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good morning thank you for joining us

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here at nasa's kennedy space center in

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florida for space shuttle endeavour's

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sts-134 countdown status briefing

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joining me today is jeff spalding nasa

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test director

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good morning

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joe duly sts-134 payload manager

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good morning

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and kathy winters shuttle weather

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officer good morning

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we'll hear from our panelists and then

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we'll take questions jeff all right

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thank you kendra and good morning to

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everyone and i'm really happy to back

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here today as we are back officially

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into the launch countdown we did just

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pick up the clock a few hours ago and we

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are accounting and working on some of

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our avionics checkouts right in the

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beginning of the count as we normally do

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so real pleased to be back here again to

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ready the vehicle for monday's launch of

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the space shuttle endeavour on the

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sts-134 mission

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it was two weeks ago today actually that

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we had our last launch attempt and we

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needed to stand down we did have uh and

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found up an issue with our auxiliary

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power unit number one the the be heater

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system associated with that auxiliary

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power unit wasn't functioning properly

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so we did end up scrubbing that launch

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and backing out of the count and start

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working some of our troubleshooting over

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the last couple of weeks which

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is now complete

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during that time frame we ended up

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removing and replacing a load controller

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assembly in the aft fuselage

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that was number two

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over that boxes

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we replaced that we did also replace a

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wire that goes from that box up to the

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the heater string

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in question that we had an issue with as

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well as a couple of splices and

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thermostats during that time frame

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because our troubleshooting let us down

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that path

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indicating that the the issue was along

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that uh that wiring path that we had

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there so all of those things have been

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changed out all of the re-tests of all

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of those systems are complete we had to

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do quite a bit of other re-tests and and

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reconfiguration and um of the systems in

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order to get to that box as well as once

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we uh took it apart and replaced it with

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there were a number of other systems

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that we had to do a test and checkout on

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and and that's all complete and

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is good and we're ready to go from that

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perspective

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uh let's see our countdown clock as i

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mentioned picked up just about seven

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o'clock this morning and right now we're

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working uh those preparations and

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throughout the day in anticipation

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tonight of getting into a pad clear on

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11 o'clock once we get done with all the

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checkouts of the boxes and the other

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preps we need to get into those

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operations and at that point we'll start

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our checkout of our ground pyrotechnic

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systems

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and then later on uh early morning on

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saturday we'll begin loading the onboard

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cryo tanks

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with cryogenics

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at about 4 30 in the morning as i

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mentioned

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once that's done that requires a pad

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clear we'll reopen the pad around 1 30

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in the afternoon work some more preps

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towards

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the checkout of our space shuttle

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engines um in the afternoon and some of

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the planned inspections of our external

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tank and boosters will start about seven

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o'clock on saturday so we'll have a

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pretty full day on saturday once we get

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back in the pad getting back into work

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once we work throughout the night and

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then on sunday we're going to power up

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our orbiter ground communication network

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as we always do and do an end-to-end

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test of all the systems

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from the orbiter itself back to kennedy

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here and also to the other centers

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and that will happen about 6 30 in the

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morning on sunday followed by our final

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flight crew equipment stowage operations

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which is about 8 30. we'll work our

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preps throughout the rest of that

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morning and we're going to retract the

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rotating service structure back away

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from the vehicle at about 12 noon on

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sunday

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and then we'll continue

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working and configuring a lot of our

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other ground and flight systems

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throughout the day

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in anticipation of our initial pad clear

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about 6 30 on sunday evening and then

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we'll work our earliest tanking at 11 36

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sunday night so as you've noticed as

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we've moved a couple of weeks here our

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launch times have gotten quite a bit

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earlier than they were

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the last time

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once we get done with our tanking

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operation that lasts about three hours

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as you recall

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we'll send our ground crews into the pad

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and ready the cockpit for the cruise

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arrival which is about 5 30 a.m on

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monday morning

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our launch window this time opens at 8

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56 a.m on monday and that does actually

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correlate to our preferred time it'll be

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a few seconds difference there from the

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actual a5600 time and we'll do that

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adjust

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but we will be right at the preferred

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time this time

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as far as our launch availability go we

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currently have the 16th which is monday

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as a launch date

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through the 26th of may before we would

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need to stand down for the soyuz 27s

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launch which is

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out there at the beginning of june

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right in the middle of that uh campaign

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there between the 16th and 26th we do

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have a planned undocked of the soyuz 25s

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from the station which is on the 23rd

