Live coverage of the final shuttle launch.

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Why arent you down there?!!
 
i tried!! they wouldnt fly me down.
 
I forget, you did get to go to a launch some time like last year didnt you? What time is it supposed to launch?
 
Today’s launch attempt has been scrubbed due to an apparent failure of one of two heater strings on one of the three Auxiliary Power Units (APU1). The Launch Commit Criteria requires redundancy on each unit for launch. Management of such a problem after launch is different and controlled through the mission operational Flight Rules.

Because of the requirement to gain access to the area for electrical reconnaissance pushes the launch to no earlier than Sunday so that the tank can be drained and any safety issues resolved for people in the work area.

The preferred in-plane launch time Sunday is 1:59:38 pm CDT (2:59:38 Eastern).

There will be a press conference on NASA TV to explain the issue and launch options, but the time has not yet been decided.
 
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I found out, this is not the last launch, there is one more scheduled launch. That is if nothing goes wrong with this one.
 
That's what I heard a few days ago, that there were only 2 flights left in the shuttle program. I've hardly ever missed a launch, and yet it never grows old. It's absolutely beautiful, and nothing less than amazing.
 
That's what I heard a few days ago, that there were only 2 flights left in the shuttle program. I've hardly ever missed a launch, and yet it never grows old. It's absolutely beautiful, and nothing less than amazing.


try it in person, 3 miles away.

it will bring tears to your eyes.:whhooo:
 
Man travels into the heavens on a pillar of fire.
That's been man's dream since the very beginning of time, and we're here for it. It just doesn't get better than that.
 
The failed part was one of the two redundant heat elements inside one of the 3 redundant power modules. If we were to have launched and then the hardware failed, we would have had no probelm reaching orbit and the ISS. The rules are different pre launch, and even though 1 of the 6 didnt work, we could not launch. The new info coming out seems to point to a controler that the heat element was connected to. This controller also handled some other systems, so its a good thing we caught it before T-0. This just goes to show how much work goes into a flawless launch.


Latest info i have recieved.


NASA space shuttle and International Space Station managers determined that Tuesday, May 10 is the earliest Endeavour could be launched on the STS-134 mission. That date is success oriented based on preliminary schedules to replace a faulty Load Control Assembly (LCA) box in the orbiter's aft compartment.

Plans are for managers to reconvene Friday to determine a more definite launch date after the box is removed and replaced and the retest of systems has been completed.

Space Shuttle Program managers adjusted the date after further evaluating the schedules to change out the box and retest the nine shuttle systems associated with the controller. That work would be followed by the standard closeout of the aft compartment before proceeding into the launch countdown.

Sunday night and Monday, technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A conducted additional testing of systems associated with LCA-2, including testing the box itself, which is expected to be removed late Monday or early Tuesday and replaced with an existing spare.

Managers will continue to evaluate the repair process and make any additional adjustments before scheduling Endeavour’s next launch attempt for its STS-134 mission to the International Space Station.

The STS-134 crew is back in Houston and remains in quarantine throughout as it slowly adjusts its wake and sleep schedule to match the new launch time. While at NASA's Johnson Space Center, the crew will conduct a launch and landing simulation with its ascent and entry flight control team based in Mission Control, before returning to Florida for the launch countdown.



Here is some other stuff my company is working on.

Orion Team Prepares for STORRM
(article provided by Space Systems Company)
NASA astronauts aboard STS-134 will conduct the first on-orbit test of Orion’s new docking navigation sensor during the Sensor Test for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation (STORRM). This flight test will demonstrate the capability of the first U.S. developed, highly-reliable navigation sensor called a Vision Navigation Sensor (VNS).

This system was designed expressly for America's next generation spacecraft, the Orion crew exploration vehicle, and other vehicles that will require safe approach and docking maneuvers with other spacecraft. It also can be used to support spacecraft landing capability on asteroids and planetary surfaces.

STORRM is a collaborative technology development effort led by the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle Project Office at NASA Johnson Space Center in partnership with NASA Langley Research Center, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, and Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation.

The final phase of the test is planned to occur the day of Endeavour’s undocking from the International Space Station. The test will begin a little more than an hour after the shuttle undocks, with re-rendezvous scheduled for four hours after undocking. For more information on Endeavour’s timeline for undocking and the mission itself, please visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

Click [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUU30XsNsYk"]here[/ame] to view the video overview about this project.

Pictured above: Lockheed Martin STORRM engineers review the possible configurations of the International Space Station they could encounter during docking operations. From left to right are Jonathan Feifarek, Catherine Boone, Dan Kubitschek and Mike Begley.
 
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A family member of mine just retired from United Launch Allience, He did work with the high pressure water system that sprays on the flame's that come out of the big tunnel on the launchpad that the atlas 5 takes off from down at the cape.


I'm attaching a link that has a picture of the system. If you look really close you will see a water system on the perimeter of the tunnel.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/3636012991/
 
We are a go for monday!! woot!

---------- Post added at 3:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 3:52 PM ----------

looks like about 7:50pm monday night.
 
my calculations are central. I havent seen an official t-0 but i just did some mathin with the countdown clock.
 
Wrote I was way off. Its monday morning. Got my ams and pms backward. Sorry guys it was a long hot weekend..
 
simply beautiful, perfect launch. for those that missed it, they should be showing replays throughout the day.
 
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