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Discovery ready for launch

Tanking of Discovery's large orange external tank with 500,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and hydrogen began this morning at 7:11 a.m.

Posted by Tormod
12 July, 2005 07:07:42

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Tanking was delayed about an hour when one of two heaters needed to purge the External Tank failed. Primary and backup heaters are required for tanking to begin. A "red team" was being dispatched to the pad and the problem was resolved. Activities continue for an ontime launch of Discovery at 3:51 p.m. EDT today.

At about 11 p.m. Tuesday evening, Launch Pad 39B's Rotating Service Structure (RSS) was retracted from Discovery in preparation for Wednesday's Return to Flight launch. When in place, the giant enveloping appendage is used to install payloads into an orbiter's cargo bay and provide protection from inclement weather.

Early Tuesday evening at Launch Pad 39B, the cover of Discoverys window #7 fell approximately 60 feet and struck a carrier panel on the orbiter's left Orbital Maneuvering System pod, damaging several tiles. A replacement carrier panel was quickly located and successfully installed on the orbiter. Work on the panel took approximately one hour, slightly delaying last night's planned 7 p.m. rollback of the pad's Rotating Service Structure. No other issues are being tracked by the Launch Team.

The families of the Columbia astronauts issued a statement today, saying "we have every confidence that the sacrifice of our loved ones and those that preceded them will be realized for the benefit of all humankind".

Liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery on NASA's Return to Flight Mission is scheduled for 3:51 p.m. EDT July 13.

Source: NASA

Comments (11 posted):

C1ay on 12 July, 2005 06:55:57

A faulty fuel sesor has set back the launch for at least a day...

Tormod on 12 July, 2005 07:01:24

Darn. Well, let's hope they know exactly what they do when they finally launch that beast.

Turtle on 12 July, 2005 07:01:49

___My cable service sometimes puts the live NASA feed on the local access channel; I hope to see the launch. They say this is the most photographed launch of any rocket in history.

Tormod on 12 July, 2005 07:27:05

You can also watch the launch live on NASA Webcast!

UncleAl on 13 July, 2005 12:28:27

It would be blessing for everyone (a very few on-board exceptions noted) if the obscenely useless money-burning thing went high order on the pad to blow away as much of Cape Kennedy/Canaveral as possible. Feynman estimated the frequency of disaster at 1% of missions. That has held up remarkably well. Let there be a statistical fluctuation to speed up the ghastly end to it. If there is no identifiable end product the process leading to it is meaningless.

Hawkens on 13 July, 2005 07:28:08

NASA: Liftoff no earlier than Sunday, 'if we ... get extremely lucky'

Aki on 17 July, 2005 05:55:09

So when are we going to know when's the liftoff?

C1ay on 25 July, 2005 01:24:32

All 7 Return to Flight astronauts are strapped into their seats inside Discovery's crew cabin. With good luck wishes and waves, the Closeout Crew has sealed Discovery's hatch for launch. The STS-114 team is now going through final checks inside the orbiter to prepare for liftoff. Today's launch time is precisely calculated for 10:39:00 a.m. EDT. Watch Space Shuttle Discovery's countdown to liftoff with the Virtual Launch Control Center. Live Webcast

C1ay on 25 July, 2005 02:39:56

Ignition

C1ay on 25 July, 2005 02:40:06

Liftoff :)

Tormod on 25 July, 2005 03:06:48

I sat and listened to the Live Broadcast via my cellphone web connection and it is amazing how exciting this stuff is...I held my breath for about 20 minutes before launch. Congrats to NASA for a great job. And godspeed to the Discovery crew!