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Meeting to review plans for next week's shuttle launch BY WILLIAM HARWOOD STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION Posted: November 27, 2006
Liftoff currently is targeted for Dec. 7 and there do not appear to be any major issues that would force a delay. But the launch window is complex because it includes lighting, holiday and end-of-year issues that are not normally on the table. As it now stands, the window opens Dec. 7 and closes Dec. 26 because of a so-called "beta angle cutout," that is, thermal issues associated with the international space station due to the angle between the plane of its orbit and the sun. Based on the beta angle, the shuttle cannot launch between Dec. 27 and Jan. 13. To reach the international space station, Discovery must be launched when Earth's rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the lab's orbit. For mission STS-116, on Dec. 7, that works out to 9:35:45 p.m., resulting in NASA's first night launch since 2002. Daylight launch opportunities do not become available until Dec. 18. Major post-Columbia objectives through the first three return-to-flight missions included photographing the shuttle's external fuel tank after separation in orbit to document how its foam insulation performed during ascent. For STS-116, NASA managers are relaxing that requirement based on the performance of the tank over the past three flights. For the record, sufficient lighting for a camera mounted in the shuttle's belly does not become available until Dec. 20. For crew hand-held photography, good lighting is not expected until Dec. 24. This Wednesday, rocket engines in a Progress supply ship will fire for 20 minutes to boost the space station's orbit slightly, giving Discovery's crew opportunities to rendezvous and dock on flight day three for any launch between Dec. 7 and Dec. 21. Launches on Dec. 22, 24 and 26 would result in a flight day four rendezvous, which is considered unacceptable. If it comes to that, an additional space station reboost maneuver would be carried out Dec. 14 to ensure FD-3 dockings through the end of the shuttle's launch window. A launch past Dec. 19 would result in the shuttle being in orbit during the year-end rollover from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1. The "YERO" issue has received quite a bit of attention in recent months because of concern about possible computer glitches. The shuttle's flight software was not designed to handle the transition from one year to the next and YERO will be a topic of discussion during the flight readiness review this week. Launches between Dec. 7 and 12 result in a landing before Christmas for a standard 12-day mission. A launch on Dec. 17 would result in a landing on Dec. 29, preserving two days for bad landing weather or some other contingency. Launches past Dec. 17 could result in a YERO flight, depending on weather or other problems, while a launch past Dec. 19 would require the shuttle to be in orbit over the year-end rollover. Flight controllers are expected to recommend against flying across the transition, sources say, but senior managers may approve the option anyway based on recent tests and analysis. If so, flight controllers would prefer to have the shuttle docked at the station for the actual rollover to make sure they have time to resolve any computer glitches that might arise. If the shuttle launches between Dec. 18 and 22, however, the shuttle would be undocked and in free flight. Launches Dec. 23 through Dec. 26 would result in a docked rollover. That said, here are the latest launch times for Discovery. Readers should note the actual launch window opens exactly five minutes before the "in-plane" times listed below and closes five minutes later (all times in EST and subject to minor changes; YERO: year-end rollover; UM: umbilical camera; HH: handheld camera; Partial: some lighting available, but marginal):
DATE.......LAUNCH........DOCK...........LIGHTING...YERO.......ET IMAGERY 12/07/06...09:35:45 PM...FD-3...........Night......N/A........None 12/08/06...09:13:13 PM...FD-3...........Night......N/A........None 12/09/06...08:47:31 PM...FD-3...........Night......N/A........None 12/10/06...08:24:59 PM...FD-3...........Night......N/A........None 12/11/06...07:59:17 PM...FD-3...........Night......N/A........None 12/12/06...07:36:45 PM...FD-3...........Night......N/A........None 12/13/06...07:11:03 PM...FD-3...........Night......N/A........None 12/14/06...06:48:31 PM...FD-3...........Night......N/A........None 12/15/06...06:22:49 PM...FD-3...........Night......N/A........None 12/16/06...06:00:17 PM...FD-3...........Night......N/A........None 12/17/06...05:34:35 PM...FD-3...........Night......N/A........None Note.......All 12+2 flights above land on or before 12/31 12/18/06...05:12:03 PM...FD-3...........Day........Undocked...None 12/19/06...04:46:21 PM...FD-3...........Day........Undocked...Partial UM Note.......All flights below result in landings on or after Jan. 1 12/20/06...04:23:49 PM...FD-3...........Day........Undocked...UM 12/21/06...03:58:07 PM...FD-3...........Day........Undocked...UM 12/22/06...03:35:36 PM...FD-3/boost...Day........Undocked...UM/partial HH 12/23/06...03:09:53 PM...FD-3...........Day........Docked.....UM/partial HH 12/24/06...02:47:22 PM...FD-3/boost...Day........Docked.....UM/HH 12/25/06...02:21:39 PM...FD-3...........Day........Docked.....UM/HH 12/26/06...01:59:08 PM...FD-3/boost...Day........Docked.....UM/HH
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MISSION INDEX |
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VIDEO:
OVERVIEW OF STS-116 MISSION 