STS 122 PRELAUNCH UPDATES

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Space Shuttle Mission STS-122

Orbiter: Atlantis
Mission: STS-122/1E
Primary Payload: Columbus
Launch Date: Targeted for Dec. 6
Launch Time: 4:31 p.m. EST
Launch Pad: 39A
Landing Date: Dec. 17
Landing Time: 12:29 p.m. EST
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center
Inclination/Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles


Atlantis, Columbus Clear First Review
Shuttle program managers unanimously agreed to proceed processing Atlantis for launch on its STS-122 mission to carry the Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. The poll was taken at the end of a one-day program-level evaluation of the shuttle and its payload. A second review will be conducted Nov. 30, and NASA will formally select a launch date.

The mission is targeted for launch Dec. 6.

Atlantis last flew in June on the STS-117 mission to the International Space Station. It carried a set of solar arrays and performed magnificently.

Atlantis is being prepared now for mission STS-122, which is another construction flight for the space station. Atlantis will connect the Columbus laboratory to the station during an 11-day mission. Columbus was built and outfitted in Italy and Germany and is the European Space Agency's primary contribution to the space station.

Image Above: The integrated cargo carrier-lite is being transferred to space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay from the payload changeout room on Launch Pad 39A Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

 

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STS Atlantis prelaunch update

Crew: Installing European Lab an 'Honor, Duty, Joy'

Image Above: The seven astronauts who will make the STS-122 mission are rehearsing countdown procedures at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They posed near Launch Pad 39A where space shuttle Atlantis is being prepared for the 11-day mission. Photo credit: NASA
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The crew of space shuttle Atlantis gathered in the shadow of the launch-ready spacecraft Monday morning to discuss mission STS-122. The seven astronauts are to attach the European-built Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station during an 11-day flight targeted to begin Dec. 6.

 

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STS-122 will be the ISS Assembly Flight 1E, bringing the European Columbus module to the station, along with the Biolab, Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL), European Drawer Rack (EDR), and European Physiology Modules (EPM) payloads.[5] STS-122 will also carry the Solar Monitoring Observatory (SOLAR), and European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF) payloads, which are mounted in the cargo bay on an ICC-Lite payload rack. A malfunctioning Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) that was swapped out with a new one on STS-118 will be returned to Earth with STS-122.

 

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STS Atlantis prelaunch update

Astronauts Practice for Launch Day

Image Above: Astronaut Rex Walheim checked the fit of the pressure suit he will wear during the launch of space shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-122. The check was part of the countdown dress rehearsal at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The rehearsal itself is taking place this morning at the Florida launch site. Photo credit: NASA
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It looks a lot like launch day at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the crew of mission STS-122 put on their pressure suits and get ready to climb aboard space shuttle Atlantis. However, the work is all part of the countdown dress rehearsal designed to get the launch team and astronauts set for the real thing on Dec. 6.

The crew of seven men, including two from the European Space Agency, will follow their normal launch day routine including riding in the astrovan to Launch Pad 39A and taking their places inside Atlantis.

They will sit inside Atlantis as the pretend countdown winds down. The engines will not ignite, of course, and the astronauts will practice emergency escape procedures on their launch pad to conclude the drill.

Atlantis is targeted to launch December 6 at 4:31 p.m. EST on its 11-day mission to the International Space Station.

 

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STS Atlantis prelaunch update

Crew Wraps up Launch Practice

Image Above: The seven astronauts who will fly mission STS-122 leave the Operations & Checkout building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a countdown rehearsal. The crew will follow the same pattern on launch day, targeted for Dec. 6. Photo credit: NASA
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The launch team at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the crew members of STS-122 concluded a successful dress rehearsal Tuesday for the upcoming launch of space shuttle Atlantis.

The real event is targeted for Dec. 6 on a flight to the International Space Station, but astronauts and flight managers and contractors routinely run through a complete practice to get ready for a liftoff.

