July 27, 200520 yr Thought maybe we could have one thread for those of us that care regarding their trip. Today they are looking for any damage.. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8720825/ Long story and some good links at the link above.
July 27, 200520 yr Just something very eerie about this whole launch/trip. Hope everything goes right.
July 27, 200520 yr QUOTE(Brian @ Jul 27, 2005 -> 08:44 AM) Just something very eerie about this whole launch/trip. Hope everything goes right. It was the sameway after Challenger. Everyone held their breath for at least the first 91 seconds, if not for the whole mission. It will be the sameway if not worse because the last disaster occured on reentry, so no one will breath easy until that Shuttle is safely on the ground.
July 27, 200520 yr Interesting article about searching for damage, and how common losing the heat tiles actually is. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/27/science/...agewanted=print
July 27, 200520 yr They noticed that hole early in the mission last time and chose to do nothing. So I thought anyways.
July 27, 200520 yr QUOTE(winodj @ Jul 27, 2005 -> 10:05 AM) They noticed that hole early in the mission last time and chose to do nothing. So I thought anyways. IIRC they noticed it 4 or 5 days into the mission, and argued about it for a while. There were a couple of people who said it could bring about catastrophic failure, but they were basically ignored and afraid to rock the boat. Plus the hole that was in Columbias wing sounds like it was much bigger. Losing an inch and a half squared heat tile is one thing. It has happened 15,000 times in 113 missions. Having something impact the shuttle on the underbelly that is exposed to the extreme heat during reentry is another. I will be curious to hear how they assess the damage and risk at reentry.
July 28, 200520 yr Bad news for NASA and the Shuttle program... They did have another piece of foam breakaway from the solid rocket booster when the liquid rockets separated away from the oribiter. The good news is that the foam didn't strike the oribiter, and the astronauts are not in any danger. The bad news is that all future missions are being grounded until they can figure out why this happened, and how to fix the problems for future missions.
July 28, 200520 yr Discovery meets Space Station Still A-OK! http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SPA...EMPLATE=DEFAULT
July 28, 200520 yr Author NASA TV right now is unbelieveable... the images of the earth are amazing..
July 28, 200520 yr Author QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 08:20 AM) Wow, good call on checking out NASA tv today. Incredible. If you are able to listen it's way interesting... they are talking with the crew as they are doing all their testing.
July 28, 200520 yr QUOTE(Brian @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 08:27 AM) WHat channel is NASA TV? Can't find it on my listings. I am streaming it on-line http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/
July 28, 200520 yr I love how that NASA control room looks like a Vegas Sports Book. Is NASA TV on Digital Cable? I think I have seen it before but can't find it now. Edited July 28, 200520 yr by Brian
July 28, 200520 yr Author QUOTE(Brian @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 08:40 AM) I love how that NASA control room looks like a Vegas Sports Book. Is NASA TV on Digital Cable? I think I have seen it before but can't find it now. Never looked for it before so I have no idea..
July 28, 200520 yr QUOTE(Brian @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 08:40 AM) I love how that NASA control room looks like a Vegas Sports Book. Is NASA TV on Digital Cable? I think I have seen it before but can't find it now. Yes. It's my channel 15 - not that it helps you any. I like turning the NASA channel on at night after everyone is in bed and I'm reading or listening to music and they're replaying all the mission highlights with the astronauts playing with floating food and water and tools and stuff. It always helps if I've been drinking a bit, too.
July 28, 200520 yr QUOTE(Brian @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 07:40 AM) I love how that NASA control room looks like a Vegas Sports Book. Is NASA TV on Digital Cable? I think I have seen it before but can't find it now. Dish Network has it.
July 28, 200520 yr QUOTE(mreye @ Jul 28, 2005 -> 09:27 AM) Dish Network has it. As does DirecTV (channel 376)
July 29, 200520 yr Author They are showing the footage of the tiles this morning, checking for damage. Earlier they had the robotic arm out and were testing it for the walk.
July 29, 200520 yr QUOTE(Steff @ Jul 29, 2005 -> 02:54 PM) They are showing the footage of the tiles this morning, checking for damage. Earlier they had the robotic arm out and were testing it for the walk. Very cool. What are these tiles anyway?
July 29, 200520 yr QUOTE(Brian @ Jul 29, 2005 -> 10:00 AM) Very cool. What are these tiles anyway? Carbonized heat tiles that protect the oribitor during ascent and reentry. They are essential to keeping the shuttle from burning up in the atmosphere.
July 29, 200520 yr Author Right now the camera is just shooting Earth with Discovery's wing in the picture.. it's pretty damn cool. You can just barely see when water and land mass meet. Incredible 300+ miles from the earth..
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