Spaceflightnow has shuttle dates listed?

http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html has shuttle flights listed
with dates. Do they know something we don't?

"Peter Altschuler" wrote in
et:

http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html has shuttle flights listed
with dates. Do they know something we don't?

They may know something *you* don't. :-) The dates they're using were
published by NASA at the end of July. They *do* have the caveat "The date
of xxx xx is NASA's internal planning target and subject to change."


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"Peter Altschuler" wrote:

http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html has shuttle flights listed
with dates. Do they know something we don't?

Those are not 'real' dates, those are work-to dates and subject to
change. The Shuttle program isn't something that can be started and
stopped on a dime, it takes time to get a mission a ready to go.
Ergo, you need some kind of planning date in order to get the timing
for the processes needed to fly a mission.

D.
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Corrections, comments, and additions should be
e-mailed to , as well as posted to
sci.space.history and sci.space.shuttle for
discussion.

"Jorge R. Frank" jrfrank wrote:

"Peter Altschuler" wrote in
et:

http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html has shuttle flights listed
with dates. Do they know something we don't?

They may know something *you* don't. :-) The dates they're using were
published by NASA at the end of July. They *do* have the caveat "The date
of xxx xx is NASA's internal planning target and subject to change."

I saw these dates there about a week ago and was a little surpised.
With the year of Shuttle-less station ops using up critical supplies,
I expected to see a ULF-1.1 added between ULF-1 and 12A.

Does anyone know if these are just placeholder dates or NASA's actual
thinking for return-to-flight?

Mike

-----
Michael Kent Apple II Forever!!
St. Peters, MO

(Michael Kent) wrote in
:

"Jorge R. Frank" jrfrank wrote:

"Peter Altschuler" wrote in
et:

http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html has shuttle flights
listed with dates. Do they know something we don't?

They may know something *you* don't. :-) The dates they're using were
published by NASA at the end of July. They *do* have the caveat "The
date of xxx xx is NASA's internal planning target and subject to
change."

I saw these dates there about a week ago and was a little surpised.
With the year of Shuttle-less station ops using up critical supplies,
I expected to see a ULF-1.1 added between ULF-1 and 12A.

That's under serious discussion, but no decision has been made yet.

Does anyone know if these are just placeholder dates or NASA's actual
thinking for return-to-flight?

Yes. :-) They represent actual thinking in the sense that they incorporate
all the currently known constraints to return-to-flight. They are
placeholders in the sense that there are known "schedule threats" out there
that could push the dates back, and it's highly likely (and widely
expected) that at least one of those will become real. Nevertheless, the
dates will be maintained until that time, to keep all the teams working
toward a concrete goal. No use in having everybody stand down waiting, only
to have to gear back up from a cold start later.


--
JRF

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