Space Shuttle Discovery STS-133 Launch Meet at Pop Century, November 30th, 4:00 A.M.

[RaySharpton]

<STRIKE>Space Shuttle Discovery STS-133 Launch Meet at Pop Century, November 30th, 4:00 A.M. </STRIKE>

NEW...Space Shuttle Discovery STS-133 Launch Meet at Pop Century, December 3th, 2:51:59 A.M. EST

Work to repair the shuttle Discovery's external tank is going well, but more time is needed to complete an engineering review and to develop the necessary flight rationale, the justification for launching with a repaired tank after unexpected damage. As a result, NASA announced Thursday, the flight will remain on hold until at least Dec. 3, four days after the opening of a short end-of-year launch window.

If Discovery is eventually cleared for launch, countdown clocks would begin ticking around 1 a.m. on Nov. 30, setting up a launch attempt at 2:51:59 a.m. EST on Dec. 3. But officials cautioned that's a "no-earlier-than" launch target and if additional tests are needed, or if unexpected problems develop, the 133rd shuttle mission will remain on hold.

Anyone interested in seeing this together from Pop Century Resort.

I still have questions about the direction to face to watch the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-133 Launch at Pop Century Resort if anyone can help with this.

Maybe going to a 4th floor building would give the best view. But which building and which direction for the best unobstructive view without having miss it because of other buildings or something else?

The Space Shuttle Discovery is preparing for its final planned journey into space on the mission STS-133 on November 30, 2010 at 4:02 A.M. E.S.T. for a night launch.

I am not sure if this time is affected by the recent time change

I sure hope that it will be a clear, cloudless night.

The launch window opens five minutes before the time and closes 5 to 8 minutes afterwards depending on the day.

After failing to launch during the November 1st to 8th launch windows, the STS-133 Space Shuttle Discovery must now launch by December 5th or 6th or face a delay to February 2011 next year.

The launch time gets 23 to 25 minutes earlier each day.

This will be the 39th and last flight of the orbiter Discovery.

Discovery will take to the space station Leonardo, formerly on of the two flown reusable Multipurpose Logistics Modules (MPLM) that visited the ISS on seven previous shuttle missions since 2001 and now converted into a permanent storage closet for the space station know at the Pressurized Multipurpose Module (PMM).

This will be the last United States launched module added to the space station.

If you are interested in seeing a video made by NASA of a previous Space Shuttle Discovery Night Launch, the Space shuttle Discovery on STS-128 blasts off just before midnight on Friday, Aug. 28, 2009 from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on a 13-day mission to the international space station.check out the link below.

www.orlandosentinel.com/videobeta/84fc0edc-86ff-4cce-84cf-b234d4efd1b7/News/Space-shuttle-Discovery-lifts-off-on-STS-128-

And for the most current Space Shuttle Launch Updates at SpaceFlightNow, check out the link below. You never know if the launch might be cancelled again. Plus it is just a good site.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com

If you are interested in driving closer to watch the launch, check out the article below with photos and videos and information on the different places to drive to and watch the launch.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Watch-a-Space-Shuttle-Launch

Or if you would like to learn something about the five astronauts, Astronaut Colonel Steven Lindsey, Astronaut Eric Allen Boe, Astronaut Benjamin Alvin Drew, Jr., Astronaut Michael Reed Barratt, M.D., Astronaut Colonel Timothy Lennart Kopra, and Astronaut Nicole Passonno Stott, then below is another link to an article and photos.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Last-Space-Shuttle-Mission

Below is a link that shows photos and tips on taking camera photos of a space shuttle launch during the night or day and more directions to drive closer to get photos off Disney property

http://www.lauderdalechristmas.com/nasa-shuttle-launch.htm

I would like to try and watch the tentative space shuttle launch at Pop Century resort that I am staying at.

Here is the map of Pop Century below.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/PopCenturyMap.pdf

In the lower left corner of the map shows a compass with the North pointer pointing towards the right.

I guess that means that if I were standing at the Pop Century bus stop, looking East, for example, I would be looking toward the East toward the visitor's parking lot.

I believe East is the direction to look for the space shuttle launch.

Can anyone help me with the direction to look in specifically?

I was looking at the WDW map below.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/propertymap.htm

I am not so sure about the direction of every thing in this cartoon type of map.

I remember seeing three previous space shuttle launches at WDW.

One was day launch last May at Epcot's Rose and Crown Restaurant looking across the lake near China. This was definitely looking in an East direction plus or minus if you look at the map.

I wish that I had stood in front of the Mission Space building because I here that the shuttle rises from behind the building.

Another time near Magic Kingdom Mainstreet bridge looking toward the castle. And the map doesn't show the Mainstreet and castle really facing East in the cartoon picture. Maybe they didn't want to place the castle sideways in the map.

This is not my photo, but I found it with a google search.

Another time, I saw a nighttime space shuttle launch standing on the bridge connecting the Yacht Resort toward the Boardwalk/Swan Resort. I was facing the Epcot Eiffel Tower and the whole sky lit up like a TV movie atomic explosion with super bright arch of light surrounded by darkness. About a minute later, I saw the flame from the shuttle. It was an amazing site on a very clear, cloudless night in December.

Night space shuttle launches are so cool.

So...does anyone know how to make a map of WDW in relation to the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-133 Launch site.

An aerial view would be cool.

Even though the we may be looking East, I would really like to know if it is a little or a lot East or East South East so that we can choose the best place to view the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-133 Launch.