NASA astronaut Steve Frick lead his crew through the same activities they will conduct on launch day, including getting on orange pressure suits, riding to the launch pad in the astrovan and strapping into Atlantis.

NASA astronauts Alan Poindexter, Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim took their places on the flight deck of Atlantis along with Frick. NASA astronaut Stanley Love and European Space Agency astronauts Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts reclined in their seats on the lower deck.

The Columbus laboratory the crew will ferry to and install on the International Space Station is already bolted into the shuttle's cargo bay. Columbus is ESA's primary contribution to the space station. It will be part of a dedicated suite of science modules at the heart of the station.

 

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STS Prelaunch update

Flight Readiness Review This Week

Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis rests on Pad 39A awaiting launch on mission STS-122. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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NASA managers will hold a flight readiness review at NASA's Kennedy Space Center marking the next major milestone for mission STS-122.

NASA officials, space shuttle program managers, engineers and contractors will discuss the readiness of space shuttle Atlantis, the flight crew and payloads to determine if everything is set to proceed for launch.

NASA mission managers will hold a briefing on Friday, Nov. 30, to announce the selection of an official launch date. The briefing will include Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier, Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale, International Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini and STS-122 Launch Director Doug Lyons.

The briefing will be broadcast live on NASA Television at no earlier than 4 p.m. EST.
> NASA TV

 

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STS Prelaunch update

As the countdown clock clicked down toward the launch of space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-120, the team in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center had to make the "go/no-go" decision for launch. Before making the call, they needed to carefully examine a small ice build-up on the external tank's liquid hydrogen umbilical, reported by the Final Inspection Team, to ensure the ice posed no threat upon liftoff.

For the first time, launch managers had a new capability at their fingertips: instant access to the inspection team's digital images transmitted to them directly from the launch pad via fiber-optic cable.

Image at left: From Launch Pad 39A's fixed service structure, Final Inspection Team members can safely connect their laptops to instantaneously provide imagery of their work to the Launch Control Center. Image credit: NASA/Cheryl Mansfield

It's not that sending images from a laptop computer is a revolutionary idea. It had been considered before, but wireless transmission wasn't possible with a fully fueled space shuttle just feet away.

The photo transmission capability is a built-in requirement for NASA's next generation of spacecraft under the Constellation Program, so the inspection team members were already looking for ways to safely transmit pictures from the launch pad. Their plans got a jump-start when shuttle managers were concerned that a newly shortened hold in the countdown also would reduce the time they had to analyze the photos that the team delivered by hand from the pad.

Image at right: After technicians checked the fiber-optic connections for the upcoming launch of space shuttle Atlantis' mission STS-122, Final Inspection Team member Ivan Bush demonstrates the laptop capability he used to send pictures back to the Launch Control Center during the last countdown. Image credit: NASA/Cheryl Mansfield

"We looked into sending images back wirelessly, but our safety requirements wouldn't allow that," explained Tom Ford, who heads the inspection team. "So we said OK, we have to have this. Let's think of a barebones system that will work while meeting the safety requirements, and we came up with the (fiber-optic) drop."

The solution came together in the brief time between the STS-118 mission in August and the October launch of STS-120. Within about a two-week period, fiber-optic cable was installed from Launch Pad 39A's 195-foot level down to the base. The setup provided two connection points from which the photos could be transmitted, one each at the 195 and 95-foot levels. Existing "Toughbook" laptops already used by the team were called into service and, as launch day for mission STS-120 dawned, the team was ready.

The timing was excellent. The group, also called the "Ice Team," traveled to the pad to do its customary top-to-bottom detailed inspection of the vehicle and launch pad. The team members used the new capability to send back the photos, including some showing the ice buildup on the umbilical. In a rare move, the launch managers asked the inspection team to go back for a second look and once again send back updated photos of the now dissipating ice.

