NASA Plans Discovery Launch May 15

Haxx writes "More than two years after losing the space shuttle Columbia and its seven crew, NASA said Friday it has set May 15 as its target date for once again launching shuttles into space." Reader gollum123 writes points out Reuters's version of the story, which says that "May 15 was chosen as the launch date for Discovery and its seven-member crew because of lighting conditions and thermal issues related to the shuttle's launch and docking at the International Space Station."

Comments

Re:You have to wonder...

[Dipster]

Russia can't handle the ISS. The shuttle is the only vehicle that can handle lifting the larger parts of the station. Russia can only resupply and and lift small items for the ISS. Until the shuttles get back into it, ISS constuction is on hold.

Re:What about Atlantis?

[kalidasa]

Go to the Return to Flight page. Atlantis will be ready for a launch on July 12: that's not an emergency turnaround, but a full-fledged mission. I don't imagine that Discovery will be in a position to act as emergency rescue vehicle for that mission, though, as even July 26 (i.e., 2 weeks after the planned launch date for Atlantis) will be only 2 months after the shuttle's planned landing on May 27. Endeavour is in major modification mode.

Re:What do they do in space stations?

[FTL]

> Except conducting experiments that require zero gravity, what does astronauts do in space stations?

First of all, microgravity is an astonishingly useful thing to have when conducting experiments. For instance, imagine how much better one can grow crystals if everything is just floating and one doesn't have a dish to corrupt the crystal formation. Not interested in growing snowflakes? Crystals grown from organic seeds allow one to develop medical cures. So it's not a stetch to say that a microgravity experiment might be what cures AIDS or cancer.

Second, even if one doesn't care about microgravity, space has another feature: vacuum. Lots and lots of it. The Japanese science module is specifically designed to conduct experiments in the vacuum outside. They've got an exposed pallet and a bunch of waldos.

For lots more examples, see NASA's ISS science page.

Re:What have they done

[PresidentKang]

What they have done is implemented the recommendations from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) report.

With respect to the Orbiter itself (aside from management and flight rules), the main changes are the following:

1) Redesign the insulation foam on the external tank around the area of the bipod struts where the foam detached on STS-107.

2) Get the makers of the Canadarm (robotic arm) - MDA Space Missions - to design and build a second arm that will be used to inspect the underside of the Shuttle for damage when it reached orbit. Check a picture of the Shuttle with two arms at the Jan 26, 2005 press release.

3) Always launch missions during the day to the ISS only (hence the Hubble discussions) and have a spare Orbiter (in this case Atlantis) ready to go for rescue missions.

Emergency Rescue Options...

[LordZardoz]

Some posts ask about what sort of rescue options Nasa has handy in the event of catastrope.

Well, Presuming that the bugger does not blow up on launch, this thing is going to the ISS. If they cannot come back down due to a safety issue, they could conceivably stay up there for a while.

Also, the ISS has a Soyuz for emergency escape. They coould come down on that.

Or they could have the Russians send another Soyuz up specifically for evacuation purposes.

Using a Shuttle for a rescue is probably overkill.

And if the shuttle is destroyed in the same manner as Columbia, well, once your in atmosphere on your way down, your either land in one piece or you land in many pieces.

END COMMUNICATION

Re:What have they done

[Artifakt]

For starters, try:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNew s/1107178933995_11?hub=SciTech

There's four major changes - 2 of them help spot problems, not fix them:
1. NASA launches only in daylight, so they have a better chance of photographing any damage that may happen.
2. The crew has a kit to help inspect the shuttle for damage.

Two changes actually reduce the risk of an accident:
1. The crew has a rudamentary repair kit, although NASA admits it's not as good as they had hoped for.
2. The main tank foam system has been redesigned. The biggest piece that it should be able to shed is supposed to be no bigger than a dinner roll, compared to the suitcase sized piece that hit Colombia.

What NASA hasn't done: 1. Gone back to a non-foamed tank design. 2. Found more ways to improve the range and scope of the repair kit, or else they haven't paid enough to implement every repair kit tool or patch they thought of.