Jan 30, 2007 - Harvey Mudd College alumnus Stanley “Stan" Love '87 will serve as mission specialist on Shuttle mission STS-122, which was originally scheduled to launch Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007. The launch has been postponed while problems with the fuel sensors are diagnosed and repaired, with a possible launch date of Feb 7. 

Launch update Feb. 7: All systems are "go," with the possible exception of the weather, which may preclude today's launch. The latest information is available at NASA's shuttle website.  

The primary payload of STS-122's mission with the orbiter Atlantis will be the delivery of the Columbus laboratory module to the International Space Station. It will be Love’s first space flight and he is scheduled for one extravehicular activity (EVA or "spacewalk") while docked with the space station on the eighth day of the mission.

As is the tradition, during the mission the crew will awake each morning to music selected by the astronauts. Love has chosen the HMC anthem, "Hail Thee, Harvey Mudd," which was composed by engineering/philosophy graduate Amy Lewkowicz '90, a longtime friend of Love’s. Lewkowicz’s composition was the winning entry in a national contest for a new college song during the college’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2005. (See PDF of words and music or listen to the MP3 audio file.)

A native of Eugene, Ore., and a physics major while at HMC, Love has been a NASA astronaut since 1998. Prior to his training for STS-122, he served as Space Station CAPCOM, the person in mission control who talks to the station crew on the radio. Before joining NASA, Love was a staff engineer working with computer models of space optical instruments at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Love’s biography is available on the NASA website.

Love is the second HMC graduate to venture into space in NASA's Shuttle program. George "Pinky" Nelson '72 flew on three missions during the 1980s. Both men learned to fly while part of the college’s Bates Aeronautics Program, which was led by Instructor of Aeronautics Emerita Iris Critchell. The 86-year-old Critchell was a member of the 1936 Olympic team, served as a member of the Women Air Force Service Pilots during World War II and continues to fly airplanes today. She and her husband, Howard Critchell, also an accomplished aviator, will be at the launch at Cape Canaveral, along with several Bates program alumni.

"We are very proud of Pinky Nelson and Stan Love and their contributions to aerospace and to the human experience" Critchell said. "Watching the NASA Shuttle and Space Station achievements provides us with a rare view of the amazingly successful effort of a wide range of human beings working together as a team to make this all happen. A special feature for Mudders will be hearing Stan Love’s wake up call to the Harvey Mudd College anthem."

NASA-TV, which is available from some cable and satellite TV providers as well as on the Web, will broadcast pre-flight activities, the launch and activities during the mission. Check the NASA-TV website for up-to-date programming information.

Following is a summary of NASA updates on the launch delays: 

NASA launch update Jan. 3 - NASA flight control teams and ground operations teams have been requested to protect for a Jan. 24th launch date for Space Shuttle Atlantis. As work progresses, that date will be modified as required, says John Shannon, deputy manager for the Space Shuttle Program. The schedule depends on test results and modifications to a fuel sensor system connector on the external fuel tank Atlantis will use for launch on its STS-122 mission to the International Space Station. Other launch opportunities could come between Jan. 24th and the first week of February.

The connector suspected of prompting false readings during two previous launch attempts is undergoing intensive testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Engineers also will test potential modifications to the connector to certify it for flight. Marshall has a test facility that allows the connector to be subjected to the same conditions it saw during the earlier launch attempts.

The modification and testing plans were discussed along with the launch preparation schedule during a meeting of Space Shuttle Program managers Thursday.

Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., will modify a replacement connector for the one that was removed. Metal pins inside the connector will be soldered to the socket, Shannon explained. The new connector is scheduled to be in place by Jan. 10.

"We're fairly confident that if the problem is where we think it is, that this will solve that," Shannon said.

Atlantis remains at the launch pad as the agency studies ways to modify the connector. The shuttle will carry the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory to the space station during the STS-122 mission.

NASA launch update Dec. 27 - The Space Shuttle Program met Thursday [December 27] to assess the progress made to troubleshoot an issue with the engine cutoff sensor circuit that occurred during the recent launch attempts and tanking test. Instrumentation installed for the tanking test indicate that there are one or more intermittent open circuits in the area of the feed through connector on the external tank’s liquid hydrogen tank.

The external parts of the connector will be removed and replaced with others that have been strategically soldered to ensure pin-to-socket connectivity and allow continuous electrical flow from sensors inside the external tank to the shuttle's computers.

This work will take some time to properly accomplish and to certify the redesigned configuration before flight. While a launch on Jan. 10 is no longer achievable, no launch date has been discussed. The program will take time to assess progress of the work before setting a target launch date.

NASA launch update Dec. 13 - NASA's Space Shuttle Program managers have targeted Jan. 10 for the launch of shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission to the International Space Station.

"The workforce has stepped up to and met every challenge this year," said Wayne Hale, Space Shuttle Program manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center. "Moving the next launch attempt of Atlantis to Jan. 10 will allow as many people as possible to have time with family and friends at the time of year when it means the most. A lot has been asked of them this year and a lot will be asked of them in 2008."

