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The Spaceflight Thread

Started by Hog, October 26, 2017, 06:07:02 AM


Hog

Here is Boeings new Crew Vehicle named Starliner, which will soon deliver Astronauts to and from the ISS. This is one of two selected vehicles, the other is the Space Exploration Drangon-2 which will be launched via their Falcon rocket.

These 2 vehicles will finally rid ourselves of reliance on Russian spacecraft with the pricetag of US$77 million per seat.  The day the Shuttle was retired, the price of Soyuz seats to ISS magically doubled in price.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=84&v=kLPiSapL33Y


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc0Nzb9p5VI


Both vehicles are funded under the NASA Commercial Crew Program(CCP).  This is a similar commercial program that supplies ISS from US soil. The Commercial Resupply Service has been operating for years now.  Space Xs Dragon craft and Falcon 9 rocket which launches from Cape Canaveral AirForce Station Space Launch Complex 40 is used as well as the Orbital Sciences Cygnus craft and Antares rockets launch from Wallops in West Virginia.

So far Space X has been contracted for 20 resupply missions and Orbital for 10.  There is still the Russian Progress resupply vehicle, the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle, Japan JAXA offers up its H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), also called Kounotori.  While Canadas CANADARM-2, the mobile base system, and DEXTRE(Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator) are our major contributions.

These contributions have secured a further 2 Long Duration flights to ISS for our3rd and 4th newest Canadian Astronauts.
David Saint-Jacques November 2018 to join an international crew onboard the orbiting laboratory. Expedition 58/59 will be the first mission for David Saint-Jacques and will mark the 17th space flight for the Canadian Astronaut Corps.
After that, Jeremy Hansen will be on another Long Duration

Jennifer Anne MacKinnon Sidey (born August 3, 1988) and Joshua Kutryk (March 21, 1982) Test pilot, fighter pilot, engineer, lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force were both selected as Astronaut Candidates on July 1, 2017.  Both are part of the Canadian Space Agency's 2017 Astronaut Group which will be part of the NASA Astronaut Group 22 nicknamed "the Turtles".  Its a long standing tradition for each Astronaut class to get a nickname.  This goes all the way back to the original NASA class, Group-One-"The Mercury Seven" from 1979.

Julie Payette, who is now Canadas Governor General and Commander-in-Chief.  When Julie flew on STS-127 to the ISS, another Canadian Robert Thirsk was serving aboard ISS when the Shuttle-Endeavour was docked.  This was the first time that two Canadians were simultaneously in space.

She retired in 2013 leaving only Chris Hadfield, who flew as ISS Commander during Expedition 34-34, the first time since the ISS's existence that it has NOT been commanded by either an American or Russian.  Though he arrived at ISS aboard the Russian Soyuz space vehicle after launching on December 17, 2012, his command didn't begin until the previous Expedition 34 members undocked from the ISS before deorbiting to Earth. On May 12, 2013 he handed command over before he, and the 2 other Astronauts, boarded their Soyuz capsule and deorbited to Earth the next day.  He had flown aboard shuttle Atlantis in 1995 where he visited the Russian Space Station -Mir. 
He then flew aboard Endeavour during STS-100 where he helped deliver and set up the brand new CANADARM-2 to the ISS.  Over his two spacewalks during that mission Hadfield spent 14 hours, 50 minutes outside, travelling 10 times around the world during his spacewalk.  He also had a Long Duration mission aboard ISS
Hadfield retired from the CSA effective July 3. 2013.

That leaves  David St. Jacques and Jeremy Hansen, both of which are active Astronauts and Jennifer Sidey and Joshua Kutryk who are Astronaut Candidates leaving the Canadian Astronaut Corps at 4. As of May 2017 the US NASA Astronaut corps has 44 active astronauts

Jeremy Hansen


David St. Jacques


Candidate Jennifer Sidey


Candidate Joshua Kutryk



After completing the Astronaut training in Texas, Sidey Kutryk, which takes 2 years to complete, they too will graduate from Astronaut Candidate(ASCAN).

peace
Hog

Hog

Space Launch System EM-1 mission video.  The most complete video I have seen yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcPtQYalkcs

peace
Hog

Jackstar

Quote from: Hog on November 27, 2017, 02:09:07 PM
As of May 2017 the US NASA Astronaut corps has 44 active astronauts

Jeremy Hansen


David St. Jacques


Candidate Jennifer Sidey


Candidate Joshua Kutryk



So, how many out of this batch are Freemasons?

Hog

Quote from: Jackstar on November 30, 2017, 11:01:05 PM

So, how many out of this batch are Freemasons?

