Updates STS-133 Updates

[SiberianTiger]

What everybody thinks will happen if the tank's body cracks open in flight? Is there any backout plan to save the orbiter in such circumstance?

 

[N_Molson]

That's one of the main flaws of the Shuttle concept. They can jettison the tank, but if it explodes in a matter of seconds, there's nothing to do. Challenger showed what happens when there's a hole in the ET (the right SRB rammed into it, causing a massive leak and triggering the explosion).

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

NASASpaceFlight: "STS-133: Closing in on GUCP root cause – ET repair at pad still positive".

Good news!

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

A crack has been found on a second stringer. This is the third crack in total on ET-137.

Spaceflight Now: "Second cracked stringer found in Discovery's tank".

NASASpaceFlight: "STS-133: Third crack found on ET-137 as managers debate forward plan".

SPACE.com: "Third Crack Found in Metal Skin of Shuttle Discovery's Fuel Tank".

 

[MajorTom]

SPACE.com: "Attempted Shuttle Launch Attracts Billionaire, Google ... and a Mystery Man in a Dog Suit"?

Well then, I don't feel bad. I went all the way to Florida last week, arriving just as they announced they were moving the mission to Tuesday and maybe Wednesday--I had planned to return Wednesday. So I extended my return by one day. Scrubbed to Thursday. Heavy rains that morning as I left via Orlando. Scrubbed to Friday or later, then soon to end of November.

At least I wasn't alone in my disappointment!

 

[orb]

Florida Today: Discovery launch remains stalled:

CAPE CANAVERAL — Shuttle repair crews are working this weekend to keep Discovery on track for a launch during a seven-day window that opens Nov. 30, a possibility even after new damage was uncovered Friday.

Another cracked part was found on the shuttle's external tank, next to one already under inspection.

"All the work is still centered around supporting a launch in that window," said Allard Beutel, a Kennedy Space Center spokesman. "Whether that comes to fruition, the engineering analysis and repairs will decide that."

{...}

Shuttle program managers plan to meet Thursday to review progress on the repairs and possibly establish a new target launch date for Discovery's final flight.

If Discovery isn't ready to fly in the window starting Nov. 30, the 11-day mission to deliver a storage module and spare parts to the International Space Station could be delayed until late February.

 

[N_Molson]

Another cracked part was found on the shuttle's external tank, next to one already under inspection.

I guess there are no more spare ET ?

 

[IronRain]

From twitter feed:

STS-133 Mission: Teams installed Discovery's GUCP flight seal Friday night and expect to begin installing the quick disconnects today

 

[Yoda]

Makes you wonder how many ET have previously flown with cracks in them that remained undetected.............
Also makes you wonder how many more cracks coud potentially be hiding under the remaining foam on this tank...........

Just hope they are not trying to "hurry this along" due to a time-line; we've seen the outcome of that way of thinking before.

:facepalm:

 

[IronRain]

Just hope they are not trying to "hurry this along" due to a time-line; we've seen the outcome of that way of thinking before.

And that's why they ain't gonna make that mistake again

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Per NASASpaceFlight, ET-137 now has four cracks (on two stringers). The first stringer has been removed, and there may be some more foam removal.

Source.

---------- Post added at 06:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:30 PM ----------

Spaceflight Now: "Fourth crack found on shuttle Discovery's external tank".

SPACE.com: "Fourth Crack Discovered On Space Shuttle Discovery's Fuel Tank".

 

[SiberianTiger]

It has been said before that she could fly with one cracked stringer... Now we have two of them. :uhh:

 

[N_Molson]

Spaceflight Now :

Fourth crack found on shuttle Discovery's external tank

The 30th November window seems compromised... As said before, the worst thing to do would be to rush the mission.

A question for shuttle specialists : if the mission is cancelled to February, will the shuttle stay on the pad all that time during the winter ? I would think that exposing the stack to the wind, the rain, and obviously the gravity for more than 2 month would be a bad idea. Plus it would probably be easier to carefully repair the tank once dismounted and inside a hangar.

 

[IronRain]

The 30th November window seems compromised... As said before, the worst thing to do would be to rush the mission.

They won't rush the mission. As said before, they've learned from their mistakes. They will launch Discovery when she is ready (Space Shuttle is she right?)

