STS 125

DaveS

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Don't forget this tommorow and Tuesday, all day media-briefings on this exciting mission!

September 8, Monday
8 a.m. - STS-125 Video B-Roll Feed - GSFC (Public and Media Channels)
9 a.m. - NASA Overview Briefing - GSFC (Public and Media Channels)
10 a.m. - Shuttle Program Overview Briefing - JSC (Public and Media Channels)
11 a.m. - Hubble Space Telescope Program Overview Briefing - GSFC (Public and Media Channels)
12:30 p.m. - NASA TV Video File - HQ (Public and Media Channels)
1 p.m. - Hubble Space Telescope Science Overview Briefing - GSFC (All Channels)

September 9, Tuesday
9 a.m. - STS-125 Video B-Roll Feed - JSC (Public and Media Channels)
10 a.m. - STS-125 Mission Overview Briefing - JSC (Public and Media Channels)
11:30 a.m. - STS-125 Spacewalk Overview Briefing - JSC (Public and Media Channels)
1 p.m. - NASA TV Video File - HQ (Public and Media Channels)
2 p.m. - STS-125 Crew News Conference - JSC (Public and Media Channels)

All times are Eastern.
 

Chipstone306

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Atlantis and Crew Get Ready for Launch

271559main_atpadrss425.jpg
Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis stands poised on the launch pad after its trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building. Image credit: NASA
› View larger image

Sept. 8, 2008
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, workers continue preparing Atlantis for its targeted Oct. 10 launch on the mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Just a few miles away in the Orbiter Processing Facility, work on space shuttle Endeavour is in the final stages before its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Thursday, followed one week later by its rollout to Launch Pad 39B. Endeavour set for launch on its STS-126 mission to the International Space Station in November, but will be on standby at Launch Pad 39B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission for Atlantis would be necessary.

Space shuttle Atlantis' crew members continue their training activities this week at Johnson Space Center in Houston where they will conduct a deorbit preparation simulation today.
 

Chipstone306

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Sept. 12, 2008
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour was hoisted inside the giant Vehicle Assembly Building and lowered next to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters in preparation for its rollout to Launch Pad 39B next week. Endeavour will launch on mission STS-126 to the International Space Station in November, but will be on standby at Launch Pad 39B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission for Atlantis would be necessary. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue vehicle, it will move to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for liftoff on STS-126. Currently at Launch Pad 39A, workers continue preparing Atlantis for its targeted Oct. 10 launch on its mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

271559main_endvlift.jpg
Image above: Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, space shuttle Endeavour is carefully moved toward the waiting external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Johnson Prepares for Hurricane Ike
Due to the threat of severe weather posed by Hurricane Ike, NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston closed at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, suspending all training preparations for mission STS-125. The closing prompted Space Shuttle Program Manager John Shannon to postpone until sometime next week the STS-125 program-level Flight Readiness Review that had been scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
 

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The cargo container that will take SLIC, ORUC, FSS & MULE to Pad 39A to be loaded into Atlantis with the RSS has just arrived in the PHSF.

The payloads will be loaded into the container, then the container will be driven to Pad 39A, and loaded vertically into Atlantis.

You can view the operation live here:

http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/chan11large.jpg
 

Orbinaut Pete

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STS-125 LAUNCH DATES CHANGE

The target launch date for STS-125 has been set back to Oct. 14 at 10:19 p.m. EDT. With the delay of the STS-125 launch, the STS-126 launch will move from Nov. 12 to Nov. 16 at 7:07 p.m. EST.

The target launch date adjustments were made Wednesday during the Space Shuttle Program's Flight Readiness Review, which concludes Thursday.

--UPDATED LAUNCH TIMES FOR UTC/GMT--

STS-125:
Launch: Wed Oct 15 @ 2.19am

STS-126:
Launch: Mon Nov 17 @ 00.07am
 

Woo482

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2.19 ? DAMM IT !!! looks like I am not getting much sleep on the 15th
 

astrosammy

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I'll have to get up at 4:00 in the morning.... and thats the first school day after the holidays. D'oh!
 

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Too bad they don't do Flight Readiness Firings anymore. Was just amazing to watch the whole Shuttle-stack swaying on the pad after shut down.
 