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and with their undock on the 23rd that

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means the 21st as a launch date is not

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available to us because that would put

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our docking and their undocking

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essentially on the same day so that date

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is not available to us as a launch date

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and additionally we're doing

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working to try to deconflict any issues

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on the 20th or 22nd the days on either

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side of that

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21st date to make sure there's no crew

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workload issues on the 20th or any

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relative motions between those other two

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vehicles on the 22nd so we're hoping to

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deconflict both of those and make those

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available launch dates to us as well

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currently we have

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seven days of liquid hydrogen and 12

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days of liquid oxygen prsd hold times

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which are

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plentiful for us so we don't have to do

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one top off during that entire campaign

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that i mentioned on those dates

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it is a 16 day mission and are zero

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contingency days and two weather days

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available to us and that would put our

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end to mission landing on wednesday june

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the 1st at 2 30 or so in the morning if

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we had to go an extra day for whatever

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reason that would put us at about 1 20

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a.m on thursday the second

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so i just want to say that i am really

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proud of our teams

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working so hard over the last couple of

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weeks the last two weeks

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all the teams here at kennedy and all

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the other centers have done an

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outstanding job to get us ready for this

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launch

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on a historic and final flight of the

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space shuttle endeavor thanks

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thank you joe

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okay thank you

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well it is like jeff said it's going to

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be back here um we're very proud of the

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team

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our payloads ams

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elc 3 with its oius

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and experiments the

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storm payload and the missy we're

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ready to support this launch we can't

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wait

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we will start our

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we call our mid-deck waves you know

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because of the uh

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the scrub from the last mission we went

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ahead and took out all our research

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payloads there were nine

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passive and uh two

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two powered so we removed those turn

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them over to the principal investigators

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they went through their refurbishment

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process

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and uh they're back here and ready to

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support us and we'll start that upload

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around 5 30 a.m on sunday and we should

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finish around a little bit after lunch

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so we're excited

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there's nothing that we are tracking on

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the payloads everything is is in good

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order

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and we look forward to this launch thank

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you

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well the weather has been a pretty good

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the last several days um we have had

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some isolated thunderstorms inland

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things are going to change a little bit

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though over the next couple of days we

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could see some of those thunderstorms

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get a little bit closer to us on the

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coast here today and then tomorrow is

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looks like they'll any inland

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thunderstorms would migrate towards the

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coast

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so we'll be watching for that then on

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sunday we actually have a trough that's

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going to roll through and as that does

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it could cause some concerns for rss

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retract operations so it's all going to

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be about the timing of that of that

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trough by monday that that front moves

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off to the east and we're going to

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actually clear out by lunchtime the

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weather should all be off to the east

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and southeast and we so we expect the

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conditions to improve we are concerned a

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little bit about a crosswind uh about a

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crossing at the shuttle landing facility

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the winds are across on the slf but they

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are going to look like right now they're

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going to be within limits so right now

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we're forecasting a 30 percent chance of

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ksc weather prohibiting launch

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looking at the satellite picture you can

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see there's a pretty good trough moving

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into in through the gulf of mexico right

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now that's actually not going to have

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too much effect on us because we have a

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strong blocking ridge in the upper

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levels of our area but as we get into

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sunday we start

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what we'll start seeing is a an upper

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level trough dig into the eastern u.s

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and a low will actually sit in that area

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for an upper level low for for several

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days and so we're going to be trying to

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time out the troughs associated with the

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upper level low and so right now it

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looks like the one that moves through

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sunday will move off by launch time but

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then if we happen to delay to tuesday

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then we could see another trough come

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into the area and affect us again

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so let's go ahead and get into our

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forecast by tanking time looks like that

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front will be pushed through and off to

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the south and we may see some lingering

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showers in the area

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a lot of cloud cover but not expecting

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right now predominantly to be

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forecasting any constraint violations

279
00:08:54,870 --> 00:08:54,000
however if that trough happened to slow

280
00:08:56,470 --> 00:08:54,880
down

281
00:08:58,070 --> 00:08:56,480
then that could cause us some concern so

282
00:09:00,230 --> 00:08:58,080
just in the event that occurred we'd go

283
00:09:01,750 --> 00:09:00,240
with the 20 percent chance of ksc

284
00:09:04,630 --> 00:09:01,760
weather prohibiting tanking due to a

285
00:09:05,910 --> 00:09:04,640
threat of lightning in the area

286
00:09:07,670 --> 00:09:05,920
for the launch forecast the weather

287
00:09:09,350 --> 00:09:07,680
should be all pushed off to the

288
00:09:11,350 --> 00:09:09,360
east and southeast winds though are

289
00:09:12,630 --> 00:09:11,360
expected to be crossed from 10 gusting

290
00:09:14,230 --> 00:09:12,640
to 15.