---------- Post added 11-16-10 at 11:37 AM ---------- Previous post was 11-15-10 at 09:05 PM ----------

image of the installation of the new GUCP:

 

[orb]

NASASpaceflight: STS-133: Preliminary plan for six day countdown and Tanking Test discussed:

Providing Discovery’s External Tank (ET-137) can be repaired and cleared for flight in time for the upcoming launch window, managers have created a preliminary plan for a Tanking Test, built into a six day countdown. In order to avoid a slip to next February, managers are focusing on gaining confidence in the intertank’s condition, which may only come via additional inspections.

{...}

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

NASA: "NASA Schedules News Conference About Next Space Shuttle Launch".

NASA managers will hold a news conference no earlier than 5 p.m. CST on Monday, Nov. 22, at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston to discuss the next space shuttle mission, STS-133, which was delayed on Nov. 5.

NASA officials will announce the status of repairs to a leaking hydrogen system that caused the initial delay. They also will discuss the cracks on the tops of two, 21-foot-long support beams, called stringers, on the exterior of the shuttle's external fuel tank in an area known as the intertank. The next launch window for space shuttle Discovery and six NASA astronauts begins Nov. 30.

The briefing participants are:

-- Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations

-- John Shannon, Space Shuttle Program manager

The news conference will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA centers or by calling into a phone bridge.

To use the phone bridge, reporters must have valid media credentials issued by a NASA center or issued specifically for the STS-133 mission. Journalists planning to use the phone bridge must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no earlier than 4:45 p.m. Newsroom personnel will verify credentials and transfer reporters to the phone bridge. Capacity is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Live status updates will be provided during the meeting via the NASA News Twitter feed. To access the feed, go to the nasa.gov homepage or visit:
www.twitter.com/nasa

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:
www.nasa.gov/ntv

For STS-133 crew and mission information, visit:
www.nasa.gov/shuttle

 

[orb]

Florida Today - The Flame Trench:

• Cabana: Discovery can make next launch window:

  Repairs to Discovery should be completed in time for the shuttle to launch between Nov. 30 and Dec. 6, Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana said this morning.
  
  "I think we've got all the issues figured out," he said. "I think we've got a shot."
  
  {...}

• Shuttle Repairs Under Way At Discovery's Seaside Launch Pad.

---------- Post added 17th Nov 2010 at 08:43 ---------- Previous post was 16th Nov 2010 at 23:40 ----------

While it isn't strictly about STS-133, but rather about OV-103 and its future, it's immediate post STS-133 future, and "STS-133" is mentioned in every other sentence -

NASASpaceFlight: Discovery’s retirement plans provide insight into the fate of the robotic arms:

NASA’s End State Flow Review (ESFR) has refined preliminary arrangements and schedules for Discovery’s immediate post STS-133 future, as well as where the orbiter’s SRMS (Shuttle Remote Manipulator System) arms and OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor System) arms will end up once the Shuttle Program comes to an end next year.

{...}

 

[IronRain]

Look inside the ET of Discovery:

It's the unpressurized area between LH2 tank (below) and LOX tank (above).

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Some NASA TV Videos:

Repairs Made to Shuttle Discovery's External Tank.​

Shuttle Teams Repairing Source of Leak.​

And here's an updated STS-133 Flight Plan from Spaceflight Now.

---------- Post added at 08:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 PM ----------

Spaceflight Now: "Tank repairs proceed amid work on 'flight rationale'".

---------- Post added at 08:57 PM ---------- Previous post was 17th Nov 2010 at 08:50 PM ----------

The STS-133 launch has slipped to Tue 03/12 @ 2:52 AM EST/7:52 AM GMT. That will mean a landing on Fri 14/12.

Spaceflight Now: "Shuttle Discovery's launch delayed a few more days".

NASASpaceFlight: "STS-133: Managers discussing numerous options – NET slips to December 3".

SPACE.com: "NASA Now Aiming for Dec. 3 Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery".

 

[Kyle]

Dec. 3rd launch window would be in plane at 02:52 a.m US Time.

Launch window times:

12/4/10: 2:27 a.m US Time.
12/5/10: 2:03 a.m US Time.
12/6/10: 1:41 a.m US Time.
12/7/10: ~1:14 a.m US Time.