Test

h may be effectively tested by the station crew, that put
the arm through exactly the same motions which will possibly be required regarding truss
installation. Along With the particular patch inside place, the actual arm will not enter into safe
mode even though several subsequent failure forces Ochoa to use the actual command
string using the wrist-roll problem. Throughout that will case, the actual joint would be
manually cranked in for you to the appropriate orientation during the first associated with four
planned spacewalks by simply Atlantis' crew.
Together With the program patch within place, the sole query mark regarding this
week's launch is, as usual, your weather.
Forecasters tend to be predicting any 40 percent chance of bad weather during
the shuttle's 10-minute launch window in which could delay liftoff. The
concern is the fact that a chilly front moving via northern Florida will result
in multiple cloud decks, afternoon showers and achievable thunderstorms.
There's any 10 percent chance shuttle fueling operations will be delayed.
Winds are predicted to be from 140 degrees with ten knots with gusts to
15 knots. That's pretty much proper on the runway together with only a slight
crosswind component.
Ought To launch slip 1 day, forecasters are generally predicting an 80 percent
chance of good weather. The Actual odds boost for you to 90 percent "go" about Saturday.
under a lately implemented submit Sept. 11 security policy, NASA is
conducting Atlantis' countdown and also launch beneath a new news brownout of
sorts. The Actual agency will not say precisely when the countdown is actually scheduled
to start nowadays - they will confirm it is underway Tuesday morning - or
exactly if the shuttle will consider off, stating simply that launch is
targeted between two p.m. along with 6 p.m. Thursday. the exact launch period will

be revealed twenty four hours just before launch.
NASA's security policy poses the considerable mystery in order to veteran
shuttle watchers. the agency has not really provided virtually any detailed explanation
of your reasoning at the actual rear of any policy in which gives potential adversaries a
launch date plus a four-hour launch period many times in advance as well as then
an exact launch moment twenty 4 hours just before liftoff. That is incredibly difficult
to know your way this policy might thwart a new determined foe. With Regard To past
classified military missions, your launch moment was held secret until the
T-minus nine-minute mark within the countdown. Precisely why a comparable policy wasn't
implemented in this case is unclear.
Inside addition, your launch occasion of your station-bound shuttle may be easily
computed utilizing satellite tracking software as well as NASA's very own two-line
elements for that space station, the actual group of numbers which define the particular lab's
orbit. Two-line elements, that are accessible about the web -
including dozens regarding NASA web sites - are utilized by amateurs primarily to
determine once the station or even every other bright satellite is likely to be visible
from any given location. Small or even zero knowledge of orbital mechanics is
required and a new lot programs automate the entire procedure.
Regarding any area shuttle to rendezvous with the station, it must just take off
within ten minutes involving the minute Earth's rotation carries the particular launch pad
into the plane of the lab's orbit. under long-standing NASA policy, the
"preferred launch time" to acquire a flight-day 3 rendezvous falls in the
middle of the 10-minute window, just prior in order to the moment the actual pad is
actually "in plane."
Several satellite monitoring programs compute when a given ground website is
in plane having a offered satellite's orbit. at least 1 "freeware" program

has been tweaked, based on most prior shuttle-to-station launch times,
to improve its accuracy, it is believed, to end up being able to within 1 minute or even so. The
timelines posted below, however, are generally based about the plane crossing time of
roughly 5:16 p.m. that period is assumed accurate for you to within about three
minutes.
NASA could complicate efforts to end up being able to determine the shuttle's launch occasion by
halting official distribution with the station's two-line elements. But
that would severely curtail, or even eliminate, the actual public's capacity to
watch the particular $30 billion outpost pass overhead plus it just isn't clear how that
would boost security.
the station's general orbit is actually widely known along with veteran satellite
observers are usually adept at reverse engineering two-line elements based on
actual sightings. As Well As having a high-interest spacecraft as bright as the
station, sightings are generally relatively easy. Ought To the particular two-line elements
disappear through official channels, launch times accurate to inside five
or 10 minutes or perhaps thus nearly certainly would seem around the web in short
order.
Simply No 1 wishes in order to compromise shuttle peace regarding thoughts in any kind of way.
Nevertheless the
current policy will not address the particular concerns mentioned previously and also given the
trivial nature in the calculations, your ballpark launch moment features been
widely known for weeks. While such, we see no point inside denying the particular obvious.
The Actual real issue, perhaps, is actually concern about a July shuttle flight
carrying Ilan Ramon, the initial Israeli in order to fly inside space. Unlike
shuttle-to-station flights, however, your July mission just isn't heading to
the station and this writer knows involving simply no simple method to predict when, within a

four-hour window, that shuttle might consider off. Nevertheless NASA's current
security policy is so poorly implemented in which in a minimal of one case, the
target launch period is posted on the publicly accessible web page. However,
that launch occasion is not well known so we is not really going to repeat it here.
03:30 p.m., 04/01/02, Update: Atlantis astronauts arrive regarding launch
The Particular shuttle Atlantis' crew flew to the Kennedy Area center these days in
preparation pertaining to blastoff Thursday on the challenging area station
assembly mission. the astronauts handled down at the Shuttle Landing
Facility around noon after flights through Houston within T-38 jet trainers.
"We're truly happy being down here towards the Cape," mentioned commander
Michael Bloomfield. "A trip into space always begins down here at the
Kennedy space Middle then there is a great crowd down here that
build spaceships that enable individuals to get into space. We're very
fortunate being part of the team."
Pilot Stephen Frick, making his 1st flight, noted in which Atlantis
will always be making its first launch with a complete group of upgraded block two main
engines, the last step in the billion-dollar effort to boost engine
performance as well as boost safety.
Your block two engines, built by simply Boeing's Rocketdyne division, feature
new questionable hydrogen turbopumps built by simply Pratt Whitney. Working
in concert along with Pratt Whitney oxygen pumps previously in place, along
with the wider combustion chamber throat as well as other safety upgrades, the
block 2 engines promise to lower chances of a catastrophic failure.
"I stood a possiblity to work with the folks who were creating all of them and
I'm real excited to be able to launch using that," Frick said. "The guys in Pratt
Whitney with West Palm Beach (Fla.) as well as the guys with Rocketdyne at Canoga

Park (Calif.) and at the Stennis Area Center, Marshall (Space Flight
Center) along with here at the particular Cape gave us some terrific equipment along with I look
forward that will get any chance to ride those in order to orbit."
Regarding astronaut Ellen Ochoa, the particular highlight of the mission will possibly be using
the international room station's new robot arm in order to pull a 27,000-pound
structural truss out of Atlantis' cargo bay therefore it may be attached to the
top in the U.S. Destiny laboratory module. the S0 truss is the
centerpiece of your cross truss in which eventually will stretch the particular duration of
a football field, supporting 4 massive sets of solar arrays.
"This is definitely an thrilling flight for the station arm," the girl said. "This is
only the second occasion we're utilizing it to lift a large piece of equipment out
of your payload bay. ... and it's the first period we're likely to become using
it to move spacewalkers around. so during the EVAs, we'll be using it
extensively. It's entertaining to function the robotic arm in part because it's
really the team effort."
=============================================================
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Countdown underway and on track; weather improves slightly (04/02/02)
The Actual shuttle Atlantis' blacked-out countdown will be ticking smoothly
toward launch Thursday on a area station assembly mission, officials
say. under a brand name new publish Sept. 11 safety policy, NASA officials confirmed
the countdown is actually underway however they wouldn't say if this began.
Likewise, the agency will not announce Atlantis' exact launch time until
sometime Wednesday, 24 hours just before liftoff. Based about independent
analysis in the international room station's orbit, however, launch is
believed being specific for around 5:13 p.m. Thursday.

NASA test director Jeff Spaulding said nowadays your countdown is actually on
track and that engineers aren't operating virtually any significant problems from pad 39B.
Forecasters, meanwhile, possess upgraded the elements outlook with regard to Thursday
from sixty percent "go" in order to 70 percent. the outlook regarding Firday improves to
80 % go and also drops in order to 0.6 continue Saturday. Simply Because launch is
targeted for the afternoon, throughout NASA's regular function day, Spaulding
said shuttle managers most likely would think about creating 3 attempts within a
row if problems developed that prevented the launch on Thursday or Friday.
=============================================================
======
STS-110 mission preview (04/03/02)
NASA resumes assembly in the international area station this week
and subsequent using launch of the shuttle Atlantis on a four-spacewalk flight
to attach the 27,000-pound truss, the actual central element of a enormous solar
array-carrying beam in which ultimately will stretch the actual length involving a
football field.
"We'll launch 50 tons associated with hardware towards the station this year," said
Tommy Holloway, area station program manager in the Johnson Space
Center. "We're now at 300,000 pounds, in regards in order to a third associated with the strategies
by which there.
Sometimes we believe we're about done, yet we really possess a great deal of work
left to complete within the next 2 yrs to get to a point where we'll then be
ready to deploy (modules built by) the international partners."
Your $600 million S0 (pronounced S-zero) truss aboard Atlantis is
equipped together with 4 computers, a pair of laser ring gyros as well as GPS antennas for
on-board navigation, any maze regarding ammonia coolant lines, miles of
electrical cabling, a massive selection of connectors and complicated energy control and

conditioning equipment.
Your completed truss ultimately will bring 4 massive groups of solar
arrays, 2 at each end. Energy from your arrays will possibly be routed in to the
station by means of the particular S0 truss as well as the ammonia coolant necessary to aid keep the
station's electronics via overheating will probably be routed through S0 to
giant radiators attached to outboard truss elements.
The Particular 44-foot-long S0 truss furthermore is actually equipped with a $190 million rail
car which will roll alongside tracks operating your length with the completed
truss, carrying the particular station's Canadarm 2 robotic crane to numerous work
sites as needed in order to install new equipment or to help spacewalking
astronauts help to make repairs.
"Once we add your mobile berthing system to the mobile transporter on
the next flight (in early June), it will enable the robotic arm in order to travel
the size in the truss," stated room station flight director Robert
Castle. "So we are able to truly grapple things, roll across the size regarding the
truss and also install items following it."
Within fact, the particular solar array wings - almost all a pair of acres of them - along with other
critical outboard power along with cooling systems can not really be installed without
using the actual Canadarm2 on its mobile platform. As Well As the first step in the
road for you to completing the station's first assembly is installing of the
S0 truss.
"The truss element continues for you to be called a spacewalker's playground and
we've nicknamed the actual underwater mockup regarding it your 'jungle gym,'" said Dina
Barclay, lead spacewalk officer at the Johnson Room Center. "It's 44
feet long, it's got greater than 150 astronaut hand holds, virtually 50 sockets
for foot restraints, has more than 1,000 spacewalk actuated connections

