







NASA considers unique photo op during Discovery mission

BY WILLIAM HARWOOD

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION

Posted: February 11, 2011



NASA managers, engineers and contractors met Friday for a program-level review of the shuttle Discovery's ground processing and readiness to launch Feb. 24 on a long-delayed space station assembly mission. An executive-level fight readiness review is planned for Feb. 18.

This illustration shows the shuttle docked to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA



Along with reviewing ground processing and external tank repairs, shuttle managers also are considering the possibility of staging what might be considered the ultimate photo op during Discovery's mission to deliver critical supplies and a final U.S. module to the space station. The idea is to have a Russian Soyuz spacecraft undock so its three-man crew can photograph the station from a distance, showing the completed lab complex with the shuttle attached, along with Russian, European and Japanese cargo ships and crew capsules. Discovery's mission represents the last time a shuttle and all current types of visiting spacecraft will be present at the station before the shuttle fleet is retired later this year. But the plan would require Russian approval and cooperation and it's not yet known if they will go along. It is not a trivial undertaking. Anytime a manned spacecraft undocks, there is the possibility of a malfunction that could prevent a re-docking. In that case, the Soyuz and its three-man crew -- Soyuz TMA-01M commander Alexander Kaleri, Oleg Skripochka and Expedition 26 commander Scott Kelly -- would be forced to return directly to Earth, reducing the station's crew from six to three.

The Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft is now docked to a space-facing port on the Russian segment of the station. Credit: NASA



"This only hit people's radar at the end of last week," said one NASA manager. While video and still photos showing the completed space station with a shuttle attached would no doubt be spectacular, at least some agency insiders believe the risks outweigh the benefits. Others, seeing a chance to capture a defining image of the shuttle-station complex, are hopeful the Russians will approve. The Russians staged a similar photo operation on July 4, 1995, when the shuttle Atlantis undocked after NASA's first linkup with the Russian Mir space station. Just before Atlantis separated, cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyev and Nikolai Budarin undocked in a Soyuz spacecraft and photographed the shuttle's departure from a distance of about 300 feet. Just after Atlantis undocked, however, Mir's central computer shut down, apparently misinterpreting the jarring caused by the shuttle's separation as a fault. The cosmonauts successfully redocked and eventually rebooted the computer. Whether that experience might affect how the Russians view the current proposal remains to be seen.

Atlantis undocks after its first visit at Mir. Credit: Roscosmos/NASA



NASA originally hoped to launch Discovery Nov. 1, but the flight was delayed because of bad weather and relatively minor technical snags. A launch attempt Nov. 5 was called off because of a gaseous hydrogen leak in a vent line attached to the ship's external tank. Then, during propellant draining operations, engineers discovered cracks in vertical rib-like stringers making up a central compartment in the huge tank. Launch then was put on indefinite hold while engineers worked to repair the cracks and figure out what caused them in the first place. After a fueling test, extensive testing and additional inspections, NASA managers concluded the root cause was a combination of factors, including the effects of ultra-low temperature propellant, manufacturing issues and use of an aluminum-lithium alloy that was not as strong as expected. Managers ultimately decided to install stiffeners on nearly all of the 108 stringers used in the so-called "intertank" section of the external tank. That work is complete, but tests and analysis have continued to make sure the modified tank has the required margin of safety. In recent days, engineers have run into a variety of fresh problems with the gaseous hydrogen vent line that leaked Nov. 5, derailing Discovery's last launch attempt. The leak was blamed on subtle alignment issues that, in the presence of low-temperature hydrogen gas, opened a leak path. Corrective actions were taken and during a fueling test Dec. 18, the fitting worked normally, without any significant leakage. Because of trouble disconnecting the line later, technicians replaced a seal in the system this week. But during work to re-attach the vent line and rig it for launch, workers noticed unexpected movement in a component at the base of the umbilical plate that attaches the line to the side of the tank. Leak checks were successfully completed, but additional troubleshooting was planned. In addition, a multi-blade tool called a "feeler gauge," similar to tools used to measure the gap in a spark plug, apparently came apart at the pad during work to rig the vent line fitting. Some of the tool's metal blades fell free and at least one of them hit Discovery's external tank. But a detailed photo analysis showed the damage was minor and no repairs were necessary. In an unrelated issue, engineers preparing to service the system used to move the nozzles of the shuttle's two solid-fuel boosters heard an unexpected bang-like noise Monday. There were no obvious signs of trouble with the hardware and it's possible the sound was caused by a gust of wind slamming a door or an access panel closed on the launch pad gantry.