291
00:09:15,829 --> 00:09:14,240
that is not a violation but it's right

292
00:09:17,509 --> 00:09:15,839
on the edge and so with that we have a

293
00:09:18,710 --> 00:09:17,519
30 percent chance of kc weather

294
00:09:20,150 --> 00:09:18,720
prohibiting launch there's also an

295
00:09:21,990 --> 00:09:20,160
outside chance of some lingering cloud

296
00:09:25,430 --> 00:09:22,000
cover on this morning as well but

297
00:09:27,030 --> 00:09:25,440
overall it looks favorable

298
00:09:28,310 --> 00:09:27,040
for the solid rocket booster recovery

299
00:09:30,310 --> 00:09:28,320
forecast some it's going to be a little

300
00:09:31,910 --> 00:09:30,320
bit choppy as they go out to the area

301
00:09:33,590 --> 00:09:31,920
but as they're they get out there and we

302
00:09:35,750 --> 00:09:33,600
get to launch time as that front moves

303
00:09:37,829 --> 00:09:35,760
away the conditions start improving and

304
00:09:39,509 --> 00:09:37,839
seas are about four to six feet

305
00:09:40,470 --> 00:09:39,519
they should decrease through that day

306
00:09:42,310 --> 00:09:40,480
while they're out there and the winds

307
00:09:43,430 --> 00:09:42,320
should also start coming down through

308
00:09:44,949 --> 00:09:43,440
the day as they're going through their

309
00:09:49,110 --> 00:09:44,959
recovery operations but at launch time

310
00:09:52,470 --> 00:09:51,110
and then as we go into our abort landing

311
00:09:53,829 --> 00:09:52,480
sites in the u.s space flight

312
00:09:56,070 --> 00:09:53,839
meteorology group is forecasting good

313
00:09:57,750 --> 00:09:56,080
conditions at both edwards and northrop

314
00:10:00,550 --> 00:09:57,760
field it's just a little bit breezy but

315
00:10:02,470 --> 00:10:00,560
not violating any constraints

316
00:10:04,069 --> 00:10:02,480
and for overseas abort landing sites

317
00:10:06,230 --> 00:10:04,079
estrus is the only concern is a low

318
00:10:07,829 --> 00:10:06,240
pressure area off to the east of estrus

319
00:10:09,829 --> 00:10:07,839
and putting a tight pressure gradient

320
00:10:12,630 --> 00:10:09,839
over that area with that

321
00:10:14,790 --> 00:10:12,640
there's a peak wind of 33 knots expected

322
00:10:17,350 --> 00:10:14,800
and that is a headwind violation of 32

323
00:10:19,990 --> 00:10:17,360
knots so but zaragoza and roman both

324
00:10:23,509 --> 00:10:21,829
if we happen to delay 24 hours this is

325
00:10:25,430 --> 00:10:23,519
where the next trough looks to be timing

326
00:10:26,790 --> 00:10:25,440
out to be coming into the area and we

327
00:10:28,949 --> 00:10:26,800
didn't get too pessimistic yet on the

328
00:10:31,110 --> 00:10:28,959
number i mean we saw we went with 40

329
00:10:32,310 --> 00:10:31,120
chance on this day because of the fact

330
00:10:33,750 --> 00:10:32,320
that the timing of this is still a

331
00:10:35,030 --> 00:10:33,760
little bit uncertain

332
00:10:37,110 --> 00:10:35,040
if it continues to look like it's going

333
00:10:38,710 --> 00:10:37,120
to be over the area on this on tuesday

334
00:10:40,230 --> 00:10:38,720
morning we may have to up this number

335
00:10:42,069 --> 00:10:40,240
tomorrow right now we're going with a

336
00:10:44,710 --> 00:10:42,079
low cloud ceiling

337
00:10:47,509 --> 00:10:44,720
winds a crosswind violation of 230

338
00:10:49,430 --> 00:10:47,519
degrees 12 peaking at 19 knots and also

339
00:10:50,949 --> 00:10:49,440
showers in the area so with that right

340
00:10:52,389 --> 00:10:50,959
now we're going with a 40 percent chance

341
00:10:55,030 --> 00:10:52,399
on tuesday morning of ksc weather

342
00:10:57,110 --> 00:10:55,040
prohibiting launch

343
00:10:58,790 --> 00:10:57,120
for the abort landing sites in the u.s

344
00:11:00,790 --> 00:10:58,800