and offers more than 50 (electronics) boxes which could be changed out.
"The truss plays the vital role inside the room station's future," she
added, "because future truss segments will attach for you to either side involving it
and every 1 associated with the avionics and ammonia cooling that will go up to as well as come in
from
the other truss segments go through S0 with regard to power distribution and
cooling for that modules, that is where the astronauts live and also work.
"The mobile transporter furthermore plays an integral role," Barclay said. "On the
next mission (in late May), the particular subsequent part of the particular mobile servicing system
will come up and it will mount on best of the particular mobile transporter in order to give
Canadarm2 a new mobile platform to be able to finish the space station assembly."
When just about all will go well, your 109th shuttle mission begins around 5:13
p.m. Thursday with a launch via pad 39B in the Kennedy space Center.
Under any post Sept. 11 safety plan, NASA managers decided not necessarily reveal
the exact launch period until a day prior to liftoff. Until then, the
agency stated simply that will Atlantis would consider off between two p.m. and also six p.m.
but to be successful in the particular space station, a shuttle should be launched within
about a couple of minutes of as quickly as Earth's rotation carries the actual launch pad
into your plane in the station's orbit. Since the result, amateur satellite
trackers had not a new problem determining Atlantis' launch time to within a
few seconds, well beforehand associated with NASA's 24-hour announcement.
In Order To protect your launch occasions regarding future flights, NASA managers are
considering if that they should halt official distribution of area station
two-line elements, the accessible figures employed by satellite
tracking programs to discover the station's orbit and when it might be
visible from the viewer's location.

Atlantis' crew will be composed involving commander Michael Bloomfield, pilot
Stephen Frick, robot arm operator Ellen Ochoa along with spacewalkers Steven
Smith, Rex Walheim, Jerry Ross as well as Lee Morin.
"Jerry and also Lee are each grandfathers," Barclay noted. "And performing
a spacewalk is no simple feat, it needs mental as well as physical stamina.
And these guys possess it. In Order To our team, it's just a entertaining little bit of trivia and
the only period it even pops up can be when these proud grandpas take out the
photos."
said Bloomfield: "I can't verify it, nevertheless I think this will be the
first occasion a couple of grandfathers will carry out a new spacewalk together. Steve
Smith likes in order to refer for them because the 'Silver Team.'"
Ross furthermore will be the first man in history, U.S. or Russian, to make seven
space flights, an achievement in which comes 41 many years following Yuri Gagarin
became the initial human within room along with 21 a long time after the first flight of a
space shuttle.
"I know what to expect as well as I can't wait to accomplish it again," Ross, 54,
said just before launch. "I consider I must be hooked on spaceflight since I
love every aspect of it. ... Obviously, I'm looking greatly forward to
the launch, the actual launch is definitely an extraordinary experience, something that you
cannot put into phrases apart from just smile as well as think about this a new lot.
"I think the actual Lord above may be taking care associated with me all by means of this.
It's tough to know your way I've had your oppertunity to become therefore fortunate as to do
this, nevertheless I could inform you I certainly have appreciated each minute of
it."
Astronaut John Young, an Apollo moonwalker which commanded the particular first
shuttle mission throughout April 1981, was the first man to achieve the actual six flight

milestone. in a occupation interview along with CBS Radio, Younger mentioned "records are made
to be broken as well as I'm really proud of outdated Jerry."
"He's any hard worker," Younger said. "He's been within this company any long
time, he's completed each 1 associated with these (spacewalks) and also he's a fantastic fellow. I
think
it's just excellent that people obtain in order to fly inside room more than we used to.
I'd prefer to go back, but if I do it'd always be really dangerous simply because my wife
said if I went back again up there she'd kill me."
Regarding his part, Ross said no astronaut will at any time eclipse the
accomplishments regarding Young, any veteran of a couple of Gemini flights, two voyages
to the moon - such as one lunar landing - and the couple room shuttle
missions.
"John young can be my hero," Ross said. "There's nobody who will ever
surpass what John Younger continues in order to be able to achieve inside his lifetime as an
astronaut. I don't care how many occasions anybody ever flies inside space, they
won't always be able to outdo what he's done because associated with what he would and how he
did them."
When Ross's resume is impressive, think about Morin's.
"You've most likely in no way satisfied anybody such as Lee Morin," Ochoa said. "He
has an impressive variety of degrees, he features a bachelor's, two masters,
an M.D., a new Ph.D., and it has done residencies in surgery, inside aerospace
medicine. He has an selection of Navy certifications as a diving officer,
undersea medical officer, the submarine officer so when a flight surgeon.
He's been associated with unique ops throughout Desert Storm, he's completed jungle
guerrilla warfare training, I think he's carried out Samurai training."
Grandfathers indeed.

"I'm not necessarily only the the majority of senior member of the particular silver team, but also the
most underachieving member of the particular silver team," Ross joked.
UPGRADED ENGINES POWER LAUNCH TO STATION
Whenever young and pilot Robert Crippen blasted off about the first shuttle
mission in April 12, 1981, they will rode in to orbit about the energy regarding two
solid-fuel boosters and a trio of hydrogen-fueled principal engines built by
Rocketdyne associated with Canoga Park, Calif.
Throughout the actual wake of the 1986 Challenger disaster, NASA embarked on the $1
billion program to boost the actual safety and also reliability of the actual main
engines, a program in which reaches fruition this week using launch of
Atlantis upon mission STS-110.
Atlantis is actually the very first shuttle designed with 3 upgraded block 2
main engines. NASA previously had replaced the actual Rocketdyne-built high
pressure oxygen pump having a a lot more robust pump built by Pratt Whitney.
Other post-Challenger upgrades included add-on of the wide-throat
combustion chamber to reduce internal pressure. the particular elimination of
hard-to-inspect welds plus a new manifold to feed propellants to the
combustion chamber.
The Actual block 2 motor includes your add-on of a Pratt Whitney high
pressure hydrogen pump. while the newest pumps weigh more than the
Rocketdyne models originally developed for the main engines, they
contain fewer welds and also tougher turbine blades, lowering the amount of
costly post-flight inspections as well as serving that is required.
Equipped together with three block 2 engines, a shuttle's overall
reliability raises simply by ten percent, NASA managers say, as the odds
of a new catastrophic engine-related failure drop to always be able to 1-in-483. Prior to

implementation of the brand name new hydrogen pump, the odds were approximately 1-in-438.
"We put the ruthless oxidizer pump upon several in years past and we've
got a pair of flights using the high pressure gas turbopump," mentioned shuttle
program manager Ronald Dittemore. "This is likely to be the first flight with a
cluster associated with three.
"These pumps are generally fantastic. We've basically eliminated your welding
inside your pump that we couldn't inspect. We've made the actual pump beefier,
more robust. And Also because regarding that, we've accepted of a 300-pound
weight improve per pump. Nevertheless we wanted to do that, intentionally
sacrificing a quantity of performance, to improve our safety.
"Some with the failures we've seen about this new pump (during testing)
would have got out a pump and an engine in the past," Dittemore said.
"With this new pump, it just keeps upon chugging. It'll run to MECO (main
engine cutoff) or even it'll have a graceful shutdown. Therefore just subjectively,
it's any tremendous improvement within our safety."
The Particular high pressure hydrogen pump, any bit larger when compared to a beer keg,
generates nearly 70,000 horsepower in your course of motor operation. The Actual old
pumps, Dittemore said, had been thus lightweight along with finely tuned which the
loss of your single turbine blade could cause any catastrophic failure.
"In the old pump, if we had blade damage or even lost a new blade it was
pretty a lot the catastrophic event, it just couldn't stand losing a
single blade," he said. "That ended up being as the pump was made to be
lightweight ... as well as substantial performance. Along With thus when it got from balance by
losing a blade, it really type of cored itself out along with in which became a
catastrophic event.
Using the brand name new hydrogen pumps, "I could shed the blade as well as multiple blades

and it doesn't send my pump out of balance," Dittemore said. "And so
I'm in any situation to withstand individuals kinds of failures but still use a graceful
shutdown or perhaps make it to the (planned) principal engine cutoff."
Assuming an on-time liftoff, Bloomfield along with Frick will guide Atlantis
through the normal rendezvous profile, firing your shuttle's maneuvering
jets periodically to end up being able to tweak your ship's orbit and set up a new docking with
the international room station about 12:30 p.m. April 6.
The Actual shuttle will approach the particular station coming from below, passing with regards to
600
feet under the outpost before gradually looping up to a point directly in
front with the outpost. With that point, Atlantis will be oriented using its
tail facing Earth and its payload bay facing the station.
Your station will possibly be oriented having its lengthy axis within the direction of
travel. A New pressurized mating adapter mounted around the forward end involving the
Destiny laboratory module will confront Atlantis. Destiny, in turn, is
attached towards the U.S. Unity module, any multi-hatch gateway linking your lab
to the others in the station.
Straight across Unity via Destiny can end up being a pressurized mating adapter
leading to the Russian Zarya propulsion and cargo module. Zarya, in
turn, can be attached for the Russian Zvezda command module at the aft finish of
the station's extended axis.
Any Progress provide ship presently will be docked to Zvezda's aft port while
the on-board crew's Soyuz lifeboat will be docked into a downward-facing port
on the particular Zarya module. The Particular Pirs docking module, presently vacant, is
attached towards the nadir docking port at the forward end regarding Zvezda.
Extending 90 feet up from your Unity module's zenith hatch will always be the Z1

truss along with P6 solar array, which provides the particular almost all your station's
current power. The Actual P6 array ultimately will be repositioned at the end
of the actual station's major truss, the first element associated with that is being
installed during Atlantis' mission.
the station's Quest airlock module, which will be employed for just about all four
of the upcoming STS-110 spacewalks, can be attached to Unity's right-side,
or starboard, hatch.
Positioned immediately facing the actual station's lengthy axis, Bloomfield
will manually manual Atlantis within therefore the docking system inside the shuttle's
cargo bay could mate having its counterpart on the pressurized mating
adapter, or perhaps PMA.
"We refer to always be able to it as a V-bar approach," Bloomfield said, referring for you to the
station's velocity vector. "We'll fly below your international space
station then we'll fly every 1 involving the way around out to the front, into
what we call the particular V-bar, but we're flying now out in front of the
station. and then finally, we'll fly throughout about that will V-bar until we dock.
"It's been completed before, it's proven, thus there's not something new on
our flight and so you understand if you are usually doing it right it's likely to work," he
said. "We're relatively confident it's going to work."
once Atlantis can be docked and hatches between the two craft are opened,
Expedition 4 commander Yury Onufrienko and his awesome 2 NASA crewmates -
Daniel Bursch and Carl Walz - will welcome the actual shuttle crew aboard.
Launched Dec. 5, Onufrienko, Bursch and Walz tend to be four several weeks into a
planned six-month remain aboard the room station. the Atlantis astronauts
will become his or her 1st visitors since environment up shop aboard the particular outpost.
"They've been available online for regarding a lot a lot more than one hundred times now along with

