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tv   The Communicators  CSPAN  May 16, 2011 8:00am-8:30am EDT

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>> 1776 complete. >> otc-cdr. i don't think it's complete x the contingency abort is enabled. >> that's 1042 and 1044 complete. [inaudible] >> thank you, sir. [no sound]
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>> and safety console, i can give you 1062. can you verify your part of that? >> stand by. that's affirmative. >> epd and -- >> [inaudible] >> fuel cell load between 250 and 290 amp. >> copy. >> epd copy. >> otc, empty of helium. >> that's 1049-1051. >> copy.
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>> ms4. >> ntd houston flight on 212 (go flight. >> i can give you step 1048, the bfs preflight uplink load is complete. >> thank you, bfs copy.
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>> srontd, the area is clear for launch. >> sro, copy. [no sound] >> attention on air to ground one, discontinue all nonmandatory traffic for remainder of count, 1077. >> this is shuttle launch control, t-minus 10:30 and counting.
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director is preparing to conduct a final poll of the principle payload management team members during the upcoming final hold. coming up will be a verification of the rocket booster hydraulic power unit levels. and right now we are -- >> can you verify 1074 -- >> just one minute away from entering the last planned built-in hold in the countdown. the flow rate of condition to air fit into the orbiters payload bay has been reduced. verified to be about 180 pounds per minute. >> we'll hold at t-minus 9:45. >> verification the countdown clock will hold as planned. >> could you give me a status, please? >> yes. we still have two open items. um, they're right on this item we were tracking earlier, and the et debris item.
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it was paper at this point, and we'll be closing them shortly. >> yeah. they've been -- [inaudible] simply a paperwork issue at this stage, right? >> yes, sir, that's correct. >> okay, very good. >> range operations verifies the range is green. going now into the hold in five, four, three, two, one, t-minus nine minutes and holding. >> countdown clock is at nine minutes and holding, duration of hold will be -- [inaudible] >> as we heard, this will be a 40:28 hold. this is a variable hold to match up with the targeted launch time and the position of the international space station. and any unresolved issues can be addressed at this time. and as we heard, the two items that were open are just a matter
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of closing paper right now. also we'll be verifying that the ground launch sequencer is ready to take control of the countdown in the last nine minutes. the ground launch sequencer will monitor over a thousand different parameters during the last nine minutes to make sure that they don't fall out of any predetermined limits or red lines. finish. >> copy. >> all personnel have now switched over to the same communications channel, and everyone in the room will be on that channel from be now through launch. very shortly our launch director will be verifying with our shuttle weather officer that the forecast meets the launch criteria.
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>> and right now we have confirmation from the shuttle training aircraft and from our shuttle weather officer that the cloudiness in the area is scattering out, and we're approaching the upper edge of that cloudiness in any event. right now we're going to go to the johnson space center to mission control in houston. and receive an update from kyle herring on the status and readiness of mission control to support flight after liftoff occurs this morning. >> our cameras are green, and if you're ready for the fill-ins, i'll give them to you now. >> i'm ready to copy. >> well, thanks, george. and good morning from nasa's johnson space center. this is mission control houston at t-minus nine minutes and holding. the asset team has been on
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console since 3:00 this morning and today is led by richard jones who's overseeing his fifth launch. handling communications with the crew is astronaut barry willmore with lee serving as the interface with astronaut rick sturko who is flying weather reconnaissance around the kennedy space center in an aircraft known as the shuttle training aircraft or sta. the flight control team is monitoring all systems aboard the space shuttle along with the launch team and has just notified the flight director it is ready to support the 25th and final launch of endeavor this morning. nineteen years ago to the day that endeavor landed safely in california to end its maiden voyage in 1992. the asset team has spent the majority of its shift evaluating the weather conditions at the launch site in the event an emergency return to the shuttle landing facility is required. the team also evaluates weather
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at contingency runways in spain and france. presently, conditions are favorable to support an overseas landing if one becomes necessary during the launch phase. because endeavor is launching into a 53.6 degree inclination on a northeast trajectory from the kennedy space center, the primary abort landing site is in spain with marone spain and france available as alternate sites as well. once endeavor lifts off and clears the fixed service structure, it's onboard -- its onboard guidance will put it on the proper course and trajectory to achieve its desired orbit. at main engine cutoff, endeavor will be in a 136 by 36 statue mile orbit, and about 30 minutes later that will be refined using the orbital engines placing the
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orbiter many a 202 by 141 statue mile altitude for orbit operations. today's launch actually serves as the first in a series of rendezvous burns designed to allow the orbiter to catch up with the international space station. docking is scheduled for 6:15 eastern time wednesday morning. at launch time the space station at an altitude of 220 statute miles will be located southeast of halifax, nova scotia. 73 paces from the shuttle flight control room resides the team overseeing operations aboard the international space station. that team currently is being overseen by royce. after endeavor's launch, the three main engines will be throttled back to lessen the effects of the dense lower atmosphere on the orbiter, the shuttle will have accelerated to a speed of 3,620 miles per hour at the point where the twin
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solid rocket boosters burn out and separate at 2:03. once in orbit endeavor's three main engines will be shut down followed just a few seconds later by the separation of the large external fuel tank. flight controllers standing by to take over control of endeavor and the sts-134 mission. george, we'll send it back to you now in the firing room for the remainder of the launch count at t-minus nine minutes and holding. this is mission control houston. >> 12 is complete, 11, 13 now. >> this is shuttle launch control, t-minus nine minutes and holding. we have 34 minutes remain anything this planned built-in hold. not working any issues in the countdown. weather is still green at this time.