We were allotted 3 in this batch, as per the Bilderburg Groups orders.

peace
Hog

Dr. MD MD

Quote from: Hog on December 04, 2017, 09:05:02 AM
We were allotted 3 in this batch, as per the Bilderburg Groups orders.

peace
Hog

There's really only evidence of two based on the photographs.  ::)

Gd5150

Cool docu on Voyager 1 & 2. Can be seen on Netflix, YouTube. Check it out.

https://youtu.be/VwT3QgKORuQ

Hog

Thanks 5150, its amazing that Voyager 1 is now outside of the influence on the Solar System having been confirmed to have entered interstellar space August 25, 2012, 
On November 22, 2017 Voyager 1 was approx. 13,000,000,000 (13 billion)miles away from the Sun,having operated for 40 years, 3 months and 1 day as of December 6, 2017.
Signals from Voyager-1 take 19 hours to reach Earth.

If I am a lucky man, I'll outlive the Voyagers useful mission(2025ish) if I'm a VERY lucky man, I'll see, or at least have someone point me towards Halley's Comet on its next trajectory towards the Sun on July-August 2061.  Here's to wishing anyways.  Halleys Comet is special, it is the ONLY short period comet (a comet with a period less than 200 years) that can be seen from Earth with the naked eye.  I remember it in early 1986, just after STS-51L Challenger broke up on Jan. 28, 1986, but just before Chernobyl exploded and melted down on April 26, 1986, with my 10th birthday sat squarely in between those dates.  During the Challenger incident, I remember going outside and looking up in the sky trying to see the trails left in the sky.  I climbed up on top of the huge snow piles that the loader would pile on our property as it cleared our laneway in Winter, but no matter which way I looked, I couldn't see the plumes, or any debris.  I didn't clue into the fact
that as I was watching NASA Select Live feed on a 10 foot C-Band satellite dish and Toshiba TRX-100 receiver, and that the live video showed absolutely no snow, while outside my house, there were naturally blown snow drifts, big enough that my Brother and I could tunnel into and play inside
.  Oh how simple the world was through the eyes, and in the mind of a boy living his 10th year. And some 30+ years later, as I am calculating the distance from my house to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Centers Lunch Complex-39-B, it should be noted that this STS-51L Challenger launch was the 1st Shuttle launch from  the brand new LC-39-B pad. All others previously were from LC-39-A just a short ways away.  The bad luck of 39-B was erased with the successful Return-To-Flight(RTF) of STS-26 almost 3 years later on September 29, 1988 with Orbiter Vehicle(OV) OV-103-Atlantis launching successfully from LC-39-B.  I discover as I am using the Latitude and Longitude of Woodstock Ontario Canada, and LC-39-B and I find out that the launch pad is 1615km, 1003 statute miles or 872 nautical miles away. This wasn't surprising to me or a source of astonishment to my 40+ year old mind, what was sort of cool, is that the launch Complex 39-A and 39-B are almost 180º due South from my house, the Launch Pads are literally less that 0.1º due South from my front step.   Well who'da thunk!  At least when I was 9 years old, I was looking in the correct direction for the Challenger plumes, there was just 1000milesa whole of terra firma between my eyes and Florida.

Here's a pic of the 10th and last Solid Rocket Booster(SRB) segment for the pair of SRBs due at KSC next November for stacking and launch at the end of the decade.


And here are the 2 SRB bells


These are the most powerful engines ever made by humans and will provide thrust approaching 8 million pounds.

The segments are moved by rail from Utah to Florida, lets hope this doesn't happen again, or again and again.(its happened twice)


Here is a pic of ARES-1 aka "the Stick" aka Crew Launch Vehicle.its a SRB with a crew module on top  This was the result of the Columbia Accident Investigation Boards recommendations for NASA to separate its crewed and cargo operations for safety.  Humans would be launched on the stick, while the cargo would be launched upon Ares-5(very similar to the SLS rocket) 
It launched once, crewless., before the Constellation Project was cancelled under Obama, President Bush cancelled Shuttle back in 2004 in his Vision for Space Exploration. https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/55583main_vision_space_exploration2.pdf

Here's is 2 SRBs riding on an MLP(Mobile Launch Platform) being moved by a CT(Crawler Transporter)


Here's the 2009 Ares 1 Launch from T-2:40 seconds.  Notice that the stick launches from the same Mobile Launch Platform that was actually launching Shuttles. Remember Shuttle was retired in 2011, this is a 2009 launch.  STS(Space Transportation System aka Space Shuttle Program(SSP) was still in action.
This launch of Ares-1X uses a 5 segment SRB 1st stage just as the new SLS rocket will, save for SLS using 2 5 segment SRBs at once.

At T- 15 seconds or at about video clock of 2:20 there is an excellent shot downwards at the Mobile Launch Platform(MLP) which is carried to and from the Vehicle Assembly Building(VAB) some 4 miles away by one of the 2 Crawler Transporter(CT) vehicles. When the Sound Suppression Water System is activated at T-15 seconds, you can actually see the flame trenches which would be covered by the other SRB as well as the Shuttles 3 Main Engines.  Once they turn on the water, you can hear a high pitched "swishy" sound 2:23-2:24 of the video, that's the water actually displacing air in the nozzles of the SSWS.