Image at left: On the second trip to the launch pad during the STS-120 countdown, the inspection team was able to send back this image of the dissipating area of ice (indicated by the arrow), giving launch managers time to make a "go" for launch call. Image credit: NASA/Final Inspection Team

With the analysis done, the launch team made the call: Discovery was "go" for launch, and the shuttle and crew embarked on a dramatic and highly successful 15-day mission to the International Space Station.

From the inspection team's standpoint, Ford said the analysis "was a 100-percent success" and will continue to be a vital part of the inspection process for the remainder of the shuttle program.

The importance of this new capability was echoed from the launch team.

"This new capability represented a tremendous improvement in our ability to analyze ice buildup in near-real time," said NASA Test Director Steve Payne after the mission. "Taken together with the Final Inspection Team's visual inspection and recommendation, it allowed us to reach a quick decision on acceptability of the ice we saw. It was perhaps the one thing that made the difference between launching or remaining on the ground that day."

 

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sts 122

Space shuttle Atlantis is set to begin its launch countdown for the STS-122 mission with a flurry of activities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis is scheduled to launch at 4:31 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 6.

A green light from senior NASA managers on Friday cleared the way for the last stages of launch preparations.

The seven astronauts who will fly Atlantis to the International Space Station will arrive at Kennedy at 12:30 p.m. on Monday. The countdown officially begins at 7 p.m.

"We have had three outstnading flights this year and we are looking forward to a fourth," space shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said Friday after the Flight Readiness Review concluded.

Atlantis will carry the Columbus laboratory to the space station and install it to the Harmony module, which was brought to the station in October during the last shuttle mission.

 

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Launch day Launch ♦ Payload bay door opening ♦ Ku band antenna deployment ♦ Shuttle robotic arm activation and checkout ♦ Video downlink of external tank (ET) during launch, and handheld video of ET separation.


Flight day 2 Thermal Protection System (TPS) survey with the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) ♦ Extravehicular Mobility Unit checkout ♦ Centerline camera installation ♦ Orbiter Docking System Ring extension ♦ Orbital Maneuvering System survey ♦ Rendezvous tools checkout.

Flight day 3 Rendezvous with the ISS ♦ Rendezvous pitch maneuver ♦ Docking to the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 on the Harmony module ♦ Hatch opening, welcome ceremony, safety briefing ♦ OBSS unberthing by Canadarm2 ♦ Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) procedure review ♦ EVA-1 campout by Walheim and Schlegel.

Flight day 4 Soyuz seat liner swap and crew exchange between Tani and Eyharts ♦ Shuttle's Ku band antenna stowage (temporary for unberthing of Columbus ♦ EVA-1 by Walheim and Schlegel (Columbus grapple fixture installation, P1 truss nitrogen (N2) tank assembly preparation, power and data grapple fixture removal and installation to Columbus.) ♦ Columbus grapple, unberth, and installation on starboard side of Harmony.

Flight day 5 TPS Focused inspection (if required) ♦ Shuttle Ku band antenna re-deployment ♦ Columbus ingress preparation ♦ Columbus ingress ♦ EVA-2 procedure review ♦ EVA-2 campout by Walheim and Schlegel.

Flight day 6 EVA-2 by Walheim and Schlegel (P1 Truss N2 tank assembly installation, stowage of old N2 tank assembly into payload bay.) ♦ Columbus outfitting.

Flight day 7 Columbus racks and systems outfitting ♦ Crew off-duty period ♦ EVA-3 preparation review ♦ EVA3 campout by Walheim and Love.

Flight day 8 EVA-3 by Walheim and Love (Installation of SOLAR telescope, and EuTEF facility onto an External Stowage Platform (ESP) on Columbus, retrieval of failed Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) that was replaced on STS-118 and stowed on ESP2, installation of failed CMG into payload bay, installation of keel pin cloth covers on Columbus.)

Flight day 9 Shuttle and station transfers ♦ Joint crew news conference ♦ ISS reboost ♦ Columbus outfitting continues ♦ Farewells and hatch closure.

