The Shuttle Discovery Launch Official Thread

[Guest Moneyball]

Space shuttle Discovery is set to launch tomorrow at 3:51 pm. This is the first launch since shuttle Columbia broke apart on re-entry. NASA has spent a billion dollars making modifications to the fleet. Hopefully all goes well.

 

All post any pics if I get anything. If weather is OK we should be able to see something. So keep your eyes on the skies tomorrow. :mischief

 

Window Cover Falls, Damages Tiles

 

 

By MARCIA DUNN, AP

 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (July 12) - With the countdown for Discovery in its final hours, NASA was dealt a setback Tuesday when a window cover fell off the shuttle and damaged thermal tiles near the tail. But the space agency said it probably could fix the problem in time for Wednesday's launch.

 

The mishap was an eerie reminder of the very thing that doomed Columbia - damage to the spaceship's fragile thermal shield.

 

The plastic-and-foam cover on one of Discovery's cockpit windows fell at the launch pad and struck a bulge in the fuselage that houses an orbital-maneuvering engine.

 

Stephanie Stilson, NASA manager in charge of Discovery's launch preparations, said that the tiles on an aluminum panel were damaged and that a spare panel would be installed in its place late Tuesday. She said the work could be done in about an hour and should not delay the launch.

 

No workers were nearby when the window cover fell off and dropped about 60 feet, the space agency said. It was not immediately clear why the cover - which was held by tape - came loose.

 

Word of the mishap came just two hours after NASA declared Discovery ready to return the nation to space, 2 1/2 years after the Columbia disaster.

 

Up until the window cover fell, NASA's only concern was the weather. Because of thunderstorms in the forecast, the chances of acceptable weather at launch time were put at 60 percent.

 

Discovery and its crew of seven were set to blast off at 3:51 p.m. EDT. The last few technical concerns were resolved Tuesday afternoon at one final launch review by NASA's managers.

 

'It is utterly crucial for NASA, for the nation, for our space program to fly a safe mission,'' NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said on the eve of the launch. ''We have done everything that we know to do.''

 

The families of the seven astronauts killed during Columbia's catastrophic re-entry praised the accident investigators, a NASA oversight group and the space agency itself for defining and reducing the dangers.

 

Like those who lost loved ones in the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire and the Challenger launch explosion, the Columbia families said they grieve deeply ''but know the exploration of space must go on.''

 

''We hope we have learned and will continue to learn from each of these accidents so that we will be as safe as we can be in this high-risk endeavor,'' they said in a statement. ''Godspeed, Discovery.''

 

Discovery will be setting off on the 114th space shuttle flight in 24 years with a redesigned external fuel tank and nearly 50 other improvements made in the wake of the Columbia tragedy.

 

A chunk of foam insulation the size of a carry-on suitcase fell off Columbia's fuel tank at liftoff and slammed into a reinforced carbon panel on the shuttle's wing, creating a hole that brought the spacecraft crashing down in pieces during its return to Earth on Feb. 1, 2003.

 

Almost every day since then, engineers have struggled to keep foam, ice and other debris from popping off the tank. They will not know whether they succeeded until Discovery flies.

 

During the 12-day flight, Discovery's astronauts will test various techniques for patching cracks and holes in the thermal shielding.

 

The crew members will also try out a new 50-foot boom designed to give them a three-dimensional laser view of the wings and nose cap and help them find any damage caused by liftoff debris. That is on top of all the pictures of the spacecraft that will be taken by more than 100 cameras positioned around the launching site and aboard two planes and the shuttle itself.

 

''After this flight, we will have a much, much, much better idea of whether or not our measures we have taken ... have been effective - or not effective,'' Griffin said. ''Now our best engineers have put their best efforts on that, and we devoutly hope that they have been effective.''

 

The board that investigated the Columbia accident put some of the blame on the space agency's safety culture, which collapsed during the doomed flight. Shuttle managers dismissed the foam strike, and engineers did not speak up about their fears.

 

At Tuesday's meeting, Griffin said, there was full and frank discussion of the remaining technical concerns.

 

''I think we got everything that everybody knows about out on the table,'' he said. ''Can there be something that we don't know about that can bite us? Yeah. This is a very tough business. It's a tough business. But everything we know about has been covered.''

 

A safe and successful flight of Discovery will not vindicate the space agency, Griffin said.

 

''There is no recovery from mistakes we've made, whether it goes back to the Apollo fire, loss of Challenger or the loss of Columbia. Going back even further to 100 years of aviation, the safety systems that we who fly have learned and know are written in other people's blood,'' said Griffin, a pilot.

 

''The minute we say we're good enough, we start getting bad again and we need not to do that.''

 

 

AP-NY-07-12-05 18:30 EDT

[Beinfest4Prez]

Well, I don't have to go to any bar mitzvahs tomorrow and thats exactly where I was when Columbia happened, so maybe its good luck that I am not at one. I hope they launch without any problems. America needs it.

[CapeFish]

I remember hearing a sonic boom at the time Columbia exploded. I was in the bedroom watching TV and rushed out thinking someone hurt themselves in the kitchen. Everyone else had rushed into the bedroom thinking I had fallen from the bed or in the bathroom. Then they broke in and we got the terrible news of the Columbia being lost.

[PBMarlin]

I remember hearing a sonic boom at the time Columbia exploded. I was in the bedroom watching TV and rushed out thinking someone hurt themselves in the kitchen. Everyone else had rushed into the bedroom thinking I had fallen from the bed or in the bathroom. Then they broke in and we got the terrible news of the Columbia being lost.

853003[/snapback]

 

You aren't implying you heard Columbia exploding are you?

[PBMarlin]

Godspeed to the Discovery crew.