weather does look good again still a

345
00:11:03,750 --> 00:11:00,800
little bit breezy out there but no

346
00:11:05,110 --> 00:11:03,760
violations to any of the constraints

347
00:11:06,870 --> 00:11:05,120
and spaceflight meteorology group is

348
00:11:07,670 --> 00:11:06,880
forecasting all three tile sites to be

349
00:11:09,910 --> 00:11:07,680
good

350
00:11:12,550 --> 00:11:09,920
on tuesday morning with just scattered

351
00:11:14,470 --> 00:11:12,560
skies and both zaragoza and marone or

352
00:11:16,310 --> 00:11:14,480
just few are scattered and then at

353
00:11:18,790 --> 00:11:16,320
israel's just a ceiling at 20 000 feet

354
00:11:20,630 --> 00:11:18,800
no concerns there

355
00:11:22,550 --> 00:11:20,640
if we happen to delay 48 hours the

356
00:11:23,990 --> 00:11:22,560
weather looks to be moving off

357
00:11:25,750 --> 00:11:24,000
to the east and so there's still a

358
00:11:27,750 --> 00:11:25,760
little bit of a crosswind concern with

359
00:11:29,670 --> 00:11:27,760
winds from the west 10 peaking to 16

360
00:11:31,190 --> 00:11:29,680
knots there's also a little concern that

361
00:11:33,269 --> 00:11:31,200
you know the models might be moving out

362
00:11:35,430 --> 00:11:33,279
too fast because sometimes they tend to

363
00:11:37,110 --> 00:11:35,440
to do that with upper level lows and so

364
00:11:40,790 --> 00:11:37,120
with that we're still keeping a 20

365
00:11:42,389 --> 00:11:40,800
chance of ksu weather prohibiting launch

366
00:11:43,829 --> 00:11:42,399
for the abort landing sites in the u.s

367
00:11:45,670 --> 00:11:43,839
on the day three the weather looks good

368
00:11:46,870 --> 00:11:45,680
at both locations

369
00:11:48,870 --> 00:11:46,880
and space flight meteorology groups

370
00:11:51,190 --> 00:11:48,880
forecasting three good taos sites also

371
00:11:53,190 --> 00:11:51,200
on day three

372
00:11:54,550 --> 00:11:53,200
and so overall we have a 30 chance on

373
00:11:55,829 --> 00:11:54,560
monday morning of ksc weather

374
00:11:57,829 --> 00:11:55,839
prohibiting launch and we have two good

375
00:11:59,670 --> 00:11:57,839
tile sites

376
00:12:01,190 --> 00:11:59,680
thank you we'll now take questions when

377
00:12:02,949 --> 00:12:01,200
the microphone comes your way please

378
00:12:04,470 --> 00:12:02,959
state your name affiliation and to whom

379
00:12:05,750 --> 00:12:04,480
you're addressing your question i'll

380
00:12:07,670 --> 00:12:05,760
start with marcia

381
00:12:09,269 --> 00:12:07,680
marcia done associated press two

382
00:12:11,350 --> 00:12:09,279
questions for jeff the first is do you

383
00:12:12,870 --> 00:12:11,360
have any kind of early crowd count on

384
00:12:13,990 --> 00:12:12,880
how many people you're expecting monday

385
00:12:16,150 --> 00:12:14,000
morning

386
00:12:17,590 --> 00:12:16,160
we don't have any real specifics um we

387
00:12:20,069 --> 00:12:17,600
are expecting probably slightly less

388
00:12:21,750 --> 00:12:20,079
than than before just due to the timing

389
00:12:23,110 --> 00:12:21,760
and the middle of the week type of

390
00:12:25,030 --> 00:12:23,120
launch monday not being necessary in the

391
00:12:27,190 --> 00:12:25,040
middle but a weekday versus you know

392
00:12:28,550 --> 00:12:27,200
where we were on a friday afternoon

393
00:12:30,870 --> 00:12:28,560
um you know they were anticipating

394
00:12:32,870 --> 00:12:30,880
somewhere around 700 000 before it

395
00:12:35,269 --> 00:12:32,880
probably may you know be down closer to

396
00:12:38,069 --> 00:12:35,279
about 500 000 or so this time those are

397
00:12:39,750 --> 00:12:38,079
all rough estimates obviously

398
00:12:41,350 --> 00:12:39,760
but right now it should be slightly less

399
00:12:43,430 --> 00:12:41,360
i think than it was last time

