presented to show that the tank will remain structurally sound through the ascent. <\/font><\/p>\n This process has been aided by the approval of making STS-121 a \u2018Low Q ascent profile\u2019 \u2013 which reduces the stress on the Shuttle through the early parts of the ascent. **Low Q article**<\/font><\/p>\n However, for now, the Shuttle Program remains buoyant that they will return to flight once again for what will be the second test mission, ahead of a return to regular mission operations during the final 17 launches of the Space Shuttle. <\/font><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018We have come to the conclusion that we have an acceptable risk posture to go fly,\u2019 Hale announced.<\/p>\n Further articles to follow\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n <\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A series of pre-launch landmarks remain, but Shuttle manager Wayne Hale is confident that all is going to plan for the launch of Shuttle Discovery on STS-121 in July. The Debris Verification Review \u2013 involving over 100 engineers \u2013 had been meeting at the Kennedy Space Center this week, discussing the modified External Tank\u2019s probability […]<\/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-42053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42053"}],"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=42053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42053\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/images.cafepress.com\/product\/50514821v5_150x150_B.jpg\")
Get your STS-121 mechandise and support this site at the same time. Full range can be viewed by clicking the image on the right.<\/em><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\nThe \u2018human thing\u2019 has been one of the key elements in the flow of getting Discovery to being just a month away from launch, given the protests against launching without dealing with the ice\/frost ramp modifications. <\/font><\/p>\n
<\/font>\u2018But one of the things I don\u2019t want to hear when I turn on my TV tonight is that we\u2019ve fixed the tank.\u2019 <\/font><\/p>\n
<\/em><\/font>STS-121 Mission T-Shirt. Use discount code \u2018nasaspaceflight\u2019 when ordering from Countdown Creations & receive 5% off!<\/p>\n
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<\/font><\/em><\/font>\u2018Next week we will be going to the External Tank Design Certification Review, and at that time we will find out from the structural analysis whether all of the aerodynamic changes have resulted in a situation where the structure will still hold together,\u2019 said Hale. <\/font><\/p>\n<\/em><\/font>
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