Go State!
Posted on 08/18/2005 10:29:48 AM PDT by JeffersonRepublic.com
NASA may push back plans to launch its next shuttle mission until March 2006, allowing engineers more time to solve an ongoing foam shedding problem with orbiter external tanks.
A September launch attempt of the space shuttle Atlantis and its STS-121 mission – NASA’s second orbiter to fly since the Columbia disaster – is all but out, with space agency officials stating last week that chances were slim they would make the four-day window that opens on Sept. 22.
Shuttle managers are discussing whether to push past a brief, four-day launch window in November, and even switch shuttles – launching Discovery instead of Atlantis – for the next orbiter flight, NASA officials said.
“There have indeed been discussions about that,” NASA spokesman Allard Beutel told SPACE.com, adding that an update on NASA’s shuttle program status is set for 12:00 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) today.
Shuttle officials have pledged not to launch the next shuttle mission until the foam issue is solved.
A large piece of foam insulation weighing nearly one pound pulled free from the external tank fueling the space shuttle Discovery about two minutes into its July 26 launch. The foam missed the orbiter, but was the largest of several pieces of foam debris that exceeded safety restrictions put in place after the Columbia accident.
Columbia broke apart during reentry on Feb. 1, 2003, when damage caused at launch by the impact of a 1.67-pound piece of tank foam debris allowed hot atmospheric gases to enter the resulting hole and rip apart the shuttle. Its seven-astronaut crew did not survive.
Preparations are underway to send an external tank from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center spaceport in Cape Canaveral, Florida back to Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana – where the tanks are built – so engineers can begin troubleshooting efforts.
Beutel said that shuttle managers were still discussing whether to pry Atlantis from its external tank to allow the fuel container to be shipped back to Michoud, or whether a separate tank at KSC will be sent back.
JUNK THIS THING NOW!
2 1/2 years and they still didn't get it right.
There's nothing wrong with it and we need some kind of reusable space craft. Just put the old foam back on it, that stuff stuck alot better.
What you need is a big role of duct tape and wire and git that thang fixed.
If they don't get this thing fixed, Research in the space sciences and astronomy is going to take a big hit. They don't have much else to launch those orbital observatories into space.
Go State!
Not a bad idea....
"we need some kind of reusable space craft"
I'm beginning to think that having a "reusable" space craft isn't the best idea. There is to much that can go wrong.
A srb with a capsule or small lifting body is the best system NASA is considering. They should adopt this new system today, and start building it.
No shuttle launch until March?
They KNOW what the problem is. They just need to switch back to the un-PC foam that used chlorofluorocarbons in the manufacturing process.
I cant believe they used the same foam after it fell off the last shuttle. Going back to what works seems like the simplest solution.
"They KNOW what the problem is. They just need to switch back to the un-PC foam that used chlorofluorocarbons in the manufacturing process."
NASA said that the foam that fell off the Shuttle was the old foam (pre-PC foam), and they feel that it's the way the foam is applied that is causing it to fall off.
Whatever the problem with foam doesn't matter. The shuttle is no good. It can't do what NASA claimed it would.
Have they flown that design again since it fell over?
I believe the whole system got junked after NASA selected the competing design and McDonnel-Douglas got bought out by Boeing.
Nope. NASA killed that idea dead'er'n a roadway skunk.
You see, it worked and there was no drama involved wherein NASA could attract attention and impress us with how smart they all are.
Why do I suspect the condom lobby has a solution?
I remember that Mcdonnel-Douglas sucessfully test flew the Delta Clipper. After the inital testing, NASA got a hold of it, and destroyed it during their first flight... not surprised.
NASA decided against using the Delta Clipper and annouced the VentureStar would replace the Shuttle. NASA canceled the VentureStar.
It's against NASA interest to let someone else get into the space game.
Holtz
JeffersonRepublic.com
"NASA said that the foam that fell off the Shuttle was the old foam (pre-PC foam), and they feel that it's the way the foam is applied that is causing it to fall off."
Just curious, got a link to the article that says they used the old foam?
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