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>> c locks on 11, 12. tbc? >> [inaudible] >> okay, very good. thanks. >> mission sts-134 is the 25th and final flight for endeavor and the second to last flight for the space shuttle program. here, now, is a look back at this vehicle's impressive flight accomplishments. >> okay, the pass and -- ♪ finish. >> space shuttle endeavour, born out of the loss of the space shuttle challenger in 1986, represented a commitment to continuing america's human space flight program. the nation's decision to build endeavor set the stage for dramatic missions to come. the last of five orbiters to be built for space flight, endeavor was named in a national competition by elementary and secondary school students after the 18th century sailing vessel
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commanded by captain james cook. construction of endeavor began with its contract award on july 31, 1937, to replace -- 1987, to he re place challenger which was lost on january 28, 1986. endeavor was outfitted with many safety improvements, including a drag chute and nose wheel steering to improve wear on the tires during rollout on the runway. additionally, endeavor's plumbing was designed for a state of the art addition allowing for longer stays in space. endeavor was delivered to nasa's kennedy space center from its palmdale, california, construction site in may 1991. when endeavor pleats its final -- completes its final mission, it will have traveled more than 115 million miles during 25 trips to space. it will have carried 139 different people into orbit. although endeavor was the final space shuttle to be built, it career has been one of firsts,
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and its legacy will be one of opening humanity's greatest eye on the universe and expanding the space frontier for nations around the world. for an out of this world space laboratory. >> houston, endeavor, roll program. >> roger, roll, endeavor. >> right now we have about 31 minutes remaining in this planned built-in hold at t minus nine minutes. and the team is not working any issues, weather still green.
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endeavor's 16-day mission will deliver the alpha magnetic spectrometer ii to the international space station. along with ams, endeavor also fly spare parts on the express carrier three or elc iii, and the mission will feature four space walks to install new components. the last scheduled space walks by shuttle crew members for the space shuttle program. but now let's take a closer look at the mission. >> the crew of space shuttle endeavour's sts-134 mission will deliver the alpha magnetic spectrometer ii and the elc-iii to the international space station. the ams experiment is a state of the art particle physics detector that will help advance knowledge of the universe and its origin. ams will be attach today the s3
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segment. the elc iii containing a high pressure gas tank, spare parts for the two-armed robot dexter, will be attach today the station's p3 segment for future use. during endeavor's planned two week flight, crew members also will make four space walks to upgrade and equip parts of the space station's exterior. the sts-134 mission is the final scheduled flight for endeavor. >> right now most of the launch team is looking at their systems, catching up on any things with chart completely closed. but there's no senate issue -- significant issue in work. finish so that we do expect to come out of the t-minus nine minute hold on time in about 29 minutes. if weather permits, and right now weather is continuing to
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trend in our favor. at t-minus nine minutes and holding, this is shuttle launch control. [no sound]
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[no audio] [no audio] >> this is shuttle launch control. t-minus nine minutes and holding, we have 25 minutes remaining in this planned built-in hold. once again, the endeavour will
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dock with the space station on wednesday at about 6:15 in the morning eastern time. and will remain docked to the station until monday, may 30th, at about 11:53 in the evening. once we come out of this hold, there are several major milestones that remain. the ground launch sequencer, as we said, will be taking over control of the countdown for the final nine minutes. and at 7:30 the orbiter arm access retractor will be performed, and craig johnson will start up the orbiter's auxiliary power units. again, we'll check if orbiters flight controls will occur at t-minus 3:55, and a switchover to internal power on the spaceship occurs at t-minus
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3:30. we'll see the three main engines go through their steering checks at t-minus 3:25. and then the gaseous oxygen cap will be retracted at about 2:55 before launch. and that will be followed by pressurizing of liquid hydrogen tank at 1:57 before launch. that takes us up to where the ground launch sequencer will hand off to endeavour's onboard computers at t-minus 31 seconds, and the final command will be coming at t-minus 6.6 seconds to ignite endeavour's three main engines. and the ground launch sequencer
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gets a chance to vote on the readiness for main engine start at t-minus ten seconds. it must agree with the onboard computers that we're ready to ignite the main engines. and then at that point the onboard computers on endeavour can actually cut off the countdown at any point up until solid rocket booster ignition. [no audio]
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>> once the main engines on endeavour ignite, they will begin to consume repellant at the rate of a thousand commons per -- gallons per second. >> the solid rocket boosters, however, they will be providing 80% of the thrust required for the space shuttle during the first two minutes before they separate.
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>> right now greg sturko in the weather reconnaissance aircraft, shuttle training aircraft, is taking another reconnaissance flight around the immediate vicinity of kennedy space center at cape canaveral watching this area of cloudiness that is gradually breaking up. but want to be sure ha that will not -- that that will not be a factor in our launch today.
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>> when the shuttle lifts off, we'll have a very up close view of shuttle coming from two long-range optical tracking sites. one is located on the cape canaveral national seashore north of the launch pads, and there's another at patrick air force base just south of cocoa beach. they have 200-inch and 400-inch lenses for film and video. >> ntd houston flight, go ahead. >> all right. any changes to either our launch window or hold times? is. >> no changes. all right, very good. and for all personnel, just a reminder, we are at the in-plain, and our time is

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