Jacques van Oene
August 18th 05, 04:15 AM
Space Shuttle Status Report
Wednesday August 17
Difficulties with alignment of the aerodynamic tailcone with the aft end of
the Space Shuttle Discovery have forced a further postponement of the
departure of Discovery on its ferry flight from NASA's Dryden Flight
Research Center in Southern California to the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida.
As of Wednesday morning, the Discovery will depart Edwards Air Force Base on
the first leg of its ferry flight atop a modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier
Aircraft (SCA) no earlier than early Friday morning. A possible option to
depart Thursday afternoon has now been ruled out, due to temperature and
preparation schedule issues.
A heavy thunderstorm Monday evening forced technicians to temporarily
suspend work on fastening the aerodynamic tailcone over Discovery's main
engine nozzles. Then technicians encountered some difficulty in obtaining
precise alignment of the 10,000-pound tailcone with the shuttle, preventing
the tailcone from being bolted in place. The tailcone is required to reduce
aerodynamic drag and smooth out the airflow over the Shuttle orbiter during
the ferry flight.
Once the tailcone is in place and securely fastened, all that remains in
ferry flight preparations is the actual mounting of Discovery atop the
modified 747 SCA. The three attach points on the 747's fuselage fit into the
ball joint receptacles on the Shuttle orbiter that are also used for
attachment of the Shuttle's external fuel tank during pre-launch operations.
The mating of Discovery with the 747 SCA is expected to take about eight to
10 hours.
The cross-country journey is expected to take two days, with stops at
several intermediate points for refueling.
For more on the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight, visit:
www.nasa.gov/returntoflight on the Internet.
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
Wednesday August 17
Difficulties with alignment of the aerodynamic tailcone with the aft end of
the Space Shuttle Discovery have forced a further postponement of the
departure of Discovery on its ferry flight from NASA's Dryden Flight
Research Center in Southern California to the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida.
As of Wednesday morning, the Discovery will depart Edwards Air Force Base on
the first leg of its ferry flight atop a modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier
Aircraft (SCA) no earlier than early Friday morning. A possible option to
depart Thursday afternoon has now been ruled out, due to temperature and
preparation schedule issues.
A heavy thunderstorm Monday evening forced technicians to temporarily
suspend work on fastening the aerodynamic tailcone over Discovery's main
engine nozzles. Then technicians encountered some difficulty in obtaining
precise alignment of the 10,000-pound tailcone with the shuttle, preventing
the tailcone from being bolted in place. The tailcone is required to reduce
aerodynamic drag and smooth out the airflow over the Shuttle orbiter during
the ferry flight.
Once the tailcone is in place and securely fastened, all that remains in
ferry flight preparations is the actual mounting of Discovery atop the
modified 747 SCA. The three attach points on the 747's fuselage fit into the
ball joint receptacles on the Shuttle orbiter that are also used for
attachment of the Shuttle's external fuel tank during pre-launch operations.
The mating of Discovery with the 747 SCA is expected to take about eight to
10 hours.
The cross-country journey is expected to take two days, with stops at
several intermediate points for refueling.
For more on the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight, visit:
www.nasa.gov/returntoflight on the Internet.
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info