Ambitious Schedule Ahead for Shuttle Program

With the dawn of 2006, the Space Shuttle program embarks on an ambitious schedule to fulfill the goals of the Vision for Space Exploration and complete assembly of the International Space Station (ISS).

Eighteen missions to the ISS are planned between now and 2010, along with a possible flight to refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).

“We are at our best when we are flying Space Shuttles regularly,” said Howard DeCastro, United Space Alliance Program Manager. “The Vision for Space Exploration gives us a great opportunity to do that. Nineteen safely flown missions in just under five years is a great challenge and will be very rewarding to us all.”

The schedule begins with STS-121, planned for launch as early as May 2006. United Space Alliance workers have nearly completed their processing of Discovery (OV-103) to flight condition following the STS-114 Return to Flight mission.

While STS-114 was an overwhelmingly successful test flight, it revealed the need to address two major issues before STS-121 can safely launch.

In a section large enough to damage the Shuttle thermal protection system, foam unexpectedly came off the External Tank’s (ET’s) Protuberance Air Load (PAL) ramp during launch. Post-flight testing and analysis has led Shuttle managers to decide there are no obvious safety issues with flying the ET without a PAL ramp. If the ongoing rigorous analysis and wind tunnel testing corroborate that conclusion, then STS-121 and subsequent flights will launch without that source of possible debris.

Two Ames Gap Fillers debonded and protruded from Discovery’s underside during STS-114. Gap Fillers are thin layers of Nextel fabric that are coated with a ceramic material and are inserted between thermal protection system tiles on the Orbiter. The protrusions could have endangered Discovery during entry, leading mission managers to plan and the Discovery crew to execute a successful spacewalk to retrieve the Gap Fillers. New techniques for bonding Gap Fillers and testing their adhesion were developed, and thousands of Gap Fillers have been re-installed on Discovery.

The next launch window that satisfies all the conditions for effective imagery gathering of launch, ascent and ET separation begins May 3. Another window opens July 1. No decisions have been made regarding launch dates, which will be dictated by progress on testing and analysis in the coming weeks. “We are holding onto May if we can get our work done and done safely,” said NASA Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale.

STS-121, commanded by veteran Astronaut Steve Lindsey, will deliver cargo and supplies to the Space Station, as well as conduct three spacewalks. Lindsey’s crew includes Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Mike Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson, Piers Sellers and European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Thomas Reiter. When Reiter arrives at the Station, the long-duration crew will have three people for the first time since May 2003.

The successful landing of STS-121 will conclude the Return to Flight test flights and set the stage for a dynamic series of ISS assembly missions, expanding the size of the Space Station, adding modules for NASA’s international partners and increasing its capacity for science and habitation. It is also expected to trigger NASA’s decision to add a servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

STS-115, the 19th Shuttle mission to the ISS will deliver and attach power-generating solar arrays P3/P4. Subsequent missions will add more solar arrays.

A later Shuttle mission will install NASA’s Node 2, increasing the living and working space inside the Station by 3,000 cubic feet to approximately 18,000 cubic feet. It provides the docking mechanism that allows the addition of international laboratories from ESA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency to the Station.

ESA’s Columbus module is designed as a general-purpose laboratory to support ESA-defined scientific disciplines in the areas of materials and fluid sciences, life sciences and technology development. An Exposed Payload Facility is planned for Columbus, consisting of two separate support structures attached to the Columbus Pressurized Module end cone in the zenith and nadir positions.

The Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), called Kibo, is Japan’s first human space facility. The JEM Pressurized Module (JEM-PM) is a laboratory for experimental research in areas such as space medicine, life sciences, materials processing and biotechnologies. The JEM Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) is an unpressurized pallet structure exposed to space for the purpose of experimental research in areas, such as communications, space science, engineering, materials processing and Earth observation.

Today, the ISS has 15,000 cubic feet of habitable volume – more room than a conventional three-bedroom house – and weighs 404,000 pounds. There are seven research racks on board, 16 system racks and 10 stowage racks. The solar array surface area currently on orbit is 9,600 square feet, which is large enough to cover 75 percent of the U.S. House of Representatives Chamber.

To fulfill its vital role in the Vision for Space Exploration, the Space Shuttle plans to complete 18 flights to the Space Station by 2010 and convert the ISS into the most massive, productive orbiting research platform ever.

“We have lots of important work to do,” said DeCastro, “and it all starts with STS-121. The next five years will be some of the best-ever years for the Shuttle and Space Station programs and will help prepare us for our future roles as America heads back to the moon and on to Mars.”

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