Category: sts-120

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Internet Connectivity while Launch Viewing …

I have seen some questions on whether or not Internet connectivity is available during launch viewing. Most importantly, you’d need access to follow the countdown procedure and probably some cool web sites. This would be excellent to cover the hour-long wait that is often required.

As I have never before succeeded in viewing a launch, I have only limited information. What I know is based on my summer 2006 visit to Kennedy Space Center. I wanted to see STS-115, but the launch was so much delayed that I couldn’t make it. However, I have been several days at KSC (as well as many years before).

At that time, there were no public wi-fi networks on all on KSC premises. Neither at the main complex, nor at the Saturn V center, ISS center or anywhere else. And especially not on NASA Causeway, which is nothing but an open area. From what I have heard, that has not changed since then. The good news, though, is that there are public displays with, I guess, NASA TV and the countdown. So you are informed about what’s going on.

If you absolutely insist on wireless Internet, you need to bring your own wide-area (cell based) wireless. Verizon and others offer this type of service. Being German, I have no idea what the cost in the US is, except that the international roaming charge is prohibitively expensive. I will probably use it only to do some blog posts while waiting for the launch (that’s too tempting to not do it … provided the service actually works on the Causeway, which I have been told it does).

If you view the launch from an off-site location in Titusville, Cocoa Beach or somewhere close to it, the situation is probably much the same. Wireless hotspots have a very limited range and unless you roam very close to them, you won’t be able to connect. If you happen to view the launch from your hotel’s premises, you may be able to use their wireless Internet service. In this case, you’ve won. In any other case, you again need to resort to Verizon and other such services.

I hope this writeup is useful for your personal trip planning. If you have any additional information or tip, I’d love to hear about it.

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How to view the launch from closeby when no tickets are available?

A view from NASA Causeway, the best viewing spot for space shuttle launchesWell … if there are really no tickets available, then you are out of luck. But there are always some tickets left! Here is the story.

If you go to Kennedy Space Center to view a launch, you will of course try to get the best viewing spot. That, without question, is NASA Causeway. The causeway is just six miles away from launch pad 39A and the closest place you can get to it without being a NASA invited guest. The picture above was taken from the NASA Causeway viewing site in summer 2006. It is taken without a zoom lens and resembles what you can see with the naked eye. Hazy Florida weather makes the pad hard to spot. Click on the image to get the hi-res version. Then, look to the right. Watch closely. You’ll see a number of structures. The largest is pad 39A with space shuttle Atlantis sitting on it (that pic also proves the point to bring binoculars – but in reality it is still a very exciting view even to the naked eye).

Access to the Causeway is either via a VIP pass (relatively hard to obtain) or via paid tickets available to the general public. These tickets are called “launch transportation tickets” or LTTs. There is only a limited number of them available. They are typically sold out within a few minutes after sales opened. So to obtain them the normal way, you need to know exactly when they will be sold. To know when that is, sign up to Kennedy Space Centers “Armchair Astronaut Newsletter“. But even if you know the date, you may not be lucky enough to get the tickets. Game over? Not necessarily …
 For each launch, there are some extra LTTs available via tour operators. I don’t know what deal they have, but their supply is either unlimited or few people book them, because of reasons I will state below. In any case, I’ve never seen them run out of tickets.

One word of caution, though: ticket resales (including LTTs) is forbidden. So it is not a really good idea to bid in ebay auctions or at some other places. There is also a number of fake tickets on sale for every launch. Even if you do not get into legal troubles, chances to be ripped off are great. So do not get trapped, stay away from those filthy offers. Use only KSC-approved tour operators.

For years, Grayline Orlando is KSC’s partner. This time, Florida Dolphin Tours is also listed. This selection may change in the future, so be sure to check with KSC visitor services which ones are official partners.

