Liftoff time from Cape Canaveral has been set for 3:51 pm EDT on the second Wednesday in July.
NASA administrator Michael Griffin recently announced that, after two days of meetings with shuttle managers as part of the Flight Readiness Review process, the STS-114 mission aboard the shuttle Discovery will launch on July 13.
Mr. Griffin said after the meeting. “The past two and half years have resulted in significant improvements that have greatly reduced the risk of flying the Shuttle. But we should never lose sight of the fact that space flight is risky.”
NASA has spent nearly two and a half years improving flight hardware, visual tracking, and inspection equipment. Driven by the Columbia disaster, NASA investigators found that a chunk of foam had fallen from the external tank and hit Columbia’s left wing. That damage led to the breakup of the shuttle on re-entry.
Engineers made numerous design changes to the external tank. The most important change eliminates the insulating foam used to help prevent ice build-up. A heater was placed on a “bipod attach fitting” as well as at bellows joint to keep ice from forming.
New cameras have been put into place to observe Discovery’s launch. And a new piece of robotic technology aboard the shuttle will be used to inspect Discovery once it reaches orbit. Also, temperature sensors have been placed along the leading edges of the wings, as well as accelerometers that can detect and measure impacts as they happen.
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
