STS-114 Mission Update Thread (Part 3)

[Astrosag]

Already wanting it to be over??? haha, j/k

 

[ehs40]

what can i say i want to get the iss done so we can move on to the moon and when i am old enoff i can go to mars

 

[Astrosag]

Haha, good stuff!

 

[najab]

Important point here - anything that comes off the vehicle after MECO is going to be in pretty much the same orbit as the Orbiter. The difference in velocity is going to be single digit metres per second instead of hundreds of metres per second in the lower atmosphere.

 

[Astrosag]

Najab...whats your best guess and are you worried about that image showing the black object at the far end of the orbiter?

 

[spacefire]

<font color="yellow"> agree, Griffin definatly needs to stay, but he has said with certainty that he will leave when Bush Does. We can all hope that he will change his mind. <br /><br />If he does leave then hopefully one of his people that shares his vision will take his place. </font><br /><br />let's wait to see if any new hardware emerges while he's NASA admin before we start praising him.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>http://asteroid-invasion.blogspot.com</p><p>http://www.solvengineer.com/asteroid-invasion.html </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[najab]

Not really. In that shot it (a) appears to be flat and low density (like a flat piece of plastic); and (b) doesn't come anywhere near the Orbiter.

 

[nacnud]

I wouldn't be worried about that piece of whatever, it seems to have missed. I'd be more worried about it being there at all. If it is a piece of foam that has come off and could possibly hit the orbiter then NASA needs to know where it came from and why.<br /><br />This could cause the restrictions for daylight launch to remain in place, really messing with the available launch windows.<br />

 

[tap_sa]

<font color="yellow">" anything that comes off the vehicle after MECO is going to be in pretty much the same orbit as the Orbiter."</font><br /><br />..but not for long. If I heard correctly the perigee of orbit after MECO is only about 40nm or so, deep in the atmosphere. Then at the apogee OMS was used to circularize the orbit to about 100nm altitude.

 

[nacnud]

Is that the piece at T+4 or just after SRB sep?

 

[Astrosag]

I completely agree. He has yet to prove himself but he does have time and he "seems" like someone who can get the job done. But in the end, the results are all that matter (callous in many cases, but thats the way the world works- or at least his job).

 

[najab]

The piece just after SRB sep. I've looked at the ET camera footage several times and it seems to be a flat piece of something that comes "up" from "under" the ET, around the side and into the airflow just behind the Orbiter. It never comes close to the Orbiter itself.<br /><br />Which camera was the possible T+4 debris visible in?<br />---------------------<br />Hmm...after looking at it some more, it looks like it actually peels off of the side of the tank.

 

[arconin]

True enough, I got a little ahead of myself, but he seems to have the vision and the will to make it happen and clearly is not a business as usual type of administrator.

 

[nacnud]

Sorry I don't know, I've only just got home from work and missed all the launch video and didn't set up my PC to record streaming NASA tv. <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" />

 

[nacnud]

I don't have access to the ET video but the image below comes from the Space Flight Now site linked to earlier. There are a number of blocks of foam down the left hand side of the tank covering something. However the first one seems to be missing. Is this where the debris came from?

 

[mrmorris]

<font color="yellow">"...see if any new hardware emerges while he's NASA admin..."</font><br /><br />Very little if any will if he leaves office when GW does. He's just setting up the pipeline. If he's out in Jan 2009, then there's <3.5 years to go. There will hopefully be test flights of CEV hardware by then, but nothing production will be in place. We likely won't know the true picture of how effective he was (or wasn't) until after he's gone.

 

[summoner]

Congrats to Discovery, her crew and all the support. I've had goose bumps for the last 4 hours. Now I need some of you hotshot photo people to build a wallpaper of the ET seperation please? I've had an older landing shuttle for too long as my wallpaper and really would like a new one!! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:271px;background-color:#FFF;border:1pxsolid#999"><tr><td colspan="2"><div style="height:35px"><img src="http://banners.wunderground.com/weathersticker/htmlSticker1/language/www/US/MT/Three_Forks.gif" alt="" height="35" width="271" style="border:0px" /></div>

 

[lycan359]

"The piece just after SRB sep. I've looked at the ET camera footage several times and it seems to be a flat piece of something that comes "up" from "under" the ET, around the side and into the airflow just behind the Orbiter. It never comes close to the Orbiter itself."<br /><br />najaB, if it was actually that far from the camera how large would it have to be?<br /><br />Also, I haven't seen any video of the debris event. Do you know if it is online somewhere?

 

[najab]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>najaB, if it was actually that far from the camera how large would it have to be?<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote>Hmm...if I had to guess I'd say about the size of a DVD case.

 

[Testing]

There is a link to a still on page 29. I have to wait till I get home to see the whole vidio from the ET camera. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[redgryphon]

Oops. My mistake.

 

[llivinglarge]

Fox news is now reporting a piece of junk fell of a few moments BEFORE SRB sep.

 

[tap_sa]

Has Hoagland already identified the debris as an alien spacecraft? NASA's reluctance to comment about it is a clear sign of cover-up conspiracy! <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />

 

[haywood]

Tap_Sa...would you please hold your comments until NASA has reviewed the video?<br />Thank you.<br />

 

[nacnud]

Ok I'll stop being paranoid now <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />