Posted on 03/10/2008 9:13:27 AM PDT by RobFromGa
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA's space shuttle Endeavour is on track to light the predawn Florida sky ablaze early Tuesday as it rockets toward the International Space Station (ISS) with seven astronauts on board.
Led by commander Dominic Gorie, Endeavour's STS-123 crew will install the first piece of Japan's three-part Kibo laboratory, assemble a monstrous, two-armed Canadian robot and deliver a suite of on-orbit experiments during their mission. The shuttle is counting down toward a planned 2:28 a.m. EDT (0628 GMT) launch on Tuesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Gorie and his crew plan to spend 16 days executing their mission, which is the longest space station-bound flight NASA has ever concocted. And with no less than five spacewalks on tap, the astronauts consider their mission as one of the most intense and exhilarating, too.
"If you go to a drawing board and describe an exciting mission from scratch, I think you'd end up with STS-123," Gorie said. "We've got everything on this mission that you could imagine."
Joining the veteran spaceflyer aboard Endeavour will be pilot Gregory H. Johnson, mission specialists Robert Behnken, Mike Foreman, Rick Linnehan and JAXA astronaut Takao Doi. Rookie spaceflyer Garrett Reisman will stay behind as a member of the Expedition 16 space station crew, allowing European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Leopold Eyharts to return home.
A successful launch will mark the second space station assembly mission of 2008, as well as the second of up to six NASA shuttle missions planned for the year.
Clear skies?
Endeavour has a 90 percent chance of favorable weather conditions at launch time, with the potential for thick clouds posing the only threat, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Pat Barrett, NASA's shuttle weather officer with the 45th Weather Squadron, in a Sunday briefing.
"We are expecting favorable conditions for launch. The only concern we have is a slight chance of seeing some low-level clouds moving into the area from ... the Atlantic," Barrett said, adding that cloud cover can interfere with tracking the 100-ton orbiter as it speeds to more than 17,500 mph (28,200 kph) during the trip to space.
If all goes as planned, Endeavour will be the second shuttle to launch in darkness since the 2003 Columbia tragedy, and the 30th total night launch, following the shuttle Discovery's December 2006 liftoff.
Shot in the dark
Darkness can be dangerous because technicians have a tough time spotting errant chunks of ice or insulating foam that can shed from an orbiter's 15-story fuel tank — debris which can damage the heat-resistant underbelly of a space shuttle.
But LeRoy Cain, chair of NASA's mission management team, said the agency has addressed these risks by improving the external fuel tank and adding extra cameras to the launch vehicle.
"We feel very comfortable to go fly at night," Cain told reporters during a Sunday briefing. One of the new improvements flying aboard Endeavour is a flash unit for a belly-mounted camera to help photograph the shuttle's fuel tank after separation.
"This will be the first time that we've flown that," Cain said, noting that it should put on quite a show when Endeavour sheds its orange fuel tank high above the Earth. "You can expect to see some pretty brilliant flashes in a sequence [in video footage] after we have physical separation from the external tank."
International cargo
Shortly after reaching the space station some 212 miles (340 kilometers) above the Earth, the crew will deliver the cylindrical Japanese Logistics Pressurized (JLP) module.
"Japanese people have been waiting a very long, long time," Yoshiyuki Hasegawa, ISS program manager for JAXA, said of the JLP's launch and delivery to the space station. "It will be an unforgettable event."
Two days after Japan's first orbital room is stowed in a temporary berth at the space station, spacewalkers Linnehan, Foreman and Behnken will piece together Dextre — the Canadian Space Agency's (CSA) maintenance robot that weighs more than 3,440 pounds (1,560 kilograms).
The giant robot, often personified by the STS-123 crew as "Mr. Dextre," will have an arm span of about 30 feet (9 meters) and stand 12 feet (3.7 meters) tall. By guiding highly precise "hands" from inside the space station, astronauts can perform basic space station maintenance without having to venture into the unforgiving space environment outside.