0- Mach 1 in less than 45 seconds, almost straight up. 

Talk about balancing a yardstick on your fingertip!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQvl0pY8GkM

peace
Hog

Hog

A couple more pics and description.

Here's is 2 SRBs riding on an MLP(Mobile Launch Platform) being moved by a CT(Crawler Transporter).  These were part of the CT/MLP/SRB vibration tests that occurred prior to the STS mission STS-114 following the STS-107 Columbia breakup.  The Crawler Transporters can reach 2.5 mph without flight hardware, when loaded they top out at 1mph.  The entire MLP is kept perfectly level even when climbing the ramps (5% grade, there is 5 feet of rise for every 100 feet of horizontal distance) up to the launch pads.


Different angle


And the same hardware carrying a Saturn-V rocket back in May 25, 1966.  Notice that the sign mention a 3rd LC-39-C launch pad, while there were plans for the 3rd launch pad for Saturn-1 and Saturn-V rockets, the 3rd site, LC39-C, was never developed.


And carrying Discovery for her 2nd RTF mission.  Discovery was used for both the Space Shuttle Programs 1st RTF mission STS-26 in 1988 after Challenger was destroyed, and for the 2nd RTF mission STS-114 which launched July 26 2005 after Columbia was destroyed during re-entry of STS-107.


Each Crawler Transporter was purchased for $14 million each and are affectionately referred to as "Hans & Franz" from the Saturday Night Live skit with body builder/strongmen Hans and Franz.  They have a combined mileage of over 3400 miles since their delivery back in 1965.

Closeup of a single track, there are 8 tracks per Crawler Transporter, 2 at each corner.  Each track consists of 57 "shoes" with each "shoe" weighing just under a ton.  Fuel economy  is about 126 gallons per mile, and they have a 5,000 gallon fuel tank.
These 2 beasts were added to National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 2000. They are literally 2 MOVING pieces of nationally recognized American history.


And here is an interesting bit.  As noted above, approx. 15 seconds before liftoff, the Sound Suppression Water System(SSWS) is activated.  Here is a test of that system before the Ares launch. During STS-1, or the very first launch of the Space Shuttle, the massive acoustical energy that was produced by the 3 Space Shuttle Main Engines(SSME) and the 2 Solid Rocket Boosters(SRB) was strong enough to cause the Body Flap which is located at the aft of the Orbiter Vehicle, just under the 3 SSME bells. This Body Flap is used for a certain amount of aerodynamic control and to protect the engine nozzles from thermal damage during re-entry.  Since the SSMEs are not in use during re-entry, the cooling liquid Hydrogen only flows through the engine nozzles while they are in operation so during re-entry there is no cooling for the engine nozzles.  The body flap experiences some of the highest heating temperatures  that occur during re-entry.  The nose cap, parts of the wings leading edges and the underside of the Orbiter.
Here is a side view of the aft of an Orbiter, you can see the Body Flap located below the engine nozzles.  It is hinged and its pitch can be changed during the gliding re-entry.


A beautiful shot of OV-103 Discovery as it performs the brand new, RPM or Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver in order to identify any breaches in the Orbiters Thermal Protection System(TPS) as early in the mission timeline as possible.  The gray nosecap, grey leading edges of the wings are made of Reinforced Carbon-Carbon(RCC) and will withstand temps of 1,510 °C (2,750 °F) created during re-entry.


To perform the RPM, the Orbiters approach towards the ISS is stopped, then they command the orbiters Reaction Control System(RCS) to make the Orbiter do a backflip beside the ISS.  Through windows, 2 Astronauts use high definition cameras to document the entire Orbiters Thermal Protection system.  these images are then downloaded down to Earth where engineers look for breaches in the TPS.  Then the Orbiter docked to the ISS.
Liquid Oxygen(LOx) which liquefies/boils at -183ºC/-297ºF and liquid Hydrogen(LH2) which boils at -253ºC/-423ºF. 

if the ET wasn't insulated, there would be a buildup of different forms of ice, water ice, Oxygen ice etc.  Unlike the Apollo era where you see hundreds of pounds of ice falling off the rocket during launch, this is absolutely must be avoided as the entire surface of the Orbiters belly is a heat shield and cannot be damaged by anything whatsoever.


Before and after its visit to the ISS, the Orbiters  perform an inspection using the 50 feet long Orbiter Boom Sensor System(OBSS) which attaches to the Remote Manipulator System(RMS aka CANADArm) and doubles the arms reach out to 100feet and allows the entire TPS to be imaged via laser imaging, both top and bottom. This ensures that any micro meteors didn't damage the TPS at all while she was docked to ISS.