Flight day 10 Undocking and flyaround ♦ Final separation from the ISS ♦ OBSS unberth ♦ Late TPS inspection ♦ OBSS final berthing.

Flight day 11 Cabin stowage ♦ Flight Control System (FCS) checkout ♦ Reaction Control System (RCS) hot-fire test ♦ Crew deorbit briefing ♦ Launch and entry suit checkout ♦ Recumbent seat set-up for Tani ♦ Ku band antenna stowage.

Flight day 12 Deorbit preparations ♦ Payload bay door closure ♦ Deorbit burn ♦ Landing at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility.

 

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STS Prelaunch update

Countdown Under Way for STS-122

Image above: The astronauts who will fly mission STS-122 arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at about 12:30 Monday afternoon. The crew is commanded by Steve Frick, right. Others in the crew include Alan Poindexter, Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Hans Schlegel, Stan Love and Leopold Eyharts. Photo credit: NASA

The launch team at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida began the countdown Monday night for the launch of mission STS-122. Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to lift off at 4:31 p.m. EST on Thursday to begin an 11-day mission to the International Space Station.

"All of our systems are in good shape," said assistant launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson.

The weather forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather at launch time, weather officer Kathy Winters said.

"We're very optimistic about it," Winters said.

The seven astronauts who will perform the mission arrived at Kennedy at about 12:30 p.m. EST on Monday to begin their final preparations for the mission. Atlantis has a 10-minute window to launch so it can catch up with the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Steve Frick will command the seven-man crew during the 11-day mission to attach the European-built Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. Frick, Alan Poindexter, Rex Walheim, Leland Melvin, Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts will fly aboard Atlantis during mission STS-122.

"It's been a long time building to this moment, so we're just absolutely ready to go," Frick said.

Atlantis' primary mission is to install the European laboratory called Columbus on the International Space Station. It will take a series of spacewalks, not to mention intricate maneuvers with robotic arms on the shuttle and station to complete the task.

"We flew by shuttle Atlantis on the launch pad and it's a beautiful sight," Poindexter said.

 

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The Canadian Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Seven astronauts arrived for the start of countdown to Thursday's space shuttle launch as NASA wrapped up repairs on Atlantis' fuel tank.
Damage was discovered Friday to the insulating foam on the shuttle's 15-storey external tank. NASA doesn't know how or when the gouges to the foam occurred, but the damage is considered minor.
New patches of foam have been applied. It will take 16 hours for the foam to harden properly, in plenty of time for liftoff late Thursday afternoon, said NASA test director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson.
Now that it's repaired, the foam should pose no threat to Atlantis during launch, said Blackwell-Thompson. Falling foam was disastrous in the case of Columbia in 2003, and has been a recurring problem.
Countdown clocks began ticking Monday evening. Packed safely aboard Atlantis was the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory headed for delivery to the International Space Station.
Good launch weather was forecast.
"We hope it stays like this all week long,'' commander Stephen Frick said, standing next to his crewmates beneath a brilliantly blue sky.
French astronaut Leopold Eyharts will move into the space station for a few months and help get the Columbus science lab running.
"As I will be probably gone for a while, I would like to wish you all merry Christmas and a happy new year,'' Eyharts said. "See you in 2008.''
This will be NASA's fourth shuttle flight of the year, all to the space station. So far, each of this year's countdowns has resulted in an on-time launch.
Ever since Discovery left a month ago, the three crew members on the space station have been working practically nonstop. They looked pleased Monday as they wrapped up preparations for the arrival of Atlantis and the Columbus lab.
"If they launch this week, then I'll be home by Christmas,'' said astronaut Daniel Tani, who flew up aboard Discovery in October. He will be replaced by Eyharts and return to Earth on Atlantis.

 

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This concluded prelaunch updates thank you for all that added to this thread