Atlantis spreads its wings

Just experienced history in the making - a once (and last) in a lifetime event. It will take a while to sink in, hence I am posting my thoughts and impressions in the days afterwards.

Friday morning 10.30 am. It was getting hotter by the minute as the clouds scattered over Kennedy Space Center, like curtains unveiling a giant stage for one last drama. The forecast showers hadn’t materialised and controllers in the ‘firing room' gave the ‘go' for ascent after a positive poll from their ground teams.

In reality the weather was just good enough for launch – based on some additional acceptance on the forecasted conditions at the nearby Shuttle Landing Facility had a Return To Landing Site abort been required.

But then the countdown clock dramatically stopped at T-31 seconds, just prior to the final automatic sequence. This was based on a lack of an indication that the‘beanie cap’, technically known as the GOX Vent Arm, had properly retracted and latched from the top of the external tank.

We were told in the post-launch briefing that this is something engineers were aware could happen but were still surprised it showed during an actual launch countdown.

Thankfully, the Firing Room teams were prepared. In three long minutes they ran through a pre-determined procedure to verify the arm was retracted and latched using a closed circuit camera.

As the countdown resumed - with only 58 seconds left of the launch window - launch director Mike Leinbach told the Atlantis crew - Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim - to "have a little fun up there" with "a true American icon".

Rocket roll

Excitement and anticipation at the press site mounted as the minutes towards countdown rolled back and it looked as if the cloud cover might thin out just in time.

Now to choose a spot and set up the camera tripod. I wasn’t really here to take photos but if the cameras were pointing in the right direction they could do their business unattended while I viewed the launch unencumbered. And at least I would have some of my own pictures of the moment too.

I wanted to shoot a general view of liftoff with the amassed crowd in the foreground, along with the famous countdown clock and flag - my Nikon D70 was mounted atop the tripod for still views and a Fuji compact for movie footage was wrapped around the stem using a mini Gorillapod.

Astronomy and space lecturer Andy Green, from Cambridge in the UK, was just behind me and to the side was Steven Kates, known as ‘Dr Sky’, a TV and radio broadcaster in the US with a mission to ‘educate and entertain the world on all that is in the sky’. This was his first live launch and he kept us entertained with live pre-launch reports and commentaries.

As I’d left before the crack of dawn without any breakfast and we still had an hour or so of the countdown to go so there was time to visit the legendary NASA Snack Mobile parked amongst the US TV outside broadcast wagons, with their giant satellite dishes and bright logos.

 

The Snack Mobile looks like it has been around since the days of Apollo and, it being NASA, you kind of hope it might sell some kind of magical space food.

Adding to its mystique is the fact that the van only ever appears on launch days - so its future appearances now seem even more restricted, at least in the near term.

Entry is through the back and once inside you can select hot snacks from stainless steel pull-out drawers and drinks from a chiller before paying the lady sitting in the driver’s seat at the front.

Rather than fancy astronaut food I settled for a burger in a soft bun and an ice cold can of Sprite. The food was actually quite tasty (or maybe I was just so hungry). But that is not what really counts - more the fact that you’ve actually stepped inside and made a purchase from the famed NASA Snack Mobile.

 

 

 

It's a beautiful day

Thirty years and 135 missions after its debut, NASA got down to the business of launching a Space Shuttle for the final time this morning.

It was a privilege to be amongst the 1,350 media representatives from around the world who had descended en masse - many to witness a launch for the first time - for this history-making occasion.

My day started with a 4.30 am wake up call, which was at exactly the same time the four astronauts were woken in their quarters at KSC for breakfast and to begin their preparations.

It was still dark and the air heavy and humid as I started the 35 minute drive from downtown Cocoa Beach towards the space centre.

Traffic was already heavy and vehicles of all shapes and sizes were beginning to congregate on the roadsides to reserve distant views across the Banana River to the launch site for their bleary-eyed occupants. With up to a million visitors expected, many had ‘camped’ overnight to reserve their spot.