Intense launch imaging from the ground during launch, and the RPM and OBSS imaging done as soon as possible gives NASA as much time as they could have just in case there was damage to the TPS, thus maximizing the time required to implement a fix.  These 2 inspections using the OBSS are referred to as the "early" inspection, done soon after attaining orbit.  They late OBSS inspection is performed just before the Shuttle performed the de-orbit burn which slows the Orbiter just enough to begin to fall into the Earth atmosphere when she is turned around facing forward, with her nose high, while performing roll reversals in order to bleed off energy(velocity) before landing

peace
Hog

Hog

And the next 3 Astro and Cosmo- noauts for Expedition 54-55 are on orbit, ready to dock with ISS. Soyuz MS-07 was successfully launched at around 02:21hrs Eastern.

Vid of launch just few hours ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5BD8mLa0Nk

peace
Hog


Hog

15 years ago today, the crew of STS-107 Columbia broke up above Texas during reentry killing her crew of 7.

Husband
McCool
Brown
Chawla
Anderson
Clark
Ramon(Israeli Astronaut)

This incident led to the nations largest recovery effort, in which there were further deaths due to a helicopter crash.
This incident was the final nail in coffin to the Space Shuttle program which was retired in July of 2011 with the final mission STS-135.

This past Jan 28, 2018 marked the 32 year aniversary of the STS-51-L incident where shuttle Challenger broke up 73 seconds after liftoff killing all 7 of her crew including civilian/teacher Christa McAuliffe.
Scobee
Smith
Onizuka
Resnik
McNair
Jarvis
McAuliffe (1st Teacher in Space)

January 27, 2018 also marked the 51st anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire which killed the crew of three during a "plugs out" test of the Apollo crew capsule.

White
Grissom
Chaffee

Plus the following Astronauts killed during training or other spaceflight related incident:

Theodore Freeman T-38 crash 1963
Elliot See and  Charles Basset T-38 crash 1966
Clifton Williams T-38 crash 1967
Michael Adams-X-15 crash 1967
Robert Lawrence-F-104 ejection, MOL candidate, 1967
M.L "Sonny" Carter Flight 2311 crash-travelling on NASA business 1991, flew on STS-33 was training for STS-42

Plus the 7 American space workers killed by rocket explosions on:

-April 14, 1964 (3 killed KSC)
-September 7, 1990(1 killed when the bottom section of a Delta IV rocket broke free Alan M. Quimby, 27, a civilian employee of Wyle Laboratories, was killed and 9 others were injured)
-July 26, 2007 Mojave Desert (3 people killed Explosion during a test of rocket systems by Scaled Composites during a nitrous oxide injector test)

And the 14 other American workers that were killed on:

-May 16, 1964-Kennedy Space Center(KSC), Florida supporting the Apollo-4 mission-Pad worker William B. Estes, 46, was killed while hooking up an 8-inch (20 cm) high-pressure water line to the mobile service structure on Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, which should not have been pressurized at the time. The cap blew off with 180 psi pressure, striking him in the chest.
-March 19, 1981-KSC, Florida-Space Transportation System(Space Shuttle) support for STS-1-Columbia-3 attributed deaths- Anoxia due to nitrogen atmosphere in the aft engine compartment of Columbia during a countdown demonstration test for STS-1. Five workers were involved in the incident. John Bjornstad died at the scene; Forrest Cole went into a coma and died two weeks later, and Nick Mullon died 14 years later from complications of injuries sustained.
-May 5, 1981-KSC, Florida-shuttle Columbia-supporting STS-2-Construction worker Anthony E. Hill, 22, fell more than 100 feet (30 m) from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B service structure. Workers were preparing LC-39B for a planned September 1981 launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
-December 4, 1985-Vandenberg Air Force Base, California-in preparation for the 1st launch of the Space Shuttle from California
-May 4, 1988-Henderson, Nevada-Solid Propellant for Space Shuttle Boosters-2 killed-PEPCON disaster, explosion of a factory that produced ammonium perchlorate for solid-fuel rocket boosters of the Space Shuttle and other launchers.
-Dec 22, 1989-Cape Canaveral, Florida-A worker refurbishing the 11th level of the Cape Canaveral, Atlas Launch Complex 36B launch tower, was killed when an air hose he was using was caught by the pad elevator. The hose wrapped around the worker and pulled him into the elevator shaft, crushing him. The pad was being refurbished for commercial satellite launches by General Dynamics starting in 1990
-July 8, 2001-Cape Canaveral, Florida-Worker disconnecting a coupling on a temporary pipe used to purge a liquid oxygen system near Launch Complex 37. Unexpected buildup of pressure caused the coupling to break loose and strike the employee in the head
-October 1st, 2001-Cape Canaveral, Florida Crane operator Bill Brooks was killed in an industrial accident at Launch Complex 37.
-May 5, 2010-Redstone Arsenal, USA-   Ammonium perchlorate explosion in a solid rocket fuel test area killed 2 workers.
-March 14, 2011-KSC, Florida-Space Shuttle-A person working as a swing-arm contractor fell to his death during preparations for a Space Shuttle mission

NASAs Day of Remembrance was held on Jan 25, 2018.

