Smoke, fire and the roar of the engines of Space Shuttle Discovery could be seen and heard miles away from Kennedy Space Center following a successful launch July 26, marking the first step in the nation’s Vision for Space Exploration.

STS-114 was commanded by veteran astronaut Eileen Collins. The 14-day mission, the first of two planned “test flights,” delivered much needed supplies and equipment to the International Space Station (ISS), while testing new tools and procedures to enhance Shuttle safety.

For about 1,800 Boeing workers, the return to flight effort has been a two-year-plus marathon since a chunk of fuel tank insulating foam struck Columbia’s left wing during ascent to orbit, causing the craft’s breakup on its descent from space on Feb. 1, 2003. Since the accident, the external tank (ET), which holds liquid hydrogen and oxygen for the main engines, was redesigned.

“Discovery’s flight was the safest mission we’ve ever flown,” said former astronaut Steve Oswald, vice president and Boeing Space Shuttle program manager. Oswald also praised the extensive support provided from throughout Boeing.

Still, several large pieces of foam debris fell away from the tank during ascent, proving additional work is needed. NASA has pulled together a special team to fix the foam loss and is now targeting March 2006 for the next Space Shuttle mission launch.

The Boeing team’s efforts included design, development, and testing of orbiter systems modifications, verification of orbiter flight certification, and systems and payload integration. Boeing also supported flight and processing activities for the launch.

Using company-wide resources, Boeing engineers assessed the ability of the Orbiter to tolerate damage from foam and other types of debris during launch. In addition, engineers conducted extensive wind tunnel tests for the first time in 17 years while analyzing the airflow around the modified tank as the vehicle accelerates to about 17,500 mph on its way to space.

To better understand the effects of multiple design changes and how debris travels, Boeing conducted millions of computer simulations of Shuttle ascents.

Boeing engineers integrated new sensors and cameras on the Orbiter and tank. These improvements provided NASA and the industry team with real time data and high-resolution imagery during ascent and immediately following Orbiter separation from the tank once safely in space.

The STS-114 flight carried a new 50-foot orbital boom tipped with instruments to scan Discovery’s thermal protection system for damage. Besides overall integration of the new boom, Boeing designed and built the hardware to secure the boom into the payload bay and ensured ascent and landing loads were within safety margins.

Boeing participated in a design certification review (one of only four done in the history of the program) that examined the major systems on the Space Shuttle to ensure nothing was being operated outside the original design parameters without being completely recertified.

Boeing assisted NASA and its industry partners by developing on-orbit r epair capabilities to the thermal protection system, evaluating system design and operational changes, revalidating potential hazards and playing an integral role in the Flight Readiness Review, the final NASA-led assessment of mission preparation activities before launch.

While the Shuttle was grounded, Boeing ISS workers also were kept busy. “The on-orbit performance of the hardware has been superb. We continue to operate and conduct meaningful science on the ISS with only two astronauts, said John Elbon, vice president and ISS program manager. “Our Russian partners kept the station supplied for us.” Boeing is the prime contractor for the ISS.

The ISS is about 50 percent complete and many ISS major components sit at Kennedy Space Center waiting to be launched. Some of the batteries in the ISS components were replaced, and additional testing was done to ensure the folded solar arrays would open once deployed on orbit.

Elbon added that engineers used this down time to improve and update software code on the station and also made additional safety improvements by applying lessons learned from the Columbia
accident.

Crew Keeps Busy During Mission

Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 5:11:22 a.m. PDT, Aug. 9, following the very successful 14-day STS-114 return to flight mission.

During their two weeks in space, Commander Eileen Collins and her six crew mates tested out new safety procedures and delivered supplies and equipment to the International Space Station (ISS).

Discovery spent two weeks in space, where the crew demonstrated new methods to inspect and repair the Shuttle in orbit. The crew also delivered supplies, outfitted and performed maintenance on the ISS. A number of these tasks were conducted during three spacewalks.

In an unprecedented event, spacewalkers were called upon to remove protruding gap fillers from the heat shield on Discovery’s underbelly. In other spacewalk activities, astronauts installed an external platform onto the Station’s Quest Airlock and replaced one of the orbital outpost’s Control Moment Gyroscopes.

Inside the Station, the STS-114 crew conducted joint operations with the Expedition 11 crew. They unloaded fresh supplies from the Shuttle and the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. Before Discovery undocked, the crews filled Raffaello with unneeded items and returned it to the Shuttle payload bay.

Discovery launched on July 26 and spent 14 days on orbit.