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Wed 8 Aug, 2007 02:06 pm
Shuttle fueled, ready for evening launch
By RASHA MADKOUR, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 33 minutes ago
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With good weather forecast for launch time, NASA fueled space shuttle Endeavour in preparation for a Wednesday evening liftoff and the climax of a two-decade wait for teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan.
In 1986, Morgan was Christa McAuliffe's backup for the Challenger flight, the shuttle mission that was meant to send NASA's first teacher into space. Morgan was watching a few miles from the launch pad when the Challenger exploded barely a minute into flight.
Many of the other educators who had competed with McAuliffe and Morgan to become the first teacher in space were in Florida on Wednesday to watch Endeavour finally take one of their own into orbit.
"I think the great thing about it is that people will be thinking about Challenger and thinking about all the hard work lots of folks over many years have done to continue their mission," Morgan, 55, said last month.
I'm a bit apprehensive, but I'll stand out in my back yard and watch it soar. Nothing is more breath taking.
There is a gash in Endeavour's thermal shield because a piece of foam
hit the belly of the shuttle on takeoff. It was reported that the gash could be as long as 3 1/2 inches and over 2 inches wide.
They are going to try to fix it.
I hope they make it back to earth okay. The families and friends must be worried sick. I can't imagine how the astronauts
feel or even what is going through their minds right now.
TTH, let's just hope that this isn't a repeat of The Challenger. I knew the man who worked for the company who manufactured the O- rings.
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred in the United States, over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida, at 11:39 a.m. EST (16:39 UTC) on January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds into its flight after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed. The seal failure caused a flame leak from the solid rocket booster, which impinged upon the adjacent external fuel tank. Within seconds, the flame caused structural failure of the external tank, and aerodynamic forces promptly broke up the orbiter. The shuttle was destroyed and all seven crew members were killed. The crew compartment and many other vehicle fragments were eventually recovered from the ocean floor after a lengthy search and recovery operation.
According to NASA, the crew can survive on the Space Station for as long as two months.
Letty,
I remember that about the Challenger. I saw it live. What made me angry is that NASA was told ahead of time it was NOT safe to launch
due to the cold temperature and that the O-ring seals could fail.
Instead of waiting again, because it would not look good since they already had re-scheduled several times, they launched anyway. They took that risk
and it cost the lives of our astronauts.
I also remember when Columbia 7 broke apart upon re-entry due to a piece of foam that broke off and pierced the left wing on the day it
launched. I don't want Endeavour to be a repeat of that.
Nor I, TTH. The crew woke up to this song, and I think it's a rather poor choice.
Title: Shania Twain - Up! lyrics
It's 'bout as bad as it could be
Seems everybody's buggin' me
Like nothing wants to go my way--
Yeah, it just ain't been my day
Nothin's comin' easily
Even my skin is acting weird
I wish that I could grow a beard
Then I could cover up my spots
Not play connect the dots
I just wanna disappear
[chorus:]
Up--up--up--
Can only go up from here
Up--up--up--up
Where the clouds gonna clear
Up--up--up--
There's no way but up from here
Even something as simple as
Forgettin' to fill up on gas
There ain't no explanation why--
Things like that can make you cry
Just gotta learn to have a laugh
[repeat chorus]
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah...
When everything is goin' wrong
Don't worry, it won't last for long
Yeah, it's all gonna come around
Don't go let it get you down
You gotta keep on holding on
It's 'bout as bad as it could be
Seems everybody's buggin' me
Like nothing want to go my way--
Yeah, it just ain't been my day
Nothin's comin' easily
[repeat chorus]
Oh-- I'm going up [4x]
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah...
Letty,
That is a real comforting song to wake up to. I agree a very poor choice.
Thanks BumbleBeeBoogie
I see NASA is a little bit concerned
and "If Endeavour had to make an emergency landing right now, NASA still would take the chance based on all the risks....."
Well, I hope for everyone involved that shuttle comes back to earth safely.
Re: Astronauts Zoom in on Shuttle Gash; severity needs repai
BumbleBeeBoogie wrote:"This area is subjected to as much as 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit during re-entry. A hole, if large and deep enough, could lead to another Columbia-type disaster. Columbia was destroyed in 2003 when hot atmospheric gases seeped into a hole in its wing and melted the wing from the inside out. A foam strike at liftoff caused the gash."
I hope they get back safely.
If we weren't spending all this money repairing infrastructure we could build a real damn shuttle that is more durable. :wink:
We can all exhale now. Endeavor has landed safely.
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