Space Forum / Shuttle / August 2006

... and a night launch, to boot!

OK, so someone asked in another thread about what holds the stack down. I'd
just like to expand this a bit and ask, is the shuttle  bolted to the same
thing on the mobile transport table as when its on the pad awaiting launch,
and if not how exactly do they  change this without ...

I'm beginning to wonder how anything gets launched in Florida, considering
the unpredictability of the weather.
Can anyone explain the reason why they cannot have both a Soyuz and a
Shuttle at the station at the same time? Is it purely that there would be

Take a look at my site and learn why NASA engineers are afraid to speak
out -- as is well documented in the reports of the two shuttle accidents.
The site is getting very popular.  I may start selling ads to fund the
effort :-)  Please email the link to your friends and/or add the ...

So, this storm has no hail in it then? I've heard so many different problems
associated with leaving shuttles out at the pad during storms, its hard to
know w the real risks from the paranoid ones.
And how are they going to be able to get the  photos they want of the tank

Anyone care to guess why they didn't commit Monday AM to a launch
attempt today?
I know hindsight is 20/20 but when I looked at the NHC report on
Ernesto early yesterday (max winds 40; expected at KSC Wed evening) it

Crawler problems add hours to rollback time
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE"
Posted: August 28, 2006

French graphic shows free-flying shuttle placing new arrays at end of truss,
that will become 'the foundation for the European and Japanese modules'.
And it's using the OBSS to do the installation (or the drawing is left-right
reversed).

I imagine that NASA will use the time the shuttle is safely inside out
of the weather to do exhaustive testing to be sure nothing got fried in
that big lightning strike the other day.  Or to figure where that burnt
smell the pad rats smelled came from (paint burnt off the ...

STS-115 Audio BRIEFING August 29
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=857
John

No updates as to whether they're rolling back or not on any site I
visit - anyone know??

So how soon do they have to decide to roll back inside?

"US businesswoman Anousheh Ansari is set to blast off from Russia's Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 14 September, taking the place of Japan's
Daisuke Enomoto, who failed medical tests this month ... the Soyuz launch
date depends on when the shuttle goes up. If the shuttle ...

Atlantis is being rolled back tomorrow... doesn't it seem like they're
cutting it a little close?? I mean, what if other thunderstorms typical
of Florida summer get in the way? I'm sure they have it under control,
but it just seems like it's  a little dicey.

You know, this fudge with Pluto to keep it a planet, yet not a planet by
shoving the word Dwarf in front could be carried even further.
I mean, planets with life could be  called something, planets with more
atmosphere than size of core planet could be Gas Giant Planets, and ...