Nasa Prepares for Sunday Launch

[lkdood]

Update:

Tanking Complete

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 05:25:03 PM GMT

The three-hour process to fuel the external tank is complete. More than 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen have been transferred to their respective containers inside the 154-foot tall orange tank. There are no indications of a leak and fueling has entered the "stable replenish" mode.

Countdown clocks have entered a planned hold at T-3 hours and everything remains on schedule for a 7:43:46 p.m. EDT launch of space shuttle Discovery.

Launch coverage will begin at 2:30 p.m. on NASA Television(http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv).

 

[krrishkevin]

wow kool... great work dude..keep it up

 

[lkdood]

5 hours 36 min. to launch

 

[lkdood]

wow kool... great work dude..keep it up

5 h 20 min to launch

 

[kotthuyaka]

Thanks lkdood. Here's a link to some cool videos from the NASA site for those are interested/haven't yet seen them.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/Shuttle_Multimedia_Collection_archive_1.html

 

[lkdood]

update:

Kennedy's Red Team Sent to the Launch Pad

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 07:06:53 PM GMT

The launch team is monitoring a drop in helium presssure a liquid hydrogen umbilical disconnect. Launch Director Mike Leinbach has sent a "red team" of specially trained personnel to the pad to make manual adjustments in order to increase the pressure.


4 hours 31 min. to launch

 

[lkdood]

NASA TV live video

 

[lkdood]

update:

Red Team Checks out MLP Pressure Valve

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 07:25:23 PM GMT

A "red team" has been dispatched to the launch pad to adjust a pressurization valve on the Mobile Launcher Platform, or MLP. The team of technicians and safety personnel are accessing a panel inside the MLP to increase the pressure of helium that feeds to a "gap" area between the external tank and shuttle. This area where liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen lines run from the tank to the shuttle, is purged with helium to prevent the formation of ice and the accumulation of gaseous hydrogen and oxygen. Helium does not freeze in the presence of super-cold hydrogen.

The helium level was on the lower side of acceptable limits, and the red team will adjust the pressure to create the proper margin.


This issue will not interfere with today's launch attempt.

 

[lkdood]

 

[lkdood]

3 h 56 min. to launch

 

[lkdood]

update:

Shuttle and Crew Fueling for Flight

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 07:50:14 PM GMT

The astronauts of STS-119 enjoyed a meal at NASA Kennedy Space Center's crew quarters while a few miles away at Launch Pad 39A, thousands of gallons of supercold propellants were pumped into the cavernous external fuel tank attached to space shuttle Discovery.

Discovery is due to lift off this evening at 7:43 p.m. EDT on a mission to install the last large set of solar arrays on the International Space Station. The weather looks good for tonight's attempt, with forecasters calling for an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions. The launch team at Kennedy is not working any technical issues at this time that could preclude a liftoff.

The arrays, which give the station the look of having wings, are mounted on the last segment of the long truss that is the backbone of the station's architecture. Three other sets of arrays already have been mounted to the orbiting laboratory complex.

Once unfurled, the new arrays will give the station an acre of power-producing solar cells to support the laboratories, life support and other systems the station and its crew rely on.

 

[lkdood]

update:

Convoy Heads to Launch Pad

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 07:54:07 PM GMT

The Astrovan is the center of attention as it carries the seven astronauts of STS-119 to Launch Pad 39A this evening. Flanked by security and other vehicles, the Astrovan has been a launch-day fixture for decades. The vehicle is big enough to comfortably hold the seven astronauts in their bulky pressure suits during the ride from the Astronaut Crew Quarters to the launch pad.

The countdown is in a planned hold, but there are no technical issues or weather concerns leading up to the planned 7:43 p.m. EDT launch time.

A team of skilled technicians is already working at the pad to get Discovery ready for its crew. The technicians will help each astronaut into a parachute before ushering them inside the spacecraft and helping them buckle into place. The crew rehearsed the countdown during a previous visit to the launch site.

 

[lkdood]

update:

Astronauts Board Discovery

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 08:29:09 PM GMT

The STS-119 crew members have arrived at Launch Pad 39A and are preparing to board space shuttle Discovery. The white room technicians are helping the astronauts with their flight gear and securing them into their assigned seats. The hatch will be closed and latched at 5:38 p.m. EDT. The countdown is going smoothly with no technical or weather issues at this time. Launch is targeted for 7:43:46 p.m.

Nasa Tv Live Video

 

[lkdood]

2 H 37 Min. to launch

 

[gayancc]

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[lkdood]

Update:

Astronauts Seated for Launch

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:09:36 PM GMT

The seven crew members of space shuttle Discovery are checking their communications gear this evening as the countdown to launch proceeds on schedule.

The astronauts are strapped inside the shuttle, with four on the flight deck and three on the lower level of the crew compartment. Commander Lee Archambault and Pilot Tony Antonelli are seated in the front seats surrounded by the instrument panels and windows needed to control the shuttle. Steve Swanson will serve as flight engineer during ascent, so he is sitting behind and between Archambault and Antonelli. Joseph Acaba is in a seat behind Antonelli where he, too, can help out during launch.

On the lower deck, Richard Arnold is closest to the hatch. John Phillips is in the center seat and Japan's Koichi Wakata is in the right-most seat. Sandra Magnus will sit in his place during landing, after Wakata transfers to the International Space Station.

Nasa Tv Live Video

 

[lkdood]

Update:

Technicians Latch Hatch

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:52:16 PM GMT

The closeout crew has locked Discovery's hatch and is getting ready to leave Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts inside Discovery can open the hatch quickly in an emergency, but the countdown is moving along with no technical concerns.

The crew members are going through checklists and the launch team is watching over the systems and subsystems of the shuttle as launch time nears.

Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters has upgraded the launch forecast to 100 percent "go" for the 7:43 p.m. EDT liftoff of space shuttle Discovery.

Nasa Tv Live Video

 

[lkdood]

Nasa Tv Live Video

 

[lkdood]

30 min. to launch

Nasa Tv Live Video

 

[lkdood]

update:

Discovery Countdown Enters Final Hold

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 10:58:54 PM GMT

Discovery's countdown has entered the last planned hold at T-9 minutes. During the 45-minute hold, the Mission Management Team, Mission Control team and Launch Control team will conduct polls and give a final "go" decision for launch.

Launch is targeted for 7:43 p.m. EDT