[freeinhou]

STS-119 launch is now targeted for March 12, 7:54 pm CST. It'll be Discovery. Let's hope the fifth slip is the charm. I've scheduled my Flight Readiness Review meeting for Friday. It better go...

actually, we have a window. 12 - 16 March. It just has to come back the 26th (to avoid a parking problem at the space station with Soyuz and Progress being docked there). We can shorten the mission.

We took the gaseous hydrogen flow control valves off Discovery and installed the valves from, ummm, I forget - Endeavour or Atlantis. The valve's only about 8 inches long and the damage was on the internal poppet. In my humble "mechanical engineer" opinion, NASA is being extremely conservative. Needless to say, I'm not allowed to make the final decision...

If we get off in March, the May (STS-125 to Hubble) and June (STS-127 to Station) flights are unaffected. If we don't get off by March 16th, we slip to no earlier than April 10th, which will bump the other flights.

I read all 124 pages of Obama's team's budget. No provisions for continuing shuttle flights past 10/2010. That means 5 years of american dependence on Russia to get our astronauts to the station on the typically horrendous ride aboard Soyuz... At astronomical fees.

Have I told y'all what STS stands for? Space Transportation System. I think...

Tom

[DM]

Thanks Tom! I didn't understand some of your lingo, but read it to my DH and he was pretty interested. Thanks again, Mr Rocket Scientist! *grin*

[freeinhou]

Shuttle Discovery, Mission STS-119, has a firm launch date/time - Wednesday March 11, 2009, 8:20 pm CST (another night launch).

Countdown clock start 7 pm EST Sunday at T-43 hours (I know, that's more than 43 hours before launch but the holds are factored in - stupid rocket scientists...).

Looks like I have a 17 hour work day next Wednesday if it launches...

Tom

[SallyC]

Thanks for the update, Tom. I'll try to be there..

[Riverwild]

Scribbles out all the other dates and adds this one with a prayer!!!

Thanks Tom!!