Urwumpe

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Too bad they don't do Flight Readiness Firings anymore. Was just amazing to watch the whole Shuttle-stack swaying on the pad after shut down.

They didn't do them often anyway. Only after major changes to the stack.
 

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Space Shuttle Discovery STS-124

Not many of you will read this but my husband and I were at Cape Kennedy for the launch of Discovery (STS-124) on May 31. It was launched from Pad 39B. I am a rare woman Aerospace Engineer on Apollo on the S1-C Stage at Michoud. :) Your pictures of the Flame Trench damage are very good and I love the video of Gene Krantz. Where did you get the pictures and video?
I am excited about STS-125 which is going to refurbish the Hubble-the most beloved Telescope in the history of the world. Best wishes to all,
Sara
 

DaveS

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Not many of you will read this but my husband and I were at Cape Kennedy for the launch of Discovery (STS-124) on May 31. It was launched from Pad 39B.
1: It's KSC(John F. Kennedy Space Center). It hasn't been Cape Kennedy since the early/mid-80's. Reason for this is that NASA shares land with the USAF which operates the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station(CCAFS) south of KSC.

2: STS-124 launched from Pad A. Last launch from Pad B was STS-116 in December 2006.
 

pete.dakota

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Not many of you will read this but my husband and I were at Cape Kennedy for the launch of Discovery (STS-124) on May 31. It was launched from Pad 39B. I am a rare woman Aerospace Engineer on Apollo on the S1-C Stage at Michoud. :) Your pictures of the Flame Trench damage are very good and I love the video of Gene Krantz. Where did you get the pictures and video?
I am excited about STS-125 which is going to refurbish the Hubble-the most beloved Telescope in the history of the world. Best wishes to all,
Sara

1: It's KSC(John F. Kennedy Space Center). It hasn't been Cape Kennedy since the early/mid-80's. Reason for this is that NASA shares land with the USAF which operates the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station(CCAFS) south of KSC.

2: STS-124 launched from Pad A. Last launch from Pad B was STS-116 in December 2006.

And welcome to the forum. :)

More bad news: Spaceflightnow article.
 

Yoda

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It's official according to CNN.
STS-125 launch date in October has been cancelled and no further dates anounced. Possible launch in 2009 if they can get Hubble back on line.
:(
 

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The HST always was a little troublemaker. It even was a risk for NASA's existence/funding right on its first day in orbit when its pictures were anything but as expected. I hope they can manage to fix the problems once again but it looks rather bad at the moment.

Of course this is anything but a realistical scenario, but in case they don't manage to get Hubble back to work, it would be awesome if they pick it up and bring it home to a museum...


-----Posted Added-----


http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
 

Jarvitä

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Of course this is anything but a realistical scenario, but in case they don't manage to get Hubble back to work, it would be awesome if they pick it up and bring it home to a museum...


That'd be a great way to end HST's on-orbit career, but unfortunately the Shuttle can't re-enter that heavy, so the Hubble is destined to burn up eventually in any way. With that said, I still hope they can work this out and keep HST operational as long as possible.
 

DaveS

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That'd be a great way to end HST's on-orbit career, but unfortunately the Shuttle can't re-enter that heavy, so the Hubble is destined to burn up eventually in any way. With that said, I still hope they can work this out and keep HST operational as long as possible.
Ehhh, it can! I don't know where you got that information from but it's way way way way wrong!

The orbiter must be able to perform an RTLS abort with a full payload bay. So launch mass constraints isn't really launch constraints as they're abort landing constraints.

And HST is only about 11000-12000 kg, so it isn't record heavy. Heaviest launch was STS-93 with IUS/Chandra.

That mission utilised Columbia which was the heaviest orbiter in the fleet and she suffered a 4.5 m/s underspeed at MECO due to a nozzle hydrogen leak and she made up that with no difficulty.
 

Urwumpe

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The question is more: Is Hubble worth being returned? Maybe you can start a grass-roots fundraising campaign to get the money for a shuttle mission to capture and return Hubble for a museum. ;)

EDIT: Of course, returning the HST is not easy, as a RTLS abort is not at all similar to a reentry from 600 km altitude. The shuttle would likely have to lower the orbit in steps, to reduce orbit energy before reentry, which could make returning the HST even impossible: If fuel is not enough to reduce the orbit energy into the return window.
 
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