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Old 05-16-2010, 09:46 AM   #21
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Shuttle closing in for space station docking
By MARCIA DUNN (AP) – 1 hour ago
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space shuttle Atlantis drew closer to the International Space Station for a Sunday morning linkup, as the astronauts — all 12 of them — excitedly awaited the 215-mile-high reunion.
"We're chasing you down," shuttle commander Kenneth Ham radioed from several miles out.
"Yee-haw!" replied the space station's Soichi Noguchi. "Can't wait to see you guys," Tracy Caldwell Dyson added from the station.
Ham told the six space station residents that their home was "brilliantly glowing."
"It's an absolutely stunning view," he noted.
Docking was to take place at 10:27 a.m. EDT over the South Pacific.
Atlantis and its crew of six will spend a week at the orbiting science complex, installing a new Russian compartment and fresh batteries. They also will try to free a snagged cable during one of three planned spacewalks, which get under way Monday.
A cable on the shuttle's 100-foot inspection boom is caught in a camera. The problem prevented the astronauts from doing a proper survey of their ship Saturday to check for launch damage.
NASA managers said the astronauts can finish the inspection after they arrive at the space station.
Flight controllers, meanwhile, said there was no threat from a piece of space junk that they've been monitoring for the past few days.
The unidentified debris is in an extreme egg-shaped orbit that takes it thousands of miles above the space station to just below it. The closest approach was to occur about an hour after docking, bringing the junk within an estimated six miles of the two spacecraft. Experts determined Saturday night there was no need for the station to move out of the way.
During Atlantis' final approach, the space station crew was going to snap hundreds of pictures of the somersaulting shuttle, then ship the images to Mission Control so engineers could hunt for signs of launch damage. The photos are especially valuable this time, given Saturday's condensed survey of the ship's heat shield.
The shuttle inspections were made routine following the 2003 Columbia tragedy.
This is NASA's last planned flight of Atlantis. Only two more shuttle missions remain before the fleet is retired.
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Old 05-17-2010, 05:26 PM   #22
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Old 05-18-2010, 04:03 PM   #23
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Default Shuttle Atlantis, space station visible this week





Look! Up in the sky! It's not a bird. It's not a plane. It's the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station.
From now until Sunday, as the two spacecraft circle the Earth every 90 minutes, they should be visible to sky gazers across the globe. And that's especially true given that the shuttle is docked with the space station during its current mission.

"With the Shuttle attached, the [Space] Station appears even brighter than usual in the morning and evening sky," NASA said in a release Tuesday. "The station may be seen every day from various locations around the world just prior to sunrise and just after sunset.
Of course, being able to see anything in the sky depends on good weather. But assuming there's a lot of blue overhead, people in Alabama and Kentucky should get good sightings Tuesday, while those in California and Texas will get their shot on Wednesday. Floridians should have a treat on Thursday.
NASA has set up a Web site that allows anyone to see when--or if--they will be able to see either the shuttle, the space station, or both.
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Old 05-26-2010, 11:45 AM   #24
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Default Hope remains for one more mission




