Posted on 01/30/2005 1:07:37 PM PST by NormsRevenge
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Two years after Columbia's demise, excitement over the space shuttle fleet's return to the skies in just a few short months is finally overtaking the agony of the accident.
In the past few weeks, two special deliveries have boosted morale among shuttle workers and provided tangible evidence they are rounding the corner.
One is a special tool to inspect the next shuttle while in orbit for any damage to its thermal-protective skin. The other is a brand new fuel tank guaranteed by NASA (news - web sites) not to shed big chunks of foam insulation that could harm the shuttle.
Those are two of the biggest technical changes resulting from a lengthy review of what destroyed Columbia and killed seven astronauts on that still painfully vivid Saturday morning, Feb. 1, 2003.
It's appropriate, workers say, that two of the most crucial items for safely going into space again are finally at Kennedy Space Center (news - web sites), just in time for the second anniversary of the tragedy.
"We won't ever forget that. But when we have something like this to work on, it gives us a lot of enthusiasm and pride to focus on the future," said payload operations manager David Schubert. He was standing next to a 50-foot inspection boom, the new tool astronauts will use to make sure the shuttle has reached space unscathed.
For the first time since Columbia went down, "we're in pretty much known territory," said NASA's top spaceflight official, Bill Readdy, a former space shuttle commander. "We know how to process vehicles. We know how to get to the launch pad from here."
"You can just feel it in the air," observed shuttle program manager Bill Parsons. Especially satisfying, he said, is knowing that this spring's flight will help the two men aboard the international space station. The shuttle Discovery will deliver much-needed groceries and replacement parts.
For virtually everyone, the next launch — possibly as early as May 12 — is deeply personal.
"We all want to do this in memory of the crew," said Sandy Coleman, project manager over the fuel tank. "This is for them and this is what they would have wanted us to do. We knew them. They knew the dangers of spaceflight, and if it had been reversed, they would have been doing it for us."
The fuel tank will be mounted to a pair of booster rockets in just over a week, and Discovery will be attached to the towering threesome in March for the long-awaited trip to the launch pad.
If Discovery is not flying by early June, NASA will have to wait until mid-July because of the unwavering requirement to launch the shuttle in daylight. That's to make sure NASA gets clear photos of the launch to make sure no damage occurred.
NASA guarantees that after two solid years of scrutiny and re-engineering, nothing bigger than a dinner roll will come off the fuel tank's foam exterior at liftoff, too small to do the kind of damage that brought down Columbia.
Compare that with the suitcase-size chunk of foam insulation that ripped away during Columbia's launch and gouged a sizable hole in the left wing. The hole was harmless in orbit, but during re-entry let in atmospheric gases hot enough to melt the wing from the inside out. The shuttle came apart over Texas, just 16 minutes from the Cape Canaveral landing strip where the astronauts' families and NASA hotshots — like Readdy — were waiting.
The bottom line, according to Readdy, is that even though a dinner roll is the maximum allowable size for flyaway foam, any pieces that do pop off will likely be more along the size of an inconsequential corn flake or two.
NASA is still trying to figure out just how small a piece of foam could cause catastrophic damage. It seems the shuttle is even more vulnerable than engineers thought. Mathematical models used to sort that out, however, tend to "pile worst upon worst upon worst," Readdy is quick to point out.
This time around, NASA has backup-upon-backup-upon-backup plans — just in case it's wrong about the fuel tank losing foam.
Discovery's seven astronauts will have a hole-repair kit, albeit rudimentary and not nearly as sophisticated as engineers had hoped. They also will have the option of moving into the space station to await rescue by shuttle Atlantis.
Most important, they will have the new fuel tank and the new laser-eyed inspection boom.
For Discovery's commander, Eileen Collins, it all comes down to this: "If it wasn't safe, I wouldn't get on it."
Unlike the Columbia astronauts, "we've got a lot of things going in our favor," said her co-pilot, James Kelly. "When you're on a crew, whether it's an airplane or on the space shuttle, if you know the health of your vehicle, then you can start making intelligent decisions about what you need to do."
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On the Net:
NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov
In this undated photo released by NASA (news - web sites), workers at the space agency's Orbiter Processing Facility in Cape Canaveral install in shuttle Discovery's payload bay a 50-foot boom that can be used to inspect the shuttle while in flight. The boom, which attaches to the shuttle's robotic arm, is one of the new safety measures planned for the shuttle program's return to flight following the 2003 Columbia disaster. The Discovery mission could launch as early as May 12. (AP Photo/NASA)
The first redesigned external tank for the space shuttle arrives at the Kennedy Space Center (news - web sites) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, January 6, 2005. Astronauts assigned to NASA (news - web sites)'s first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster said on Friday they are confident mistakes and technical problems that led to that accident are in the past. Photo by Joe Skipper/Reuters
The crew of space shuttle Discovery on Mission STS-114 is shown during a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center (news - web sites) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, January 7, 2005. From left are Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence, Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas who was born in Australia, Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson, Commander Eileen Collins, Mission Specialist Charles Camarda, Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi of Japan and Pilot James Kelly. The crew is expected to be aboard Discovery for the return to flight launch as early as May of 2005. It will be the first launch since the shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003. REUTERS/Joe Skipper
Now, let's think about designing a newer space bird. The state of the art has come a long way since the shuttle was designed and built. Unchain those engineers! :)
I wonder if they just went back to the old, non environmentally friendly design that worked so well?
First female commander of a shuttle mission?
[AP SCOOP] Space Shuttle Columbia Will Be Visible In San Francisco Area (6AM Pacific)
Observation on TPS damage on Orbiter
I'd rather be the Pilot myself. :)
I agree , let's loose our engineers.
The scramjet looks pretty slick.
We need more commercialization of this effort in order to grow our space travel capabilities.
The govt can not afford to do an effective enough job in any timely manner.
She was commander of the shuttle that launched the Chandra X-Ray telescope, which did have some problems during liftoff. And the other good thing is she seems to care not in the least about being a feminist icon.
NASA got off way too easy for the Columbia tragedy.
(Enviro-friendly) foam hastens the destruction of the World Trade Center and is a direct cause of the shuttle break-up. Yet the MSM is STILL hyper-PC about speaking the truth.
How many more must die to prop up the PC establishment?
Glad to see the shuttle making a comeback.
"If Discovery is not flying by early June, NASA will have to wait until mid-July because of the unwavering requirement to launch the shuttle in daylight."
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Haven't been to Florida in a few years but I don't remember it being "dark" between June and July...
I forgot the free market! I fear the ghost of Reagan is probably shaking his head in disbelief.
I don't know how one could make money from spaceflight, but I'll bet there are others who already have some ideas.
The times when these conditions occur while it's also daylight in Florida are probably not particularly frequent.
For a more detailed explanation, see Fundamentals of Astrodynamics.
False bravado with a somewhat hollow ring (at least this time around). I heard identical sentiments from astronauts after NASA reforms immediately following the Challenger crash.
Thanks a lot, DW.
Take a flippant, light-hearted, sarcastic observation and turn it into a science lesson!!!!
Like I needed "that" on a day with no football???!!?? :>
Can't remember which Shuttle I got to see at Palmdale, my Son got us passes and we had a family outing....
I think their are some good years left in the Birds....
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