Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
FUELING UP: NASA began fueling space shuttle Discovery at 2:45 p.m. EDT at Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in anticipation of launching mission STS-128 at 11:59 p.m. that evening. Earlier that day, shuttle managers decided they had enough confidence in Discovery’s inboard liquid hydrogen fill-and-drain valve to allow the three-hour tanking process to begin. The decision followed two days of testing and analysis after confusing valve readings scuttled a launch attempt set for early Aug. 25 (Aerospace DAILY, Aug. 26).
Shuttle managers have decided they need more time to fully understand the valve problem that forced a launch scrub Aug. 25, and are skipping over the next launch window to set their sights on a liftoff just before midnight Aug. 28. The skipped launch attempt would have taken place at 12:22 a.m. Aug. 28. Instead, the shuttle’s Mission Management Team (MMT) will reconvene Friday afternoon to decide whether to begin fueling the orbiter for a launch attempt at 11:59 p.m. that evening.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Shuttle managers will reconvene on Aug. 27 to review data on the balky fuel valve that scuttled the second attempt to launch Discovery on mission STS-128, and decide whether to proceed with refueling for another try early in the morning of Friday, Aug. 28. After the defueled external tank was fully inerted on Aug. 26, the PV12 inboard liquid hydrogen fill-and-drain valve in the aft of the orbiter was repeatedly cycled at ambient temperatures, in which its behavior is better understood than under cryogenic conditions.