400
00:12:45,430 --> 00:12:43,440
and are you any closer to having a root

401
00:12:47,030 --> 00:12:45,440
cause to what went wrong two weeks ago

402
00:12:48,470 --> 00:12:47,040
or is that still

403
00:12:50,629 --> 00:12:48,480
under analysis

404
00:12:52,150 --> 00:12:50,639
well we we kind of what we did was we

405
00:12:53,829 --> 00:12:52,160
when we went through all of the analysis

406
00:12:54,790 --> 00:12:53,839
of all the different portions of the

407
00:12:57,030 --> 00:12:54,800
system

408
00:12:58,310 --> 00:12:57,040
we came down to the most likely

409
00:13:01,110 --> 00:12:58,320
culprit on the event which was a

410
00:13:04,230 --> 00:13:01,120
thermostat that we saw

411
00:13:05,910 --> 00:13:04,240
some high current on and testing that

412
00:13:07,430 --> 00:13:05,920
we didn't notice at the time because it

413
00:13:09,430 --> 00:13:07,440
was during the testing it kind of got

414
00:13:11,030 --> 00:13:09,440
filtered in with the the normal cycling

415
00:13:12,550 --> 00:13:11,040
of the um

416
00:13:14,949 --> 00:13:12,560
the heater itself but we saw that back

417
00:13:16,470 --> 00:13:14,959
in last year in june um when we were

418
00:13:19,269 --> 00:13:16,480
doing some testing on this particular

419
00:13:20,629 --> 00:13:19,279
heater thermostat on the s12b

420
00:13:22,230 --> 00:13:20,639
and we saw a current spike that had

421
00:13:24,230 --> 00:13:22,240
lasted for a very short period of time

422
00:13:26,069 --> 00:13:24,240
but it was 18 amps or so that could

423
00:13:28,069 --> 00:13:26,079
induce the event that we saw

424
00:13:30,710 --> 00:13:28,079
as far as the the driver inside of the

425
00:13:31,750 --> 00:13:30,720
box um not working properly and it was

426
00:13:32,710 --> 00:13:31,760
actually um

427
00:13:34,629 --> 00:13:32,720
you know we had some things that were

428
00:13:36,550 --> 00:13:34,639
blown inside of there as far as a hybrid

429
00:13:38,629 --> 00:13:36,560
driver goes so right now that looks like

430
00:13:40,230 --> 00:13:38,639
it's the main culprit um all of the

431
00:13:42,069 --> 00:13:40,240
other ones that

432
00:13:43,590 --> 00:13:42,079
were involved with the the discussion

433
00:13:45,110 --> 00:13:43,600
that could be potential candidates were

434
00:13:46,150 --> 00:13:45,120
far less likely than this one so that's

435
00:13:47,670 --> 00:13:46,160
where we're probably going to end up and

436
00:13:49,750 --> 00:13:47,680
we went through with when we went to the

437
00:13:53,590 --> 00:13:49,760
ua board and the discussions at the prcb

438
00:13:56,230 --> 00:13:55,030
yes we did change out that one and we

439
00:13:59,030 --> 00:13:56,240
have checked out the new one and it's

440
00:14:00,470 --> 00:13:59,040
functioning perfectly

441
00:14:01,269 --> 00:14:00,480
ken

442
00:14:03,430 --> 00:14:01,279
hi

443
00:14:06,629 --> 00:14:03,440
ken kramer for space flight magazine uh

444
00:14:08,790 --> 00:14:06,639
for um jeff please i think um are there

445
00:14:10,389 --> 00:14:08,800
going to be any are there any heating

446
00:14:12,389 --> 00:14:10,399
checks of that heater earlier in the

447
00:14:15,350 --> 00:14:12,399
countdown so you would know before t

448
00:14:18,069 --> 00:14:15,360
minus four hours or so and also i'm

449
00:14:19,910 --> 00:14:18,079
wondering about the uh the rss retract

450
00:14:21,829 --> 00:14:19,920
how how long do we have

451
00:14:23,350 --> 00:14:21,839
uh in case you have to delay it again

452
00:14:25,590 --> 00:14:23,360
because of bad weather like like the

453
00:14:27,590 --> 00:14:25,600
first time and how close were we

454
00:14:29,350 --> 00:14:27,600
last time to being at the end of that

455
00:14:30,870 --> 00:14:29,360
possibility thank you let's see the

456
