Kennedy Space Center teams are almost finished scanning the midsection of Discovery's external tank inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. A decision is expected Thursday afternoon on whether the tank needs to be modified before a flight now targeted for no earlier than Feb. 3.
Workers are using X-ray devices to scan 108 U-shaped support beams called "stringers" on the ridged "intertank," looking beneath insulating foam to see if any cracks have formed.
The work follows a Dec. 17 test that loaded and then drained chilled propellants from the 15-story tank to see how the stringers reacted as the tank's aluminum skin contracted and expanded.
Two cracked stringers were found after a Nov. 5 launch attempt that scrubbed.
No more cracks have been found since, but NASA ordered extensive tests because engineers weren't able to explain the cause of the first cracks. Small flaws in the manufacturing process are suspected.
Managers could decide reinforcing selected stringers would help prevent additional cracks that might compromise the tank structure or cause foam to shed and potentially strike orbiter heat shields.
IMAGE: Shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank was being worked on and examined in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 23. Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux.
16 comments:
Small flaws in the manufacturing process are suspected. - Possibly intentional sabotage to end the space program? Not a bad question to ask considering the risk & loss it could cause. Not to mentions the millions of lost taxpayers money funding this shoddy operation that our Space program has become lately.
GO SPACE X !!! Show these dimwits how space flights could advance by focusing towards a future & not living off the fumes of past. Staying productive is what NASA didn't do. Wasting millions became NASA's main focus. Glad to see NASA opening the door to people who will work to advance space flights in the future.
What a shame that Nasa is left with incompetent teams that can't do anything since the real engineers left. Someone needs to show the remaining workers how to fix this thing right to fly. For all those incompetent shuttle workers still milking the system don't forget those Apollo days are long gone. Good luck SpaceX. Show these washed up shuttle workers how its done & that it takes a lot more effort to run a successful space program than they've been doing the past decade.
You know, guys, your comments are really getting old. We get it, you don't respect NASA, you don't respect the team at KSC, you think government funded human spaceflight is a bloated high tech welfare program, blah, blah, blah. Can you give it a rest already. There are thousands of us out here who could give a rat's butt about your beef, whatever it is. All we want, as spaceflight enthusiasts, is to see what is going on with Shuttle program, get the inside line on repairs, etc. and your inane, relentless commentary is just a pain to wade through. So, before you embarass yourselves any further, how about putting a sock in it for awhile. Mmmmmm kay?
A friend of mine who should know says the tank is too old.
Go SpaceX? Come on, lets get real. SpaceX hasn't even reached the point where NASA was in 1961. If commercial space was easy or profitable don't you think everybody would be doing it?
NASA’s glory days are over after years of gross mismanagement and lack of leadership. NASA’s reputation was built on competence but their focus on our space program was defeated by overwhelming pride & ignorance.
Yeah, we all loved our space program until people like Bolden & Griffin gave into politics & forgot about focusing on their job. What ever happened to all those visionaries like the ones who started at NASA? Retired, moved on to private companies or were laid off? Kinda sad growing up watching it come this far & to see it go.
Just give them a chance Richard & they might surprise you in how far they can go. After all they have something to prove - that they can get further than NASA had. It took NASA many years to get this far & commercial companies need to be given the same opportunity to prove themselves. Better than handing our space program entirely over to China, Russia or Muslim countries. Commercial companies might be our last hope to save American space jobs in the future. Wouldn't want to see the shuttle with American astronauts with a Made in China logo on the side. Would you?
James Fletcher must be rolling in his grave. Heck, even Dick Truly did a better job than these bafoons Bolden and Griffin. I never thought I would miss Dan Goldin--the schmuck who killed the NASA worm I grew up with and loved--but he had a passion and he wanted to make NASA work. His cheaper, faster, better thing didn't work, but he gave it his all for the good of the program. Aside from O'Keefe's brief stint, it's been all politics. Maybe NASA should die. Or is it dead already?
In my opinion the USA Shuttle personnel did an excellent job of detecting the problem, repairing the damage, and ensuring it would not recur, although the loads are carried by many stringers and it's unlikely the cracks would have caused the tank to fail. Airliners often are discovered to have cracks of this size in inspections after flying with them for many cycles; in this case the problem was discovered and corrected before it left the ground. The Shuttles could certainly have flown safely for another 10 years; canceling the Shuttle program at this point was a major error.
No one said USA Shuttle personnel didn't do an excellent job of detecting the problem & repairing the damage but you have to wonder why there are suddenly so many problems & delays. Manufacturing flaws? Intentional maybe? Low employee esteem knowing space jobs are on their way out? Let's face it. There have been more problems with sudden fuel leaks, cracks in the foam, etc. ever since the layoffs began & the media announced the huge layoffs & end to the space program. Many of these negative comments are obviously written in by disgruntled laid off NASA workers who were recently laid off. Sad that they don't realize how fortunate they were having such jobs & the generous benefits they all received after being laid off. Not to mention the continued free education they have the opportunity to partake in to change their careers. Not too many employers provide such luxuries. Some ex-NASA workers just don't get it and are ungrateful as Hell. MAybe its time they get off that pedestal & come back to Earth from that ego trip.
Mr. Bolden's effort to lock in comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage for former astronauts, workers and their dependents has become one of the agency's top legislative priorities. Bolden's efforts to secure generous lifetime health benefits for former astronauts, laid off workers and himself are somewhat controversial since non government laid off workers don't qualify to receive the same benefits when they're laid off. Shows how government employees still only take care of their own while the rest of us are left without. And they still whine like spoiled brats. Maybe its best to end the space program & lay them all off after all the whining the news was broadcasting after the Oct. 1st United Space Alliance layoffs.
Word has it that the next round of layoffs at USA are coming on 7 January 2011. This will be a smaller personnel layoff than the subsequent 3 rounds of layoffs being planned in 2011. Employees have heard from management that there will probably be much larger layoffs in April, July, and September 2011. Upwards of 80% of the employees at JSC and KSC may well be gone by the time these layoffs conclude.
Heard pink slips are being passed out with moon pies in the next round of layoffs. Along with all the other added govt freebies these guys & gals get.
This is tired old story in tired old town with tired old people and a tired old space program.
Move along with your lives and move along if your looking for Government help. Face reality folks. The Space Program is washed up & over as we remember it from years ago. It's unfortunate, but I believe its something that needs to happen.
This also shows that the word, UNEMPLOYED, is not just the stereotype of people that don't want to work or people that have no skills to find work. People that were making $40k, $50k, $60k, & now $100k up....will be out-of-work, right along with people that made minimum wage.
We're all in this together....united we stand, divided we fall.
In today's world where money buys all elections there is no Democracy & the new Motto is "United We Fall".
America exist only in our memories, International Business Rules. All laid off aerospace workers can move to China, Russia or some Muslim country.
Watch your leader’s Charlie Bolden's Year-End Pep Talk (A whole lot of BS best describes it) & get over it. Collect your moon pies & leave quietly. Charlie wants to remind you not to forget to shut those lights on the way out the door & don’t forget to clean out the desks.
nasawatch.com/archives/2010/12/video-charlie-b.html
Anonymous 11:20 PM... Leads us to wonder how so many cracks got there in the first place. Kind of alarming if you ask me.
USA Shuttle personnel did an excellent job of detecting the problem - although they might have already known exactly where to look for the problem areas, if you get my drift.
If you think it's unlikely the cracks would have caused the tank to fail then lets see you volunteer to join the flight crew on this mission. Might be a one way trip.
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