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Aviation History
2004
2004-07 - 0041.PDF
SPACEFLIGHT ORBITERS TIM FURNISS / LONDON Shuttle return delayed to 2005 Date put back to allow extended investigation into foam insulation loss from tank that led to Columbia break-up NASA has moved the target win dow for the next Space Shuttle flight to March 2005 to provide more time to understand foam insulation loss from the external tank. Orbiter Discovery has been picked for return-to-flight mis sion STS 114, with Atlantis to be on standby to launch a rescue mission within 45-90 days. If Discovery's thermal-protec tion system is damaged by debris during launch, the seven crew members will be able to use the International Space Station as a safe haven for up to three months. If the flight is successful, Atlantis will fly the second test mission, STS 121, with Discovery on standby. One reason for delaying the launch, now planned for between 6 March and 18 April next year, is the need to assess the condition of rudder speed- brake actuators on the three surviving orbiters. Actuators are being removed and X-rayed after the discovery of corrosion MANNED FLIGHT China reveals launch plans China's next manned space flight, scheduled for launch next year, will last five to seven days, according to chief designer Wang Yongzhi. Following last October's first Chinese manned spaceflight by astronaut Yang Liwei in Shenzhou 5, two "taiko- nauts" are expected to fly in Shenzhou 6, which will be launched by Long March 2F. Shenzhou 6 will resemble Shenzhou 5 but, after launch, the two astronauts will transfer to an orbital module to conduct experiments. After the flights of Shenzhou 7 and 8, China plans to launch a space station mod ule, says Wang. Future Shenzhou craft will dock with the space laboratory as a first step towards development of a Chinese space station. and microcracks. Work is progress ing fastest on Discovery, which is why it will fly first. Moving the launch planning window also provides more time An explosion triggered by a fire in the solid-propellant space booster plant at India's Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota island killed six people and injured three others. The accident, on 23 February, occurred as propellant was being loaded into a test motor after cast ing and curing. The hydroxyl-termi- nated polybutadiene propellant, used in India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), caught fire and caused $150,000 of damage as technicians were remov ing a plate in a casting assembly, says the Indian Space Research Organisation. The motor was not destined for a satellite launcher, but was to be for development of a camera/laser boom that will be attached to the Shuttle's remote manipulator arm and used to inspect the vehicle for possible damage while in orbit. More time is also needed to develop potential on-orbit repairs for thermal-protection panels and tiles. But the need to fully under stand the loss of foam from the external tank (ET) is the biggest challenge for the Shuttle return-to-flight effort, says Bill Readdy, NASA associ ate administrator for space flight. Delaying the launch will provide more time to analyse and test a larger area of the ET for potential insula tion loss, the agency says. Readdy says NASA has determined why a large piece of foam was shed during lift off, damaging Columbia's wing leading-edge and lead ing to the break up of the orbiter during re-entry. The root cause was cryopumping used for testing, and the explosion is not expected to affect India's other space projects. The first, third and strap-on stages of the PSLV use solid-propellant motors, while the GSLV has a solid-propel lant first stage based on the first stage of the PSLV. The incident is similar to the explosion of a solid rocket booster on Brazil's VLS satellite launcher on the launch pad at Alcantara on 22 August last year, killing 22 people. It appears that the VLS motor spontaneously ignited due to a fault in its ignition system. The PSLV will be used to launch India's first Moon mission in 2008. It will also be used to launch a prototype of a recoverable re-entry vehicle in 2005. - air or nitrogen in voids in the insulation near the skin of the cryogenic tank liquified during fuelling, then warmed and expanded explosively during lift off, blowing off a suitcase-sized chunk of foam. Most debris shed by the ET falls down along the tank, decelerating and not entering the high-velocity airflow between the tank and the orbiter. However, debris shed from the upper surface of the ET can enter that airflow and ram into the orbiter. It is likely that faulty application of the spray-on foam created air pockets, Readdy says. Gaps around nuts and bolts used in construction of the ET may trap air, and both the bolt configuration and foam application are being reviewed. The aerodynamic foam wedges cover ing the bi-pod area where struts attach the ET to the orbiter will be replaced with heaters. The largest allowable debris will be 0.02kg (0.041b), compared with an esti mated 0.9kg for the piece of foam that hit Columbia. mmmmmm HUBBLE EXTENSION NASA has issued a speculative request for information on meth ods and technologies that could be used to extend the mission of the Hubble Space Telescope and safely dispose of the mas sive spacecraft at the end of its operational life by either deorbit- ing it or boosting it to a higher orbit. NASA has ruled out a Shuttle servicing mission. SALTY DISCOVERIES Fine-grained soil discovered dur ing the travels of NASA's Mars exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity may be consistent with - but not proof of - salty water near the surface. NASA believes sticky soil adhering to the rover's wheels may be evi dence of salts left over from a brine that may still exist below the surface. EXPLOSION RADHAKRISHNA RAO / BANGALORE Blast at Indian space centre kills six people www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 2-8 MARCH 2004 39
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