"As spacewalkers, we don't want to put ourselves out of the job," Foreman said of the robot's abilities. "But I think ... Dextre will be a boon to the space station when it gets built and put into work."
If the shuttle's Tuesday morning launch attempt is foiled, NASA will try again no earlier than 2:02 a.m. EDT (0602 GMT) on Wednesday with a less encouraging 70 percent chance of liftoff. Clouds may botch a second attempt, with the added threat of rain showers, shuttle weather officials said. Should further delay be required, Endeavour would stand down until after March 15 to allow an unmanned Delta 2 rocket to launch a navigation satellite from the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Endeavour is scheduled to return to Earth on March 26 at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT March 27) at Kennedy Space Center.
Yes it will.....Titusville is a very good location to view.
For those interested, the following link is a video (not very good video) of a launch seen from Savannah in December 2006.
Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI-CAbRBiQI
spaceflightnow.cMONDAY, MARCH 10, 2008
2103 GMT (5:03 p.m. EDT)
The Mission Management Team has given a “go” to begin fueling space shuttle Endeavour for tonight’s launch. Engineers in Firing Room 4 will start the three-hour fueling process shortly.
The coundown has just resumed ticking after the two-hour planned hold at the T-minus 6 hour mark. The next scheduled hold occurs at T-minus 3 hours.
Liftoff is targeted for precisely 2:28:14 a.m. EDT.
spaceflightnow.com
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2008
2114 GMT (5:14 p.m. EDT)
FUELING UNDERWAY. The filling of space shuttle Endeavour’s external fuel tank with a half-million gallons of supercold propellants has begun at launch pad 39A.
The tanking operation commenced with the chilldown thermal conditioning process at 5:04 p.m.
Thanks ‘Whale!
spaceflightnow.com
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2008
2215 GMT (6:15 p.m. EDT)
The liquid hydrogen low-level engine cutoff sensors in the bottom of the external tank have undergone initial testing today after they were submerged by propellant during the first hour of fueling. The launch team sent commands to test the health of the sensors and a NASA spokesman says the expected readings were received from the sensors, indicating all four are working properly.
I’ll be staying up late and making popcorn! Night launches are truly awe-inspiring. :-)
Yup. Fuel cut-off sensors issues are one quick way to put a countdown on indefinite delay. Missing the launch window does that, too.
spaceflightnow.com
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2008
2320 GMT (7:20 p.m. EDT)
The three-hour loading of the external tank is in the final phases now. All has gone well during this evening’s fueling of Endeavour, NASA says.
2250 GMT (6:50 p.m. EDT)
The schedule for Endeavour’s seven astronauts tonight began with their wakeup call at 5:30 p.m., breakfast at 6 p.m. and final medical exams at 6:30 p.m.
They’ll gather in the crew quarters dining room at 8:55 p.m. for the traditional pre-launch photo, then receive a weather briefing at 9:58 p.m., begin suiting up at 10:08 p.m. and head for the launch pad at 10:38 p.m.
spaceflightnow.com
If Endeavour departs the orbiting complex on time, Jules Verne will begin moving toward the station on March 27, setting up for the first of two “demo days” to showcase the craft’s ability to autonomously fly in close proximity to the outpost.
I sit on the beach with a radio, when it is time I run in the house and watch the lift-off then go back out and watch the light show...night is the best!
Vibrations and shaking windows don't come for a couple of minutes!
South of the Cape so the length of viewing is based on the angle of the flight and the cloud cover. Last daytime shot was soon above clouds and not seen again from here.
Setting alarm now!
LOOKING GOOD!
0335 GMT (11:35 p.m. EDT Mon.)
Japanese astronaut Takao Doi serves as mission specialist No. 3 on Endeavour’s STS-123 flight. He just entered the orbiter to take the center seat on the middeck.
Read his biography here.
0334 GMT (11:34 p.m. EDT Mon.)
Rookie astronaut Bob Behnken is mission specialist No. 1 for Endeavour. He is climbing to the flight deck’s aft-right seat.