There are a number of drawbacks when using their services. First of all, they pick you up from the Orlando area. That most probably also means they depart very early. And if you stay in the Titusville or Cocoa Beach area, you probably need to get to Orlando first. You may want to check with them. For Titusville, I could envision that they allow to pick you up near I-95 when they come into the center. But no guarantees…

The next thing is cancellation policy. Using LTTs is always a betting game. With the genuine KSC tickets, they are used up when you board the Causeway bus. If you have handed over your ticket and the launch is scrubbed, you have lost. With the tour operators, you actually loose your tickets if the launch is scrubbed within a 72 hour window before target launch date. For me, this is the biggest problem. Three days in advance, there is a high probability for a scrub (few missions have launched on the original target date). So your chance to loose the LTT game is very high with the tour operators. Interestingly, the tour operators state you will not have a chance to get new LTTs once you have lost. KSC mentions there is no auto-renewal, but I have heard that it is possible to purchase new ones when you get back. Again, no guarantees here.

Lastly, the tour operators charge a much higher price than KSC directly. It’s not so much of a rip-off if you consider the transport from/to the Orlando area. But it’s not nice either.

So should you try to get LTTs via them? Though question. I’d say “it depends”. When I was at KSC last year (in my unsuccessful attempt to view the STS-115 launch), I decided against it. I considered the “scrub risk” too high, especially given the high price and my ability to stay for more than a week, which included multiple re-attempts. However, things would be different if I would come for just a single day and bet anything on that day in any case. If so, it doesn’t hurt to bet the LTT, too. After all, coming down just for the launch is expensive enough, so that extra money does not really hurt.

It’s all your decision – at least you now know you have a chance …

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Discovery will launch as scheduled on October, 23rd!

Space Shuttle Discovery is go for launch on October, 23rd 2007Discovery is “go” for launch on October, 23rd! With great joy and relief, I quote today’s NASA shuttle home page (accentuation is mine):

NASA senior managers Tuesday completed a detailed review of space shuttle Discovery’s readiness for flight and selected Oct. 23 as the official launch date. Commander Pam Melroy and her six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 11:38 a.m. EDT on the STS-120 mission to the International Space Station.

Tuesday’s meeting included a discussion about concerns raised by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center regarding the reinforced carbon carbon on three of Discovery’s wing leading edge panels. This issue initially was brought before the Space Shuttle Program during a two-day, preliminary review held last week to assess preparations for Discovery’s mission.

“After a thorough discussion and review of all current engineering analysis, we have determined that Discovery’s panels do not need to be replaced before the mission,” said Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier.

Believe me, I am extremely happy with that decision. If Discovery had to be rolled back to replace the wing leading edge heat shield, the launch would have been delayed by weeks, if not month. In that case, I had lost my ability to experience it myself. When there were no news yesterday, I got increasingly excited: if NASA discussed that long, did it indicate a serious problem and a no-go for launch? I was already relieved when there was unofficial news that the launch would be as originally scheduled. So I could even go to sleep without having seen the news conference (it simply got too late …).

The first thing I did this morning was check the NASA site and the good news finally officially appeared. Man, am I relieved. This late in the process, it would have cost me a bunch of money, as I couldn’t have canceled most of the things I had booked (including some hotels). Thankfully, now my trip to Orlando, Titusville and Cocoa Beach is secured.

And — don’t get me wrong: if there would be a real safety concern for crew and vehicle, I would have been more than happy with a decision to roll back. I have to admit I have a bit of launch fever, but I can still think of consequences. It is a very good experience to see how NASA handles such cases: any concern can be brought up freely and receives serious consideration. I am sure that the final decision is based on very good data and there is very good reasoning to go for a launch. Thanks guys for your great work!

