Decommision (The Last Shutdown) | Driveway Stories, short stories, novels, car projects, books

Decommission

(The Last Shutdown)

The last shutdown; sometimes a good feeling and other times, somewhat sobering. As I look back over my career and other projects, most of the last shutdowns were sobering for me. That meant the end of an era.

One instance was when I shut down the system where we supported the Ice/Debris management teams for shuttle launches as STS-135 Atlantis reached orbit, the last Space Shuttle to fly, as I powered down the system since our job for that flight was complete, it was a sobering, sad time for me. I had supported 17 of the last 18 shuttle launches, and I loved every minute of it. It was in a Boeing building at Ellington Field called Tower 2 on the 6th floor. We spent many long hours on the last preparations for the flight, observing ice buildup on the space vehicle during fueling ops. The danger was ice buildup at the fuel hose connectors on the main fuel tank. Ice balls could break loose and damage the vehicle at launch. This team was formed in response to the Challenger disaster. Ice had hardened some O-rings in the solid rocket boosters, which caused a runaway failure. The debris aspect of the management team was established in response to the Columbia disaster.

Our room was on the Go/No Go launch poll. Our Call to Stations varied by role, and since I was responsible for the rear-screen projection system at the front of the room and for camera routing from the launch pad, I was on the early list. If the launch were scheduled for 03:00 (3:00 am), my call to station would be 9 hours before, at 18:00 (6:00 pm) the previous evening. There were many times the launch was scrubbed for several reasons, and it was common to be within an hour or so of launch when the scrub was called. If it were a 24-hour turnaround, meaning the issue could be resolved in time for another attempt the next day, the launch window would shift by approximately an hour, so my call to station the following day would be 19:00 (7:00 pm) for a 04:00 (4:00 am) launch. Sometimes the next day or two would also be scrubs, so we would do it all over again until we got a Go for Launch.

The room we worked in, 91-14/6402, was in a way like Mission Control in building 30 at Johnson Space Center, but with mahogany tables instead of consoles. My station was a desk-sized mahogany table with touchscreen switchers, routers, and a computer. I sat up near the front of the room on the right side. I had the best seat in the house to see what was on all the screens at the front of the room.

At launch, as soon as the Shuttle cleared the tower, the team quickly switched over from Ice mode to Debris mode. We would watch for anything that broke loose, such as fuel tank insulation or an ice ball breakaway, that might damage anything below the on the vehicle. During the STS-107 Columbia launch, a piece of foam insulation broke away and damaged the leading edge of the port wing of the shuttle. Since there was no debris team, no one knew about the damage that caused the shuttle to break apart during re-entry, resulting in the loss of the crew. It was after-the-fact analysis of video recordings that they determined what caused the accident.

Once we checked in for our tour for this launch, we were not allowed to leave the building, so we had a table full of snacks and drinks just outside our room. Meals were brought in at the appropriate time; most of the time, it was pizza.

Part of my job was to select channels as requested by the team on the DVIS Coms and route them to the room’s sound system. DVIS is the secure Digital Voice Intercommunications System that NASA uses, which has many channels. For instance, the Flight Director and Launch Director had their own channels, as did fueling operations and other logistics. I was able to combine as many channels as requested by the Ice/Debris Management team. On most launches, we would monitor up to three channels, all of which would be talking over each other. We learned to listen for keywords and phrases to determine whether we needed to isolate a channel and listen, or talk over that channel. When the Go/No Go polls were taken, the Flight Director would go through their list for flight worthiness. Then the Launch Director would go through their list. Once we got a Go from each Director, things were getting exciting. Eight hours of dull routine work of switching and monitoring was about to turn into eight minutes of exciting video monitoring and switching from the shuttle as it climbed into orbit. Once the main fuel tank was released, our job for this launch was complete. We did, however, keep a camera on the shuttle, watching the tank as it drifted away to burn up in the atmosphere. What remained of the fuel tank after burning fell into the Indian Ocean on the other side of the world.

After the cheering, shaking hands, and congratulating each other for a job well done, people slowly filed out of the room to head home. I went through the system methodically, shutting down equipment. In the video rack were the secure video satellite receivers where we got our video feeds from the launch pad and the shuttle. I powered those down one at a time. Each receiver carried two high-definition video streams. As I powered the last one down, it hit me that they will most likely never be powered up and connected to the NASA Comms Satellite again. That thought was sad for me. Atlantis was in orbit, but for this system, the job was over.

When that area of the building was decommissioned, I kept all the equipment racks and kept possession of the room’s furniture. About a year later, I received a request to build out a video conference room at our other building on Bay Area Blvd for the Commercial Crew Program. I had the racks and furniture moved over to the new room. I integrated the rack, but with new and updated video and audio equipment. I left those satellite receivers mounted in the rack, even though they are not connected to anything and will never look at a satellite again. I wanted to keep a part of shuttle history in the racks where they resided. When it came time to move the mahogany tables into the new room, everyone told me the room was too small and would not fit. I held my ground as the Project Manager and said, "This is what we are using." When the tables were brought in and installed, what do you know, it was a perfect fit.

Today, when you go into that room, 91-51/4e806, the tables have scratches and need to be refinished. I never put in the ticket to do so, those scratches and imperfections are from the long days of Shuttle Launch Support. Recently, a group supporting the International Space Station contracts, spares, and supplies moved to the area where that room will work best for their use. I showed the Office Administrators how the room operates. One of them mentioned getting the furniture refinished. They said the beautiful mahogany needs to be brought out again. I told them the history of this furniture. I showed them the small desk where I sat for 17 Shuttle Launch supports. They had no idea of the history behind the furniture, and they said they were honored to have use of this room. They intended to preserve them as they are, if for nothing else, in memory of the crews lost on Challenger and Columbia. After all, those losses are why the Ice/Debris management team were formed; to prevent another crew loss.