Omar
from New York
Is the Orbiter Columbia capable of docking with the International
Space Station, and if it is, will it be going to the ISS in
the future? |
|
Omar,
actually Columbia cannot go to the International Space Station
right now. It does not have what we call an external docking
system, or the orbital docking system as we sometimes call
it, which would allow it to dock to the International Space
Station. That is a modification that probably will be done
during it's next major modification period. So, don't look
for Columbia to be traveling up to the International Space
Station anytime in the next few years.
|
Damian
from Richmond
How long does it take for the Orbiter to reach orbit and for
the payload bay doors to open? |
| Well
Damian, the launch itself takes about 8 and a half minutes for
us to get into the initial orbit that has a very low point and
very high point in that orbit. About 45 minutes after the launch
we will be reaching the high point at which time we will fire
the orbital maneuvering systems engines and that will help circularize
our orbit at the point that we want. Only after that time, can
you open the payload bay doors. Until that time you need the
structural rigidity that the payload doors provide when you
do that orbital maneuvering system engine firing. |
Stephen
from Brisbane (Aust)
I am coming over from Australia to watch the launch on Thursday.
Can you tell me about the possible "APU hydraulic pump
bolt problem?" Is it something new or is it a recurrent
issue from previous missions? Is it serious, and do you know
whether it may delay the launch? |
| The
first thing I want to say to Stephen is g'day mate. I'm glad
you came over from Australia. I'll tell you about APU hydraulic
pump bolt problem we've had. That will not delay the launch.
As you can see we are well into right now, and when the problem
occurred we did an analysis and paper work and found some bolts
that weren't expected to be there. We've done a lot of testing
and a lot of inspecting. We did some worst-case testing. We
said okay, if the bolt problem is the worst it can possibly
be, then we understand that we would get a hydraulic leak. We've
done all that, it is all behind us, and we are ready to go.
It is not a problem that has occurred before so it was brand
new to us this mission. We worked through it. And we're now
ready to go! |
Marty
from Long Island, NY
Why are there programmed holds in the countdown? Why not just
make the countdown longer? |
| Good
question Marty - that was decided a long time ago. We learned
back during the Apollo program that it is a good idea to have
periods of time where you have no planned work. Because during
something as complex as the launch countdown for a spacecraft
you are going to run into some inevitable problems. So what
we wanted to do was allow the launch team the time to go work
those problems without the constraints of the clock ticking
on and on. And when you see that happening in the firing room
it's a very clear signal to you, you got to be in a bit more
of a hurry. So we built in these program holds to give everyone
a little breathing space to go work some of the problems that
come up during the launch countdown. |
Teresa
from Madrid
How long does it take after landing to get a Shuttle ready for
it's next launch? |
| Good
question. Teresa, the answer can vary quite a bit. The general
answer is 3 to 6 months. However the record was less than 30
days back in 1985 on Atlantis. And of course if you are in a
major down period for an Orbiter it can take several years.
There are a lot of factors that go into the answer, how many
modifications are you going to do to the Orbiter during its
downtime, what level of detail inspections you want to do. So,
as I said it can vary, but the average is between 3 and 6 months. |
Mark
from Bolingbrook
In the launch of Columbia, what length of time does it take
for the Shuttle to do the 120-degree roll during ascent? |
| Well
Mark, the 120-degree number is just an approximation. Sometimes
it is more sometimes it's less depending on the orbital mechanics
and what inclination of an orbit we are going into. The reason
we do that roll is the launch pad had to be situated in such
a way that the Orbiter could not be pointed in the correct direction
when we launch. It just saved a lot of money when we building
the launch pad. So once they liftoff and you see them start
that roll, which by the way is done by the solid rocket booster
nozzles that pivot cause the Shuttle to do that little walk-around.
We do that so that the Orbiter will fly up in a heads-down configuration
- its more stable that way and it also gives the astronauts
a view out their window that gives them some orientation to
where the earth's horizon is in case something were to happen.
That's why we do it. |
Robin
from Mobile
During the countdown what happens in the Launch Control Room? |
| Well
that depends, Robin if it's early on in the count say three
days prior to launch they could be loading some of the hydrogen
and oxygen for the power reactant supply and distribution system.
It could be a lot of things going on. But I am sure what you
are most interested in is what is going on right now. If there
are no big problems to be worked everyone is monitoring their
screens, having discussions about things the way they see data
trending that sort of thing. We get down to the T-20 minutes
and T-9 minutes time frame it gets very, very quiet in the firing
room as the people there are very focused. There are a lot of
people discussing - okay are we ready to go? Various managers
are looking to their engineers to discuss their status of readiness
for the launch. Once you get below T-9 minutes generally speaking
you can head a pin drop in the firing room. Everybody is very,
very focused on what is going on because there are a lot of
dynamic things happening out at the launch pad. That gives you
some general idea of what's going on. |
Jeff
from Orlando
How long will it take for the Shuttle to reach the Hubble from
the time it takes off? |
| This
is a fairly easy question. Jeff, we are suppose to rendezvous
with the Hubble space telescope on flight day 3. And the way
you calculate that is when the astronauts wake up on day one
that is considered flight day one. So when they wake up for
flight day 3 it will occur on that day. |
Christian
from Vienna
Do the astronauts do any mission training at Kennedy Space Center
or do they just arrive right before launch? |
| Well
actually they do come out here about two weeks prior to the
launch and we go through what is called a terminal countdown
demonstration test or in NASA's parlance TCDT. What we will
do that day is pretend like it is launch day. The crew will
get up and have their breakfast, put on their orange pumpkin
suits they will go out to the pad, climb into the Orbiter just
like they will on the launch morning. The biggest difference
of course being we don't close the hatch. And there are still
literally hundreds of workers still around the launch pad during
that test. At various times prior to the countdown demonstration
test they will come out and do some training with some of the
flight hardware that we have here. But as far as actually getting
into the Orbiter and practicing some aspect of the launch and
ascent that doesn't happen until two weeks prior to launch. |
Ben
from Washington
What kind of upgrades did Shuttle Columbia receive? |
| Well
Ben, it had a lot of modifications done to it. The primary one
is what we call the MEDS M-E-D-S, which is a Multi-functional
Electronic Display System. It really is just a glass cockpit.
We used to have old-style gauges and meters in there. But we
are trying to bring it up to date with what you see in most
airliners these days, and glass cockpit is the term they use.
You also may remember that Columbia had a wiring problem on
one of its last missions before the major down period. So what
we did was we went in and inspected 95% of all the wires inside
Columbia and replaced actually about 210 miles worth of wiring
which actually is a significant percentage but not as much as
you might think. There is a lot of wire inside each Orbiter.
We also removed about 1000 lbs. of structure wee did that by
replacing some steel with aluminum pieces - before Columbia
was built rather strongly since it was the first Orbiter built.
We actually took some of the structure out and didn't have to
replace it. Those are the major things that have been done to
Columbia. |
Allan
from Pompano Beach
Can I go to the beach and see the shuttle launch...will
the shuttle take a southern launch path? |
| Very
interesting question, Allan no it will not be taking a southern
launch path we never do that out of the Kennedy Space Center.
The closest you will ever see is a due-east launch and that
is what this one is going to be. For those of you who understand
orbital mechanics, we are going into a 28.5 degree inclination
only because that is the latitude at which the Kennedy Space
Center is located. If we are going to the International Space
Station we will take kind of a northeast track out of the Kennedy
Space Center. For viewing, yes Allan you can go out to the beach
and watch it. But it's best if you want to be about 50 miles
north or south of the launch pad. |