00:14:32,550 --> 00:14:30,880
first part of the question

457
00:14:34,629 --> 00:14:32,560
uh

458
00:14:35,829 --> 00:14:34,639
we only have one additional

459
00:14:37,110 --> 00:14:35,839
difference or delta that we're going to

460
00:14:38,949 --> 00:14:37,120
do in the account associated with the

461
00:14:40,710 --> 00:14:38,959
heaters we normally start out on that

462
00:14:44,150 --> 00:14:40,720
particular heater stream when we before

463
00:14:45,590 --> 00:14:44,160
we get into our external tanking

464
00:14:47,110 --> 00:14:45,600
and it's during that time frame that you

465
00:14:48,550 --> 00:14:47,120
would expect to see the heater cycling's

466
00:14:50,389 --> 00:14:48,560
as the temperature in the air fuselage

467
00:14:51,590 --> 00:14:50,399
goes down and it gets to a certain set

468
00:14:53,509 --> 00:14:51,600
point then you would expect the heaters

469
00:14:54,870 --> 00:14:53,519
to be cycling at that point we will get

470
00:14:57,189 --> 00:14:54,880
that data and see that the heaters are

471
00:14:58,550 --> 00:14:57,199
functioning appropriately we'll do one

472
00:15:00,310 --> 00:14:58,560
additional check we're going to swap

473
00:15:01,990 --> 00:15:00,320
over to the a string heaters which we

474
00:15:03,269 --> 00:15:02,000
normally do not do and that's kind of

475
00:15:05,189 --> 00:15:03,279
the delta that we're going to do just do

476
00:15:06,550 --> 00:15:05,199
one final check on that side as well to

477
00:15:08,310 --> 00:15:06,560
make sure we have full redundancy on

478
00:15:09,509 --> 00:15:08,320
both systems and then we'll switch back

479
00:15:10,790 --> 00:15:09,519
to the b side and that'll be during

480
00:15:12,790 --> 00:15:10,800
tanking that will do that so that's only

481
00:15:14,470 --> 00:15:12,800
one additional item that we're doing the

482
00:15:16,310 --> 00:15:14,480
rest we kind of get as we go through the

483
00:15:17,509 --> 00:15:16,320
operation because you will be able to

484
00:15:19,110 --> 00:15:17,519
identify

485
00:15:20,790 --> 00:15:19,120
very readily that the heaters are either

486
00:15:22,389 --> 00:15:20,800
functioning or they're not

487
00:15:23,990 --> 00:15:22,399
and then the second part of that was on

488
00:15:25,750 --> 00:15:24,000
the rotating service structure retract

489
00:15:27,990 --> 00:15:25,760
as as kathy mentioned we do expect some

490
00:15:30,389 --> 00:15:28,000
weather on sunday

491
00:15:32,069 --> 00:15:30,399
last time we were almost five hours late

492
00:15:34,310 --> 00:15:32,079
as you may recall

493
00:15:35,749 --> 00:15:34,320
in getting that in b and because we had

494
00:15:37,670 --> 00:15:35,759
a pretty good heads up on the weather we

495
00:15:39,749 --> 00:15:37,680
were able to pull quite a bit of work in

496
00:15:42,150 --> 00:15:39,759
from the backside of that operation and

497
00:15:44,069 --> 00:15:42,160
do it earlier which which allowed us to

498
00:15:45,509 --> 00:15:44,079
get ahead of the at least the bow wave

499
00:15:48,470 --> 00:15:45,519
work that would normally occur on the

500
00:15:50,790 --> 00:15:48,480
back side of the rss

501
00:15:52,550 --> 00:15:50,800
we were very close to not getting to

502
00:15:54,150 --> 00:15:52,560
on-time tanking

503
00:15:57,110 --> 00:15:54,160
certainly we can tank a little bit late

504
00:15:59,110 --> 00:15:57,120
and and not um disrupt our launch time

505
00:16:00,949 --> 00:15:59,120
um but we were able to make it at the

506
00:16:02,389 --> 00:16:00,959
end through a valiant effort by all the

507
00:16:03,590 --> 00:16:02,399
folks that were involved with that

508
00:16:04,470 --> 00:16:03,600
operation

509
00:16:05,990 --> 00:16:04,480
um

510
00:16:07,590 --> 00:16:06,000
i don't like to say that five hours is a

511
