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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4

STS-121: TCDT (Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test) Compilation

STS-121/Discovery Flight Crew; Steve Lindsey(Commander), Mark Kelley(pilot), Mike Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Nowak, Pierce Sellers, and Thomas Ryder completed the TCDT. The activities consisted of 1) Crew Arrival; 2) Pad 39B Media Event; 3) STA Flights at SLF; 4) Pad Walkdown and Slidewire; 5) Breakfast, Suiting, Walkout; 6) Crew Ingress in Orbiter; 7) Crew Egress and Slidewire; 8) M-113 Training; 9) Crew Payload Inspection; and 10) Crew Departure fro the SLF.

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STS-121/Discovery L-3 Countdown Status Briefing

The briefing started with opening remarks from George Diller (NASA Public Affairs). Jeff Spaulding (NASA Test Director) discussed the Shuttle launch status and the return to the International Space Station 12 day mission. Debbie Hahn (STS-121 Payload Manager) discussed the installation of mid-decks on ISS and the 2 tons of cargo (mainly crew supplies and food) and the oxygen regeneration system. Kathy Winters (Shuttle Weather Officer) discussed the weather forecast for the launch. The team also answered questions from the press.

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STS-121: Discovery L-1 Countdown Status Briefing

Bruce Buckingham, NASA Public Affairs, introduces Jeff Spaulding, NASA Test Director; Debbie Hahn, STS-121 Payload Manager; and Kathy Winters, Shuttle Weather Officer. Spaulding gives his opening statement on this one day prior to the launching of the Space Shuttle Discovery. He discusses the following topics: 1) Launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery; 2) Weather; 3) Load over of onboard reactants; 4) Hold time for liquid hydrogen; 5) Stowage of Mid-deck completion; 6) Check-out of onboard and ground network systems; 7) Launch windows; 8) Mission duration; 9) Extravehicular (EVA) plans; 10) Space Shuttle landing day; and 11) Scrub turn-around plans. Hahn presents and discusses a short video of the STS-121 payload flow. Kathy Winters gives her weather forecast for launch. She then presents a slide presentation on the following weather conditions for the Space Shuttle Discovery: 1) STS-121 Tanking Forecast; 2) Launch Forecast; 3) SRB Recovery; 4) CONUS Launch; 5) TAL Launch; 6) 24 Hour Delay; 7) CONUS 24 Hour; 8) TAL 24 Hour; 9) 48 Hour Launch; 10) CONUS 48 Hour; and 11) TAL 48 Hour. The briefing ends with a question and answer period from the media.

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Countdown to the Future

At the NASA Ames Research Center in California, the next generation of space biologists are working to understand the effects of long duration space flight on model organisms, and are developing ways to protect the health of future astronauts.

student researchers↗

Apparatus, system, and method for synchronizing a timer key

A timer key relating to monitoring a countdown time of a countdown routine of an electronic device is disclosed. The timer key comprises a processor configured to respond to a countdown time associated with operation of the electronic device, a display operably coupled with the processor, and a housing configured to house at least the processor. The housing has an associated structure configured to engage with the electronic device to share the countdown time between the electronic device and the timer key. The processor is configured to begin a countdown routine based at least in part on the countdown time, wherein the countdown routine is at least substantially synchronized with a countdown routine of the electronic device when the timer key is removed from the electronic device. A system and method for synchronizing countdown routines of a timer key and an electronic device are also disclosed.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Final-Approach Spacing Aids (FASA) evaluation for terminal-area, time-based air traffic control

A jointly funded (NASA/FAA) real-time simulation study was conducted at NASA Langley Research Center to gather comparative performance data among three candidate final-approach spacing aid (FASA) display formats. Several objective measures of controller performance and their display eye-scan behavior as well as subjective workload and rating questionnaires were used. For each of two representative pattern-speed procedures (a 170-knot procedure and a 210-knot procedure with speed control aiding), data were gathered, via twelve FAA controllers, using four final-controller display format conditions (manual/ARTS 3, graphic marker, DICE countdown, and centerline slot marker). Measured runway separations were more precise with both the graphic marker and DICE countdown formats than with the centerline slot marker and both (graphic and DICE) improved precision relative to the manual/ARTS 3 format. For three separate rating criteria, the subject controllers ranked the FASA formats in the same order: graphic marker, DICE countdown, and centerline slot marker. The increased precision measured with the 210-knot pattern-speed procedure may indicate the potential for the application of speed-control aiding where higher pattern speeds are practical after the base-to-final turn. Also presented are key FASA issues, a rationale for the formats selected for testing, and their description.

Credeur, Leonard↗

Atlas Centaur 77 GOES-J Wet Dress Rehearsal at Cape Canaveral Air Station

A Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) was successfully run on Atlas/Centaur 77 launch vehicle. The WDR verifies the launch readiness of the vehicle, the launch support equipment at the pad and in the blockhouse, the countdown procedure, and the launch countdown operations of the Eastern Range. During this countdown test liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellants are aboard the vehicle, verifying the structural integrity of the Atlas first stage and Centaur upper stage tanks.