Read his biography here.
0328 GMT (11:28 p.m. EDT Mon.)
Three hours and counting until liftoff time.
0324 GMT (11:24 p.m. EDT Mon.)
Rick Linnehan just entered the orbiter to take the middeck’s left seat. The veteran of two Spacelab missions in 1996 and 1998, plus the most recent Hubble Space Telescope servicing flight in 2002, is mission specialist No. 4 for STS-123.
Read his biography here.
0322 GMT (11:22 p.m. EDT Mon.)
Greg Johnson, an Air Force colonel and the rookie astronaut pilot of Endeavour, is making his way to the flight deck’s front-right seat.
Read his biography here.
0313 GMT (11:13 p.m. EDT Mon.)
Station-bound crewmember Garrett Reisman, a rookie NASA astronaut, has boarded Endeavour to take the middeck’s right-side seat. He will move aboard the station for an extended stay as part of the Expedition crew, replacing European astronaut Leopold Eyharts.
Read his biography here.
0309 GMT (11:09 p.m. EDT Mon.)
Commander Dom Gorie is the first astronaut to board the shuttle. He is taking the forward-left seat on the flight deck.
The retired Navy captain has flown three previous shuttle missions — as pilot of STS-91 to the Russian space station Mir in 1998 and the STS-99 shuttle radar mapping mission in 2000 and commander of STS-108 to the International Space Station in 2001. Read his biography here.
0256 GMT (10:56 p.m. EDT Mon.)
Endeavour’s crew arrived at launch pad 39A at 10:56 p.m. The AstroVan came to a stop on the pad surface near the Fixed Service Structure tower elevator that will take the seven-man crew to the 195-foot level to begin boarding the shuttle.
0249 GMT (10:49 p.m. EDT Mon.)
The AstroVan is passing the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building where Endeavour was attached to its external tank and solid rocket boosters and the adjacent Launch Control Center.
The Press Site is located across the street, and reporters went outside to watch at the passing convoy. This is a launch day tradition to say farewell and good luck to the astronaut crews.
0239 GMT (10:39 p.m. EDT Mon.)
Commander Dom Gorie, the crew includes pilot Greg Johnson, mission specialists Bob Behnken, Mike Foreman, Takao Doi, Rick Linnehan and station-bound crewmember Garrett Reisman just departed the Kennedy Space Center crew quarters to board the AstroVan for the 20-minute ride from the Industrial Area to launch pad 39A on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
On scheduled ten minute hold. Clearing White Room and Assembly of all personnel.
Looks like a GO for 01:29 launch.
Just passed the 20 minute hold...on schedule for 2:28am EDT (11:28pm PDT) launch.
T-9 minutes and holding
This is the final built-in hold, and varies in length depending on the mission.
The Launch Director, Mission Management Team and Shuttle Test Director poll their teams for a go/no go for launch
T-9 minutes and counting
Start automatic ground launch sequencer Retract orbiter access arm (T-7 minutes, 30 seconds) Start auxiliary power units (T-5 minutes, 0 seconds) Arm solid rocket booster range safety safe and arm devices (T-5 minutes, 0 seconds) Start orbiter aerosurface profile test, followed by main engine gimbal profile test (T-3 minutes, 55 seconds) Retract gaseous oxygen vent arm, or “beanie cap”
(T-2 minutes, 55 seconds) Crew members close and lock their visors
(T-2 minutes, 0 seconds) Orbiter transfers from ground to internal power
(T-50 seconds) Ground launch sequencer is go for auto sequence start (T-31 seconds) Activate launch pad sound suppression system
(T-16 seconds) Activate main engine hydrogen burnoff system
(T-10 seconds) Main engine start (T-6.6 seconds)
T-0
Solid rocket booster ignition and liftoff!
Now at T -9 Hold for 45 Minutes.
Little over 10 minutes to launch...PING!!
God speed the crew.
prisoner6
Thanks for the tip on “http://www.chooseandwatch.com/";
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