Space Shuttle Endeavor repair continues set the launch July 11, 2009, or July 14, 2009

Work Continues on ET

The afternoon sun casts shadows on space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank as workers remove the seal from the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, on the tank.
June 24, 2009













GUPC Seal Removed
A worker has removed the seal from the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate on space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank.

A hydrogen leak at the location during tanking for the STS-127 mission caused the launch attempts to be scrubbed on June 13 and June 17. Picture. June 24, 2009


GUCP Removed
A worker has removed the 7-inch quick disconnect from the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, on space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank.

The GUCP will be examined to determine the cause of the hydrogen leak and repaired. The GUCP is the overboard vent to the pad and the flame stack where the vented hydrogen is burned off.













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The Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate platform was partially extended Monday to allow technicians to continue their ongoing engineering analysis and to verify exact measurements of the position of the plate. The explosive bolts that connect the vent line to the external tank were safely disconnected, and GUCP leak checks were performed at ambient temperatures using helium gas. No leaks were detected. Previously, the only time leaks were seen were during launch attempts when super cold hydrogen gas was being passed through the vent line.

The repairs will be confirmed by a "tanking test" within the next week, in which Endeavour's external tank will be filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, just as it is before launch. If the repairs are successful, Endeavour's next launch attempt will be targeted for July 11 at 7:39 p.m. EDT.

Today, Endeavour's astronauts will catch up on administrative work and take T-38 training jet flights from their home base at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to El Paso and back

Teams at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A will begin disconnecting the vent line from the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate. Today, crews re-verified the exact measurements of the plate's attachment to the external fuel tank and performed a leak check at ambient temperatures.

Technicians are preparing to test the repair plan by filling Endeavour's external tank with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in the next week and a half, just as they would for a launch. This "tanking test" will confirm whether the repairs will work before another launch attempt is made. Hydrogen leaks in the vent line postponed Endeavour's launch attempts June 13 and 17, delaying its 16-day flight to the International Space Station. If the repairs are successful, Endeavour's next launch attempt is targeted for July 11 at 7:39 p.m. EDT.

Tomorrow at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the STS-127 crew will review details about the Japanese lab’s robotic arm and do additional training in the NASA T-38 training aircraft

Teams at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A are taking precise measurements of the attaching plate during the weekend before crews disassemble it, realign the plate and install a new set of seals to fix the leak. Shannon also says technicians are preparing to test the repair plan by filling Endeavour's external tank with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in the next week and a half, just as they would for a launch. This "tanking test" will confirm whether the repairs will work before another launch attempt is made. Hydrogen leaks in the vent line postponed Endeavour's launch attempts June 13 and 17, delaying its 16-day flight to the International Space Station. If the repairs are successful, Endeavour's next launch attempt is targeted for July 11 at 7:39 p.m. EDT.

At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, STS-127’s seven astronauts are taking the weekend off before resuming their mission training.

Located in the hydrogen venting system outside Endeavour's external fuel tank, the leak postponed launch attempts June 13 and 17, delaying the 16-day flight to the International Space Station.

Launch teams at Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39A will take the weekend off and resume work Monday.

At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, STS-127’s seven astronauts also will resume their mission training Monday.

Endeavour's next launch attempt is targeted for July 11 at 7:39 p.m. EDT

A leak in the hydrogen venting system outside Endeavour's external fuel tank postponed Endeavour's launches Saturday and Wednesday. The leak occurred in the attaching point to the external tank and the vent line at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP.

Endeavour's seven astronauts are spending the rest of the week with family and friends. They returned to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston yesterday morning and will resume their mission training next week.

At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, technicians moved the rotating service structure back around Endeavour this morning. The structure provides access to the shuttle and protection from the weather.

Endeavour's next launch attempt is targeted for July 11 at 7:39 p.m. EDT

"We're going to step back and figure out what the problem is and go fix it," said Deputy Space Shuttle Program Manager LeRoy Cain during a briefing afterward. "Once we get it fixed and we're confident that we have a solution that's going to work and allow us to go fly safely, then we'll proceed forward."

Teams followed the same repair method as they did for the GUCP leak encountered during the STS-119 countdown. The STS-119 and STS-127 leaks will both be evaluated in order to determine the cause. Data collected during fueling is expected to help the troubleshooting effort.

Endeavour's next launch attempt for its STS-127 mission is targeted for July 11 at 7:39 p.m. EDT.

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:03:28 GMT
Endeavour's next launch attempt for its STS-127 mission is targeted for July 11 at 7:39 p.m. EDT.

There will be a briefing on NASA TV no earlier than 3:30 a.m. EDT. Watch it live at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

There will be a news briefing on NASA TV later this morning

The three-hour fueling operation began at 11:04 p.m. EDT after a weather delay. The launch countdown resumed at T-3 hours and countding at 1:45 a.m. EDT. Launch still is scheduled for 5:40 a.m.EST.

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:50:03 GMT The three-hour fueling operation began at 11:04 p.m. EDT after a weather delay. The launch countdown currently is holding at T-3 hours, which will last until 1:45 a.m. EDT. Launch still is scheduled for 5:40 a.m. EDT.

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:32:23 GMT
Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate Repairs Continue
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:14:32 AM EDT


At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, teams are working to evaluate and repair a plate that attaches a gaseous hydrogen vent line to space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank. Hydrogen leaks in the area of the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, postponed Endeavour's launch attempts June 13 and 17, delaying its 16-day flight to the International Space Station.

The Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate platform was partially extended Monday to allow technicians to continue their ongoing engineering analysis and to verify exact measurements of the position of the plate. The explosive bolts that connect the vent line to the external tank were safely disconnected, and GUCP leak checks were performed at ambient temperatures using helium gas. No leaks were detected. Previously, the only time leaks were seen were during launch attempts when super cold hydrogen gas was being passed through the vent line.

The repairs will be confirmed by a "tanking test" within the next week, in which Endeavour's external tank will be filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, just as it is before launch. If the repairs are successful, Endeavour's next launch attempt will be targeted for July 11 at 7:39 p.m. EDT.

Today, Endeavour's astronauts will catch up on administrative work and take T-38 training jet flights from their home base at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to El Paso and back.