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it’s getting to late…

OK, folks, it’s getting too late for me. Looks like I have to miss the press conference. I hope, and am confident, that the target launch date of October 23rd remains. Will check the NASA homepage tomorrow and post anything I find out. I am sure you’ll find the most current status in the mean time…

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FRR news conference rescheduled to 5pm EDT

Still no news – but I have now seen this announcement on NASA’s shuttle program home page:

NASA managers are gathered at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida today for a final readiness review for the upcoming flight of space shuttle Discovery. The STS-120 mission to the International Space Station is currently targeted for launch on Oct. 23. At the conclusion of today’s review, agency managers will announce an official launch date at a live news conference on NASA TV. The conference is scheduled to begin no earlier than 5 p.m. EDT.

Looks like I need to wait at least for another half hour. I hope the conference will actually start at 5pm, because otherwise it gets too late for me (over here in Germany). After all, I have two more very busy days in front of me …

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waiting for NASA FRR press conference

At this very time, the post agency-level flight readiness review (FRR) press conference could start. It is scheduled no earlier than 3pm EDT. I have tuned to NASA TV to watch it, but so far the “this week at NASA” regular programming is running. I wonder when the FRR press conference will actually start – and what will be the status of STS-120.

Keep your fingers crossed with me ;)

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Discovery still set for October 23rd launch

Space Shuttle Discovery is still set for a launch on October 23rd. Launch pad processing for the STS-120 mission is continuing very well. However, there is no longer any contingency left in the processing flow. If now there is any unexpected problem, the launch date will most probably be delayed. Except, of course, the Wizards at NASA manage to make up for lost time once again (they have done it numerous times, for example on the shuttle landing gear strut repair). But: don’t let’s even think about delays and remain optimistic.

The next big action to come is todays Flight Readiness Review (FRR). This is an agency-level FRR, which means that the senior level meets and finds final decisions. Most importantly, it will be decided if Discovery needs to be rolled back due to anticipated problems with the wing leading edge heat shield. From what can be read on forums and the NASA homepage, this is unlikely but still a possibility. Let’s hope the problem is not that bad and the FRR able to give a go for the launch. If they do, we will also receive final word on the actual target launch date. It is still anticipated to be October, 23rd. Even if it slips, it will only be a day or two if they do not need to rollback.

So it will be a very important day today. There is a news conference scheduled after the FRR. It will be held no earlier than 3pm EDT (7pm GMT). Depending on how late it actually is, I may miss it and get the news only tomorrow morning.

Stay tuned …

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Windows XP will go into space…

Space Shuttle flies Windows XP into space...No, my dear Linux buddies, Windows XP will not be shot to the moon and earth will be relieved of it. But … it will be shot to the space station.

Being a computer guy, that news drew my attention: nasaspaceflight.com reports that Windows XP will be rocketed into orbit with space shuttle Discovery’s STS-120 mission. If I may summarize the deep technical content of the original article:

The space shuttle uses a variety of computers for different purposes. First of all, relax: Windows XP, nor any other off-the-shelf system, will not control essential shuttle operations like starting and stopping the main engines. However, there are a number of utility functions that are performed by the usual hard- and software that is also setting on our very own desktops. The news source claims that they are used for up- and downloading imagery, mission documentation and emails. I assume NASA does this for cost reasons. A failure in such a system is probably not problematic at all.

What I found even more stunning is what Windows XP has been upgraded from: previous missions used Windows ME! Have you ever watched live NASA TV during a shuttle mission? From time to time (frequently enough), you hear somebody saying “the computer hang, I rebooted it”. I now no longer wonder why … ;)

To come back to the side of seriousness: Of course Windows ME was not the most stable operating system on earth, umm, in the solar system. But the main reason for in-orbit computer malfunction are cosmic rays. Even though the shuttle orbits well within earth’s protective geomagnetic field, the exposure to high energy cosmic particles is much larger in an orbiting spacecraft. Everyday electronics, like the one used in the “auxiliary computers” is not hardened against it. So every now and then a cosmic particle will put an electron to where it does not belong to in turn causing some computer failure — a good cause for a system hang.

So when the next time a computer needs to be rebooted in the space shuttle, do not (just) blame Microsoft for it ;)