May they all RIP.

peace
Hog


Hog

Polar orbit launches from California(to the South) were scrapped after 4 billion dollars had already been spent at Space Launch Complex-6(SLC-6).  The Challenger incident had a huge impact on the direction of the Space Shuttle Program.  There was already a launch from Vandenberg scheduled in 1986, though few beleived that the launch site would have been ready in 1986.  The scheduled mission was STS-62-A.  (62-A, meant: 6=fiscal year 1986, 2=Vandenberg (1=Kennedy Space Center), and A=first flight in that fiscal year)

Here is a picture of space shuttle Orbiter Vehicle(OV-101) Enterprise, being used for various checkouts at the launch facility at Space Launch Facility-6 (SLC-6 pronounced "Slick-Six"). 



Enterprise was used for the Approach and Landing missions to study just how the Orbiter Vehicles would react during the unpowered gliding that was required from orbit until it landed. No engines during approach and landing, so no go-arounds, no second chances at landing.  These tests were conducted after Enterprise was "launched" from atop a diving modified 747 aircraft known as a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft(SCA). The SCAs in addition to the ALT tests program, were used to transport the Shuttles from the various Shuttle Landing Facilities back to KSC for processing and relaunch.

Here on August 12 1977, we have Enterprise moments after being released from the diving SCA-905 747 during Approach and Landing Test-12(ALT-12). This was the first actual free-flight for Enterprise  with Fred Haise as Commander and Gordon Fullerton as Pilot for ALT-12.
3 runway taxi tests: ALT-1 through ALT-3(atop of the SCA),
5 captive/inert flights:-ALT-4 through ATL-8
3 captive/active flights ATL-9 through ALT-11
5 actual free flights: ALT-12 though ALT-16

Here is a Shuttle and Shuttle Carrier Aircraft being backed out of the MDD before flight.


The metal structure that is lifting the Shuttle is the 11 story tall Mate-Demate Device(MDD). There are "devices" used for stacking and unstacking the Shuttles on and off the 2 SCA(SCA-911 and SCA-905) One was located at the Shuttle Landing Facility(SLF) at KSC Florida. The KSC SLF is 15,000 feet long, 300 feet wide and the pavement is 16 inches thick.  The Shuttle Landing Facility is also known as the Gator Tanning Facility(GTF) as some of the 4000 Alligators that make KSC home often bask in the Sun when the SLF isn't in use.  The landing facility is managed by contractor EG&G, which provides air traffic control services, as well as managing potential hazards to landing aircraft, such as bird life. The Bird Team kept the facility clear of both local and migratory birds during shuttle landings using pyrotechnics, blank rounds fired from shotguns and a series of 25 propane cannons arranged around the facility

Here is shuttle Atlantis being loaded atop SCA-911 at the Dryden Flight Research Center located on Edwards Airforce Base(AFB), Edwards California follwing the landing of STS-44 on December 1st, 1991.  This is the 2nd MDD that was used.


The 3rd Shuttle lifting device, this time called an Orbiter Lifting Fixture(OLF) which  was located at the Vandenberg SLC-6 but after the 1986 Challenger incident, it was decided that the Shuttle would not perform Polar orbits to the South from Vandenberg(or any Shuttle launch for that matter) and the OLF was moved to the birth place of the Orbiter Vehicles at Palmdale California at Plant-42. When the Orbiters came back to Palmdale for the Orbiter Maintenance Down Period(OMDP) which was basically scheduled upgrading/maintenance of each Shuttle, this fixture was used for Orbiter/SCA stacking/destacking.
OLF device at Palmdale Cali.

There was a 4th device was a Mobile Mate Demate Device(MMDD).  It was transportable so it could be easily flown to wherever it was needed to lift a Shuttle onto a SCA. If a Transoceanic Abort Landing(aka Trans Atlantic Landing) where the Shuttle was forced to land beyond a point where it could Return To Launch Site(Abort-RTLS), there were suitable landing sites in the UK, Spain and Portugal where the Shuttle could land, in fact NASA sent teams and equipment to each site 2-3 days before each launch

Here is the rear of the Mobile Mate Demate Device attached to Enterprise.


And here is the MMDD with 2 large cranes used to raise/lower the MMDD/Shuttle. The actual MMDD is the yellow "frame" part on the ground.


And here is a new exploration Mission #1 video, which probably wont fly until mid 2020, maybe even later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrf8zhxd2rY

peace
Hog

GravitySucks

Thanks for the nod to the past programs Hog.

Those flight numbering systems were developed to keep from having an STS-13. Remember that Apollo 13 had a major malfunction.