I can easily only
imagine what it would be like to be isolated available on-line for to get a hundred days
and not have every other people to talk to," Ross said. "So I'm looking
forward for you to sharing several experiences with all of them as well as hoping they can enjoy
that occasion together just before we depart."
The really first spacewalk to attach the S0 truss will be planned for your day
after docking. The Particular 2nd along with third spacewalks are generally targeted with regard to
April 9
and 10 with the fourth next upon April 12, your 21st anniversary of
the first shuttle flight and furthermore the 41st anniversary regarding Gagarin's flight.
When almost all should go well, Atlantis' crew will return to Earth just before 2
p.m. upon April 15.
"The shuttle crew will return right after getting loosened and also tightened
approximately 250 bolts and after having mated or perhaps demated 110 electrical
connectors," said Barclay. "They will have certainly carried out their own part
building our international area station."
S0 TRUSS Any MARVEL OF COMPLEXITY
The Particular S0 truss gets the misfortune regarding getting saddled using a particularly
utilitarian name, 1 in which does little for you to convey your complexity regarding the
structure or perhaps its critical nature.
However Ben Sellari, NASA's S0 launch bundle manager, causes it for you to be distinct S0
is "more when compared with merely a truss element that will many people could generally think
of as just a girder or perhaps a little bit of structure."
Using a lot much more than 475,000 parts, S0 measures 44.2 feet long, with regards to 14
feet wide as well as weighs 26,716 pounds. in relation to sheer mechanical and
electrical complexity, just the Destiny laboratory module can easily eclipse

it.
"All in the power distribution with regard to space station, when we're in the
assembly total stage when we've our outboard arrays, will come
through S-zero's switching units and become in a position to be dispersed to the
other modules, one other truss elements," he said.
"It'll additionally provide us, for that first time, with a cross-strap
capability so that if i was to lose any (solar array power) channel in
one area, we could then augment that via an additional array channel through
the switching unit."
major components mounted inside your S0 truss include:
- power distribution methods to handle the particular flow of electricity from
the solar arrays into the space station
- DC-to-DC converter units to step down solar array voltage for you to levels
needed through the station's internal systems
- Secondary power manage and also switching systems
- A Couple Of computers to end up being able to manage systems inside the S0 truss segment
- A Couple Of computers to control techniques within future outboard truss segments
- Global Positioning System antennas and the couple laser ring gyros to
permit on-board U.S. determination of the station's orbit and
orientation with regard to solar array as well as antenna aiming
- The three-switch video distribution system which will route television
from most externally mounted cameras, which includes these on the Canadarm2,
into the particular station or perhaps down to Earth
- Strain guages, accelerometers as well as other instrumentation in order to monitor
the truss's structural rigidity
- Instrumentation to watch the actual area environment, including

radiation sensors
- The Particular mobile transporter along with its connected rails and also subsystems
Until the actual solar arrays are usually mounted on the finish with the outboard truss
segments, the Z1 truss atop your Unity module will feed electricity in order to S0
through connectors that is going to be hooked up through the Atlantis spacwwalkers.
Once the particular outboard arrays are in place, S0 will become sending power to Z1 along with the
rest in the station.
Your S0 truss provides the actual structural attach points for the port and
starboard - P1 along with S1 - trusses in which is going to be attached later this year,
along along with pass-through ammonia cooling interfaces. Utility trays upon S0
will provide power, cooling as well as data to always be able to Node 2, a new module virtually
identical for you to Unity that will most likely be launched later. that energy then will be
routed for you to international modules.
Your completed solar array truss will have 10 Canadarm2 perform sites,
two regarding which are located about S0.
Your day after Atlantis docks using the area station, Ochoa, operating
the Canadarm2 coming from inside your U.S. lab module, will pull S0 from the
shuttle's cargo bay and mount it along with Destiny, employing a powerful
claw already throughout spot to temporarily lock it within place.
Moments later, Smith and also Walheim will exit Quest along with begin perform to
attach energy lines and furthermore to permanently latch the particular throughout place, deploying
two
bipods about the forward encounter in the truss and bolting these phones fittings on
Destiny's hull. the next day, Ross as well as Morin will deploy as well as attach two
massive tripods around the aft-facing side of S0 to complete the particular truss'
mechanical attachment.

"Our busiest day by far is actually flight day four, the afternoon following we
rendezvous and also the 1st EVA," Bloomfield said. "S0 includes a timeline on
it, the lifetime, if we take it out with the payload bay it's got a
16-hour clock and also as quickly as which 16 hrs expires, then a possibility
exists that will we might do injury to S0 as it got as well cold. Therefore that's
the clock we're operating against where we've to obtain power on it.
"If we commence obtaining behind, we use a 2nd group of cables up there
called LTA cables, that is launch-to-activate, which could be basically any way
to bypass your normal method of hooking up S0 as well as give us capacity to the
critical boxes just for any short quantity associated with time," he said.
Your mobile transporter is actually mounted on the forward face of S0, attached
to the couple of rails which run the full size with the truss segment. The
transporter measures 102 by 107 inches, weighs 1,923 lbs and also is
capable of your top speed, unloaded, of 1 inch per second. Any time it
crosses joints between truss segments, the pace will drop to some glacial
0.06 inches per second.
The "linear drive unit" inside your transporter "is basically similar to the
motor, transmission and also brakes within your car," Sellari said. "This is what
makes the particular mobile transporter go. This offers a pair of drive devices onto it that
engage your rail and also by means of friction, enable the mobile transporter to go
up along with down the rails."
the transporter additionally can be equipped with a quartet associated with load transfer
units, or perhaps LTUs, claw-like devices that lock the woking platform in place at
various truss perform web sites therefore the Canadarm2 could safely maneuver large
components.
a device known as any roller suspension unit keeps the actual mobile transporter

on its rails within the weightlessness of space, using 5 spring-loaded
wheels to utilize the force and tension required for that linear drive
unit to end up being able to effectively engage.
Your transporter, and in the end Canadarm2, will route information along with video
back for the station by means of a new flat cable known as the trailing umbilical
system, or TUS. Your TUS will unroll at the particular rear of the particular transporter as it inches
along and roll backup in the wedding it will go another way.
at all of the ten Canadarm2 perform web sites along the completed truss, two
umbilicals will probably be open to give you the power necessary to actually
operate your Canadarm2.
In The Particular Program Of the actual third spacewalk associated with Atlantis' mission, Smith and
also Walheim
plan in order to remove launch locks as well as other equipment to become able to free regarding
charge the transporter
for movement. The Particular next day, the actual transporter's linear drive system will
be powered up to drive it from its launch place in order to function site 4 about the
starboard end associated with S0 after which to work web site 5 around the port side. Assuming
all which will go smoothly, the actual transporter will be moved back to end up being able to work
site
4 and also locked in position with regard to use through the subsequent assembly mission.
"We'll actually translate it via its launch position in order to one of the
work sites then we'll translate it towards the some other function site," Castle
said. "We'll let it rest inside the place UF-2 wants it, because UF-2 brings
up the particular mobile berthing system, that attaches for the mobile transporter.
We want to place it within the right spot for them."
Overall, S0 is actually "the centerpiece" of the station's principal solar array
truss, Castle said. "It's what the others in the truss elements develop out

on."
"The truss elements are extremely crucial because in which will get almost all the
power modules up as well as that's what permits us to add all the partner
elements," he said. " We're rapidly approaching the point where we're
going to be energy limited, we have to go ahead as well as build the actual truss out
and obtain another energy elements in line."
CANADIAN SPACE CRANE CRITICAL TO MISSION SUCCESS
S0 will be simply the second main component manipulated throughout space by
Canadarm2. Ochoa will function your arm from the inside Destiny utilizing five
television monitors to see what she's doing. The Actual monitors will provide
views coming from cameras mounted around the arm itself as well as inside the shuttle's cargo
bay.
"This flight will be generally billed as the possible EVA flight, that helps make sense
given your 4 difficult EVAs coming up," Ochoa said. "But I have a tendency to consider of
it as getting a robotics flight. it truly can become a test with the station robotic arm.
It's simply the next occasion we're making use of the actual arm to be able to lift a big payload
out with the bay which one, S0 truss, weighs twice exactly what the airlock
weighed. so it will be quite a bit distinct process as compared to moving the
airlock around."
With different occasions throughout the spacewalks, she said, "we position the arm in
all different varieties of configurations, wrapped across the zenith side
and your nadir facet with the lab and sometimes using actually tight clearances. So
it's really any team effort to hold out all the robotics tasks."
Ochoa is likely to be assisted simply by Bursch along with Walz, both regarding whom have
extensive expertise operating the actual arm within orbit.
"The station robotic arm can be a real challenge to operate along with Ellen is