As well as the normal security gate a second advance checkpoint had been instigated on the approach to the KSC perimeter and by 6 am cars were backing up in both lanes, cop cars and trucks parked alongside adding to a sense of occasion with their blue flashing lights cutting through the dark.

There had already been a few spits of rain as the first light of dawn began appearing through a crack in the dark overnight clouds - and with it came a glimmer of hope that it might just clear enough in a few hours’ time to get Atlantis off the pad.

For much of the week, and particularly with yesterday’s torrential rain and thunderstorms, a launch had been thought highly unlikely today with only a 30 percent chance of the weather being acceptable.

I arrived at the press site in the nick of time for another security check, this time with an army trained sniffer dog, as four NASA coaches lined up to take a elite group of mainly photographers to witness the traditional crew walkout.

We had less than an hour to wait behind a barrier for the astronauts, clad in their distinctive orange flight suits, to make their brief appearance. Many of the regular photographers position small step ladders to get an elevated view of the heads of others.

The photographers are joined by other guests and onlookers as the time for walkout draws nearer and the sense of excitement and anticipation is heightened when a military helicopter begins circling overhead.

Word comes that the astronauts are in the elevator and then a huge cheer goes up as the four - Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim appear from behind the silver Astrobus. They wave and pose before climbing onboard for the 15 minute journey to Pad 39A.

The crowd begins to disperse and I glimpse a familiar face - Nichelle Nichols, known to millions around the world as ‘Uhura’, the communications officer on Enterprise in the original Star Trek series.

With three hours to go before launch we head back to the press site. Overhead the cloud ceiling seems a little higher than before and some small breaks have appeared here and there.

Despite the previous day’s dire predictions maybe it had been a good call to proceed with the overnight tanking of Atlantis. The Florida weather can be as fickle as anywhere.

Tears in the rain

Torrential rain, thunder and lightening made for an atrocious day at Kennedy Space Center today. Rain doused the Space Shuttle orbiter and two lightning bolts struck on or nearby the launch pad.

Officials said a preliminary assessment found no major problems or systems affected and while additional data reviews were planned, engineers did not expect to need any time-consuming system re-tests.

Forecasters predicted a 70 percent chance of stormy weather triggering a launch delay tomorrow, though the forecast improves slightly to 60 percent ‘no go’ Saturday and then to 40 percent on Sunday.

"Weather is not looking good for launch," shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters told reporters during a morning briefing.

"As you can see outside, the clouds have rolled in, we're starting to see some showers. We even had a thunderstorm show up this morning. So we are expecting more of this for the next couple of days."

The appalling conditions didn’t prevent NASA going ahead with the retraction of the Rotating Service Structure protecting Atlantis on launch pad 39A. It began rolling back at 2:38 pm, about 30 minutes later than planned.

Rain was pounding KSC at the time and a couple of hundred media photographers, including myself, were drenched as we waited in the open for security checks before being bused out to the launch pad to see the Shuttle.

With temperatures in the mid-80s Fahrenheit it was steamy and humid as we viewed Atlantis from the crawler-way which leads up to the launch pad. As well as the media the mosquitos were out in force.

A three hour tanking operation to fill the giant external tank with fuel was scheduled to begin at 2 am Friday morning after an assessment of the weather conditions by mission managers.

Thunder and lightening

With just 45 minutes to go before the planned roll back of the launch tower currently encapsulating Atlantis, mission managers and weather experts are still deciding if they should proceed.

The KSC site was doused in torrential rain with thunder and lightening around midday and safety rules do not permit tower roll back if there are electric storms in the vicinity.

They have between six and seven hours leeway in the schedule to perform the manoeuvre if they are to keep on course for a launch attempt tomorrow morning.

In NASA-speak we are still in a ‘Phase 2 Lightening Alert’ which means everyone is confined to buildings and shouldn't be walking out in the open.