They were a pain in the ass. The letter designation was used as PLANNED flight for a given fiscal year. They weren’t changed if flights got rearranged or if it slipped into another fiscal year.
(All planned/launched from KSC)
61-B - 11/85
61-A - 1/86
51-L - 1/86
STS-27 9/88 *

* after Challenger and the elimination of Vandenberg (and the realization that noone knew what to do once we got up to FY90 and numbers would eventually repeat)

The mission numbers were assigned based on the original planning. Once a flight was planned, it wasn’t renumbered. STS-41D had a failed launch attempt, they changed out some of the payloads and launched it later that year, still as 41-D).

This wasn’t just because it would be expensive to redesign mission patches. It tied to configuration management. We approved haddware and soctware changes usually by planned flight. Such as STS-41D and subs, or STS-41D Only.  Sometimes they were approved by vehicle such as Next flight of Atlantis and Subs). Hardware changes were usually vehicle unique. Software changes were usually based on a date when they could be available in the FSW and most of them affected all vehicles.

There were always exceptions because each vehicle was unique.

It got really complicated when we had to upgrade the orbiters from analog instruments to the electronic cockpit. We had 3 simulators (only one motion base)and 4 orbiters, and had to plan on how to train, upgrade and fly a mixed fleet.

GravitySucks

Quote from: GravitySucks on February 01, 2018, 05:20:39 PM
Thanks for the nod to the past programs Hog.

Those flight numbering systems were developed to keep from having an STS-13. Remember that Apollo 13 had a major malfunction.

They were a pain in the ass. The letter designation was used as PLANNED flight for a given fiscal year. They weren’t changed if flights got rearranged or if it slipped into another fiscal year.
(All planned/launched from KSC)
61-A - 10/85
61-B - 11/85
61-C - 1/86
51-L - 1/86
STS-26 - 9/88 *

* after Challenger and the elimination of Vandenberg (and the realization that noone knew what to do once we got up to FY90 and numbers would eventually repeat)

The mission numbers were assigned based on the original planning. Once a flight was planned, it wasn’t renumbered. STS-41D had a failed launch attempt, they changed out some of the payloads and launched it later that year, still as 41-D).

This wasn’t just because it would be expensive to redesign mission patches. It tied to configuration management. We approved haddware and soctware changes usually by planned flight. Such as STS-41D and subs, or STS-41D Only.  Sometimes they were approved by vehicle such as Next flight of Atlantis and Subs). Hardware changes were usually vehicle unique. Software changes were usually based on a date when they could be available in the FSW and most of them affected all vehicles.

There were always exceptions because each vehicle was unique.

It got really complicated when we had to upgrade the orbiters from analog instruments to the electronic cockpit. We had 3 simulators (only one motion base)and 4 orbiters, and had to plan on how to train, upgrade and fly a mixed fleet.

I was trying to do this from memory and screwed it up. STS-61A then B then C and reflight was STS-26R not 27. Hopefully the numbers above are now correct.

Thanks to Hog for noting my mistakes.

Hog

No probs Gravity, your personal memories are worth more than a few simple dates being mixed up. I think your brain should be "downloaded" for posterity.

I appreciate any and all input you have Mr Sucks.

peace
Hog

Hog

To all the Space X fans out there, Falcon Heavy launch window is today between 1:30-4:30pm

Here she is erected at LC-39B, the same launch complex whose first Shuttle launch was the ill fated STS-51-L Challenger launch.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Security Flash â€" SpaceX Falcon Heavy DEMO Launch

The Falcon Heavy launch is scheduled from KSC Pad “A”, Tuesday, 6 February 2018, with a launch window of 1:30pm to 4:00pm. NASA Causeway, east of the Space Station Processing Facility to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) boundary, will be closed to routine traffic at 9:30am until approximately 1 hour post launch.

KSC employees should plan to arrive early and be prepared for heavy traffic at Gate 2 (SR3 south entrance) and Gate 3 (east of the Visitor Center). Gate 4 (north entrance) is designated for badged employeesonly. If using Gate 3 after 9:00am, employees are advised to use the left lane only, as the right lane will be used for KSCVC placarded vehicles.

Following the launch, SpaceX will attempt a landing of the Falcon 9’s two boosters at Space Launch Complex 13 on CCAFS. The first stage is scheduled to land at sea on the barge. Should there be an anomaly, personnel are to shelter in place and avoid being next to glass windows and doors. Should a shelter in place event occur the Paging Area Warning System (PAWS), will inform employees and guests of actions to be taken. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And after the Sun has risen.  Almost all of the Rotating Service Structure(RSS) the pad of the structure that would bring the cleanroom around the Shuttle to load her payloads at the pad.




Here is an excellent video of the RSS rollback from the Ares "stick". The new SLS will use 2 of these 5 segment SRBs as part of its first stage.  The Ares 1X "stick" does have  4 segmenst laoded with propellant and were drawn directly from Shuttle inventory, with an empty "segment simulator" to simulate the extra length of the 5 segment SRBs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmavCYo2W7E

The ARES=1X launch is located a few posts North of this one.

peace
Hog






Hog

So I have gotten off on a Shuttle tangent, so instead of muddling the Space Explorations Falcon Heavy thread, I separated them.