actually carrying it out coming from inside your lab," Bloomfield said. "There are usually no
windows within the lab that permit Ellen to check outside and see exactly where the
arm is actually moving. Thus she's really influenced by all the camera views we can
give the girl so she will not take the arm and operate it in to anything up
there.
"Those camera views result from Steve's difficult work. He has put together
an incredible video system that's planning to allow Ellen to see most the
different views and also help to make sure that she has your clearance to safely
operate the particular arm."
each of the seven joints inside Canadarm2 can be equipped with 2 redundant
avionics "strings" utilized to remotely manage joint drive motors, brakes
and various other systems. one string can be arbitrarily considered "prime"
and one other "backup."
In The Actual course Of assessments within early March, engineers discovered that the wrist-roll
joint in the primary string had certainly not been operating properly, apparently because
of a problem using the internal electronics in that string. The Actual backup
string has zero such problems and the joint worked normally. but must a
similar glitch occur throughout S0 installation, the arm's software program would
consider the particular joint failed along with place the crane straight into so-called "safe mode."
To End Up Being Able To avoid in which possibility, engineers redesigned the actual trajectory the
arm will observe in the course of S0 installation in order to minimize utilisation regarding the wrist-
roll
joint. Throughout addition, Canadian programmers wrote the computer software patch to
prevent the arm coming from going into safe mode when the backup string does, in
fact, suffer any wrist-roll avionics glitch.
Throughout that will case, Smith as well as Walheim would use a power instrument to be able to
manually

rotate the actual stalled wrist-roll joint to the necessary orientation.
Ochoa stated the crew features trained with all the new processes along with that she
does not really expect virtually any problems.
"While every 1 associated with the joint sides for the positions are really different (in the
revised trajectory), a lot of what we do with most the hand controller, all
the manual flying, is essentially your same," Ochoa said. "The main
change will be we've changed sort of the actual center a part of the particular maneuver, which
used to become a car maneuver that features been likely to move S0 forward and also around
the corner, setting it up sort of setup for the install, that is flown
manually.
"We've taken that will out as well as replaced that will using a number of single joint
maneuvers," she said. "And the whole objective involving which was to make an effort to reduce
moving the actual wrist roll joint whenever we could, to move it as little as
possible, and to often be in the situation where in the large event the good string
failed and we had to look at for the string where we can't utilize the wrist
roll, there's only 1 occasion in which the EVA crew members would have to
come out and actually move that joint. We could nonetheless proceed and
manually install S0 around the lab with just about all the arm."
The new wrist roll joint together with 2 teams of presumably pristine avionics
equipment, will probably be installed during the subsequent shuttle mission. Launch
originally was planned pertaining to early May, nevertheless the flight had been delayed to always
be able to May
31 to supply more time as well as energy to develop a payload bay mounting fixture as well as to
improve your angle among the sun and additionally the station's orbit.
SPACEWALKS POSE TOUGH CHALLENGE TO SHUTTLE CREW
The very first spacewalk involving Atlantis' mission is actually scheduled to begin the

day following docking, right after Ochoa completes S0's first attachment to
Destiny.
Assisted through Bursch, Ochoa will "move it out over the actual port side regarding the
combined stack and then transfer your orientation around, come up over the
top in the lab then extremely precisely carry S0 on to what's called
the module-to-truss-segment attach system, as well as MT-SAS," Castle said.
"You'll also see the lab cradle assembly getting used. They'll align
them very precisely, then activate the capture latch. The Particular capture latch is
actually about the lab, it looks being a claw. We'll capture S0, pull the
structure together then several alignment books will series it very
precisely.
"That will just about all always be completed in the very first section of your crew day,"
Castle said. "We're timing it therefore just as we're finished using the capture
latch operation, we'll be depressing your airlock to take the first EVA
crew outside."
Smith, wearing a spacesuit using red stripes round the legs, will be a
veteran regarding five previous spacewalks although Walheim, wearing an unmarked
white suit, will be making his first such excursion.
Smith will deploy the telescoping struts making up the actual forward bipods
and Walheim will "rigidize" these people such as the legs of your camera tripod and
bolt them to fittings about Destiny's hull. Smith, meanwhile, will open up a
trap door close to the middle of S0 along with float component method to the truss to
loosen any pair of clamps allowing a large cable tray to always be able to deploy.
the cable tray is about the aft side of S0 facing the Z1 truss. That is
known since the "rat's nest."
"It's buried between numerous modules and trusses and furthermore this region could

be called the heart associated with area station with regard to spacewalkers," Barclay said.
"This is where many electrical along with fluid lines mate between the
modules."
Just Before creating any such connections, however, circuit interrupt
devices, or even CIDs, is planning to be installed and also activated like circuit breakers
to ensure simply no electricity can be flowing by means of any 1 of your cables.
Smith then will disconnect any set of diagnostic cables and also launch a
pair involving bolts to really lower the tray just before connecting ten cables
between the actual tray as well as connectors in Z1. Upon the front facet of the truss,
Walheim, occasionally assisted by simply Smith, will deploy an additional tray and
make yet another twenty electrical connections.
When time will be available, Smith will install 2 a lot more CIDs inside the
truss in order to allow long term assembly crews to always be able to "break electrical circuits in
the middle and also lessen the quantity regarding space station power down that's
required during later assembly missions," Barclay said.
Your final major objective regarding the very first spacewalk would be to energy up your mobile
transporter's internal heaters via the particular trailing umbilical system.
Working together, Smith and Walheim will electrically connect the TUS
and install with regards to twenty feet involving cable throughout instructions along the mobile
transporter's rails.
"So following EVA-1, we have got got a pair of out with the 4 strut groups
attached, thus we're structurally in good shape with regard to quite a while, we'll
have all the power hooked up therefore all involving the avionics are generally up and also operating
and
we'll activate S0 and also all of the equipment onto it in which evening, after the
crew finishes the EVA," Castle said.

The Particular next day, the combined station-shuttle crew will work inside the
lab complex in order to transfer equipment both for you to as well as from Atlantis, configure
cameras and to best off the particular airlock module's oxygen and also nitrogen
supplies.
The Particular second spacewalk will be conducted simply by Ross and also Morin in flight
day six. Ross has more than 44 hours involving spacewalk time during his six
previous missions although Morin is a rookie. Regarding identification, Ross'
spacesuit features broken red dashes across the legs while Morin's has
diagonal candy cane stripes.
The Particular primary objective in the excursion is to deploy along with latch the actual two
tripods around the aft side of S0 that may total its structural
attachment in order to Destiny.
"Each of those deploy out, attach towards the lab, there's an expanding
collar that allows their length to change," Castle said. "So that they attach
them for the lab after which tighten along the collar so the size can't
change virtually any more. Thus you wind up with a fairly rigid structural member
when you're done."
Ross along with Morin also will remove the two huge keel pins in which helped
anchor S0 within the shuttle's cargo bay regarding launch. The Particular keel pins and also two
other components referred for you to as drag links must be removed to allow the mobile
transporter to move back along with forth together its rails.
Finally, the spacewalkers will attach a new second TUS to the mobile
transport to offer redundancy.
The Actual third spacewalk, by simply Smith and Walheim, will be scheduled for that next
day. Regarding this excursion, the shuttle's robot arm will probably be used to move

Smith about whilst the 2 spacewalkers reconfigure the actual cabling regarding the
station's Canadarm2.
The Particular Canadian crane at present draws its energy via connections to
Destiny's electrical system. the objective in the third spacewalk is to
connect the particular robot arm to power feeds around the S0 truss, allowing it to
operate from the mobile transporter.
"We really don't want to power down most associated with Canadarm two most from once,
we're going to carry it down 1 redundant string at a time," Castle
said. "So we'll power down 1 string, perform the energy reconfiguration,
power in which string up, verify it works, then we'll energy on the other
string associated with avionics and also likelihood your energy configurations there."
The Particular arm's redundant power lines will probably be connected to the truss from two
points. Although ground engineers test the extremely first cable reconfiguration,
Smith and also Walheim will remove launch locks holding your mobile
transporter within place. Following making the 2nd set of robot arm
connections, the particular spacewalkers will split up along with reposition resources while
the ground runs an additional number of exams to make positive the crane will be once
again totally operational.
the final job for that spacewalkers is to install a ladder-like
"spur" between your Quest airlock along with S0 to make it easier for future
assembly crews to get up to the truss perform sites.
The Particular next day, the particular crew will work along with ground engineers to always be able
to test the
mobile transporter, commanding it for you to roll among the two function web sites on
S0. The Particular day right after that, Ross as well as Morin will stage the mission's fourth
and final spacewalk.

"EVA-4 is really a bunch regarding get-ahead stuff," Castle said. "If nothing on
EVA-4 will get done, we've stood a very effective mission. Most the actual critical
things which have to obtain done, acquire done in the 1st three EVAs. That's
by design. When something does certainly not get completed on the first 3 EVAs, we'll
do it on EVA 4. And Also if one thing falls off of EVA 4, it's items that
can be found down stream ... relatively easily."
Ross will ride about the end regarding Canadarm2 for you to install a set of external
lights although Morin torques 3 bolts to accomplish your structural load
path among S0 along with Destiny. Your 2 spacewalkers then will finish
deploying a amount of tiny items of equipment across the truss, including
a perform platform plus a device stanchion.
Ross also will situation two "energy absorbers" on both sides involving the
mobile transporter.
"These are generally essentially big shock absorbers," Barclay said. "Future
spacewalkers will have hand-propelled carts to wheel along the truss rail
and these energy absorbers permit attachment of those carts to the
mobile transporter and thus they in addition would cushion any kind of collision between the
cart and the transporter."
Morin will deploy any charged particle directional spectrometer that
ultimately is likely to be accustomed to sniff out just about any leaks inside the ammonia coolant
system and also others. He in addition will deploy a swing arm nearby the rat's nest
carrying connectors that will later on will be hooked up to the Unity module.
In the identical time, Ross will be conducting the video survey "to make
sure alignment marks will become in great shape with regard to later on mating fo the Canadarm2
base system," Barclay said. He furthermore will install 5 spacewalk
handrails about S0 as well as inspect the particular GPS antennas.

