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| We don't need no stinkin' checklist |
| 2005-07-24 |
| EFL to make room for the snark CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA (search) said Sunday it will launch the first space shuttle flight in 21/2 years even if Discovery is plagued by the same fuel gauge problem that halted the previous countdown two weeks ago. We are issuing wooden sticks to the astronauts so they can check manually. Discovery is set to lift off Tuesday at 10:39 a.m., the same time Columbia took off on its doomed mission in 2003. Insert ominous chord. Deputy shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said the fuel gauge problem has been a vexing one — engineers still don't know exactly what caused it — and he's repeatedly asked himself, "Are we taking care enough to do it right?" At an evening news conference, Hale and other NASA officials found themselves defending the decision to launch with a fuel gauge failure. They stressed that they will proceed with a liftoff only if the problem is well understood and involves the gauges in question — anything else will result in a postponement. NASA's own launch rule — in place since the 1986 Challenger disaster (search) — requires that all four hydrogen fuel gauges in the external tank be working properly. Going with three out of four would result in a "deviation" of the rule, Hale told reporters. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said he supports the decision and even hopes the problem recurs to further pinpoint the source of the trouble. He acknowledged that the public might perceive that the space agency is rushing to launch, but insisted it was the right technical judgment. "These are rather arcane matters, I would admit. They're rather difficult and sometimes they don't always present well," Griffin said. "But in the long run, I think if it's the right thing, we can explain it to you, and you want us doing what's right, not what necessarily is obvious or popular." Workers last week repaired faulty electrical grounding inside Discovery in hopes that would solve the fuel gauge problem that thwarted the first launch attempt on July 13. One of the four gauges failed a routine test two hours before the scheduled liftoff. Technicians also swapped the wiring between the troublesome fuel sensor and another one to better understand the issue if it reappears Tuesday. If in doubt, start replacing parts. That's what My mechanic does. The same type of problem occurred back in April during a fueling test, and was written off as an "unexplained anomaly." I guess it's better than saying "They all do that." The fuel gauges are needed to prevent the main engines from shutting down too soon or too late during liftoff, in the event of an extreme problem like a leaking tank. The first scenario could result in a risky, never-attempted emergency landing; the second could cause the engine turbines to rupture and, quite possibly, destroy the spacecraft. Death, Destruction, Doom, Fairbanks Only two fuel gauges are needed to avoid such dangerous situations, but NASA normally requires all four to be working at liftoff for redundancy. Hale conceded there is no way to know with 100 percent certainty that more fuel gauges will not conk out on the shuttle's climb to orbit, if NASA launches with only three functioning ones. But that would involve stacking up multiple failures, he noted, "and the odds become kind of in the acceptable risk category that we have to go fly with." NASA has just one week to launch Discovery and its crew of seven to the international space station, before putting off the mission until September. But they would never let that influence them. The space agency is insisting on good lighting in order to see any signs of the type of launch damage that crippled Columbia. The opportunity for good photography, both at Cape Canaveral and over the North Atlantic when the fuel tank separates nearly nine minutes after liftoff, diminishes in August and is unacceptable until Sept. 9. |
| Posted by:Jackal |
| #3 Dick Rutan, your country needs you ... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2005-07-24 23:59 |
| #2 This NASA program manager sounds about as irresponsible as the one who rejected engineers' requests to use advanced imagery and observe damage to the Columbia before it attempted its doomed return. If they have a failing sensor, and they can't find and fix the cause of the problem -- they should ask themselves how many other parts of the system are beyond their comprehension. Sadly, manned space-flight at NASA is a total disappointment. By the way, wasn't there a worldwide Moslem gloating when the Columbia disintegrated? |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2005-07-24 23:01 |
| #1 Good grief - has it come to this, they need good lighting now? I remember that Apollo 12 was struck by lightning. That was the NASA I was brought up on. |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2005-07-24 21:56 |