| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 421.1 | does this timing surprise anyone? | STAR::BANKS | In Search of Mediocrity | Fri Apr 01 1988 14:16 | 4 |
| Hhmm. I'd have bet that the next launch would be after the election
even before this story.
I'm not saying conspiracy here, but I am saying strong coincidence.
|
| 421.2 | What am I missing here? | LILAC::MKPROJ | REAGAN::ZORE | Fri Apr 01 1988 17:09 | 7 |
| For the life of me I can't understand why anyone in the Administration would
want to delay the next launch until AFTER the elections. It would seem in
my humble mind that the Reagan administration would want to have the launch
before the election so that they (the Republicans) would reap any PR
benefits to be had.
Rich
|
| 421.3 | Minimize Risk | MILVAX::SCOLARO | A keyboard, how quaint! | Fri Apr 01 1988 17:21 | 4 |
| If it fails they reap the the PR negatives, and perhaps lose the
presidency.
Tony
|
| 421.4 | Will there still be an August Shuttle launch? | NYEM1::HOWANSKY | | Sat Apr 02 1988 16:32 | 2 |
| what's the chances of an august lift date of the sts?
|
| 421.5 | RE 421.4 | SHAOLN::DENSMORE | Legion of Decency, Retired | Mon Apr 04 1988 08:34 | 8 |
| The last report I heard/saw said that the debonding was visually
noted and the ultrasound was taken to see how far it had spread.
the result was that it had NOT spread and that it could be repaired
"on site". Any one else have later info?
The report said that the launch date would not be pushed out.
Mike
|
| 421.6 | I'm not holding my breath.... | SNDCSL::SMITH | William P.N. (WOOKIE::) Smith | Mon Apr 04 1988 15:07 | 5 |
| This reminds me of the cartoon of the shuttle stack sitting on the
launchpad with a voice in the background going "T minus 10, 11,
12, 13, 14, ..."
Willie
|
| 421.7 | SSME problems will cause delay | JANUS::BARKER | | Wed Apr 06 1988 19:00 | 5 |
| There was a report in a British newspaper a couple of days ago saying that
the SSME on Discovery needs some major work before it's flyable and this will
definitely cause a slip in the scheduled August launch date.
jb
|
| 421.8 | A touch of paranoia | COLORS::HARDY | | Wed Apr 13 1988 12:22 | 7 |
| Though it's probably an index of my paranoia, I think I'd sleep
easier knowing the launch had been postponed. There is just too
much potential for political heat screwing up the process, and
the judgement of those involved.
Pat
|
| 421.9 | A bit of detail | VINO::DZIEDZIC | | Wed Apr 13 1988 12:47 | 23 |
| This week's Aviation Leak has information on both the SRBs and
the SSMEs. Apparently the SRB insulation debonding is detected
using a feeler gauge (?!) - the separation area is a few inches
by a fractional part of an inch. The article mentioned the
debonding may be due to insufficient adhesive sprayed in that
area (the field joints by the new capture ring feature). The
SSME problem was more vague, but the upshot was that the SSMEs
probably wouldn't contribute appreciably to launch delays.
NASA is supposed to announce during the next few days how long
a delay will be caused by the SRB problems. Since all the
planned-in contigency time has been used up, it will probably
be a fairly lengthy (several weeks/month or more) delay.
I too would vote for doing the first launch right (of course,
I'd also vote for doing the successive launches right, too!).
However, I have to wonder how much influence the November
elections will have on the decision on how long to delay.
If only the space program wasn't run by politically-motivated
people . . .
Still waiting for the resumption of flights. Save me a seat!
|
| 421.10 | schedule slip... | SHAOLN::DENSMORE | Legion of Decency, Retired | Thu May 05 1988 08:02 | 6 |
| The latest news is that the launch has been postponed to late August
but could easily slip into September. The local paper didn't specify
the exact reason. I believe they are just behind schedule and that
there is no critical problem.
Mike
|