"A lot of these duties are generally sort of generic, generating a new bolt, getting rid of a
blanket, that will kind of thing," Barclay said. "But throughout regards to overall
criticality in the actual direction of the particular next space station mission and survival associated
with the
element, that will type of thing, this is actually a rather complex mission."
Your day after the fourth spacewalk, Atlantis will undock through the
space station. Along With pilot Frick in the controls, your shuttle will fly
one and a quarter loops round the station before leaving the location for
good. Landing is targeted regarding just before two p.m. upon April 15.
"I consider there's probably a fantastic likelihood we'll have a large quantity of fun,"
Ross reflected. "We've previously got any bit of things planned for the (station)
crew to be able to enjoy several quiet occasions together. and just being there
is adequate fun with regard to me.
"I mean, it's an incredible experience. God developed a beautiful place
for us to live on and to be capable of observe via 200-and-some miles up,
it's just [an] incredible experience. Living throughout zero gravity, becoming able
to reveal that will along with ten some other people is the thing that's very, very
hard to state with other people, your impact of that."
=============================================================
======
Weather 'iffy' with regard to launch (04/03/02)
10:25 a.m., 04/03/02, Update: Weather outlook now sixty percent 'go'
Forecasters now say there's the 40 % potential for showers and
possible thunderstorms that will delay the actual shuttle Atlantis' planned
liftoff Thursday afternoon on the room station assembly mission. The Particular odds
improve for you to eighty percent "go" Friday along with drop again to always be able to 60 percent
favorable

should launch slip in order to Saturday.
Out with launch pad 39B, shuttle workers have finished loading
Atlantis' internal tanks with liquid oxygen as well as hydrogen to power the
ship's electrical generators and are pressing ahead with the launch
countdown. When late afternoon thunderstorms develop as expected,
lightning and the threat of hail could force engineers to delay
retraction in the shuttle's protective gantry. However no main problems are
expected.
NASA managers, meanwhile, plan to fulfill with 4 p.m. nowadays to discuss the
results regarding additional overnight function in order to assess the healthiness of Atlantis'
external tank umbilical door drive motors. Throughout latest exams regarding a
drive assembly aboard the actual shuttle Endeavour, a motor took lengthier than
expected to shut certainly one of the particular doors. Although nobody thinks Atlantis provides a
problem - it's drive motors labored effectively throughout typical tests before
the shuttle ended up being moved towards the pad - NASA managers want to make absolutely
sure prior to clearing the particular ship pertaining to launch.
The Actual external tank doors are latched open during launch therefore propellant
flowing through 17-inch feed lines in the external gasoline tank can easily pass
into the shuttle's engine compartment. Following your tank can be jettisoned, the
doors, covered using heat shield tiles, are usually closed.
The Particular motor issue demands resolution because the consequences are
extreme. Must a door fall short to seal for any reason, the particular heat of
atmospheric entry would bring about destruction of the orbiter.
That Will said, engineers believe Atlantis' motors are, within fact, perfectly
healthy. That They just required any bit of added time to go through most the
paperwork in some other motors within the shuttle inventory.

Atlantis' launch moment is not necessarily going to become revealed by NASA until 24 hours
before liftoff. Until then, NASA is merely likely to say launch will be targeted
between two p.m. and also six p.m. Thursday. Nevertheless widely available satellite
tracking software program signifies Atlantis need in order to take off around 5:13 p.m.
Thursday to be able to rendezvous with most the international area station on
Saturday. Since quickly as NASA makes that will official, we'll update your flight
plan on the Existing Mission page for you to reflect your real goal launch
time. We will post the NASA television routine as quickly as it is
released.
5:30 p.m., 04/03/02, Update: NASA releases official launch time
NASA officially unveiled the particular shuttle Atlantis' launch occasion today.
Weather permitting, the shuttle will blast off at 5:12:51 p.m. Thursday,
within a couple of minutes - throughout a minimal of 1 case, within a couple of a few moments - of
the moment predicted earlier by widely available satellite tracking
software. Your actual 10-minute launch window will open up at 5:07:52 p.m.
and close from 5:17:50 p.m. Earlier concern regarding suspect drive motors in
the shuttle's propellant feed line addresses was resolved in an afternoon
management review.
NASA's television routine associated with major mission events will be available
shortly. An updated flight plan, based on the official launch time, will
be posted later this evening. Your most recent variation in the flight plan
includes numerous significant changes and visitors are generally encouraged to check
the current Mission web page later tonight for that posted revision.
=============================================================
======
Shuttle launch delayed through hydrogen leak with pad (04/04/02)

08:35 a.m., 04/04/02, Update: Shuttle fueled regarding launch
Operating simply by remote control, engineers began pumping any half-million
gallons of liquid oxygen along with liquid hydrogen rocket gasoline in to the
shuttle Atlantis' external tank at 8:05 a.m. today, environment the particular stage
for any launch work pertaining to balance 5:12:51 p.m.
Forecasters continue to predict a new good possibility - 40 percent - for
afternoon showers as well as thunderstorms, nevertheless there are no technical problems
of virtually any significance with pad 39B and additionally the astronauts program for you to begin
strapping within just just before two p.m.
Beneath a fresh post-Sept. 11 safety policy, NASA television coverage
will not begin until your crew is in the pad, at two p.m. The
crew's standard breakfast "photo op," suit donning along with go out to
the van which will carry these people towards the pad will be taped as well as replayed after
NASA television coverage begins.
Subsequent any standard countdown, the particular shuttle's crew cabin hatch will
be closed about 3:15 p.m. Any 10-minute hold at the T-minus 20-minute
mark will can start 3:58 p.m. and also finish from 4:08 p.m. A New final adjustable
hold at the T-minus nine-minute mark will begin at 4:19 p.m. In case most goes
well, your countdown will resume in 5:03:51 p.m. to obtain a liftoff at 5:12:51
p.m.
09:50 a.m., 04/04/02, Update: Propellant leak in pad forces launch
delay
NASA managers called off today's make an effort to launch the shuttle
Atlantis on a room station assembly mission after getting a leak created in a
hydrogen fuel vent line. The Actual countdown has been halted with 9:27 a.m. and
launch will be off for a minimum of twenty four hours and also possibly longer, depending on

what it could decide to end up being able to use repair the particular vent line.
NASA provides not necessarily announced any launch time with regard to Friday, yet according to
the
space station's orbit, liftoff would be focused with regard to around 4:50 p.m.
The forecast calls with an 0.8 opportunity of good weather.
Further details concerning today's scrub will probably be posted here as soon as
possible. Any trustworthy supply said engineers think a new weld broke in a
hydrogen series around the shuttle's mobile launch platform. Witnesses said
they could visit a liquid gushing from a pipe visible around the facet regarding the
platform, nevertheless it wasn't right away obvious what which may have got been.
Stay tuned!
11:00 a.m., 04/04/02, Update: Dramatic video associated with launch pad leak
The dramatic hydrogen leak today at the shuttle Atlantis' launch pad,
apparently the finish result of your cracked weld, spewed a cloud of extremely
flammable vapor into the morning air, yet luckily regarding NASA the hydrogen
did not really ignite and engineers swiftly stopped your flow of propellant. The
incident occurred from 9:27 a.m., concerning an hour-and-a-half right after engineers
began the three-hour procedure for fueling Atlantis for launch on a space
station assembly mission.
Video through remotely operated cameras on the east facet in the pad
showed any cloud associated with vapor spewing round the circumference of the white
hydrogen vent range on the facet with the shuttle's mobile launch platform.
Hydrogen can "auto ignite" when launched directly in in order to the atmosphere,
but that didn't occur today. no one has been in the pad, any regular safety
precaution in your course of shuttle fueling, and so absolutely no lives had been at virtually any time
at risk.
The launch pad is equipped using a sophisticated fire supression system,

but even so, it might seem NASA dodged the bullet this morning.
Launch with the 109th shuttle mission is actually officially off with regard to no much less than 24
hours, nevertheless NASA managers say privately a Friday launch attempt is not
being considered. That will consider engineers several hours for you to completely
drain Atlantis' external tank along with acquire access towards the vent line with regard to an
up-close inspection.
NASA's mission management team will meet from one p.m. to always be able to talk about the
problem, repair choices and when Atlantis may be ready for another
launch attempt. a new conference in order to discuss the particular issue is planned for
2:30 p.m.
02:00 p.m., 04/04/02, Update: Launch off until Sunday and possibly
longer
Launch involving shuttle Atlantis is likely to be delayed until no less than Sunday,
NASA managers say, and that's assuming a leaking hydrogen vent series on
the ship's mobile launch platform could be repaired in place and that
tests could be completed within time along with energy to ensure the line's integrity. When the
line cannot be welded in place, any 2nd choice demands installing a
clamshell fixture across the break for you to seal it. Within that will case, launch
likely would be delayed for you to Monday or perhaps Tuesday. The third, worst-case
scenario, would contact regarding engineers to become able to disconnect a new 60-foot section of
the vent range and to repair it about the pad surface. It's not really but clear
how extended which may take. Any NASA briefing is scheduled to begin with shortly
and an update will be posted as soon as possible thereafter.
03:30 p.m., 04/04/02, Update: NASA downplays threat from hydrogen
leak
The Particular shuttle Atlantis' launch on a space station assembly mission is

off until no much less than Sunday - and also possibly lengthier - simply because of a dramatic
hydrogen leak in the launch pad in which raised the center rates of
reporters, otherwise shuttle engineers.
Your leak occurred shortly after 9 a.m., about an hour along with five
minutes or perhaps thus after engineers began fueling Atlantis for any 5:13 p.m.
launch attempt. a few moments right after switching from slow fill to fast
fill, an alert engineer monitoring video cameras focused about the pad saw
a cloud involving vapor erupt from a hydrogen vent line.
The Particular 16-inch aluminum range will be one of 2 that will carry extra hydrogen
gas in the shuttle's external tank to some "flare stack" nearby the pad
where the gas is actually launched into the atmosphere inside a controlled burn. The
line merely carries gas, not necessarily supercold liquid hydrogen.
"It had been during fast fill about the hydrogen facet in which a new facility vent
line leaked," Leinbach said. "This has been about the facet of the mobile
launcher, it's actually a pipe external for the mobile launcher. Most leaking
gaseous hydrogen had been vented to end up being able to atmosphere, there is no problem
together with the
vehicle itself, there were no leaks inside the particular mobile launcher."
Video from remotely managed cameras about the east side in the pad
showed a cloud of vapor spewing round the circumference regarding the
double-jacketed vent line, presumably due to a cracked weld. Your weld in
question dates again a lot a lot more than 20 years and can become a veteran of a lot a lot more than
80
shuttle fueling operations.
"About one minute after he spotted the particular leak, we terminated flow on
hydrogen," Leinbach said. "We talked about the actual situation for an additional 12
or 13 minutes although we continued to be able to load oxygen. but we decided very

