Training for the Space Shuttle’s return to flight
entered a new phase today as the astronauts and Mission
Control began full-scale rehearsals that will continue until
days before launch.
A web of computer and voice communication connections brings
together dozens of flight controllers, the astronauts who
will fly the Shuttle, support engineers and training
instructors to simulate key portions of the next mission. The
training is complex, with planners inserting multiple
problems during each practice session and gauging the
performance of the team as it addresses them.
This first eight-hour “flight-specific integrated simulation”
focuses on the Space Shuttle Discovery’s rendezvous and
docking with the International Space Station. The simulation
includes practicing a new flip, a rendezvous pitch maneuver,
that the Space Shuttle performs as it approaches to allow
Station crew members to photograph the Shuttle’s heat
shielding tiles to check their condition.
“This is where we stop just brainstorming and thinking about
how we’re going to go fly this flight in space,” said Lead
Flight Director Paul Hill. “This will look and feel to us
just like a real flight — even to the astronauts. Once the
clock starts ticking in the simulation, we get the same
adrenalin when something bad starts to happen, we get the
same rush when we solve a problem that keeps the crew out of
danger, as we would during the real thing,” he added.
As these dress rehearsals continue, the team will practice
every aspect of the flight. Some aspects, such as launch and
landing, will be rehearsed many times.
The crew of the return to flight mission will participate
from the fixed-base Shuttle simulator. The STS-114 crew
includes Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and
Mission Specialists Charlie Carmarda, Wendy Lawrence, Steve
Robinson, Soichi Noguchi and Andy Thomas. A stand-in Station
crew will participate from the nearby Space Station
simulator.
“This integrated simulation is a huge milestone for the
crew,” Collins said. “The crew is ready to go, the flight
control team is ready to go, and we’re especially looking
forward to the rendezvous pitch maneuver — something that’s
never been done before,” she added.
Flight controllers supporting both the Space Shuttle and
Space Station will work in the Mission Control Center. Hill
will lead the Shuttle contingent, while Flight Director Brian
Lunney will lead the Station team.
Video of the simulation, including comments from
participants, will be broadcast during the daily hour of live
coverage of International Space Station operations at 11 a.m.
EDT today. It also will air on the NASA TV Video File.
NASA Television is available in the continental U.S. on AMC-
6, Transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 72 degrees west
longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is
vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. In Alaska and
Hawaii, NASA Television is available on AMC-7, Transponder
18C, C-Band, located at 137 degrees west longitude. Frequency
is 4060.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is
monaural at 6.80 MHz.
For more information on NASA TV on the Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
Sill imagery of the simulation will be available on the
internet by 1 p.m. EDT today at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-114/preflight/ndxpage24.html
For information about NASA and agency programs on the
Internet, visit:
