Shuttle Hydrogen Leak

The shuttle was originally set to launch at 9:20 p.m. EDT Wednesday. The weather was good and everything looked to be a go until engineers saw explosive hydrogen gas coming out of the main fuel tank. Such a leak could have potentially sparked an explosion had the shuttle lifted off as planned.

Shuttle Timeline Now

If NASA is able to find the source of the leak and repair it, Discovery will lift off at 6:43 p.m. Sunday. The launch could likely be pushed back to Monday or Tuesday, however. If Discovery is not ready to leave by Tuesday, the mission will have to be delayed until April 7 due to a Russian Soyuz capsule launch already scheduled.

NASA officials say the space shuttle Discovery’s mission may be cut short because of the timing changes. If a Sunday launch occurs, the mission will last 11 days instead of 14. At least one of the planned four spacewalks is expected to be cancelled as well. By Monday, the trip will be cut down to 10 days with only one to two walks, and for Tuesday, the mission will be shortened to nine days with a single spacewalk.

You can read more about the plans for the mission and see a live stream of NASA’s latest efforts at the Kennedy Space Center at our Shuttle Launch Live 2009 page.

Shuttle Launch Delay: What Happened and What’s Next is a post from: The Inquisitr

NASA’s space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center tonight — March 11, 2009 — at 9:20 p.m. EDT. You can watch the shuttle launch live, plus keep an eye on all the activity leading up to it during the day, right here.

Space Shuttle Discovery: The Delays

NASA scientists had pushed back Discovery’s launch by about a month because of tiny cracks discovered in the engine compartment’s hydrogen valves. Crews ended up replacing all of the shuttle’s valves as a safety precaution and now say the shuffle is safe to travel.

Discovery’s Mission

Discovery’s mission will include four spacewalks on which astronauts will install a 31,000-pound addition to the International Space Station. The truss, as it’s called, has two solar array wings that’ll convert solar energy into power for the station. It is the final piece of the station’s new backbone. Discovery will also bring a replacement for that much-discussed system that converts astronauts’ urine into drinkable water.

Discovery’s crew is made up of Commander Lee Archambault; Pilot Tony Antonelli; Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, and John Phillips; and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata.

Shuttle Launch Live 2009 Webcast

Below is a live stream from the Kennedy Space Center, courtesy NASA TV. (Note that NASA may come in and out of coverage during the afternoon hours. Nonstop coverage should begin by evening.) You can find the minute-by-minute breakdown of Discovery’s timeline on our Space Shuttle Launch Schedule 2009 page.

Shuttle Launch Live 2009: Discovery Webcast is a post from: The Inquisitr

The space shuttle Discovery is set to launch tonight — March 11, 2009 — at 9:20 p.m. EDT. After four weeks of delays, NASA says the shuttle is ready to lift off and head out on its two-week voyage to the International Space Station.

Read more about Discovery’s delays and what’s involved in this mission on our Shuttle Launch Live 2009 page. There, you’ll also find a live streaming Webcast of Discovery on the launch pad and during its launch.

Space Shuttle Launch Schedule 2009

As of Wednesday morning, the weather at the Kennedy Space Center is expected to cooperate with the launch — in fact, chances of “excellent conditions” are currently set at 90 percent. Weather is also predicted to stay good at the three overseas emergengy landing sites.

Assuming everything stays on track, here is the current space shuttle launch schedule for March 11, 2009:

Demate orbiter mid-body umbilical unit (3:30 a.m.)

Resume orbiter and ground support equipment closeouts

Resume countdown (7 a.m.)

Main engine avionics, pneumatics and controller checkout completed (7:30 a.m.)
Begin filling pad sound suppression system water tank (8 a.m.)
Pad sound suppression system water tank filling complete (11 a.m.)
Begin star tracker functional checks (2:50 p.m.)

Enter planned hold at T-11 hours for 13 hours, 7 minutes (3 p.m.)

Activate the orbiter’s communications systems (7:15 p.m.)

Launch Day – Wednesday, March 11

Move Rotating Service Structure to the park position (1 a.m.)
Perform ascent switch list
Fuel cell flow-through purge complete

Resume countdown at T-11 hours (4:55 a.m.)

Activate the orbiter’s fuel cells (6:05 a.m.)

Switch Discovery’s purge air to gaseous nitrogen (6:55 a.m.)

Enter planned 2-hour built-in hold at the T-6 hour mark (9:55 a.m.)

Clear the blast danger area of all nonessential personnel
Launch team verifies no violations of launch commit criteria prior to cryogenic loading of the external tank
Clear pad of all personnel

Resume countdown (11:55 a.m.)

Chill down propellant transfer lines (11:55 a.m.)
Begin loading the external fuel tank with about 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants (about 12:05 p.m.)

Enter planned 2-hour, 30-minute built-in hold at T-3 hours (2:55 p.m.)

Complete filling the external tank with its flight load of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants (about 2:55 p.m.)
Final Inspection Team proceeds to launch pad
Perform inertial measurement unit preflight calibration
Align Merritt Island Launch Area tracking antennas

Resume countdown at T-3 hours (5:25 p.m.)

Perform open loop test with Eastern Range
Crew departs Operations and Checkout Building for the pad (5:30 p.m.)
Complete closeout preparations in the White Room
Check cockpit switch configurations
Begin Eastern Range final network open loop command checks

Flight crew begins entry into the orbiter (6 p.m.)
Astronauts perform air-to-ground voice checks with Launch and Mission Control
Begin to close Discovery’s crew hatch (7:05 p.m.)

Perform hatch seal and cabin leak checks
Complete White Room closeout
Closeout crew moves to fallback area
Primary ascent guidance data is transferred to the backup flight system

Enter planned 10-minute hold at T-20 minutes (8:05 p.m.)

NASA test director conducts final launch team briefings

Resume countdown at T-20 minutes (8:15 p.m.)

Transition the orbiter’s onboard computers to launch configuration
Start fuel cell thermal conditioning
Close orbiter cabin vent valves
Transition backup flight system to launch configuration

Enter estimated 40-minute hold at T-9 minutes (8:26 p.m.)

Launch director, Mission Management Team and NASA test director conduct final polls for “go/no go” to launch

Resume countdown at T-9 minutes (9:11 p.m.)

Start automatic ground launch sequencer (T-9 minutes)
Retract orbiter crew access arm (T-7:30)
Start APU recorders (T-6:15)
Start auxiliary power units (T-5)
Terminate liquid oxygen replenish (T-4:55)
Start orbiter aerosurface profile test (T-3:55)
Start main engine gimbal profile test (T-3:30)
Pressurize liquid oxygen tank (T-2:55)
Begin retracting the gaseous oxygen vent arm (T-2:50)
Fuel cells to internal reactants (T-2:35)
Pressurize liquid hydrogen tank (T-1:57)
Deactivate bi-pod heaters (T-1:52)
Deactivate solid rocket booster joint heaters (T-0:50 seconds)
Orbiter transfers from ground to internal power (T-0:50 seconds)
Ground launch sequencer go for auto sequence start (T-0:31 seconds)
Booster gimbal profile (T-0:21 seconds)
Ignition of three space shuttle main engines (T-6.6 seconds)
Booster ignition and liftoff (T-0)

Shuttle Launch Live 2009: Watch Discovery Lift Off Here

Space Shuttle Launch Schedule 2009: Discovery’s Timeline is a post from: The Inquisitr