Shuttle to fly home with gouged belly

[conched]

PHIN POWER for a safe return!

http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20070819094330681

Hurricane Dean Causes Early Departure for Shuttle Endeavour
Sunday, August 19 2007 @ 09:43 AM EDT

Endeavour Undocks from Space Station and Heads Home

BBSNews 2007-08-19 -- (NASA) Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at 7:56 a.m. EDT today, ending an almost nine-day stay at the orbital outpost for the STS-118 crew.

Undocking was moved up a day in preparation for landing on Tuesday. The earlier landing opportunity was selected in the event Hurricane Dean threatens the Houston area. It allows an opportunity for the shuttle to land before Mission Control, Houston, would be shut down in preparation for a storm. Mission managers are continuing to monitor the situation and assess their options.

[Tequila Revenge]

I just want to know 2 things!
It's always the foam breaking off during lift-off that causes problems.

So if these are rocket scientist, can they not fix this issue?

What is this foam? Like a cheap beer cooler, or a block used in lakes to support docks?

Come on the Space Shuttle design is roughly 30 years old. Seams like they could fix the issues or design something new!

The foam is a spray on insulating foam; the best real world example I ca coem up with is the blown in insulation you get in attics. The shuttle tank foam is sprayed on as a liquid, and it expands/hardens around the tank. The spray on foam is used because the tanks are one time use items, they are carried almost to orbit and discarded, burning up over the Indian or Pacific Ocean (depends on launch trajectory) as they fall back into the atmosphere.

The tank has to be insultated because the fuel contained within has to be maintained at a super low temp. in order to keep it in a liquid state.

The extreme vibrations/stresses of launch, mixed with the low temps of the insulation cause it to crack and fall off. I'm not sure if NASA and the contractor in Louisiana ever tried to change the foam until after Columbia. They have revised the attachment points where the shuttle connects to the tank trying to keep foam from being as likely to strike the vehicle itself.

Pretty close PJ. The typical attic insulation is a very low density material, typically around 1/2 lb per cubic foot. The foam on the shuttle I THINK is 4lb density. Since the shuttle program started, the EPA has demanded changes in the blowing agent used in the mfg of polyurethane foam, to move toward 0 ozone depleating gasses. The first foam I THINK was based on using R11, a CFC gas. R11 was and is a rock solid product. Recently I was on some roofs between 22 and 27 years old that was sprayed with R11 foams and they look almost brand new. In 1993 the new blowing agent was hcfc 141-b. 141b as a product caused the foam industry all kinds of problems. During the chemical reaction there was a good amount of 141b that stayed on the surface as "un-reacted" material. When a second pass of material was sprayed over the 141B, there was a weaker bond line between the two lifts. Today, the foam industry uses a material mfg by Honeywell called 245 fa, a 0 ozone depleating blowing agent, and the performance properties are much like the old R11.

All that being said, the foam is an AMAZING product to be able to be blasted into space, go through the extream temp swings from around and for the most part, stay attached to an aluminumn tube. BTW, it's the same foam that keeps the space station and the rocket livable for the astronauts.

[irishcajunphan]

phin power for a safe return! I was on my way to see Jimmy in Atlanta when the Columbia was lost. It always worries me when they send them up and bring them home. I understand why they need a few boat drinks! I would need a little liquid courage to do their jobs!

[conched]

I think I we were on our way to Columbia to see Jimmy. :::sigh:::

[Sidew13]

phin power for a safe return! I was on my way to see Jimmy in Atlanta when the Columbia was lost. It always worries me when they send them up and bring them home. I understand why they need a few boat drinks! I would need a little liquid courage to do their jobs!

So was I

[yes i am a]

Phin power for a safe ride

[flyboy55]

. . .

What changed in the last four years is how NASA managers handle an event they do not consider serious. Michael D. Griffin, the NASA administrator, said he and managers listened to all of the data before making decisions.

The Columbia’s mission mangers never thought foam could cause catastrophic damage, and subsequent analysis was performed in a way to back up that conclusion. They quashed requests to have spy satellites take a closer look at the underbelly of the Columbia, so they never knew where the 1.67-pound piece of foam hit the orbiter.

The engineers dismissed, without detailed analysis, the possibility of damage to the leading edge of the Columbia’s wings from foam.

Reconstruction of the Columbia’s debris showed that the foam, hurtling at 500 miles per hour, punched a hole 6 to 10 inches wide, which allowed hot gases to enter the wing during re-entry.

“What we uncovered was a relatively cavalier attitude to the damage of the thermal protection system,” said G. Scott Hubbard, another member of the Columbia accident investigation board who is now a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford.

That board found that a “broken safety culture” was as much a cause of the accident as the piece of insulating foam that struck the shuttle. John Allmen, program manager for shuttle support at the NASA Ames Research Center, said the pre-Columbia culture of NASA was sometimes intimidating for an engineer to bring up a concern. “The general culture was that, ‘What are you talking about? Prove to me it will fail,’ ” he said.

Mr. Allmen said he still occasionally saw signs of the old culture, but that the top officials like N. Wayne Hale Jr., the shuttle program manager, push it aside. “He says, ‘We’re going to talk about it,’ ” Mr. Allmen said. “He keeps a very open and very detailed format for discussion and comments.”

This time, mission managers knew the exact damage caused by the foam, which weighed one-third of an ounce. As the Endeavour approached the space station and performed the back flip, the station crew pinpointed a three-inch gouge on the right wing about four feet behind the landing gear door.

. . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/20/scien ... ref=slogin

From what I read in this article, it seems like they have a better handle on this kind of thing now.

Still hoping they made the correct decision.

[tikitatas]

And how about our Canuckian with his 3 trips outside the Endeavour? Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

[flyboy55]

Dave Williams - Canadian Astronaut and record-setting space walker.

[flyboy55]

All this talk about Space Shuttle tragedies brought back many memories for me, but the thing I will always remember about Mission 51L (Challenger) was Christa McAuliffe and the Teacher in Space program. Twenty-one years ago, when Christa was chosen to go into orbit, another teacher by the name of Barbara Morgan was chosen as her backup. After the Challenger accident, Ms. Morgan was asked to stay on with the program and she did.

My mother-in-law was also a dedicated and inspiring teacher and had prepared her class for that mission long ago, as did many teachers, with NASA-supplied educational materials and projects. Alas, it was not to be.

When my mother-in-law passed away a few years ago, those things NASA had sent her were given to me and I keep them safe.

It struck me earlier that when Endeavour lands tomorrow, bringing Barbara Morgan back to Earth, it will mark the completion of that mission that started all those years ago with Christa McAuliffe and Challenger. So in a certain sense, not only will Endeavour and her crew be coming home tomorrow, but so too, in spirit, will Challenger and her crew, including Christa McAuliffe, NASA's original Teacher in Space.

Welcome home. Job well done.

[SchoolGirlHeart]

All this talk about Space Shuttle tragedies brought back many memories for me, but the thing I will always remember about Mission 51L (Challenger) was Christa McAuliffe and the Teacher in Space program. Twenty-one years ago, when Christa was chosen to go into orbit, another teacher by the name of Barbara Morgan was chosen as her backup. After the Challenger accident, Ms. Morgan was asked to stay on with the program and she did.

My mother-in-law was also a dedicated and inspiring teacher and had prepared her class for that mission long ago, as did many teachers, with NASA-supplied educational materials and projects. Alas, it was not to be.

When my mother-in-law passed away a few years ago, those things NASA had sent her were given to me and I keep them safe.

It struck me earlier that when Endeavour lands tomorrow, bringing Barbara Morgan back to Earth, it will mark the completion of that mission that started all those years ago with Christa McAuliffe and Challenger. So in a certain sense, not only will Endeavour and her crew be coming home tomorrow, but so too, in spirit, will Challenger and her crew, including Christa McAuliffe, NASA's original Teacher in Space.

Welcome home. Job well done.

Well said. SO well said.

Welcome home Endeavor. Welcome home, spirit of Challenger.

Christa and I grew up in the same town. Challenger hit so close to home....

[flipflopgirl]

Good thoughts and prayers for a safe ride home!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lightning Bolt]

I'm confident they've made all the necessary preps. to re-enter safely

bring 'er home smooth, gang!

[Bubbaphan]

All this talk about Space Shuttle tragedies brought back many memories for me, but the thing I will always remember about Mission 51L (Challenger) was Christa McAuliffe and the Teacher in Space program. Twenty-one years ago, when Christa was chosen to go into orbit, another teacher by the name of Barbara Morgan was chosen as her backup. After the Challenger accident, Ms. Morgan was asked to stay on with the program and she did.

My mother-in-law was also a dedicated and inspiring teacher and had prepared her class for that mission long ago, as did many teachers, with NASA-supplied educational materials and projects. Alas, it was not to be.

When my mother-in-law passed away a few years ago, those things NASA had sent her were given to me and I keep them safe.

It struck me earlier that when Endeavour lands tomorrow, bringing Barbara Morgan back to Earth, it will mark the completion of that mission that started all those years ago with Christa McAuliffe and Challenger. So in a certain sense, not only will Endeavour and her crew be coming home tomorrow, but so too, in spirit, will Challenger and her crew, including Christa McAuliffe, NASA's original Teacher in Space.

Welcome home. Job well done.

Well said. SO well said.

Welcome home Endeavor. Welcome home, spirit of Challenger.

Christa and I grew up in the same town. Challenger hit so close to home....

BOTH posts well said.

[flyboy55]

Here is a link to NASA TV which is a live feed. About twenty minutes to go for the first chance at a de-orbit burn which will lead to landing around 12:30 ET. Check it out if you want to watch the landing live.

From the live camera shots, looks like a not bad day in that part of Florida.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

[docandjeanie]

Here is a link to NASA TV which is a live feed. About twenty minutes to go for the first chance at a de-orbit burn which will lead to landing around 12:30 ET. Check it out if you want to watch the landing live.

From the live camera shots, looks like a not bad day in that part of Florida.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

Thanks Flyboy, I will check it out if I don't get to busy here at work

[Floridaze]

Less than an hour until touchdown...weather looks really good here at KSC and the landing site:

STS-118 Commander Scott Kelly and Pilot Charles Hobaugh fired Space Shuttle Endeavour’s jets at 11:25 a.m. EDT to begin the descent to Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Endeavour is scheduled to touch down at Kennedy at 12:32 p.m. to end its mission to the International Space Station.

[tikitatas]

Watching . . .

[Floridaze]

Just put the brakes on from 17000 MPH to 15500...

[RinglingRingling]

"Oh the skies over Cuuuu-baaahaaaa"