As expected, the External Tank\u2019s PAL ramp will no longer fly on future Shuttle missions \u2013 as attention moves to the nearby Ice\/Frost ramp. <\/p>\n
While stating the May launch of Discovery on STS-121 is still \u201cvery viable,\u201d Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier stated NASA has to get the ETs \u201cright,\u201d to ensure a return to a \u201crepeatable flight sequence.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Getting it right will involve ensuring there isn\u2019t a repeat of the foam liberation that was once again seen on test flight STS-114 this past July.<\/font><\/p>\n Focusing on the areas where foam did shed, notably the PAL ramp, the decision has been taken to remove the wedge of foam \u2013 in place to protect a cable try of wires and pressure lines.<\/font><\/p>\n Computer testing \u2013 more advanced than previous methods \u2013 has shown that the ramp is surplus to requirements, with no detrimental effect to the ET from its removal. Testing in a wind tunnel will take a couple of weeks, starting in February, with the results expected to confirm the computer simulations a few weeks after testing.<\/font><\/p>\n However, following the PAL ramp modifications, the focus has been moved to the aptly named Ice\/Frost ramp. Given its interaction in the area of the PAL ramp, engineers are looking at a design modification. <\/font><\/p>\n Still, Gerstenmaier believes that May is still a viable date for the re-start of Shuttle operations, beginning with Discovery on STS-121 on what is still a 19 flight manifest \u2013 although budget restraints may reduce that number.<\/font><\/p>\n \u2018May is still very viable,\u2019 he said. \u2018We are looking at a 19 flight manifest, with an average of four flights a year, (although) we have some margin. <\/font><\/p>\n Space Shuttle (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n \u2018We need to get this (foam) right, so that it doesn\u2019t affect us down the road \u2013 so we can get into a repeatable flight sequence.\u2019 <\/font><\/p>\n Gerstenmaier did note a change to the ET order in the flight sequence, revealing that because of continuing testing on ET-120, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is expected to receive ET-119 for Discovery\u2019s STS-121 mission, while Atlantis will now gain ET-118 \u2013 as opposed to ET-120 \u2013 for her initial role as back up STS-300 for her sister.<\/font><\/p>\n Gerstenmaier ended on a positive note, as budget issues continue to hover over the head of the Shuttle program, claiming that despite the issues with modifying the External Tanks \u2013 of which he has personally headed up over the past number of months, 2004 has been a great year for the program.<\/font><\/p>\n \u2018This has been a great 2004 for the Shuttle and Station,\u2019 he said. \u2018It was so important that we flew STS-114 and everything worked great. <\/font><\/p>\n \u2018It showed me the teams are ready to get back to assembly (of the ISS). \u2018<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As expected, the External Tank\u2019s PAL ramp will no longer fly on future Shuttle missions \u2013 as attention moves to the nearby Ice\/Frost ramp. While stating the May launch of Discovery on STS-121 is still \u201cvery viable,\u201d Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier stated NASA has to get the ETs \u201cright,\u201d to ensure a […]<\/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-42209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42209"}],"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=42209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42209\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}