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July 25, 2022.
GENERAL RELEASE
RELEASE: 22-164
SEP-011 -- THE RETURN TO FLIGHT
The Space Exploration Program will return to flight when the Shuttle-Derived Orbiter Constitution departs on its eleventh flight now scheduled for no earlier than late August, 2022.
SEP-011 will have as its primary payload a Shuttle Derived Orbiter Development Flight Instrumentation (SDO/DFI) pallet that will monitor numerous sensor feeds from the orbiter and report back to ground control in real time during all phases of its flight.
Commander of the two-person crew is Brandon J. Harris, a veteran of SEP-005. Pilot for the mission is Joseph P. Summers, USAF.
Constitution is scheduled to depart from the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Orbiter Spaceport into a 180-nautical-mile, 28.5 degree orbit. Departure is scheduled for (TBD) a.m. EDT. Nominal mission duration is 8 days with landing at the Kennedy Space Center on August (TBD), 2022, at (TBD) a.m. EDT.
The Shuttle Derived Orbiter Development Flight Instrumentation (SDO/DFI) pallet flew on the first five SEP missions and will be flown again on SEP-011 to record environmental data and vehicle performance during orbiter flight phases as this is a key mission intended to advance Constitution towards a flight-worthiness recertification. SDO/DFI will measure core environmental details, crew biometrics, instrumentation, primary stage performance and interstage performance during the departure, orbital insertion, planar adjustment and orbit height adjustment phases. SDO/DFI will also measure hull vibration, strain, acoustics and temperatures during orbiter ascent, free-flight and re-entry, using transducers affixed directly to the spacecraft.
In addition to the SDO/DFI pallet, Constitution will carry 15 secondary payloads housed within the crew-liveable area involving a continuation of the SOFIA (Safe Options for Flying In Radiation) studies.
After landing at the Orbiter Spaceport, Constitution will be returned to Orbiter Processing Facility #4 to begin examination and processing for its next flight.
(END OF GENERAL RELEASE)
Jamie Cunningham almost dropped the piece of paper in front of her as the words melted around her. She read the release again . . . and again.
"You give her the paper?" She heard James Ahern call out.
"Yup," Ed Foulkes replied.
"How long until she regains consciousness?" She heard.
"Won't be long now," Foulkes replied. "Jamie, are you listening now?"
Jamie snapped her attention from the paper in front of her to Foulkes and nodded stiffly.
"Good," He said. "This was part of the string of important announcements you missed this morning. We're going to refly Constitution this August, as you've seen. We're also going to get Enterprise into the flight loop which should happen sometime in May or June. We've got another matter though that I'd like to discuss with both of you. James, I think you know what I'm talking about."
"I do," Ahern replied stiffly, and Jamie quirked her head at that.
"And what are your thoughts?"
"I . . . uh . . ."
"Excuse me," Jamie ventured softly. "What are you two both talking about?"
Ed Foulkes smiled at her, and Ahern glanced at her with a look of . . . appreciation for her interruption. She quirked her head again at the behavior she was witnessing. James Ahern was always a strong personality, and what she saw was an almost unbelievable surge of animalistic fear that Ed just brought out in him. She was just getting over the shock of seeing the space program coming alive again; now what?
"What I'm talking about is," Foulkes replied, "hopefully two missions down the road next year. Our current flight director has been going back and forth with the current flight crew and Jim Ahern was named as a backup commander to SEP-013. I know you haven't received the synopsis for the next five missions because they haven't been drawn yet. Of the five, only two have passed the critical design committee for mission achievement. Are you clear so far?"
"Perfectly," Jamie said.
"Good. Now . . . the only reason Ahern is backup for this mission is that he's repeatedly held off on taking the prime slot for personal reasons, and the prime crew have been dual-training this mission with another one later on that year because it's essential to their own mission they'll end up taking anyway. I think, however, he has relented to some degree, and that's going to make things a little easier on a lot of people. Jim, would you care to explain?"
