Storm Passes Over Shuttle Endeavour, No Initial Injuries or Damaged Reported

 

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:03:30 -0500

A strong storm front passed over NASA Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39 area, including Launch Pad 39A, about 5:20 p.m. EDT. Initial reports are the Florida launch pad experienced high wind and potentially small hail in the area near the pad. No one was injured and initially no obvious damage was observed. The storm moved through the area quickly. Teams will perform a full survey of the pad to confirm there was no damage Thursday morning and verify the exact wind speeds and adverse weather conditions that were seen at the pad. Space shuttle Endeavour’s six astronauts, who are at Kennedy for their launch dress rehearsal and related training known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, still are scheduled to hold a Q-and-A session with media on Launch Pad 39A Thursday morning at 8:40 a.m. The event will be carried live on NASA Television.

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Tokyo earthquake as aircraft was on taxiway: pilot tells his story

 

"I was taxi-ing out for departure from Narita to Fukuoka, with a full load of passengers, after push back when I noticed something was wrong with the nosewheel steering - well that's what I thought the problem was.
The plane wanted to move across to the right side of the taxiway, and I had to use the tiller to try to bring it back, then it wanted to move quickly over to the left side, so I decided to stop, and return to the gate to get the steering checked out.
That was when ATC announced "Jishin, jishin! All aircraft stop in present position. Earthquake."
I stopped and set the parking brake, then the whole aircraft began to roll and shake so forcefully. It was lucky everybody was seated with their seatbelts fastened, it was like an amusement park ride.
The leading called up and asked what was going on, why had we stopped, and were we going to evacuate?
I made a p.a. and instructed everyone to remain seated.
The violent thumping and shaking continued for 4 minutes, and although I thought about shutting the engines down, it was just too rough.
When it finally stopped, I told the first officer to start the APU and to call the company to see if we could return to our spot.
No-one answered.
We called on the company radio many times, but no replies, so we called up ground, and requested a return to our spot.
"Negative, remain in your present position, " SMC said, "all staff have evacuated the terminal and many are on the apron. If you taxi back, you may ingest them. Hold position."
We opened the cockpit windows and looked back towards the terminal, and sure enough there were hundreds of people standing outside, away from the buildings, in case they collapsed.
"Narita airport is now closed to all traffic. All departure clearances are cancelled indefinitely," ground control broadcast.
In Japan, it's standard procedure to close an airport when an earthquake occurs. Usually it takes about 20 to 30 minutes to re-open, after they have carried out a runway and taxiway inspection, to make sure there are no cracks.
Well we sat there for 4 hours. Four hours with the APU providing the electrical power, and the heated air conditioning.
By way of the public address system, I let my passengers know as much as we knew from the updates our company transmitted. Because of the circumstances, I advised my captive audience that it was okay to use their cell phones.
Because my English is not so good, I tuned one of the ADFs to an English-speaking radio station and held the hand mike to the speaker so that the non-Japanese passengers could understand the true situation.
The flight was cancelled, and we got sent to the Marroad Hotel just near the end of runway 16L. It looks like it might have got a few new cracks too.
It wasn't the nose wheel steering after all!"

Image Credit:Major Nelson

report via pirep.org

The X-48C Prototype

 

A three percent scale model of a blended wing body aircraft design recently was tested in NASA Langley's 12-Foot Low-Speed Tunnel. During the testing, engineers sought to clarify results from a previous test of the X-48C prototype in the Langley Full Scale Tunnel. The blended wing body is a hybrid shape that resembles a flying wing, but also incorporates features from conventional transport aircraft. This combination offers several advantages over conventional tube-and wing airframes. The BWB airframe merges efficient high-lift wings with a wide airfoil-shaped body, allowing the entire aircraft to generate lift and minimize drag. This shape helps to increase fuel economy and creates larger payload (cargo or passenger) areas in the center body portion of the aircraft. NASA and its industry partners have been investigating the blended wing aircraft concept for potential use as a future air transport for both civilian and military applications. Image Credit: NASA Langley/Sean Smith

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Fatality at Launch Pad 39A. One man dead.

 

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 09:13:04 -0500

At about 7:40 a.m. EDT this morning, a United Space Alliance worker fell at NASA Kennedy Space Centre's Launch Pad 39A. NASA emergency medical personnel responded, but they were unable to revive the man. Because of medical privacy, currently we're not able to release any additional details about this fatality. Family members are being notified.

All work at Launch Pad 39A has been suspended for the rest of the day, and counselling and other employee assistance are being provided to workers. Right now our focus is on our workers and for the family of the USA employee.

The incident is under investigation.

 

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THOMAS CAFFREY A HIT ON RADIO WAVES WORLDWIDE

 

A CLOGHERHEAD amateur radio fanatic recently took first prize in a worldwide radio contest, topping the poll in the 'Islands on the Air' contest.

 

 

 

ENTHUSIAST MAKES CONTACTS ALL OVER THE PLANET

A CLOGHERHEAD amateur radio fanatic recently took first prize in a worldwide radio contest, topping the poll in the 'Islands on the Air' contest.

For full details see this weeks Drogheda Independent.

 

    

 

 

 

 

Some history on the Discovery & ISS

Nasa's satellite fails to reach orbit

Space Shuttle Launch: Viewed From an Airplane

Mission Extended an Additional Day

 

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:45:15 -0600

Space Shuttle and International Space Station managers decided today to extend the STS-133 mission by an additional day, providing more time to unpack and outfit the Permanent Multipurpose Module and fill the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-2) with trash before its planned late-March undocking.
At 3:35 p.m. EST, shuttle Capcom Megan McArthur told Discovery Commander Steve Lindsey and station Commander Scott Kelly about the extension.
With the added day, Discovery will undock from the station on Monday, March 7 at 7:03 a.m. EST and begin the ISS fly around at 7:33 a.m. The deorbit burn will occur Wednesday, March 9 at 10:55 a.m. EST. Landing at Kennedy Space Center will follow at 11:58 a.m. EST.

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STS-133 MCC Status Report #13

 

STS-133 MCC Status Report #13
Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:00:00 -0600

Discovery astronauts wrapped up a six-hour, 14-minute spacewalk Wednesday, draining ammonia from an 800-pound pump module, working with the Canadian robotic device Dextre and completing a variety of other tasks.

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NASA-Sponsored Research Explains Missing Sunspots

 

NASA-Sponsored Research Explains Missing Sunspots
Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:00:00 -0600

NASA-sponsored research has resulted in the first computer model that explains the recent period of decreased solar activity during the sun's 11-year cycle.

 

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Second STS-133 Spacewalk Complete

 

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:10:11 -0600

Spacewalkers Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew completed a six-hour, 14-minute spacewalk at 4:56 p.m. EST.
This was the final STS-133 spacewalk, the 244th by U.S. astronauts. It was the seventh for Bowen totaling 47 hours, 18 minutes and places him sixth on the all-time list. It was the second spacewalk for Drew, totaling 12 hours, 48 minutes. It was the 155th spacewalk in support of International Space Station assembly and maintenance, totaling 973 hours, 53 minutes, equal to 40 full days of spacewalks.
Today’s Mission Status Briefing is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.

 

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