Countdown to the last launch of shuttle Discovery is under way at Kennedy Space Center today as NASA presses ahead with preparations for a late Wednesday afternoon liftoff at launch pad 39A.
Discovery and six astronauts are slated to blast off at 3:52 p.m. Wednesday, setting sail on an 11-day International Space Station outfitting mission. The astronauts will be hauling up a converted cargo carrier that will serve as a cylindrical storage unit on the U.S. side of the outpost. The module will be attached to the Earth-facing side of the U.S. Unity module, which was one of the first two station building blocks.
Engineers answered a Call To Stations at 1:30 p.m. in Firing Room 4 of the four-story Launch Control Center, and countdown clocks began ticking backward a half-hour later from the T-Minus 43-hour mark. There is about 31 hours of built-in hold time in the countdown -- breaks intended to enable engineers to catch up on pre-launch work or handle any problems that crop up in the countdown.
Final vehicle and facility closeouts are under way and engineers are checking out back-up flight systems. A review of flight software stored in the shuttle's mass memory units will be carried out overnight and the spaceships navigation systems will be activated.
The launch pad area will be cleared early tomorrow and engineers will test the shuttle's range safety system to ensure it would work properly if the shuttle veered out of control and threatened populated cities and towns surrounding the space center. The shuttle's twin solid rocket boosters are rigged up with small explosive devices that would enable range safety officials to deliberately destroy errant boosters by radio command.
Also on Monday: Engineers will begin loading liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the shuttle's fuel cell system. The chemical reactants are combined to generate the electricity that powers all spaceship systems.
The shuttle's rotating service structure will be back away from the vehicle at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and engineers will begin loading liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the shuttle's 15-story external tank at 6:27 a.m. Wednesday.
Discovery's astronauts will depart crew quarters in the Operations & Checkout Building at 12:02 p.m. and begin boarding the orbiter a half-hour later. The countdown will enter a final hold at 2:58 p.m. at the T Minus 9-minute mark. The countdown will resume at 3:43 p.m. with liftoff planned in the middle of a 10-minute launch window.
Discovery's crew is commanded by veteran astronaut Steve Lindsey. It includes pilot Eric Bow and four mission specialists: Michael Barratt, Alvin Drew, Tim Kopra and Nicole Stott. Stott is one of only three former KSC workers to ascend to the NASA Astronaut Corps and fly in space.
6 comments:
If Bush hadn't canceled the Shuttle program in 2005, it could have easily flown another 10 years.
I'm a Bush supporter and have lambasted everyone who said Bush cancelled the program, even though it's Obama who put the stamp on the death certificate. But I now realize that the process did start with Bush. He made it impossible for Obama to reverse his descision, which I guess Obama inquired about. What a shame.
Again.....Bush went along with the Columbia Accident Investigation Team (CAIB) that said the shutle should stop in 2010 unless a complete re-certifaction effort was completed. Given the cost, NASA pushed to close the program in 2010. Bush just went along with the experts.....
Obama could have reversed Bush's decision; but, he did not! I never hear of a country destroying its manned spaceflight capability without an alternative. Russia, China and India are laughing at our government's stupidity.
What's the point! "Russia, China and India are laughing at our government's stupidity." Stupidity doesn't have limits in American politics. It doesn't matter whether you're Republican or Democrat since there's a whole lot of other people making the decisions. The President is basically a Pawn delivering it to the public. If anyone believes that only Obama made the final decision to end the space program then you can join the Stupid crowd too. NASA administrators Bolden (a former astronaut) and Griffen also contributed to the final decision stating space exploration needed a different course meaning CHANGE. It was Bolden who boldly announced that his "Foremost Mission" is to improve relations with the Muslim world. Don't blame only Obama that educated men can't think for themselves. Brown-nosing still provides Bolden a decent paycheck After all the US is no longer capable of reaching beyond low earth orbit without help from other nations and space exploration is now a global collaboration.Former astronaut, John Glenn also thought NASA needed major changes.
With the recent fuel leaks problems we can only hope its not NASA'S final mission due to cutting corners & safety while employee morale is at the lowest as they face inevitable layoffs next year.
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