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Launch Support Video Site

The goal of this project is to create a website that displays video, countdown clock, and event times to customers during launches, without needing to be connected to the internal operations network. The requirements of this project are to also minimize the delay in the clock and events to be less than two seconds. The two parts of this are the webpage, which will display the data and videos to the user, and a server to send clock and event data to the webpage. The webpage is written in HTML with CSS and JavaScript. The JavaScript is responsible for connecting to the server, receiving new clock data, and updating the webpage. JavaScript is used for this because it can send custom HTTP requests from the webpage, and provides the ability to update parts of the webpage without having to refresh the entire page. The server application will act as a relay between the operations network, and the open internet. On the operations network side, the application receives multicast packets that contain countdown clock and events data. It will then parse the data into current countdown times and events, and create a packet with that information that can be sent to webpages. The other part will accept HTTP requests from the webpage, and respond to them with current data. The server is written in C# with some C++ files used to define the structure of data packets. The videos for the webpage will be shown in an embedded player from UStream.

OFarrell, Zachary L.↗

Space Shuttle Launch Probability Analysis: Understanding History so We Can Predict the Future

The Space Shuttle was launched 135 times and nearly half of those launches required 2 or more launch attempts. The Space Shuttle launch countdown historical data of 250 launch attempts provides a wealth of data that is important to analyze for strictly historical purposes as well as for use in predicting future launch vehicle launch countdown performance. This paper provides a statistical analysis of all Space Shuttle launch attempts including the empirical probability of launch on any given attempt and the cumulative probability of launch relative to the planned launch date at the start of the initial launch countdown. This information can be used to facilitate launch probability predictions of future launch vehicles such as NASA's Space Shuttle derived SLS. Understanding the cumulative probability of launch is particularly important for missions to Mars since the launch opportunities are relatively short in duration and one must wait for 2 years before a subsequent attempt can begin.

Cates, Grant R.↗

Ambitious STS-7 mission to feature first landing at Kennedy

The STS-7 press briefing schedule, NASA select television schedule; launch preparations, countdown and liftoff; major countdown milestones; launch window; STS-7 flight sequence of events, landing timeline; STS-7 flight timeline; landing and post landing operations; flight objectives; Telesat's ANIK-C 2; PALAPA-B; STS-7 experiments; and spacecraft tracking and data network are presented.

Garrett, D.↗

Flight motor set 360T004 (STS-30R). Volume 1: System overview

The fourth NASA space shuttle flight incorporating redesigned solid rocket motors began on 4 May 1989. The flight motors were designated 360Q004A (left-hand) and 360H004B (right-hand); the mission was designated STS-30R. Overall engine performance was excellent. The low sample rate data that was available showed exceptional propulsion performance. All ballistic and mass property parameters closely matched the predicted values and were well within the required contract end item specification levels that could be assessed. No strain, vibration, or aft skirt heating environments could be addressed due to developmental flight instrumentation deletion. Infrared readings from the shuttle thermal imager were considered very good when compared with ground environment instrumentation readings taken during both the aborted and the actual countdowns. However, hand-held infrared gun reading/ground environment instrumentation comparisons were considered poor during both countdowns, with the exception of the T - 3 hour timeframe during the actual launch. Postflight inspection again verified superior performance of the insulation, phenolics, metal parts, and seals. All combustion gas was contained by the insulation in the field and case-to-nozzle joints. Inadequate parachute performance on the left-hand booster caused high splashdown loads, which resulted in a displaced nozzle and factory joint weatherseal unbond anomalies. Recommendations were made concerning improved thermal modeling and instruments. The rationale for these recommendations, the dispositions of all anomalies, and complete result details are given.

Ricks, Glenn A.↗

Apollo 11 Launch

This NASA Kennedy Space Center video release presents the countdown and liftoff of Apollo 11, the first manned journey to the Moon which began at Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida at 9:32 a.m. EDT on July 16, 1969. The crew of Apollo 11 included Commander Neil A. Armstrong, Command Module pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module pilot Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. Several different camera viewpoints of the spacecraft as well as over-head shots of the Kennedy launch control center are presented prior to liftoff. Other footage includes shots of President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife among the Florida audience viewing liftoff. During the countdown several audio updates from Kennedy launch control are presented as to the status of pre-launch testing and system readiness. Captivating footage from liftoff to the spacecraft nearing the outer Earth atmosphere is shown as the video ends with Neil Armstrong's confirmation of engine skirt separation and launch escape tower separation from the spacecraft.

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STS-96 Press Briefing and MODE-1 Egress Training for TCDT

Live footage shows the members of the STS-96 crew, Commander Kent V. Rominger, Pilot Rick D. Husband, and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa, Tamara E. Jernigan, Daniel T. Barry, Julie Payette and Valery Ivanovich Tokarev participating in a Press Conference and Egress Training for a Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. Scenes of Capt. Steve Kelly, Fire Services, explaining the emergency egress procedure to the STS-96 crew is presented. Mission Specialist Tokarev is shown releasing a slide-wire basket. Mission Specialist Barry is also seen in the evacuation seat with the Training Officer Gina Tucker behind him. The TCDT activities include simulated countdown exercises and inspection of the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay.

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