Scaffolding was constructed, removed and adjusted throughout various parts of the positioning. The stacking process at the Los Angeles site presented challenges to engineers who were used to multiple cranes and platforms used at the Kennedy Space Center. Read more: A successful liftoff: Space shuttle Endeavour's rockets are installed It will be a few years before the shuttle will be accessible to the public as the space museum and its other exhibits are constructed. The covering is not expected to be removed until construction of the 20-story Oschin Center, which will be built around the full-stack display, is complete. The orbiter was enclosed to protect it from work site pollution and the elements. (Ringo Chiu / For The Times)Įngineers shrink-wrapped the shuttle a week earlier, “using a great big heat gun fueled by a propane tank,” according to Clark. Piers Brinkley, right, and Clare David take photos as the space shuttle Endeavour is prepared to be lifted at the California Science Center. "Where Endeavour is positioned now is basically where it's going to be," Rudolph said. During that time, the crane’s sling will be removed, the space shuttle will stand without assistance and all of its parts will be bolted into place. The “hard mate” may happen as early as Tuesday evening, but it could take a couple of days, Rudolph said. The giant orange tube is the last such tank in existence. The second part will be the “capture” - the process of attaching Endeavour to the 15-story external fuel tank dubbed ET-94. The first part of the move, which began Monday night and finished Tuesday morning, was known as the “soft mate” and consists of the orbiter’s hoisting and lowering near the external fuel tank and rockets. Read more: Space shuttle Endeavour's giant orange external tank begins final journey “Once the crane gets the orbiter within about 4 inches of where it needs to be, will take over lowering the rest of the way with micro-inch capability,” Clark said. Workers and engineers tossed electric cables and ropes from scaffolding as the final few feet of movement were handled by a hydraulic Hydra-Set mounted control box operator. Crew members watch as the space shuttle Endeavour is placed into position at the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center at the California Science Center. Visit for complete coverage of Endeavour's final mission STS-134 or follow us and on Facebook. You can follow Staff Writer Denise Chow on Twitter. It is the 25th and final flight of Endeavour before the shuttle is retired along with the rest of NASA's orbiter fleet later this year. This helps their bodies adjust for the spacewalk, and also makes them less susceptible to suffering from decompression sickness, which is know in common vernacular as "the bends."Įndeavour's STS-134 astronaut crew is currently flying a 16-day mission to deliver a $2 billion astrophysics experiment and other supplies to the International Space Station. The hatch to the Quest airlock will be closed and the pressure in the compartment will be lowered to help purge nitrogen from the spacewalkers' bloodstreams. įincke and Chamitoff will remain in the airlock overnight, where they will don masks to breathe in pure oxygen prior to going to sleep. To prepare for their work outside, the spacewalking duo will camp out overnight in the station's Quest airlock. The crew will also review procedures for Friday's spacewalk, which will be conducted by mission specialists Mike Fincke and Greg Chamitoff. Last Saturday (May 21), Mission Control declared Endeavour fit for landing.Īfter their shuttle survey today, Endeavour's crew will round out the day with a string of live media interviews, including a news conference with the space station crew, which is scheduled to begin at 5:42 a.m. Since then, astronauts on every shuttle mission inspect their vehicle's heat shield several times to make sure the spacecraft is in good health.Įndeavour has a minor gouge on its belly and the shuttle astronauts took a second look at it last week to make sure it didn't pose a safety risk. NASA has kept a close eye on the health of space shuttles' heat shields since the 2003 shuttle Columbia disaster that killed seven astronauts. As a result, the shuttle crew scanned Endeavour's heat shield before leaving the station, rather than waiting until after undocking. During the mission's fourth and final spacewalk on Friday (May 27), the OBSS will be installed on the starboard side of the space station's backbone-like truss.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |