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Preparing Canada Arm

Matt | July 5, 2006 |

On the first full day of Mission STS-121 the crew of Discovery are preparing to examine the vehicle heat shield for damage. The examinations are designed to show up any damage sustained during the eight-and-a-half-minute climb to space. A 15-metre boom was added to the shuttle’s robotic arm after the Columbia disaster. The extension allows […]

Discovery tank ‘Performed Well’

Matt | July 5, 2006 |

In the evening press conference held on Tuesday afternnon at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Space Shuttle Program Wayne Hale reported that the external tank’s performance was greatly improved during the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery During liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 on July 4, a camera captured a small piece […]

Successful launch!

Matt | July 4, 2006 |

Following the frustrating flight cancellations over the weekend, Discovery blasts off on time for mission STS-121. Is there a better way for the americans to celebrate the 4th July?! There have been some early reports that some debris fell off the external tank some time into the launch but Nasa have stated that they feel […]

Discovery all set!

Matt | July 4, 2006 |

The astronauts are buckled into their seats inside Discovery’s cabin. The STS-121 crew is now going through final checks inside the orbiter to prepare for liftoff. The Ground Launch Sequencer (GLS) computer has been activated in the firing room. The GLS is a master computer program which controls the final nine minutes of the countdown. […]

Another Discovery glitch

Matt | July 4, 2006 |

Engineers have just doscovered another issue with Discovery that is being addressed at this time. A backup circuit breaker that controls the primary heaters on the segment joints of both solid rocket boosters has failed. A team called “Red Team” will be going out to the mobile launcher platform to quickly replace the circuit breaker […]

Discovery ‘GO’ For Independence Day Launch

Matt | July 4, 2006 |

Over night Nasa have conducted extensive tests on Discovery’s external fuel tank. Analysis has shown that the area around the crack is intact and there is no concern for heating as there is adequate foam in place on the strut. Additional borescope inspection of the tank revealed that the bracket has no cracks. The weather […]

Discovery still safe?

Matt | July 3, 2006 |

Following the inspection of Discovery’s external tank which led to the finding of a crack in the foam covering Nasa made the following comments: “At a Mission Management Team meeting this morning, a decision was made to continue analyzing available data before making a final decision regarding tomorrow’s launch attempt. The question is whether there […]

Crack in shuttle tank foam

Matt | July 3, 2006 |

Engineers conducting a routine check of the shuttle Discovery after Sunday’s launch postponement have found a crack in the foam insulation lining the orbiter’s external tank. The 12cm-long, 3mm-deep breakage was spotted near a bracket close to the top of the fuel tank, Nasa confirmed. Its not yet known what this could mean to the […]

Scrubbed ’till Tuesday

Matt | July 2, 2006 |

Nasa have decided that there is ‘no chance of clear weather’ for the launch of Discovery today. There will now be a 48hr stand-down for another attempt again on Tuesday giving the crew and other tam members time to rest. The crew of Discovery are being helped out of the obiter now. Third time lucky […]

Crew on their way to the pad.

Matt | July 2, 2006 |

The crew of Discovery STS-121 are now on their way to the launch pad and should be baording within the next 25 minutes. Commander Lindsey has just received an updated weather briefing, launch is still looking unlikely due to the weather. Matt [Technorati tag(s): shuttle, nasa, Space Shuttle, Space Shuttle Discovery, Discovery, Space, Science, STS-121]