STS-119

[pete.dakota]

Ok,the first disaster was due seal on SRB,the second due piece of foam on the ET.Nothing caused by the Shuttle itself.

Yes, a piece of foam off of the ET, but had the TPS been on top of the stack - like with Apollo, Soyuz etc. - the strike wouldn't have happened.

No one's saying the actual, physical orbiter caused the disasters; but the unique stack design of the STS played a major role.

 

[Zoe]

LOX now into topping

---------- Post added at 05:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:12 PM ----------

LH2 now in stable replenish

---------- Post added at 05:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:14 PM ----------

T-3 hours and holding. Countdown will hold for 2 hours 30 minutes.

---------- Post added at 05:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:19 PM ----------

LOX and LH2 now both in stable replenish. Final inspection team cleared to go out to pad.

---------- Post added at 05:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:23 PM ----------

Final inspection team now on way out to pad.

 

[Spicer]

I'm psyched to watch this launch. It should be around sunset. My son 18 month-old son and I are going to watch this one. This mission is also going to sent two educator astronauts into space. I saw sts-118 when Barbara Morgan was launched, so as a teacher, that's always something to be proud of.

 

[Arrowstar]

Something about a small LH2 leak with the pad hardware, according to NASA TV. I didn't catch any of the specifics. Anyone know anything about this?

 

[JamesG]

You're watching it in person or live video?

I'd always wanted to see a shuttle launch, but doesn't look like I ever will.

 

[RisingFury]

Any time the launch is at an appropriate time, I watch on NasaTV online:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Due to the drop in helium pressure in one of the four liquid hydrogen gap measurement plates at the liquid umbilical disconnect where the orbiter connects to the tank, launch director Mike Leinbach has now dispatched a special team to adjust the ground system valve in the MLP, in hopes that this will increase the pressure...

 

[pete.dakota]

1.2mb/s NASA TV feed here courtesy of Yahoo!

 

[agentgonzo]

1.2mb/s NASA TV feed here courtesy of Yahoo!

Lower bandwidth feeds if anyone requires them:
http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1368162 (300kb/s)
http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1368161 (100kb/s)

---------- Post added at 19:48 ---------- Previous post was at 19:37 ----------

T-3 hours and counting

 

[ripley1]

I hope the fruit bat will get out of there,before he'll get fried.

 

[Moonwalker]

In preparation for the Orion launches, today we're going to get quite accurate values of the virbrations going on within the Shuttle flight deck during launch and ascent.

 

[tblaxland]

Lower bandwidth feeds if anyone requires them:
http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1368162 (300kb/s)
http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1368161 (100kb/s)

Thanks, my VOIP doesn't like sharing with a 1.2Mb/s stream

 

[Moonwalker]

15 minutes to go! Obviously no delay this time. Glad to have the high bitrate stream available. It's an awesome sight.

 

[EJ316]

Oh man this is tense!

 

[Moonwalker]

That's a great launch.

 

[EJ316]

Yeah, congratulations to NASA on another great launch.

 

[myles]

What does, "No go for the pitch" mean? That it's a night launch, so they don't have to turn around the shuttle and take pictures of the ET?

 

[FordPrefect]

I think that's the visually most beautiful Shuttle launch I have ever seen. Riding from dusk into bright sunlight. The view of the tumbling SRBs after sep was spectacular, as was the whole launch! Pure Awesomeness.

 

[tblaxland]

What does, "No go for the pitch" mean? That it's a night launch, so they don't have to turn around the shuttle and take pictures of the ET?

Perhaps to allow longer time for umbilical well photography?

 

[kino_astroboy]

The launch was spectacular! Especially during SRB sep and ET jettison. I think I even saw a scattered smoke plume in Miami!