quickly the particular leak was method out of spec and which we were going to haven't any launch
attempt today."
Hydrogen gas can easily spontaneously ignite in the atmosphere in
concentrations higher compared to regarding 4 % thanks for you to interactions with
other components of the air. Although the vapor leaking in the vent line
appeared to be pretty dense, Leinbach said there were simply no sensors nearby
to determine your real concentration.
Inside any kind of case, no fires broke out and Leinbach downplayed the particular danger
posed by the leak.
"We didn't at any kind of time think about vid threat towards the vehicle," he said. "Of
course, during external tank load there's no-one in the pad consequently there was
never any safety issue using people. We just really don't really feel it was an
issue."
He confirmed in which engineers are studying three selections for repairing
the line. When sufficient room is available, technicians will grind down the
crack, re-weld it and employ X-rays or penetrating dyes to end up being able to confirm the
integrity in the seal. That's your best-case scenario, one which would
result in the launch try as early as Sunday.
Any second, a lot more complex, alternative requires welding a new clamshell-like
sleeve across the crack. Yet that might add per day or even a pair of to the repair
timeline. The Actual worst-case scenario would require engineers to detach a
60-foot-long area associated with the vent series reducing it to the pad surface
for repairs. the collection then might have to be reattached as well as retested.
When yet another launch try might be scheduled beneath in which alternative will be not
yet clear.
However absolutely no decision on which in turn option in order to pursue is anticipated prior to

Friday,
after engineers have a chance to have out a comprehensive inspection. Access
to your crack, high over your pad on the facet in the shuttle's mobile
launch platform, is another issue.
under NASA's post Sept. 11 security plan, the particular agency will not
announce a new goal launch period with regard to Sunday or some other day, declaring only
that Atlantis will take off, in the wedding the pad can be repaired within time, between
2 p.m. as well as 4 p.m. The Actual exact launch period will be revealed twenty 4 hours before
takeoff.
As reported here earlier, however, satellite monitoring software shows
a Sunday launch will be targeted with regard to about 5:02 p.m. EDT. The Actual launch
time moves regarding 24 minutes earlier every day within accord with all the space
station's orbit.
Assuming Atlantis will get up and also running Sunday, here's a tough timeline
of main mission events (in EDT as well as mission elapsed time):
DATE/EDT...DD...HH...MM...EVENT
04/07/02
05:02 PM...00...00...00...STS-110 launch
04/09/02
11:38 AM...01...18...36...Station docking
12:47 PM...01...19...45...Hatch opening
04/10/02
11:22 AM...02...18...20...Spacewalk No. one actually begins to attach truss to
station
04/12/02
10:52 AM...04...17...50...Spacewalk No. two begins

04/13/02
10:52 AM...05...17...50...Spacewalk No. 3 begins
04/15/02
04/16/02
12:22 PM...08...19...20...Farewell ceremony
12:42 PM...08...19...40...Hatches closed
03:22 PM...08...22...20...Station undocking
04/18/02
06:52 AM...10...13...50...Begin deorbit timeline
10:54 AM...10...17...52...Deorbit rocket firing
11:59 AM...10...18...57...Landing
The thorough flight strategy for a Sunday launch will be posted about the Current
Mission page. NASA's television routine will probably be released your day before
launch, whenever that occurs.
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Launch delayed for you to Monday (04/05/02)
Launch in the shuttle Atlantis on the area station assembly mission
has been rescheduled pertaining to Monday afternoon to allow period with regard to engineers to
repair any leaking hydrogen vent range in the launch pad. NASA managers
decided late Thursday to correct the particular crack by simply placing a clamshell-like
sleeve about it then welding your sleeve throughout place. that work, plus
tests for you to confirm the actual sleeve is leak free, will delay launch to sometime
between 2 p.m. as well as 6 p.m. Monday. the actual launch moment will be
announced twenty four hours prior to liftoff, throughout keeping along with NASA's post-Sept. 11

security policy.
Nevertheless the publicly announced launch moment regarding Thursday ended up being 5:13 p.m.
EST. for area station missions, the particular launch time moves regarding 24 minutes
earlier daily along with that would lead to a new launch about 4:37 p.m. EDT
Monday, within near agreement with predictions created by satellite tracking
software.
The Particular 16-inch hydrogen vent line, used to have excessive hydrogen gas
from your shuttle's external tank to some "flare stack" nearby the pad, is
located about the shuttle's mobile launch platform. Your range ruptured about
an hour along with five minutes to the fueling procedure began Thursday
morning. Engineers believe a decades-old weld cracked simply because of
temperature-induced stress.
Your repair work is expected to consider 12 to 16 hrs to complete and if
all should go well, the task is likely to be done by simply 6 p.m. Saturday. Although engineers
probably could get finished your repair with time to acquire a Sunday launch try,
NASA managers made a decision to goal Monday to be able to give a bit more time to
handle just about any unexpected problems.
Your forecast for Monday demands generally favorable circumstances in
Florida, although substantial winds could be a issue. Shuttle managers are generally more
concerned about circumstances in 3 shuttle landing web sites throughout Spain and
Africa. Most 3 are usually forecast "no go" early subsequent week and also no much less than one
must be available in case regarding an engine difficulty in the actual course of ascent that will might
force the crew to produce an emergency landing.
NASA's newsroom will probably be closed Saturday and can reopen Sunday. A
revised television schedule will possibly be launched Sunday afternoon. Inside the
meantime, an updated edition of the crew's flight plan, according to a

presumed launch in 4:37 p.m., is posted below. Visitors should keep in
mind several times might alter slightly based around the shuttle's actual target
launch time and changes needed by updated monitoring with the station.
That said, here are generally mission highlights at a glance (in EDT and mission
elapsed time):
EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT
04/08/02
04:37 PM...00...00...00...STS-110 launch
04/10/02
11:13 AM...01...18...36...Space station docking
12:22 PM...01...19...45...Hatch opening
04/11/02
05:52 AM...02...13...15...Station robot arm unberths S0 truss
06:52 AM...02...14...15...S0 installation begins
04/13/02
04/14/02
10:27 AM...05...17...50...Spacewalk No. three begins
04/15/02
11:42 AM...06...19...05...Crew news conference
04/16/02
04/17/02
11:57 AM...08...19...20...Farewell ceremony
12:17 PM...08...19...40...Hatches closed

02:57 PM...08...22...20...Space station undocking
04/19/02
10:29 AM...10...17...52...Deorbit rocket firing
11:34 AM...10...18...57...Landing
The complete flight strategy can become obtained about the Present Mission page.
=============================================================
======
Welding repairs complete; high winds the concern (04/07/02)
02:30 p.m., 04/07/02, Update: Welding repairs complete; high winds a
concern regarding launch
Engineers effectively repaired any cracked weld in a launch pad
gaseous hydrogen vent line Saturday, clearing the way for that delayed
launch with the shuttle Atlantis Monday afternoon on a room station
assembly mission. Launch is believed being focused pertaining to about 4:37 p.m.
But substantial winds at the Kennedy Room center could pose problems with regard to an
emergency return to launch website abort, prompting forecasters to end up being able to predict
a 40 percent possibility of yet another delay.
a launch attempt Thursday has been referred in order to as off just 90 minutes or even thus after
engineers began pumping rocket gas in to Atlantis' external tank when a
16-inch-wide gaseous hydrogen vent range on the aspect in the ship's mobile
launch platform ruptured. A New weld dating back a lot much more than 20 years
apparently cracked after repeated coverage in order to low-temperature hydrogen
gas. NASA managers downplayed your threat from your resulting cloud of
hydrogen gas, declaring its low temperature caused it to always be able to be look more dramatic in
the significantly warmer Florida air than it actually way.
in any kind of case, engineers repaired the particular vent line, which carries excess

hydrogen gasoline from your external tank to some close by "flare stack," by
welding a clamshell-like sleeve around it. Your perform has been completed
Saturday along with screening (both X-ray along with dye penetrant) confirmed the particular seal
is tight, clearing just how to find a second launch attempt.
Since usual, howevever, the elements can always be a major query mark.
Substantial winds are expected in the Kennedy space Middle Monday since of
a strain gradient among a higher pressure system off your Northeastern of
the Usa plus a low pressure system over Texas. The Particular Spaceflight
Meteorology Team at the Johnson Area center in Houston is predicting
scattered clouds in 3,500 feet along with 25,000 feet along with seven-mile
visibility. Consequently far, therefore good. Yet the winds are generally predicted being out of
130 degrees at 17 knots together with gusts for you to 26. Which would result in maximum
headwinds in the Shuttle Landing Facility of just slightly below NASA's
safety limit associated with 25 knots.
While any result, forecasters in the Kennedy space center are usually predicting a
40 % likelihood launch will most likely be delayed. Your forecast improves to become able to 80
percent "go" about Tuesday along with Wednesday.
NASA managers will announce Atlantis' official launch period later on this
afternoon. In which point, we will update the particular flight program already posted
below as well as add your official NASA television schedule.
04:55 p.m., 04/07/02, Update: Official launch time released
NASA announced your shuttle Atlantis' official launch period today:
4:39:31 p.m. Monday, a few minutes later when compared with amateur satellite
observers had predicted based around the international area station's known
orbit.
Inside trying in order to keep having a new post-Sept. 11 security plan, NASA will not

release the shuttle's precise launch time until a day just before liftoff.
Until then, the agency offers a four-hour launch time period that, for
Atlantis' mission, runs via 2 p.m. to end up being able to 6 p.m. daily.
The Particular actual launch window announced nowadays opens in 4:34:31 p.m. Monday
and closes in 4:44:30 p.m. The Actual preferred launch occasion within that window
is 4:39:31 p.m., close for the moment Earth's rotation carries pad 39B
into your plane of the space station's orbit.
The Actual crew's flight program may be recalculated to always be able to reflect the particular
official
launch time. Here are mission hightlights in a glance (in EDT and
mission elapsed time):
EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT
04/08/02
04:40 PM...00...00...00...STS-110 launch
09:40 PM...00...05...00...Crew sleep begins
04/10/02
12:07 PM...01...19...27...Space station docking
01:30 PM...01...20...50...Hatch opening
04/11/02
11:00 AM...02...18...20...Spacewalk-1: Egress as well as every day setup
03:40 PM...02...23...00...S0 truss activation
05:10 PM...03...00...30...Spacewalk-1: Airlock repressurization
04/13/02
10:30 AM...04...17...50...Spacewalk-2: Egress as well as every day setup
06:35 PM...05...01...55...Reboost operations