Any one interested meeting together?

Any one interested in helping me clarify the correct direction at Pop Century Resort to watch the launch?

Any one interested helping me make a directional map?

 

[RaySharpton]

I guess we have a new tenative date.

Here is the article and link below.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/101118delay/

Work to repair the shuttle Discovery's external tank is going well, but more time is needed to complete an engineering review and to develop the necessary flight rationale, the justification for launching with a repaired tank after unexpected damage. As a result, NASA announced Thursday, the flight will remain on hold until at least Dec. 3, four days after the opening of a short end-of-year launch window.

If Discovery is eventually cleared for launch, countdown clocks would begin ticking around 1 a.m. on Nov. 30, setting up a launch attempt at 2:51:59 a.m. EST on Dec. 3. But officials cautioned that's a "no-earlier-than" launch target and if additional tests are needed, or if unexpected problems develop, the 133rd shuttle mission will remain on hold.

The next shuttle launch window closes Dec. 6. If mission managers give up the possibility of an additional day in orbit, a launch on Dec. 7 would be possible. The next confirmed shuttle launch window opens at the end of February. But NASA managers are examining other possibilities in the mid-December timeframe, sources say, if Discovery misses the next window.

Trying to get off on its 39th and final mission, Discovery was grounded Nov. 5 when sensors detected a major gaseous hydrogen leak near a 7-inch vent line quick-disconnect fitting on the side of the ship's external tank. After the countdown was called off, engineers discovered a large crack in the tank's foam insulation near the top of the ribbed intertank section that separates the hydrogen and oxygen tanks.

At that time, launch was put on hold, delayed until at least Nov. 30, the opening of the next available launch window.

When the damaged insulation was cut away, two 9-inch cracks were found in an underlying aluminum-lithium alloy stringer, or rib, making up the intertank section. After additional foam was removed, two more cracks were found on an adjacent stringer. Such cracks are not unusual, possibly the result of a switch to the lightweight, but more brittle, aluminum-lithium alloy used in the current generation of external tanks.

But the cracks in Discovery's tank were the first to be seen at the launch pad, the apparent result of thermal stresses caused by exposure to supercold propellants.

Engineers currently are splicing in replacement stringer sections and so-called "doublers" to add additional strength. When that work is finished, fresh foam will be sprayed on and sanded to blend in with surrounding insulation.

In parallel, engineers are using high-tech scanners to assess the health of other foam-covered stringers on the side of the tank facing the shuttle to make sure there are no as-yet-unseen defects that could lead to structural problems or the release of foam debris during ascent.

The team already has replaced the leaking hydrogen vent line quick-disconnect fitting with hardware that fits together with a better alignment. Leak tests using helium have been carried out and no problems were detected. With the resolution of the alignment problem in the original hardware, engineers are confident the ground umbilical carrier plate, or GUCP, quick-disconnect fitting will work normally whenever Discovery is refueled for another launch attempt.

Another nagging problem also has been resolved. Before the hydrogen leak grounded Discovery Nov. 5, a subtle electrical glitch involving a main engine controller triggered an earlier delay. With the shuttle grounded by the hydrogen leak, a suspect circuit breaker panel in the ship's cockpit was replaced and investigators confirmed the electrical problem was due to contamination in a specific breaker.

But the repair work is just one part of the equation. Engineers must develop a solid flight rationale showing the external tank crack problem is fully understood. A detailed structural analysis is underway to make sure the repaired tank can withstand the normal loads, or forces, experienced during fueling, launch and the climb to space.

Another concern is the potential for foam insulation to break away from the repaired area of the cracks, or similar areas, that could hit the shuttle's heat shield during the early stages of ascent when impact damage can be most severe. Other issues include proving that any fresh cracks that might form when the tank is loaded with propellants are seen before launch and if they are not, that they will not grow or compromise the structural integrity of the tank during ascent.

Finally, managers and engineers are discussing whether to carry out a fueling test to make sure Discovery's tank will not suffer additional damage when exposed to cryogenic conditions. If a fueling test is added, sources said, the countdown could still start as early as Nov. 30, but launch likely would slip to Dec. 5 to accommodate a 48-hour "scrub turnaround."

Bill Gersteinmaier, director of space operations at NASA headquarters, and John Shannon, shuttle program manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, had planned to brief reporters on the status of Discovery's launch processing Monday.

But during a program requirements control board meeting Thursday, it because clear more time was needed to assess the crack repair work; to make sure no other cracks are present; and to develop the necessary flight rationale. The news briefing now is off until Nov. 29, when an official decision is expected to be announced.

The primary goals of Discovery's mission are to deliver a storage module loaded with equipment and supplies to the International Space Station, along with a spare set of radiators for its external cooling system.
Assuming an on-time launch Dec. 3, Discovery would dock with the space station around 11 p.m. on Dec. 4. The first of two spacewalks would begin around 8:45 p.m. on Dec. 6 with the second following around 8:15 p.m. on Dec. 8. Undocking would be targeted for just before 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11, setting up a landing back at the Kennedy Space Center around 9:55 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 13.

 

[Snipedog1978]

Bad news Local News from all News stations in Orlando are reporting the Shuttle Launch scheduled for the 3rd of Dec has been pushed back again to an attempt no sooner then the 17th of Dec and if they don't Launch then it will not go until Late Jan or Early Feb 2011.

 

[3pletprincesses]

it's been reschedule for February.