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Additional coverage for subscribers:

VIDEO: ROOT CAUSE OF SHUTTLE TANK CRACKS FOUND PLAY



VIDEO: WORK UNDERWAY TO REMOVE FOAM AND SENSORS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: SETTING UP ACCESS PLATFORMS AROUND TANK PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: SHUTTLE ROLLED BACK TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: DISCOVERY DEPARTS LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: LUNAR ECLIPSE OVER DISCOVERY PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FUELING TEST PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: RECAP OF THE FUELING EXERCISE PLAY

VIDEO: FUELING TEST COUNTDOWN UPDATE PLAY

VIDEO: COMMENTS FROM SHUTTLE LAUNCH DIRECTOR PLAY

VIDEO: GROUND UMBILICAL CARRIER PLATE CHECKED PLAY

VIDEO: INFO ON EXTERNAL TANK INSTRUMENTATION PLAY

VIDEO: DETAILED INFORMATION ON SPECIAL FUELING TEST PLAY



VIDEO: SHUTTLE DISCOVERY'S LAUNCH DELAYED TO FEBRUARY PLAY



VIDEO: FINAL PREPS FOR INSTRUMENTED TEST PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: STRAIN GAUGES ATTACHED TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: BACKSCATTER INSPECTIONS OF TANK MIDSECTION PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: INSTALLING DOUBLERS OVER STRINGERS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: GASEOUS HYDROGEN VENT ARM RETURNED PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: DOUBLERS TO BEEF UP CRACKED BEAMS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: HYDROGEN FITTING IS REINSTALLED PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: OPENING UP TANK'S ENTRANCE DOOR PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: GUCP DETACHED AND SEALS REMOVED PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: BROKEN FOAM REMOVED FROM THE TANK PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: VENT ARM LETS GO FROM LEAKY GUCP PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: DISCOVERY AWAITS REPAIRS TO TANK PROBLEMS PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: INFORMATIVE DESCRIPTION OF TANK CRACK PROBLEM PLAY

VIDEO: DISCOVERY'S LAUNCH DELAYED TO MID-DECEMBER PLAY



VIDEO: GASEOUS HYDROGEN VENT ARM DETACHED FROM SHUTTLE PLAY



VIDEO: STS-133 MISSION PREVIEW MOVIE PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: SHUTTLE DISCOVERY CREW BIOGRAPHIES PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: ISS EXPEDITION 25-26 PREVIEW MOVIE PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: SPACE STATION CREW BIOGRAPHIES PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: POST-SCRUB NEWS BRIEFING ON LEAK PLAY

VIDEO: GASEOUS HYDROGEN LEAK SCRUBS LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: BAD WEATHER DELAYS DISCOVERY LAUNCH PLAY

VIDEO: ELECTRICAL ISSUE NO LONGER A CONCERN FOR DISCOVERY PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH POSTPONED BY ELECTRICAL CONCERN PLAY