00:16:09,189 --> 00:16:07,600
standard number because it is not by any

512
00:16:11,110 --> 00:16:09,199
means that we could go that late and

513
00:16:12,550 --> 00:16:11,120
make it each and every time but because

514
00:16:14,069 --> 00:16:12,560
the way things lined up and we were able

515
00:16:15,590 --> 00:16:14,079
to get in and do some of the different

516
00:16:17,030 --> 00:16:15,600
things that we did

517
00:16:19,670 --> 00:16:17,040
it worked out that we were able to do it

518
00:16:22,470 --> 00:16:19,680
at that time generally about four is is

519
00:16:24,150 --> 00:16:22,480
our limit and we are looking right now

520
00:16:26,389 --> 00:16:24,160
at where the weather lies and what

521
00:16:28,870 --> 00:16:26,399
additional work we can again kind of

522
00:16:30,790 --> 00:16:28,880
resequence to make sure if we come up on

523
00:16:32,949 --> 00:16:30,800
that same scenario that we've done as

524
00:16:35,269 --> 00:16:32,959
much as we can prior to the rss so we

525
00:16:36,790 --> 00:16:35,279
have less to do afterwards

526
00:16:37,590 --> 00:16:36,800
so we're trying to at least manage the

527
00:16:40,069 --> 00:16:37,600
weather a little bit from that

528
00:16:42,150 --> 00:16:40,079
perspective

529
00:16:44,310 --> 00:16:42,160
bill bill harwood cbs for

530
00:16:45,670 --> 00:16:44,320
jeff just a clarification of your answer

531
00:16:47,030 --> 00:16:45,680
to marcia

532
00:16:48,790 --> 00:16:47,040
the thermostat in question was an

533
00:16:52,310 --> 00:16:48,800
exposed conductor i think you guys found

534
00:16:54,389 --> 00:16:52,320
right on the thermostat which which most

535
00:16:55,910 --> 00:16:54,399
likely led to the event which caused the

536
00:16:57,189 --> 00:16:55,920
the current spike that they saw on the

537
00:16:58,629 --> 00:16:57,199
thermostat

538
00:16:59,990 --> 00:16:58,639
that was my real question the most

539
00:17:01,430 --> 00:17:00,000
likely cause you guys haven't been able

540
00:17:02,389 --> 00:17:01,440
to prove that it's still an unexplained

541
00:17:03,910 --> 00:17:02,399
anomaly

542
00:17:05,750 --> 00:17:03,920
that's why we but right now it's still

543
00:17:08,230 --> 00:17:05,760
the most likely candidate but it is

544
00:17:10,390 --> 00:17:08,240
unexplained because um

545
00:17:13,189 --> 00:17:10,400
not all of the data said that that was

546
00:17:15,510 --> 00:17:13,199
in fact the the culprit but certainly

547
00:17:16,829 --> 00:17:15,520
there's an awful lot of uh you know data

548
00:17:20,230 --> 00:17:16,839
that's there that says it

549
00:17:22,549 --> 00:17:20,240
is okay james

550
00:17:24,309 --> 00:17:22,559
james dean with florida today uh jeff

551
00:17:26,150 --> 00:17:24,319
you got some unusual launch windows it

552
00:17:27,750 --> 00:17:26,160
looks like um

553
00:17:29,350 --> 00:17:27,760
on monday i think it's only five minutes

554
00:17:31,190 --> 00:17:29,360
for flight day three

555
00:17:33,430 --> 00:17:31,200
rendezvous and i think it's that way

556
00:17:35,750 --> 00:17:33,440
every other day but not every day could

557
00:17:36,470 --> 00:17:35,760
you just explain like why is that and is

558
00:17:37,990 --> 00:17:36,480
that

559
00:17:39,990 --> 00:17:38,000
more of a challenge when you have a

560
00:17:41,909 --> 00:17:40,000
shorter window like that i guess

561
00:17:43,830 --> 00:17:41,919
it's not more of a challenge

562
00:17:45,110 --> 00:17:43,840
we normally don't use the first part of

563
00:17:46,870 --> 00:17:45,120
the window as you know we generally

564
00:17:48,870 --> 00:17:46,880
launch it preferred we have that ability

565
00:17:51,590 --> 00:17:48,880
to launch a window open which normally

566
00:17:53,750 --> 00:17:51,600
is around 10 minutes in length

567