04/14/02
10:30 AM...05...17...50...Spacewalk-3: Egress along with day-to-day setup
05:40 PM...06...01...00...Reboost operations
04/15/02
11:40 AM...06...19...00...Crew information conference
04/16/02
10:30 AM...07...17...50...Spacewalk-4: Egress as well as day-to-day setup
04/17/02
07:15 AM...08...14...35...Reboost operations
02:35 PM...08...21...55...Space station undocking
04/19/02
03:10 AM...10...10...30...Crew wakeup
11:38 AM...10...18...58...Deorbit rocket firing (on orbit 170)
12:42 PM...10...20...02...Landing
The Particular complete flight strategy can be posted on the Existing Mission page. The
official NASA television schedule will possibly be posted here shortly.
=============================================================
======
Atlantis rockets in to orbit (04/08/02)
07:50 a.m., 04/08/02, Update: Atlantis refueled for second launch try
Engineers began refueling the shuttle Atlantis from 7:18 a.m. today,
setting takes place for blastoff on a space station assembly mission at
4:39:31 p.m. Forecasters always predict the 40 % chance of high
winds that will could force a 2nd delay, yet shuttle managers are generally hopeful

the weather will cooperate.
The launch attempt Thursday has been called off following a decades-old weld in
a 16-inch gaseous hydrogen vent line on the facet of Atlantis' mobile
launch platform cracked, permitting hydrogen gasoline to spew out. The Particular series was
repaired Saturday by simply welding any clamshell-like sleeve around the crack
and no problems are required today.
The Actual issue this occasion around around can be higher winds. NASA's safety boundaries forbid
a launch if the winds exceed 30 knots at the launch pad, if crosswinds
at your shuttle's emergency landing strip are usually greater than 15 knots as well as if
headwinds exceed 25 knots.
the forecast pertaining to Atlantis' launch window demands 30-knot winds out
of 120 degrees at the launch pad - proper in NASA's safety limit. With the
runway, winds are expected to be out of 130 degrees in 17 knots with
gusts for you to 26 knots. Your crosswind component is simply 9 knots or even so, but
headwinds is going to be proper in the limit when the wind direction doesn't
change. In the event that it does, crosswinds could be a factor.
NASA television coverage is actually scheduled in order to can start 1:30 p.m. The
STS-110 television routine is actually posted below, along with a detailed
flight plan.
01:40 p.m., 04/08/02, Update: Shuttle crew straps in
Commander Michael Bloomfield and the six crewmates began strapping in
aboard the actual shuttle Atlantis about 1:30 p.m. today, trying in order to keep their
fingers entered weather will cooperate and also permit the liftoff at
4:39:31 p.m.
Throughout trying in order to keep together with NASA's new security policy, television footage
involving the

astronauts suiting up as well as departing crew quarters was not carried live
on NASA television. Any time NASA TV began up with 1:30 p.m., your astronauts
were already in the pad and also within the process of boarding the particular shuttle.
Presently there are no technical problems in pad 39B along with the only issue remains
the weather, along with forecasters predicting high winds in the launch pad
and in the shuttle's emergency runway. While of this writing, the winds are
predicted to become proper from NASA's safety limits for down-the-runway
headwinds at the shuttle's emergency runway at the pad itself.
Throughout some other words, it's as well near call.
Air Force F-15 fighter jets, meanwhile, forced a light plane for you to land
at the tiny airport just west with the Kennedy space Middle following its pilot
strayed right directly into a no-fly zone surrounding the particular area center. The Particular pilot
apparently had certainly not been conscious of the no-fly zone along with right away cooperated
with instructions in order to land.
05:00 p.m., 04/08/02, Update: Atlantis roars directly into orbit
Barely beating your clock, the actual space shuttle Atlantis rocketed away
through the breezy afternoon sky today and hang off on a four-spacewalk
flight to add the $790 million truss for the international space station
that eventually will span the size of your football field.
Operating 4 days late because of the cracked launch pad hydrogen vent
line, Atlantis roared for you to lifestyle and also vaulted from pad 39B with 4:44:19
p.m., almost 5 minutes late since of your hastily corrected
synchronization glitch with countdown control equipment on the ground.
Because it was, Atlantis lifted off together with just 11 just a few seconds left throughout its
launch window.
at the minute associated with liftoff, the station has been sailing 220 miles over the

North Atlantic Ocean, passing virtually directly over the launch pad the few
minutes just before Atlantis took off.
Nevertheless it'll consider commander Michael Bloomfield and the six crewmates -
pilot Stephen Frick, flight engineer Ellen Ochoa and spacewalkers Steven
Smith, Rex Walheim, Jerry Ross and also Lee Morin - a couple of days to trap up with
their quarry right after lapping the actual station later on tonight. Docking is
expected around noon Wednesday.
Ross, 54, set a brand new space record along with Atlantis' ground-shaking
liftoff, turning into the extremely first human ever in order to blast off about seven space
flights. the achievement came 41 many years after cosmonaut Yury Gagarin
became the initial human inside space along with 21 a lengthy time after the really first shuttle
flight April 12, 1981.
"He's the tough worker," mentioned 71-year-old astronaut John Young, an
Apollo moonwalker and also shuttle commander who was the really first man to always be able to
achieve
the six-flight milestone. "He's been on this company any long time, he's
done each one of these (spacewalks) and he's a fantastic fellow.
"I feel it is actually just great that folks acquire to be able to fly within area more than we
used to," Young, still an energetic astronaut, informed CBS Radio. "I'd similar to to
go back, however, if I do it'd become just crazy since my wife said if I
went back on your sites for she'd kill me."
Atlantis made the particular climb in order to space utilizing the power of three upgraded
block 2 primary engines, the end outcome of your billion-dollar post-Challenger
program to improve the safety and reliability of the hydrogen-fueled
powerplants.
Built through Boeing's Rocketdyne division, the particular block two engines feature

the add-on involving questionable hydrogen gasoline pumps built through Pratt
Whitney involving West Palm Beach, Fla.
Operating within concert with Pratt Whitney oxygen pumps currently in
service, together with a host associated with additional improvements, the particular block 2
engines
reduce the chances of a catastrophic shuttle failure through 1-in-438 to
1-in-483.
"These pumps are generally fantastic," said shuttle program manager Ronald
Dittemore. "We've basically eliminated the particular welding inside the actual pump that
we couldn't inspect. We've produced the particular pump beefier, much more robust. And
because involving that, we've accepted about a 300-pound weight improve per
pump. but we desired to do that, intentionally sacrificing some
performance, to improve our safety."
The Particular engines weigh just 7,748 pounds each, yet generate 490,847 pounds
of thrust every during regular operation. 1 associated with the manufacturer new hydrogen pumps
alone generates as much horsepower as 28 locomotives, or 70 horsepower
per pound. An aircraft jet engine, throughout contrast, generates regarding three
horsepower for each pound.
"Some in the failures we've seen about this new pump (during testing)
would have got out the pump and an engine inside the past," Dittemore said.
"With this new pump, it just keeps in chugging. It'll set anyone back MECO (main
engine cutoff) as well as it'll have a graceful shutdown. Consequently just subjectively,
it's a new tremendous improvement inside our safety."
Today's launch had been the first employing a shuttle equipped using a cluster
of three block two engines subsequent a pair of earlier flights that will successfully
tested block two engines 1 in a time. Whilst engineering data is not yet

available, all three of Atlantis' engines seemed to work flawlessly
during today's climb in order to space.
the goal of the 109th shuttle mission would be to attach your $600 million
S0 (pronounced S-zero) truss for the international area station. S0 is
the very first involving nine truss elements which will possibly be bolted together more than the
next a couple associated with years to become able to form the actual structural backbone of the
station.
4 large sets of solar arrays eventually will most likely be attached with the
truss, a pair of at each along with every and also every end, supplying the power needed to operate
the
completed station's analysis gear as well as existence support systems.
S0 will anchor the complete truss, attaching directly to the top of the
U.S. Destiny laboratory module. Energy lines from your outboard solar
arrays will feed via S0 in for you to the station, as will ammonia coolant
lines leading a couple of and the outboard radiators that will keep the
station's electrical techniques via overheating.
S0 can be designed with 4 computers, a pair of laser ring gyros and GPS
antennas with regard to on-board navigation, 664 feet regarding ammonia coolant lines, 10
miles regarding electrical cabling, 971 electrical connectors and sophisticated power
control and also conditioning equipment.
Your 44-foot-long S0 truss in addition is equipped using a $190 million
Canadian-built rail vehicle that may roll together tracks running your length
of your completed truss, carrying the station's Canadarm 2 robotic crane
to various work sites as necessary to install new equipment or to help
spacewalking astronauts create repairs.
"Once we add your mobile berthing system to the mobile transporter on
the next flight (in early June), it's likely to enable the robotic arm in order to travel

the duration with the truss," mentioned space station flight director Robert
Castle. "So we can truly grapple things, roll along the duration regarding the
truss and install items at the end of it."
Throughout fact, the solar array wings - all a pair of acres of these - and other
critical outboard energy as well as cooling systems cannot be installed without
using your Canadarm2 on its mobile platform. And Also the very first step upon the
road to be able to completing the actual station's initial assembly can be installing of the
S0 truss.
"The truss element may be referred to as a new spacewalker's playground and
we've nicknamed the actual underwater mockup regarding it your 'jungle gym,'" stated Dina
Barclay, lead spacewalk officer at the Johnson space Center. "It's 44
feet long, it's a lot much more than 150 astronaut hand holds, practically 50 sockets
for foot restraints, provides a lot a lot more than 1,000 spacewalk actuated connections
and provides greater than 50 (electronics) boxes that could be changed out.
"The truss plays a new essential role in the space station's future," she
added, "because long term truss segments will attach to each side associated with it
and all involving the avionics along with ammonia cooling in which go up to and are obtainable in
from
the additional truss segments go through S0 with regard to energy distribution and
cooling for your modules, that is the place exactly where the astronauts stay and also work.
"The mobile transporter furthermore plays a key role," Barclay said. "On the
next mission (in late May), your next section of your mobile servicing system
will occur up also it will mount along with your mobile transporter to always be able to give
Canadarm2 any mobile platform to finish the room station assembly."
In the actual event that most goes well, Atlantis will dock using the station Wednesday.
Standing through for you to welcome Bloomfield as well as company aboard is planning to be
Expedition