And a time lapse RSS retract from STS-127 Endeavour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmavCYo2W7E

And her launch (from the T-9 minute hold-real Shuttle fans always watch from the T-9 hold, or at the very least T-5 after which the 3 APUs(auxillary power units) which burn Hydrazine and provide hydraulic power to all flight surfaces and SSME steering(SSME gimballing occurs at in this video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBp0fH3PHbY
Be warned the NTD conducts his pole starting at 46:00 of this video poles the launch team, then at 46:41 the NTD contacts the KSC Launch Director(Leinbach) who copies the results and begins his own pole and at 47:50 gives the NASA Test Director(NTD) permission to launch Endeavour. Then at 51:00 they come out of the T minus 9 minute hold.
Crew Access Arm retract-52:30
APU prestart 53:48
APU start 55:03 (seconds later you han hear all 3 APUs working in their rhythmical operation.
56:16 Aero surface  check, they only show us the split rudder as it deflects port and starboard, this split rudder actually opens up and forms an aero brake the entire way the shuttle glides back to Earth after re entry
56:31you can see an excellent view of how each engine "snaps" to attention immediately followed by the SSME gimbal check. These 3 engines and the 2 SRB nozzles are what "steer" the stack during launch, the rudder, elevons and other control surfaces merely move along with these nozzles in order to relieve aero forces, they do NOT impart any forces as part of directional control.
57:30 the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Hood Arm "beanie cap" is lifted and the arm moved out of the way. This device simply keeps the  area free of frost that would normally accumulate as the Liquid oxygen tank is filled and kept full(replenished). The VERY LAST Shuttle mission, STS-135 Atlantis was held at T-31 seconds as the switch that told the General Processing Computers that the Vent Arm had not retracted and was still located over the External Tank.  The corrective action was to point a camera at the top of the External Tank to verify that the arm had actually retracted.  This was carried out in a very fast manner as the window to launch was closing rapidly. They got

here is the STS-135 launch video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjeUckqWxgo
-8:25 APU(auxillary power unit) start command given, and in this video the audio is much better, you can actually hear them chugging away(at 8:32 I can first hear them start to whistle and chug)
-8:32 Good APU call
-9:19 rudder check
-9:34 SSMEs snap to attention awaiting the gimbal checks
-9:37 gimbal check commences\-10:34 beanie cap retract
At 12:30 there is a hold called due to a failure, you can sense the urgency is some voices there after.  This issue had never happened before during all 135 Shuttle launches.
-14:25 a call is made stating that there is only 3 minutes 16 seconds of drainback hold left.  They must get the launch underway before this timer elapses.
-14:51 the countdown clock resumes
15:16 the SSMEs begin to fire up, look at the 2 engines farthest away to move closer together(this occurs at 15:19-thats SSME #2 and #3 moving from the start to the launch position)
The engines have a "start position" where the bottom 2 engines "splay apart": from each other, then after they have indeed started, engines 2 and 3 approach each other into their "launch" position. The move from start to launch position occurs just before SRB ignition which is the same time that all 8 explosive nuts that are torqued on the bolts that hold the SRB to the MLP(mobile launch platform 4 bolts per SRB) are detonated after the liquid fuel SSME(space shuttle main engines) have been started and brought up to 100% power at T minus 6.6 seconds.  The reason for a start and a launch position was to reduce the upward thrusting forces in an attempt to reduce the twang effect.
Because the entire weight of the Orbiter, the External Tank
all rests on these 2 Solid Rocket Boosters,
[imghttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Two_Space_Shuttle_SRBs_on_the_Crawler_transporter.jpg[/img]http://and is all held in place by 8 bolts, and the fact that the SSMEs are providing approx. 1 million pounds of thrust at takeoff, while the Orbiter only weighs 270,000pounds at liftoff(Columbia-the heaviest orbiter with the Shuttles heaviest ever payload-the CHANDRA X-Ray Observatory which weighed 50,224 lb.
CHANDRA X-Ray Observatory only weighed 12,930 lb, but the rest of the almost 51,000lbs of payload was due to the 2 Stage Inertial Upper Stage(IUS) which takes the CHANDRA from Low Earth Orbit and makes it orbit highly elliptically with its Apogee(part of orbit that's furthest away) reaching out almost a 1/3rd of the way to the Moon(approx84,000miles), whiles its Perigee(part of orbit that's closest to Earth) is about 8900miles..  Anyway, the first stage of this beastly Inertial Upper Stage weighs 22,900 pounds and can fire for up to 150 seconds with 42,000pounds of thrust and its 2nd stage weighs 6,600lbs and can provide 18,000 pounds of thrust.  So the booster/kick rocket weighs twice what the CHANDRA does, and all this had to fit inside the payload bay of the Shuttle.)