"Yeah," Ahern replied. "May 25th, 2023 is the next penumbral lunar eclipse, Jamie. Assuming the next year goes well, we should be in an excellent position to see that -- from the moon."
"That's a lofty goal," Jamie said.
"It is. I've thought the matter very carefully through," Ahern continued. "I know I've flown Constitution once, and once only. And we both know why I haven't been up again. I feel that at this point if I'm going to take anything up again like the current administration wants . . . I need a competent pilot to go up with me. I've managed to get the administration to see things my way."
"That makes sense, Jamie said.
"So we'll let things cool then until next year."
"I, uh . . . see," Jamie said.
"Alright then," Ahern said. Then, turning his attention to Foulkes, "Ed, I guess you can tell the F.D. that I'm in. I'll take her under my wing and we'll start training as soon as--"
"What?" Jamie gobbled.
Ed Foulkes chuckled. "Jamie, I said there was a ninety-eight percent chance of you never flying in space again. Not no chance. Are you with us, now?"
"But . . ."
"Brian Adkinson talked with me shortly after you came back to Houston, Jamie," Ahern said. "I agreed with what he said. I need to know though: Are you serious about coming back? Are you serious about going back to the moon?"
"I, uh . . ."
"Let's put it this way," Ahern said firmly. "We're all professionals on this deck. That dog over there, included," He jammed a thumb in the direction of Ed's collie sitting and panting contentedly in the shade. "You and I have both been up in space before and we've proven we can do it. And do it again. And in spite of myself, I'd like to see the moon up close before I retire. And I think it would do you good to get your head back in the game. Can you agree on that?"
"Yeah," Jamie said softly.
"Good. And besides: who the hell can say they'll have seen a lunar eclipse from the other side of the fence?"
"There is that," Jamie said with a shrug. "So we're going back to the moon."
"It would seem so," Ahern replied.
"Good," Ed Foulkes said softly. "I'll go tell Pete when we're done."
GENERAL RELEASE
RELEASE: 22-164
SEP-011 -- THE RETURN TO FLIGHT
The Space Exploration Program will return to flight when the Shuttle-Derived Orbiter Constitution departs on its eleventh flight now scheduled for no earlier than late August, 2022.
SEP-011 will have as its primary payload a Shuttle Derived Orbiter Development Flight Instrumentation (SDO/DFI) pallet that will monitor numerous sensor feeds from the orbiter and report back to ground control in real time during all phases of its flight.
Commander of the two-person crew is Brandon J. Harris, a veteran of SEP-005. Pilot for the mission is Joseph P. Summers, USAF.
Constitution is scheduled to depart from the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Orbiter Spaceport into a 180-nautical-mile, 28.5 degree orbit. Departure is scheduled for (TBD) a.m. EDT. Nominal mission duration is 8 days with landing at the Kennedy Space Center on August (TBD), 2022, at (TBD) a.m. EDT.
The Shuttle Derived Orbiter Development Flight Instrumentation (SDO/DFI) pallet flew on the first five SEP missions and will be flown again on SEP-011 to record environmental data and vehicle performance during orbiter flight phases as this is a key mission intended to advance Constitution towards a flight-worthiness recertification. SDO/DFI will measure core environmental details, crew biometrics, instrumentation, primary stage performance and interstage performance during the departure, orbital insertion, planar adjustment and orbit height adjustment phases. SDO/DFI will also measure hull vibration, strain, acoustics and temperatures during orbiter ascent, free-flight and re-entry, using transducers affixed directly to the spacecraft.
In addition to the SDO/DFI pallet, Constitution will carry 15 secondary payloads housed within the crew-liveable area involving a continuation of the SOFIA (Safe Options for Flying In Radiation) studies.
After landing at the Orbiter Spaceport, Constitution will be returned to Orbiter Processing Facility #4 to begin examination and processing for its next flight.