VIDEO: TUESDAY MORNING'S COUNTDOWN STATUS CHECK PLAY

VIDEO: DISCOVERY'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY

VIDEO: COUNTDOWN PREVIEW BRIEFING AND WEATHER FORECAST PLAY

VIDEO: ANOTHER 24-HOUR DELAY ORDERED TO FINISH REPAIRS PLAY

VIDEO: LAUNCH DELAYED 24 HOURS BY LEAK REPAIRS PLAY



VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW SETS LAUNCH DATE PLAY



VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: THE STS-133 MISSION OVERVIEW PRESENTATIONS PLAY

VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY

VIDEO: IN-DEPTH BACKGROUND ON ROBONAUT 2 HUMANOID PLAY

VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY



VIDEO: PAYLOAD BAY DOORS CLOSED FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: CREW LEAVES KSC FOR TRIP TO HOUSTON PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS INSPECT THE PAYLOAD BAY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: SHUTTLE EVACUATION PRACTICE PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS EGRESS SHUTTLE AS SEEN LIVE PLAY

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS BOARD DISCOVERY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: SUN RISES ON LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: LAUNCH DAY REHEARSAL BEGINS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: COMMEMORATIVE WALL SIGNING IN VAB PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: CREW BRIEFED ON EMERGENCY PROCEDURES PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: IN SHUTTLE TRAINING AIRCRAFT'S COCKPIT PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: TEST-DRIVING AN EMERGENCY ARMORED TANK PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH STEVE LINDSEY PLAY

VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH ERIC BOE PLAY

VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH AL DREW PLAY

VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH TIM KOPRA PLAY

VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH MIKE BARRATT PLAY

VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH NICOLE STOTT PLAY



VIDEO: PAYLOADS INSTALLED INTO DISCOVERY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: MISSION PAYLOADS ARRIVE AT LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: CANISTER HAULING PAYLOADS TURNED UPRIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: MODULE HOISTED INTO SHIPPING CANISTER PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: WEIGHING NEW SPACE STATION MODULE PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: GANTRY PLACED AROUND DISCOVERY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: SHUTTLE ATLANTIS REACHES PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: CROWDS WATCH DISCOVERY'S FINAL ROLLOUT PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: SHUTTLE HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: CRANE ROTATES THE ORBITER VERTICALLY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: DISCOVERY DEPARTS ITS HANGAR PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE SHOWS DISCOVERY ASCENDING IN VAB PLAY

VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE SHOWS THE MOVE TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY



VIDEO: DISCOVERY'S MAIDEN FLIGHT: FIRST TRIP TO VAB PLAY

VIDEO: DISCOVERY'S MAIDEN FLIGHT: ROLLOUT TO PAD 39A PLAY

VIDEO: DISCOVERY'S MAIDEN FLIGHT: TEST-FIRING ENGINES PLAY

VIDEO: DISCOVERY'S MAIDEN FLIGHT: ASSORTED VIEWS OF FRF PLAY



VIDEO: THE HISTORY OF SHUTTLE DISCOVERY PLAY

VIDEO: THE HISTORY OF SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR PLAY

VIDEO: THE HISTORY OF SHUTTLE ATLANTIS PLAY



VIDEO: INSPECTION OF THE MISSION PAYLOADS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: ROBONAUT ARRIVES AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: SPACE STATION'S SPARE THERMAL RADIATOR PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: BLANKETING LEONARDO WITH INSULATION PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: RACK INSERTED INTO LEONARDO FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: LEONARDO RETURNS FROM ITS PREVIOUS FLIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: STATION'S SPARE PARTS DEPOT ARRIVES PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: ORBITER'S PAYLOAD BAY CLOSED FOR ROLLOUT PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS VISIT THEIR SPACECRAFT PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: CREW INSPECTS LEONARDO MODULE PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: DISCOVERY RECEIVES ITS MAIN ENGINES PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: FUEL TANK MATED TO SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: HOISTING FUEL TANK INTO CHECKOUT BAY PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: EXTERNAL FUEL TANK UNLOADED FROM BARGE PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: MISSION'S FUEL TANK ARRIVES AT SPACEPORT PLAY | HI-DEF



VIDEO: POST-FLIGHT DESERVICING: OMS POD PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: POST-FLIGHT DESERVICING: OBSS BOOM PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: POST-FLIGHT DESERVICING: ENGINES PLAY | HI-DEF

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