[FishFan24]

I was actually listening to WQAM when I heard the news about Columbia missing. I hope everything goes well tomorrow for Discovery.

[CapeFish]

You aren't implying you heard Columbia exploding are you?

853287[/snapback]

The explanation by NASA on our local TV stations was that we heard the Shuttle enter the atmosphere's middle layers and the explosion. The boom was unusually stronger than what I was used to.

 

Edit: BTW, go Stephanie Stilson, Discovery's vehicle manager and a Mariner grad.

[PBMarlin]

You aren't implying you heard Columbia exploding are you?

853287[/snapback]

The explanation by NASA on our local TV stations was that we heard the Shuttle enter the atmosphere's middle layers and the explosion. The boom was unusually stronger than what I was used to.

 

Edit: BTW, go Stephanie Stilson, Discovery's vehicle manager and a Mariner grad.

853444[/snapback]

 

Given that the shuttle entered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean as it approached the California coast there is no way you heard anything in Cape Coral. I'm a bit confused by what you are trying to describe. Did you hear something on the TV?

[Guest Fritz]

Perhaps I'll watch this after I get off of work. It should be cool.

 

 

Anyway, I can't wait until we get a new space shuttle. Using a design from the 70s seems a little bit ridiculous given how fast technology advances.

[Das Texan]

my mother was calling me for about 2 hours after columbia broke up....you know cause it was in tejas.

 

 

i was asleep for a good two hours after it happened. had no clue when i woke up was like...what the hell is all the commotion. then turned on the tube and found out.

[CapeFish]

Given that the shuttle entered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean as it approached the California coast there is no way you heard anything in Cape Coral. I'm a bit confused by what you are trying to describe. Did you hear something on the TV?

853508[/snapback]

 

We heard a boom, one that shook the house. Now we had been used to smaller booms during previous re-entries...but this one was strong. The shuttle came apart over Texas...so it wasn't that far. I do not know exactly what it was, it was just said that the boom was attributed to the shuttle by NASA.

[Guest Moneyball]

There must be no thunderstorms within a 20 mile radius inland and 35 mile radius out to sea for the shuttle to launch.

[MarlinsFan253]

I watched Apollo 13 the night before the Columbia burnt up. After the movie, I got online to check the status of the Columbia and saw they were having problems with something though it said it was not a major problem. I got nervous that night which is so strange because the first thing I heard when I woke up in the morning was "Something terrible has happened aboard the shuttle Columbia" from the TV in the other room. I felt so strange like I was psychic or something.

[MiRi]

I think us folks in Miami may be able to see something right? Just smoke maybe?

[Guest Moneyball]

I think us folks in Miami may be able to see something right? Just smoke maybe?

853759[/snapback]

 

Smoke and maybe some flames. It all depends on visibility.

[MarlinsFan253]

Does anyone know if any major networks will be covering the launch?

[MiRi]

Does anyone know if any major networks will be covering the launch?

853781[/snapback]

 

CBS?

[MarlinsFan253]

I watched Apollo 13 the night before the Columbia burnt up. After the movie, I got online to check the status of the Columbia and saw they were having problems with something though it said it was not a major problem. I got nervous that night which is so strange because the first thing I heard when I woke up in the morning was "Something terrible has happened aboard the shuttle Columbia" from the TV in the other room. I felt so strange like I was psychic or something.

853758[/snapback]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I just thought of something! I randomly listened to the musical theme from Apollo 13 yesterday. I haven't listened to that in over a year. ALSO, I had no idea this launch was taking place today until I saw this thread. This is scary stuff for me. I just think it is a little random...

[Everlong204]

when i lived in sanford, seeing the night launches were breathtaking

[CapeFish]

3:45 p.m.: CBS News Coverage Of Shuttle Launch | CBSNews.com is live now

No word on ABC's on-air coverage | ABCNews.com's coverage

NBC News also plans coverage.

Fox News Channel, CNN, and MSNBC are already into their coverage.

 

Looks like the launch may have been scrapped according to MSNBC. Technical problems the cause. NASA TV showed as they were checking sensors in the fuel tank and the sensors were not working properly.

[Guest Moneyball]

Launch scrubbed.

 

Damn.

[MarlinsFan253]

Launch scrubbed.

 

Damn.

853894[/snapback]

Yup. Faulty fuel gauge.

[Guest Moneyball]

Launch will either be on Monday or September. :plain

[Guest Juanky]

Given that the shuttle entered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean as it approached the California coast there is no way you heard anything in Cape Coral. I'm a bit confused by what you are trying to describe. Did you hear something on the TV?

 

We heard a boom, one that shook the house. Now we had been used to smaller booms during previous re-entries...but this one was strong. The shuttle came apart over Texas...so it wasn't that far. I do not know exactly what it was, it was just said that the boom was attributed to the shuttle by NASA.Um, how could it have been from the shuttle? If it's coming in so far in the US, that means the same boom would have been experienced in Miami if it reached that far to Cape Coral. And there was nothing here.

[UMFan4Life7]

Given that the shuttle entered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean as it approached the California coast there is no way you heard anything in Cape Coral. I'm a bit confused by what you are trying to describe. Did you hear something on the TV?

 

We heard a boom, one that shook the house. Now we had been used to smaller booms during previous re-entries...but this one was strong. The shuttle came apart over Texas...so it wasn't that far. I do not know exactly what it was, it was just said that the boom was attributed to the shuttle by NASA.Um, how could it have been from the shuttle? If it's coming in so far in the US, that means the same boom would have been experienced in Miami if it reached that far to Cape Coral. And there was nothing here.

855004[/snapback]

And in Tallahassee. Nothing here either.