Navy NP-3D Orion will fly below Discovery during re-entry

This flight experiment is designed to demonstrate that a protuberance
on a BRI-18 tile is safe to fly. BRI-18 is a tile originally
developed as a potential heat shield upgrade on the orbiters and is
being considered for use on the Orion crew exploration vehicles. Due
to Orion's geometry, the tiles would experience re-entry heating
temperatures up to 3,400 degrees Fahrenheit, about 500 degrees higher
than the 2,900 degrees experienced by shuttles.

Tested successfully in arc jet facilities, this phase of the
experiment will gather information on the effect of high Mach number
boundary layer transition caused by a protuberance on the space
shuttle during the re-entry trajectory. Boundary layer transition is
a disruption of the smooth, laminar flow of supersonic air across the
shuttle's belly and occurs normally when the shuttle's velocity has
dropped to around eight to 10 times the speed of sound, starting
toward the back of the heat shield and moving forward. Known as
"tripping the boundary layer," this phenomenon can create eddies of
turbulence that, in turn, result in higher downstream heating.

For the experiment, a heat shield tile with a "speed bump" on it was
installed under Discovery's left wing to intentionally disturb the
airflow in a controlled manner and make the airflow turbulent. The
bump is four inches long and 0.3 inch wide. Ten thermocouples will be
installed on the tile with the protuberance and on tiles downstream
to capture test data. The experiment will receive additional support
from a U.S. Navy aircraft that will check the orbiter's exterior
temperatures. A Navy NP-3D Orion will fly below Discovery during
re-entry and use a long-range infrared camera to remotely monitor
heating to the shuttle's lower surface. The imagery captured and
recorded will complement the information collected by the on board
instruments. Both will be used to verify and improve design efforts
for future spacecraft.

Keith Stein
DC Space News Examiner

Russia considers Cuba airfields for bombers

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russia expressed interest in using Cuban airfields during patrol missions of its strategic bombers, Russia's Interfax news agency reported

"There are four or five airfields in Cuba with 4,000-meter-long runways, which absolutely suit us," Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev told Interfax.

Zhikharev, who is the chief of staff of the Russian Air Force's long-range aviation, said, "If the two chiefs of state display such a political will, we are ready to fly there."

Zhikharev also told Interfax that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered a military airfield on La Orchila island as a temporary base for Russian strategic bombers.

"If a relevant political decision is made, this is possible," he said, according to Interfax. Zhikharev said he visited La Orchila in 2008 and can confirm that with minor reconstruction, the airfield owned by a local naval base can accept fully-loaded Russian strategic bombers.

Editors note: This provocative move by Russia is most likely to put pressure on the Obama administration's plans (set in motion by GW Bush) to build a base and missile defense system in Europe.

Sunday At The Earliest

Sunday At The Earliest: "

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER - NASA managers won't try to launch the space shuttle Discovery until Sunday at the earliest, as ground crews try to fix a serious hydrogen leak that developed today as they tried to fill the external tank.

NASA TV

The mission could slip until March 17 and perhaps even later, which begins to impinge on plans to double the International Space Station crew from three to six in May. Discovery is set to deliver a fourth big solar array wing and a replacement urine distiller that are both needed to prepare the ISS for a six-person crew.

The problem appeared when the shuttle's liquid hydrogen tank was within 20 minutes of being full for a 9:20 p.m. EDT launch today. When a' valve was opened to allow excess hydrogen to vent into a' flare stack on Pad 39A, three different sensors in the area detected the leak, according to Launch Director Mike Leinbach.

The leak, which apparently was connected with the dropping temperatures as' the supercold liquid hydrogen level reached the vent line near' the top of' the tank, persisted through several cycles of the valve.

'We're sure we have some hardware issues,' Leinbach said.

Launch managers will work through the night mapping a plan for isolating the leak and fixing it, with a report on their timeline due Friday afternoon. But it will take 20 hours just to finish draining the tank so it can be safely repaired, which makes Sunday the earliest possible launch date.

That could slip to Monday or even Tuesday, the latest Discovery could launch and still leave the station before the Russian Soyuz with the replacement ISS crew arrives. The 'Soyuz cutout' is driving the launch date because of the excessive crew workload that would be required if two vehicles were docked at the station at the same time.

But to get Discovery out of the way, the station program is prepared to trim the four spacewalks planned while' Discovery is docked down to two, or even the one that' will be required to attach the new solar array wing, according to Mike Moses, who chairs the STS-119 mission management team.

At the moment the military Wideband Global Satcom satellite is due' for launch from Cape Canaveral AFS on Saturday, and Moses hinted that the military mission may go ahead of the shuttle on the launch range if the shuttle launch slips into next week.

Weather was perfect for a launch tonight, and is expected to remain very good through the weekend. But by Tuesday conditions are' expected to deteriorate, and may prohibit a launch even if the leak is fixed.

If the shuttle launch is delayed for the Soyuz mission, the next opportunity would come at the end of the first week in April, which might not allow enough time to get the new systems running that are needed' to support the crew of six due to arrive the following month.

"

(Via On Space.)

Debris Forces Station Crew To Take Shelter

Debris Forces Station Crew To Take Shelter: "Rocket motor debris passed within 4.5 kilometers of space station; NASA received warning from U.S. Strategic Command"

(Via AviationWeek.com Space Channel.)

Human skull piece found in Turkish 'acid well'

Human skull piece found in Turkish 'acid well': "Investigators discovered part of a human skull and other remains at a site in southeastern Turkey where the bodies of Kurdish victims of alleged extrajudicial killings are suspected to have been doused in acid and buried, Turkey's state news agency was reporting Friday.

"

(Via CNN.com.)