So the 3 SSMEs are thrusting at roughly 1,000,000 pounds of thrust, which is thrusting off center of the SRBs for almost 7 seconds before the SRBs ignite and the 8 frangible nuts detonate and release the stack from the pad. This off center thrusting causes the Orbiter/Extenal Tank and upper segments of the SRBs to move, this called the "twang" effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmLeGBIj6kw

The off center thrusting is visible in that video as the stack moves laterally to the left of the screen after liftoff, the Shuttle was unique in this off center thrusting because of the Orbiter being sidemounted on the stack. Since the SRBs are bolted solidly to the MLP(mobile launch platform) that twang effect is solely allowed in the field joints of the SRB. These field joints are called field joints as they are assembled "out in the field" meaning not at the manufacturing plant in Utah, but in the field at the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC Florida.
Here 2 SRB segments are about to be mated at KSC Florida.


Smoke leaking from a joint a few seconds after STS-51-L Challenger liftoff.


The same area of the SRB is now leaking massively throwing a flame of burning rocket propellant onto the External Tank. Picture is taken from Mission Elapsed Time of 58.788 seconds, or 58.788 seconds after the hod down bolts were detonated thus releasing the stack from the MLP.  The ET withstood this blowtorch for another 14 seconds after this image.


Until this occurred


My point here is that while the joints that have the O ring are supposed to seal against the solid rocket propellant being burned, they still had to have a measure of resiliency to movement of the joint during the "twang" effect just before launch.  To launch when it was that cold was simply criminal.  A Discovery launch that occurred one year before, was in fact scrubbed because it was too cold.


OK enough Shuttle blathering for today.

Enjoy the launch.

peace
Hog

GravitySucks

Quote from: Hog on February 06, 2018, 08:19:14 AM
No probs Gravity, your personal memories are worth more than a few simple dates being mixed up. I think your brain should be "downloaded" for posterity.

I appreciate any and all input you have Mr Sucks.

peace
Hog

In September 1985 I quit McDonnell Douglas to start my own business with 4 other people. It was called Space Support Services and we were going to provide PCs with software to handle payload telemetry and commanding inside the Mission Control Center. The MCC day d now t treat commercial payload customers very well. It was very limited what could be displayed on the old green consoles, it only supported a few standard data types and the requirements needed to be defined about a year in advance.

Our first contract was with RCA Satcom for STS-61B and STS-61C.  The reason I thought the flights had switched was because Satcom K2 flew before Satcom K1, but what happened was that RCA just switched payloads   It was the only time in the program that I saw two unclassified  payloads with identical command and telemetry requirements. I say unclassified because the DoD misssions had very minimal interface with NASA MCC and the FSW. The data was all encrypted and ahippted to the DOD.

The system we built for RCA included a printer, 4 channel strip chart recorder, color display and external harddrive for real time recording and playback of their data.

The platform? An AT&T 6300 with 640K of RAM. 

We built 8 displays that mimicked what RCA had in their control center in Princeton NJ.

After Challenger, Reagan said no more commercial payloads. Our company limped along for awhile. I did some design work for SpaceHab, the original requirements for CERV - which later became ACRV. Eventually we ported the telemetry software to the Shuttle PGSC laptops and they became an integral part of not only payload ops onorbit but also rendezvous and prox ops.

I sold my partnership to the two people that were left when NASA asked me to go to Rockwell in May 1988 to help them with their Certification of Flight Readiness (COFR) process. Basically defining the audit and accountability process that proved everyone had agreed that the shuttle and all of the processes that were performed in the previous two years assured that the shuttle was ready to fly.

GravitySucks

After launch delays because of high altitude winds, the launch window opens at 3:45 eastern. Live coverage begins at 3:25 eastern - couple of minutes here

http://spaceref.com/live/spacex-webcast.html

GravitySucks

This will be amazing if they can get both side boosters to return for a safe landing on land at Cape Canaveral and the center booster to land on the barge.

Hog

Successful separation.

peace
Hog

Hog

The 2 outboard Falcons have landed.

peace
Hog

GravitySucks

AMAZING. I haven’t been that excited in a long time. Got a feeling the center core didn’t make it safely though.


Gd5150

Those 2 boosters landing together is pretty F’ing amazing! Could do without the skinny jeans millennial style coverage. Still an amazing accomplishment. Thanks for posting!


Hog

The outboards landing


The Tesla car "payload" in space after fairing jettison.




Starman is driving!



peace
Hog

GravitySucks

Quote from: Lord Grantham on February 06, 2018, 03:01:53 PM
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/960980119312453632

That is just magic taken to a whole different level. Take the same fuel used in a kerosene lamp in the 19th century and send a rocket to Mars. Try that with solar or wind power!


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