4 commander Yury Onufrienko, Carl Walz and also Daniel Bursch. Launched Dec.
5, the Expedition 4 crew plans to remain in orbit by means of early June.
Ochoa, operating the particular station's robot arm, plans to add S0 to
Destiny Thursday morning, employing a claw-like device on the lab module to
temporarily maintain it inside place. Smith and also Walheim then will stage a
planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk in order to firmly lock a couple of in the truss'
structural attachment bipods within place.
Ross along with Morin, each grandfathers, will complete S0's structural
attachment during the mission's 2nd spacewalk Saturday afternoon. Two
more spacewalks tend to be planned to become able to prepare the actual Canadarm2 room crane
pertaining to its
eventual attachment to the mobile transporter and to carry out "get-ahead"
tasks pertaining to upcoming assembly missions.
"I can't verify it, but I think this is planning to be the first time two
grandfathers will perform a new spacewalk together," Bloomfield joked before
launch. "Steve Smith likes in order to refer in their own mind since the 'Silver Team.'"
When almost all should go well, Atlantis will return to Earth in April 19.
=============================================================
======
Atlantis closes inside on station; Bursch letter (04/09/02)
12:15 p.m., 04/09/02, Update: Astronauts examine out spacesuits, close
in about station
Your Atlantis astronauts, steadily closing throughout on the international
space station, expended the morning checking out the stress suits they'll
use in the program of four spacewalks to install a huge truss to the orbital complex
and unlimbered the actual shuttle's robot arm with regard to routine exams and a payload
bay survey.

the area station's larger Canadarm2 crane will possibly be used to attach the
S0 truss for the station Thursday and in addition to maneuver the spacewalkers about
during cellular phone process. but your shuttle's robot arm will be
used to supply camera views associated with installation exercise and, during the
third spacewalk, it'll play a primary role while the astronauts
re-wire Canadarm2 with regard to long term use on the mobile transporter that may creep
back and also forth over the completed truss.
Various Other activities about tap these days contain take a look at in the computerized
space vision system that will is likely to be utilized by Canadarm2 operator Ellen Ochoa
to precisely situation S0 throughout installation; take a look at in the emergency
jetpacks in which will probably be employed during most 4 planned spacewalks; and
checkout of the laser range finders along along with other tools which is going to be used
during final approach for the area station Wednesday.
From 11:44 a.m., Ochoa as well as Jerry Ross, the very first man for you to fly inside space
seven times, had been interviewed upon NASA television by a couple of Indianapolis
television stations - Ross is an Indiana native - along with The Particular Associated
Press. Ross will always be the seventh individual for you to fly inside space, an archive that
dominated the questioning.
"It's actually type of difficult to believe I've been along with NASA as long as
I possess along with been given the chance to fly in thus many different
flights," stated Ross, who became an astronaut inside 1980. "The occasion offers gone
by extremely fast and also I've enjoyed each and every minute associated with it."
one reporter requested Ross, certainly one of NASA's nearly all respected as well as well-liked
astronauts, if he felt just similar to a "space hog" given that he's generating his
seventh flight whilst more than 60 astronauts tend to be nonetheless awaiting their
first launch.

"Well, if you take a look at your ratio of energy from NASA in comparison for you to the
number of flights, I consider it's regarding the identical as nearly almost all of the actual other
people which are already flying inside area and some of which are, throughout fact, even
faster-paced when compared with me. I feel similar to I've worked extremely tough as well as I feel
like
each of us earned our flights in space and if the other folks stick
around as long as well as function as hard, hopefully they'll hold the opportunity
to fly a minimum of as much times."
Here will become the crew's up in order to date timeline pertaining to today, Flight Day 2, as
uplinked through mission manage (in EDT and also mission elapsed time):
DAY/EDT........DD...HH...MM...EVENT
04/09/02
Tue 05:44 AM...00...13...00...Crew wakeup
Tue 08:44 AM...00...16...00...Ergometer setup
Tue 09:04 AM...00...16...20...Jerry Ross exercises
Tue 09:14 AM...00...16...30...Airlock prepared pertaining to spacewalks/docking
Tue 09:14 AM...00...16...30...NC2 rendezvous rocket firing
Tue 09:39 AM...00...16...55...Robot arm (RMS) powerup
Tue 09:44 AM...00...17...00...Spacesuit checkout
Tue 09:54 AM...00...17...10...MAGR setup
Tue 09:54 AM...00...17...10...Steven Smith exercises
Tue 09:54 AM...00...17...10...RMS checkout
Tue 10:39 AM...00...17...55...RMS payload bay survey
Tue 11:09 AM...00...18...25...RMS powerdown
Tue 11:24 AM...00...18...40...Stephen Frick exercises
Tue 11:29 AM...00...18...45...Contingency h2o container setup

Tue 11:44 AM...00...19...00...Media interview: Ochoa, Ross
Tue 12:44 PM...00...20...00...Crew meal
Tue 01:44 PM...00...21...00...Spacesuit jetpack (SAFER) checkout
Tue 01:44 PM...00...21...00...Spacesuit prepped with regard to transfer to end up being able to ISS
Tue 01:59 PM...00...21...15...Space vision system setup
Tue 02:04 PM...00...21...20...Orbiter docking system ring extension
Tue 02:29 PM...00...21...45...Space vision system checkout
Tue 02:29 PM...00...21...45...Ellen Ochoa exercises
Tue 02:59 PM...00...22...15...Spacewalk device prep
Tue 03:09 PM...00...22...25...Walheim exercises
Tue 03:14 PM...00...22...30...Space vision system powerdown
Tue 03:29 PM...00...22...45...Rendezvous resources checkout
Tue 03:34 PM...00...22...50...Michael Bloomfield exercises
Tue 04:09 PM...00...23...25...Spacesuit helmet cams checked out
Tue 04:14 PM...00...23...30...Lee Morin exercises
Tue 04:57 PM...01...00...13...NC3 rendezvous rocket firing
Tue 08:44 PM...01...04...00...Crew sleep begins
Tue 09:00 PM...01...04...16...Daily video highlights reel begins airing
Generally there are no technical problems involving virtually any significance and today's
mission status briefing was cancelled. looking ahead to Wednesday, a
detailed room station docking timeline continues for you to be posted below. Revision
B associated with NASA's TV routine in addition can be posted below, but for some reason, the
EDT column is actually off by 1 minute. NASA presumably will appropriate this in
the subsequent revision.
02:35 p.m., 04/09/02, Update: Bursch describes life within orbit
Within an open letter in order to loved ones members, colleagues and furthermore the public, space

station astronaut Daniel Bursch, a father involving 4 which is now much more than
120 times right into a planned six-month remain in orbit, offers a fascinating
glimpse at what life's just like aboard the particular international area station.
Here are a few excerpts:
Spending your Christmas holidays inside space
The Particular holidays were the nice break from your rapid pace of a Shuttle
mission (Bursch, Carl Walz and also commander Yuri Onufrienko had been launched
Dec. 5). I held considering what several experienced expedition crew
members had told me; the actual Shuttle mission is really a sprint, and the Station
mission is a marathon. of course, being far from loved ones during the
holidays is definitely tough. This has been extremely tough personally to become away from my
family, yet I couldn't assist nevertheless think of most with the service men and
women that were from his or her family members as well. And In Which I in addition couldn't
help nevertheless feel concerning the tens associated with 1000s of people which were missing
friends along with family more than christmas simply because in the terrorist acts of
September 11th. Along With for the actual kids there will be simply no long term reunion. I
suddenly felt very fortunate in order to use a wholesome family about Earth, knowing
that these were sharing the holidays along with loved ones.
We expended most of the holiday season catching up in sleep, writing e-mail,
watching movies along with calling relatives along with buddies making use of an internet phone
application that will utilizes our high-data price communication system, otherwise
known as "Ku" (frequency band where it operates). This was extremely special
to become in the position to call family and friends, yet what became the majority of entertaining
were peoples' reactions whenever we said we had been calling from space! I
didn't be prepared to get the possiblity to speak with consequently many visiting relatives of
my friends in Earth!

Food throughout space
We possess a mixture of Russian as well as American meals and it provides us
with very a big assortment. Yury declared our tastes would gradually
change and the actual man has been right. The Particular spicy food, like shrimp cocktail, isn't so
spicy anymore. the teriyaki chicken tastes only a bit different. I was
used in order to tastes changing in the actual course of Shuttle flights, nevertheless those changes I
could associate mainly together with what sort of "stuffy head" can impact your current taste
when anyone can not smell as well. Also, some food items that individuals actually liked on
Earth are usually suddenly not necessarily appealing anymore. I am glad that we now have such an
assortment to select from! Yury says which our tastes will continue to
change. I even now can't wait to try several pizza when we return!!
Seeing Mt. Everest
one morning I happened to become up early. I glanced with our globe map and
saw which we'd become passing close to Mt. Everest soon. I checked your computer,
realized that individuals were inside an attitude that would allow me to spread out the
window shutter as well as there is Mt. Everest! It practically seemed to jump out
at me. the lower sun angle (it was close to orbital sunrise) gave
tremendous relief towards the mountains. It was only certainly 1 of those sights that
will be eternally burned directly into my brain!
'Flying' by means of the particular area station
Flying via Station can be more pleasurable when compared with I believed it might be. We fly
like Superman via one end for the other, becoming cautious to always be able to understand when to
slow down along with what huge items of structure to end up being able to miss (if you hit
something
hard, it still hurts!). We get to know our favorite handrails as well as paths
from 1 place to another. after a month I attempted using the ceiling. It

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