00:17:55,830 --> 00:17:53,760
we do occasionally as we go through the

568
00:17:57,270 --> 00:17:55,840
cycle end up on these days where we have

569
00:17:58,710 --> 00:17:57,280
minimum phasing angle meaning the

570
00:18:01,350 --> 00:17:58,720
station is a lot closer to going right

571
00:18:03,270 --> 00:18:01,360
overhead at the time of our launch so

572
00:18:05,350 --> 00:18:03,280
the amount of phasing that we have to do

573
00:18:07,669 --> 00:18:05,360
to get in the same

574
00:18:10,070 --> 00:18:07,679
plane as with the the station as we're

575
00:18:11,750 --> 00:18:10,080
going up the hill is far less and so as

576
00:18:12,950 --> 00:18:11,760
a result of that

577
00:18:15,669 --> 00:18:12,960
your window the first part of your

578
00:18:17,750 --> 00:18:15,679
window you no longer have so

579
00:18:19,430 --> 00:18:17,760
it comes down to steering and a lot of

580
00:18:21,350 --> 00:18:19,440
the other things but we will at this

581
00:18:22,870 --> 00:18:21,360
point have you know the five minutes or

582
00:18:24,950 --> 00:18:22,880
even longer

583
00:18:27,190 --> 00:18:24,960
you know based on some other

584
00:18:28,789 --> 00:18:27,200
parameters as well that the the jsc mld

585
00:18:30,150 --> 00:18:28,799
folks are managing uh they may actually

586
00:18:32,070 --> 00:18:30,160
give us more than five minutes but we

587
00:18:34,070 --> 00:18:32,080
will be almost right at

588
00:18:36,150 --> 00:18:34,080
the preferred launch time with our as we

589
00:18:38,150 --> 00:18:36,160
plan to our window open time and that

590
00:18:39,590 --> 00:18:38,160
number will get slightly larger each day

591
00:18:42,230 --> 00:18:39,600
as far as the difference between window

592
00:18:43,990 --> 00:18:42,240
open and and

593
00:18:44,950 --> 00:18:44,000
the preferred time probably won't see it

594
00:18:47,029 --> 00:18:44,960
it'll be in the noise because it'll

595
00:18:48,470 --> 00:18:47,039
generally be in seconds but it does tend

596
00:18:52,070 --> 00:18:48,480
to cycle that way as the station

597
00:19:01,669 --> 00:18:55,669
are there any other questions

598
00:19:04,230 --> 00:19:02,710
um

599
00:19:06,150 --> 00:19:04,240
for jeff again i'm just wondering about

600
00:19:08,549 --> 00:19:06,160
this may 21

601
00:19:09,590 --> 00:19:08,559
launch window cut out

602
00:19:11,750 --> 00:19:09,600
um

603
00:19:13,830 --> 00:19:11,760
that rendezvous is what on flight day

604
00:19:15,830 --> 00:19:13,840
three is there any possibility to do a

605
00:19:18,310 --> 00:19:15,840
flight day four rendezvous and

606
00:19:20,230 --> 00:19:18,320
recover that as a as a window well right

607
00:19:21,750 --> 00:19:20,240
now the program is not electing to use

608
00:19:23,350 --> 00:19:21,760
any of our flight day fours because they

609
00:19:24,710 --> 00:19:23,360
want to protect the mission content on

610
00:19:26,710 --> 00:19:24,720
this mission because there's an awful

611
00:19:28,150 --> 00:19:26,720
lot to do on it and by going to flight

612
00:19:30,789 --> 00:19:28,160
day four you lose a day of mission

613
00:19:32,549 --> 00:19:30,799
content and so um that was undesirable

614
00:19:34,230 --> 00:19:32,559
then to them to want to do that and they

615
00:19:35,350 --> 00:19:34,240
would rather hold off on a date at this

616
00:19:38,150 --> 00:19:35,360
point

617
00:19:42,789 --> 00:19:38,160
on that particular day then then lose a

618
00:19:46,710 --> 00:19:44,390
that will conclude today's countdown

619
00:19:49,190 --> 00:19:46,720
status briefing please join us tomorrow

620
00:19:51,830 --> 00:19:49,200
at 4 pm eastern time here live on nasa

621
00:19:54,070 --> 00:19:51,840
television for the sts-134 pre-launch

622
00:19:56,150 --> 00:19:54,080
news conference for more information on