Soyuz-Shuttle Schedule conflict in Sep '05?

Soyuz-Shuttle Schedule conflict in Sep '05?

A recent planning manifest for 2005
(http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=13498)
shows both a Russian Soyuz mission and a NASA shuttle mission overlapping.

Soyuz TMA-7 (11S) is set to launch September 27, 2005.

Space Shuttle mission 12A is scheduled for NET Sep 29.

Please advise me on the real constraints that ought to prevent this --
having two visiting crews
on the ISS is something we don't really ever want to do, true or false?

So this is just an uncoordinated 'best guess' about dates that will never be
allowed to happen?

This is fourteen months in the future -- but the Soyuz date is probably
pretty reliable,
just as the shuttle date is not.

How close, in general, are we allowed to plan Soyuz and Shuttle missions?

Thanks!

Jim O

Jim,

This was done before (two visiting crews) on Mir I don't have the missions
reference handy but I know it was. Maybe during Foale's tenure? So, I don't
see why it would be too big of a deal on ISS. Having said all of that... you
can bet your next paycheck that either the Soyuz or the Shuttle mission will
move by at least a few weeks. Those are never going to be stable again for
quite some time.


Kevin

"Jim Oberg" wrote in message
...
Soyuz-Shuttle Schedule conflict in Sep '05?

A recent planning manifest for 2005
(http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=13498)
shows both a Russian Soyuz mission and a NASA shuttle mission overlapping.

Soyuz TMA-7 (11S) is set to launch September 27, 2005.

Space Shuttle mission 12A is scheduled for NET Sep 29.

Please advise me on the real constraints that ought to prevent this --
having two visiting crews
on the ISS is something we don't really ever want to do, true or false?

So this is just an uncoordinated 'best guess' about dates that will never
be
allowed to happen?

This is fourteen months in the future -- but the Soyuz date is probably
pretty reliable,
just as the shuttle date is not.

How close, in general, are we allowed to plan Soyuz and Shuttle missions?

Thanks!

Jim O

"K. Collier" wrote:
see why it would be too big of a deal on ISS. Having said all of that... you
can bet your next paycheck that either the Soyuz or the Shuttle mission will
move by at least a few weeks. Those are never going to be stable again for
quite some time.

Recall that not too long ago, during the disk drive problem which resulted in
the Shuttle staying a couple extra days at the station, NASA was very very
very nervous about the Russian's unwillingness to change their launch of
Soyuz. The russians launched on schedule, and they arrived at station shortly
after the shuttle had left. So it turned out OK.

At this point in time, since the shuttle is still grounded, there is no point
in the russians starting to change their schedules.

If, due to launch restrictions, NASA reaaly needs to launch in a small window
that conflicts with Soyuz, my guess is that NASA will ask the ruskies to move
their soyuz to accomodate the shuttle.

However, remember also that the russians really want (need ?) the docking to
occur while station is above Russia and in daylight. (correct ?). So they too
have some limits on when they can launch, but their window is probably far
wider than that of americans.

If NASA's launch window for that period is really really tight, then my guess
is that NASA would already have sent a message to the russians asking them to
please move their soyuz flight. But if the window is wide enough, then NASA
doesn't need to ask yet since it can move the launch date around.


In the event that a conflict does happen, I think the americans would want to
soyuz to dock before the shuttle, and the shuttle to leave before the older
soyuz undocks. One of the arguments NASA had used when it feared a Soyuz would
arrive while Shuttle was still docked was that if it went bezerk (Kurs or
manual), it could hit the shuttle.

But if Soyuz arrives before shuttle, then there would be no real safety issue.

The station't toilet would be mighty busy. (is the use of shuttle's toilet
while docked prohibited or just avoided ?)