The liftoff date from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, depends on the resolution of a problem in a fuel sensor system. The shuttle's planned launches on Dec. 6 and Dec. 9 were postponed because of false readings from the part of the system that monitors the liquid hydrogen section of the tank.

NASA launch update Dec. 9 - 9:30 a.m. EST: The launch of space shuttle Atlantis has been rescheduled for no earlier than Jan. 2, 2008. The postponement will give engineers time to evaluate false readings from the engine cutoff sensor system that measures liquid hydrogen in the external tank.

Of the four engine cutoff sensors, ECO sensor number three gave false readings during Sunday's launch attempt. The sensor system is one of several that protect the shuttle's main engines by triggering their shut down if fuel runs unexpectedly low.

Atlantis' scheduled launch on Thursday was delayed after two of the four engine cutoff, or ECO, sensors in the shuttle's external fuel tank gave false readings. A third sensor failed after the tank was drained of fuel.

The post-Mission Management Team press conference will be conducted at about 10 a.m. It will be broadcast on NASA TV.

NASA launch update Dec. 8 - 6:15 p.m. EST: Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch Sunday, Dec. 9, at 3:21 p.m. EST, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Shuttle program managers made the liftoff decision after three days of reviewing data on a problem with fuel sensors.

Atlantis' scheduled launch on Thursday was delayed after two of the four engine cutoff, or ECO, sensors in the shuttle's external fuel tank gave false readings. A third sensor failed after the tank was drained of fuel. The sensor system is one of several that protect the shuttle's three main engines by triggering their shut down if fuel runs unexpectedly low.

During a Mission Management Team meeting Saturday, NASA leaders decided to fuel the tank Sunday and monitor the status of the sensor system. If all four ECO sensors inside the liquid hydrogen section of the tank perform as expected, the countdown will proceed toward the planned liftoff. NASA Television coverage of the tank loading will start Sunday at 6 a.m., with launch coverage beginning at 10 a.m.

During Atlantis' 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the astronauts will install and activate the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory, which will expand the station's scientific research capabilities. Crew members for the STS-122 mission are Commander Steve Frick, Pilot Alan Poindexter, mission specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love and European Space Agency astronauts Hans Schlegel from Germany and Leopold Eyharts from France.

NASA launch update  Dec. 7 - 10:15 p.m. EST: NASA is targeting the launch of space shuttle Atlantis no earlier than Sunday, Dec. 9, at 3:21 p.m. EST from the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Shuttle program managers made the decision after a meeting Friday to review data on a problem with a fuel cutoff sensor system inside the shuttle and its external fuel tank.

Because of the length of the meeting, the managers agreed that targeting Sunday would allow the launch and management teams appropriate time to rest and prepare. The Mission Management Team will meet Saturday at 1 p.m. to decide whether to make a Sunday attempt. A news conference will be held after the meeting's conclusion.

Atlantis' scheduled launch Thursday was delayed after two ECO sensors gave false readings. A third sensor failed after the tank was drained of fuel. The fuel cutoff sensor system is one of several that protects the shuttle's main engines by triggering their shut down if fuel runs unexpectedly low

During Atlantis' 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the shuttle and station crews will work with ground teams to install and activate the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory. The new lab will expand the station's scientific research capabilities.

HMC launch viewing update Dec. 7 - 9 a.m. PST: This afternoon's news conference will be shown live in Galileo-Edwards Hall at 3 p.m. PST. (Time subject to change.) Updates are available at the NASA Shuttle website. 

NASA launch update Dec. 6 - 7:45 p.m. EST: At Thursday evening's press conference, NASA mission managers announced that the launch of space shuttle Atlantis would be delayed for 48 hours.

Liftoff of mission STS-122 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center is now scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 8 at 3:43 p.m. EST according to LeRoy Cain, Mission Management Team chairman.

Weather officer Captain Chris Lovett said the weather conditions are slightly less favorable for Saturday's launch with a 40 percent chance of weather prohibiting launch.

Thursday's launch was scrubbed when two of four LH2 Engine Cutoff (ECO) sensors failed to respond appropriately during tanking, which is a Launch Commit Violation.

HMC launch viewing update: Dec. 6 - 9:20 p.m. PST: Members of The Claremont Colleges community are invited to view the NASA news conference in Galileo-Edwards Hall today at 2 p.m. PST.

NASA launch update Dec. 6 - 10 a.m. EST: During tanking, two of four LH2 Engine Cutoff (ECO) sensors failed to respond appropriately, which is a Launch Commit Violation. The requirement to proceed calls for 3 of 4. The launch was scrubbed at 9:56 a.m. EST on the recommendation of Launch Director Doug Lyons.

Mission Management Team Chairman LeRoy Cain concurred following a short briefing on the issue. The ice inspection team will proceed with an abbreviated vehicle inspection prior to offloading the LO2 and LH2 and recycle for a launch attempt tomorrow, at 4:09 p.m.

A press briefing is tentative scheduled for 3 p.m. central time.  An update is forthcoming on NASA TV.