Storm clouds brew

A hole may need to open in the clouds at just the right time for Atlantis to fly on the final Shuttle mission tomorrow morning.

At Wednesday’s pre-launch briefing to the media NASA managers said the weather forecast had worsened overnight to a 70 percent chance of stormy conditions that would postpone the planned 11:26 am (16:26 BST) launch.

But in the past Space Shuttles have blasted off from Kennedy Space Center with much worse odds. "It could be pouring rain everywhere in the county, and if we get that hole in the right spot at the right time, we can go," said Mike Moses, NASA’s launch integration manager.

He described Atlantis as being in "fantastic shape" for launch as the so far trouble-free countdown continued with teams loading chemical reactants into Atlantis’ power-producing fuel cell system.

Three orbiter fuel cells will generate electricity for Atlantis and its four person crew during the 12 day mission to stock the International Space Station with food and spare parts.

At 2 pm today, crews plan to swing open the rotating gantry at launch pad 39A to reveal Atlantis, poised for the Shuttle programme’s 135th launch in 30 years.

Fuelling of the craft’s 15-story external tank should then begin about 12 hours later — assuming managers give the go-ahead after a weather briefing at 1:30 am Friday morning.

"I only know of one way to make it a 100 percent no-go forecast, and that’s to not put propellant in the tank," said Moses.

If the weather doesn’t cooperate Friday, the outlook improves slightly Saturday and Sunday.
After that, NASA plans to pause until at least July 16 to let the Air Force launch a satellite from Cape Canaveral — but if it comes to the crunch the two parties might negotiate freeing up most of next week for Atlantis.

But launch director Mike Leinbach said his teams weren’t hoping for delays. "Friday is game day for us, so we don’t want to wait until Saturday," he said. "We want to play the game Friday."

Also playing on managers' minds are the huge crowds expected on Florida’s Space Coast to view the final ascent — and the impact that mass of people could have on launch operations.

Local police expect half-to-three-quarters of a million people travelling to the area and, because of the heavy traffic that would be generated, Leinbach is reserving the option to skip a Saturday launch try out of concern the launch team could not get home and make it back to the spaceport in time for a 24 hour turnaround.

Weather officer Kathy Winters said she expected conditions to improve over the weekend, with a 40 percent chance of good weather on Saturday and a 60 percent chance Sunday.

The final countdown

There could hardly be a more appropriate soundtrack to events at Kennedy Space Center this week. ‘The Final Countdown’, a rock song originally released by the Swedish band ‘Europe’ in 1986, reached number one in 25 countries, including the UK. In the United States the song peaked at number eight.

The clock has been ticking for the Space Shuttle programme for some years now but yesterday the last ever countdown began in earnest when the launch clock at Kennedy Space Center — the giant digital display familiar to TV viewers the world over — began counting down from 43 hours. When it reaches zero, Atlantis will be on its way.

But during a countdown the time on the clock does not translate to actual time — considerably more than 43 hours will elapse between countdown and liftoff. In reality some 70 hours separate the start-up of the countdown clock at 1:00 pm yesterday and the planned launch of the Shuttle at 11:26 this Friday.

The reason for the difference in timekeeping is a series of planned ‘holds’ — built-in pauses that allow launch managers to take stock of the mission's status and respond to changing conditions.

In all, a Shuttle launch countdown contains seven holds, which take place when the countdown clock reads 27 hours, 19 hours, 11 hours, six hours, three hours, 20 minutes and nine minutes.

A specific list of safety checks (inspect external fuel tanks at T-minus 11 hours), launch-preparation tasks (clear launch pad and surrounding area of personnel at T-minus six hours) and decision points (final ‘go/no-go’ poll among launch managers at T-minus nine minutes) are addressed before ending the hold and proceeding into the countdown.

For this final Shuttle mission, designated STS-135, the planned holds range in duration from 10 minutes to 14 hours.

Only after the countdown clock resumes following the final hold at T-minus nine minutes will it reflect the actual amount of time remaining until liftoff.