(END OF GENERAL RELEASE)
* * *
Jamie Cunningham almost dropped the piece of paper in front of her as the words melted around her. She read the release again . . . and again.
"You give her the paper?" She heard James Ahern call out.
"Yup," Ed Foulkes replied.
"How long until she regains consciousness?" She heard.
"Won't be long now," Foulkes replied. "Jamie, are you listening now?"
Jamie snapped her attention from the paper in front of her to Foulkes and nodded stiffly.
"Good," He said. "This was part of the string of important announcements you missed this morning. We're going to refly Constitution this August, as you've seen. We're also going to get Enterprise into the flight loop which should happen sometime in May or June. We've got another matter though that I'd like to discuss with both of you. James, I think you know what I'm talking about."
"I do," Ahern replied stiffly, and Jamie quirked her head at that.
"And what are your thoughts?"
"I . . . uh . . ."
"Excuse me," Jamie ventured softly. "What are you two both talking about?"
Ed Foulkes smiled at her, and Ahern glanced at her with a look of . . . appreciation for her interruption. She quirked her head again at the behavior she was witnessing. James Ahern was always a strong personality, and what she saw was an almost unbelievable surge of animalistic fear that Ed just brought out in him. She was just getting over the shock of seeing the space program coming alive again; now what?
"What I'm talking about is," Foulkes replied, "hopefully two missions down the road next year. Our current flight director has been going back and forth with the current flight crew and Jim Ahern was named as a backup commander to SEP-013. I know you haven't received the synopsis for the next five missions because they haven't been drawn yet. Of the five, only two have passed the critical design committee for mission achievement. Are you clear so far?"
"Perfectly," Jamie said.
"Good. Now . . . the only reason Ahern is backup for this mission is that he's repeatedly held off on taking the prime slot for personal reasons, and the prime crew have been dual-training this mission with another one later on that year because it's essential to their own mission they'll end up taking anyway. I think, however, he has relented to some degree, and that's going to make things a little easier on a lot of people. Jim, would you care to explain?"
"Yeah," Ahern replied. "May 25th, 2023 is the next penumbral lunar eclipse, Jamie. Assuming the next year goes well, we should be in an excellent position to see that -- from the moon."
"That's a lofty goal," Jamie said.
"It is. I've thought the matter very carefully through," Ahern continued. "I know I've flown Constitution once, and once only. And we both know why I haven't been up again. I feel that at this point if I'm going to take anything up again like the current administration wants . . . I need a competent pilot to go up with me. I've managed to get the administration to see things my way."
"That makes sense, Jamie said.
"So we'll let things cool then until next year."
"I, uh . . . see," Jamie said.
"Alright then," Ahern said. Then, turning his attention to Foulkes, "Ed, I guess you can tell the F.D. that I'm in. I'll take her under my wing and we'll start training as soon as--"
"What?" Jamie gobbled.
Ed Foulkes chuckled. "Jamie, I said there was a ninety-eight percent chance of you never flying in space again. Not no chance. Are you with us, now?"
"But . . ."
"Brian Adkinson talked with me shortly after you came back to Houston, Jamie," Ahern said. "I agreed with what he said. I need to know though: Are you serious about coming back? Are you serious about going back to the moon?"
"I, uh . . ."
"Let's put it this way," Ahern said firmly. "We're all professionals on this deck. That dog over there, included," He jammed a thumb in the direction of Ed's collie sitting and panting contentedly in the shade. "You and I have both been up in space before and we've proven we can do it. And do it again. And in spite of myself, I'd like to see the moon up close before I retire. And I think it would do you good to get your head back in the game. Can you agree on that?"
"Yeah," Jamie said softly.
"Good. And besides: who the hell can say they'll have seen a lunar eclipse from the other side of the fence?"
"There is that," Jamie said with a shrug. "So we're going back to the moon."
"It would seem so," Ahern replied.
"Good," Ed Foulkes said softly. "I'll go tell Pete when we're done."
* * *
