http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html Countdown as of this post - Until Launch Aug. 8, 6:36 p.m. EDT A new instrument being used in this mission to inspect the tiles while in space http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news/wireless_scanner.html STS-120 will be very cool in October http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts120/mission_overview.html If you want a list of what upcoming STS missions will bring to the ISS read here - http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest.html You can check out computer generated images of what the station will look like with each upcoming mission here - http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/ISS_Assembly_Art.html We are currently at the second picture, STS 117 - http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/160535main_jsc2006e43500_high.jpg Look toward the bottom of the page to see what the ISS will look like finished And keep in mind since it is module based they can always keep adding more stuff to it, more modules etc. to expand the interior space The highlighted stuff is what STS-118 is adding - http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/160537main_jsc2006e43502_high.jpg As you can see, not that exciting from our perspective STS-120 in October however is WOW, look at everything they are adding with that mission! - http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/160538main_jsc2006e43503_high.jpg
Well, with all due respect, they're just adding the Node 2 "Harmony". The additional radiators are already up there, they just haven't been deployed yet. And their mounts are still running parrallel with the truss system. They'll be rotated 90 degrees once they deploy the other two radiators. And the outboard solar array element is also already there. That's the P6 that's been up there for ages. That's the one that has been sitting on top of the Z1 truss of which they have just recently retracted in preparation for moving to where you see it at in that pic. Also, when the shuttle delivers the Node 2, they have to put it on the port side of Node 1 temporarily because where it ultimately goes, the shuttle is currently docked to. So actually, Node 2 AND the P6 truss won't be moved until the shuttle leaves. Which will be good, because that'll give me something else to watch after the shuttle mission. (I like to watch the live space walks and installation of new components.
It's nice that the station is getting more habitable volume, but one question I have is: Since NASA scrapped the habitation module long ago, where will additional station crew compliment live? As it is, they're already short 1 stateroom since Zveda only has 2. The third crewperson bunks in the destiny lab. Suunds like a job for Transhab technology.. wait.. NASA scrapped those ideas already... GO BIGELOW!
Running NASA TV full screen on a 30" LCD is awesome, can't wait to see the shuttle launch Currently on hold at T-9 minutes for 41 minutes
Godspeed, Endeavour, godspeed. We finally have a teacher in space. Finally. For some of us who remember where we were when we found out about Challenger, this is too long overdue.
For those who have it, HDNET carries shuttle launches and landings in HD with 5.1 surround sound. Watching the launch in 5.1 sound is just awesome. At first you don't hear much, but as the shuttle climbs, the LFE channel kicks in and you get this low, low rumble, followed by a higher pitched sound of the engines crackeling. Keep in mind now that this is 5.1 so you actually hear all this as if you were there. I DVR'ed it, so I'm keeping this one for a long time.
IIRC, Node 3 will have some crew bunks. Yeah, go here and select the Interactive Space Station Reference Guide and once loaded, select HOW it Works, then select and open the Nodes.pdf on the right, and read through the second paragraph where it mentions Node 3.
Gouge in shuttle tiles found... Apparently Endeavor suffered some tile damage during launch. The station crew discovered a gouge in the tiles near the starboard landing gear door. They think it may have been caused by ice or possibly some foam.
Re: Gouge in shuttle tiles found... Johnny Rico, thanks! Seems like they're squeezing them in any place they can without the hab module. Oh well. I wonder if they're still using that stateroom table in Zvevda (sp?) that the Expdition 2 crew made from cardboard boxes and duct tape.. One of these days I need to get back to KFC, watch a Shuttle launch and see how that compares to my memory of a Saturn V...
Re: Gouge in shuttle tiles found... Oh wow! Nothing could have ever prepared us to see this coming! Oh no! [/heavy sarcasm] Stupidity du jour by NASA. -J.
Re: Gouge in shuttle tiles found... Man. They have GOT to do something about that foam! Makes you wonder though how close we've come to disaster before Columbia considering how many nicks and gouges they've found since looking for them.
Re: Gouge in shuttle tiles found... Based on my research, NASA changed the kind of foam used on the external tank in order to be more environmentally friendly back in the 90s. Wouldn't it just be easier to switch back to the old foam rather than go through all this for every shuttle launch? It's not like shuttle traffic these days is like traffic on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles.
Re: Gouge in shuttle tiles found... They have. That's why there wasn't a shuttle flight for 29 months. They were doing something to fix it. And, given the nature of the beast (the EFT) they probably can't totally 100% remove the danger of foam flying off at launch. You're sending something 0mph to 17500mph in a matter of minutes by using REALLY FRIGGIN COLD fuel to get it up there - shit is coming off. Being that cold, it has to be insulated. Being that cold, it's going to sublimation of ice on the tank's hull (which is what they think may have caused this. Likewise, also makes you wonder if NASA is jumping the gun (better safe than sorry) since this has happened at every launch. During some of the first landings, tiles around the leading surface of the engines came off. There are some areas that are cause for concern, and some that aren't. The leading edge of the wing (Columbia) and the nose are at the top of that ZOMG list, aft section of the undercarriage...not so much. If anything they'll repair it in orbit. ETA: "Where My Heart Will Take Me", the theme from Star Trek: Enterprise, was today's wake-up song for STS-118. Flight Day 2 highlights video
Re: Gouge in shuttle tiles found... The Foam fix will be the shuttle's replacement, unfortuntely until then we'll have to live with possible foam and ice problems chipping away at the tiles. Thankfully there is a system in place now to detect these problems and repair them in space, so we are a lot safer now than it use to be.
Re: Gouge in shuttle tiles found... Yeah, I think they used that song sometime during the last mission as well. Flight Day 3, if I'm not mistaken.