Space shuttle Atlantis has returned to NASA's Kennedy Space Center after its final planned mission. STS-132 was a delivery and assembly mission to the International Space Station, and saw the addition of the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 (known also as Rassvet, Russian for "dawn"). The module provides additional storage space and a new docking port for Russia's Soyuz and Progress spacecraft when they resupply the ISS.
The three spacewalks of STS-132 focused mostly on replacing and installing components outside the station, including replacing six batteries on the P6 truss segment, installing a spare Ku-band Space To Ground Antenna (SGANT), and adding parts to the Dextre robotic arm, one of Canada's primary contributions to the ISS.
It is not surprising that a large number of memorabilia was onboard Atlantis for her final flight. Thousands of flags, pins, and patches will be distributed by NASA. One of the more interesting pieces was a 4-inch wood sample supposedly from Sir Isaac Newton's apple tree that inspired his Theory of Gravity.
Atlantis has the Orbiter Vehicle Designation OV-104, and was the last of the original space shuttle fleet to be built. Final assembly was completed on April 10, 1984, but Atlantis didn't take off on its first mission until October of 1985. During its missions, it has docked with Mir; deployed the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory; supported Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4; and helped install the Destiny Module, Columbus lab, and P3/P4 truss segments on the ISS.
STS-132 was the 132nd shuttle flight, the 32nd flight for Atlantis and the 34th shuttle mission dedicated to station assembly and maintenance.
NASA isn't quite done with Atlantis though. In the wake of the Columbia disaster, the agency has a requirement for a backup shuttle to be ready for a Launch On Need (LON) mission. These missions would be mounted to rescue the crew of a Space Shuttle if their vehicle was damaged and deemed unable to make a successful reentry. The ISS has had sufficient room and supplies to provide shelter for astronauts since STS-125, making LON missions unnecessary. However, the final space shuttle mission (STS-134) requires Atlantis as a LON shuttle. The rescue mission would be designated STS-135 if it is needed.
A remote possibility also exists for one more mission if STS-135 is not needed. Atlantis, its external tank, and two solid rocket boosters will have been prepared to flight-ready status for STS-135. A potential STS-135 would use this prepped, readied, and paid-for hardware to fly a full operational mission to the ISS. It would be an extremely simple mission to deliver supplies to the ISS via a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). The large pressurized container is used to transfer cargo to and from the ISS, and will need all the spares it can get before the shuttle fleet is retired. The mission is contingent on Congressional approval, and is not currently planned.
Regardless of the outcome, NASA plans to sell Atlantis to an education institution or museum for $28.8 million.
The stage is now set for the final mission for space shuttle Discovery on STS-133, currently targeted to lift off in September 2010. Discovery's flight will deliver the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module, a rebuilt MPLM, to house experiments and spare parts. STS-133 will also bring critical spare components and a cargo carrier to the station. Robonaut 2, or R2, will be the first human-like robot in space when it flies on Discovery to become a permanent resident of the station.










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Old 05-26-2010, 02:30 PM   #25
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Atlantis is safe at Home.

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Old 05-26-2010, 10:05 PM   #26
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Shuttle Atlantis Returns From Final Scheduled Mission (Update2)

May 26, 2010, 4:23 PM EDT

(Updates with senator’s letter about shuttle funding in fourth paragraph, comments from press conference in last two paragraphs.


By Chris Dolmetsch
May 26 (Bloomberg) -- The space shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth today, ending its final scheduled mission as NASA ponders whether to launch it on one last trip next year.
The spacecraft, with a crew of six astronauts led by Commander Ken Ham, landed at 8:48 a.m. local time at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, following a 12-day trip to the International Space Station. There are no more missions planned for Atlantis, and Endeavour and Discovery both have one more trip before the shuttle program is shut down.
Atlantis will be prepared as a potential rescue vehicle for the final shuttle trip, which is scheduled for no earlier than November. NASA is also considering sending it on a mission to resupply the space station around June of next year.
Florida Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat who flew on the orbiter Columbia in 1986, wrote to President Barack Obama today, saying he intends to include funds for an additional flight in NASA’s reauthorization bill for fiscal year 2011.
“It will allow us to more smoothly transition the workforce in Florida and Texas from the space shuttle program to the vision you’ve set for NASA’s future,” Nelson wrote to Obama. “It will also guarantee U.S. access to space for a longer period of time, and thereby help to close the spaceflight gap until a new domestic capability is provided.”
Program Canceled
The space shuttle program was canceled under President George W. Bush’s Constellation plan, which envisioned a return to the moon in a new spacecraft as a steppingstone to further exploration of the solar system.
Obama in February announced a plan for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that would scrap Constellation and direct the agency to focus instead on developing rocket systems that might eventually take humans into deep space. Private companies would build vessels to carry astronauts into orbit, especially to the space station, under that program.
The strategy has met with criticism from astronauts including Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, and lawmakers in states with NASA operations, such as Florida and Texas, who say it surrenders leadership in space to other countries.
Armstrong, Bolden Testify


Armstrong and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden are among witnesses who testified today during a hearing on the president’s plan before the House Committee on Science and Technology in Washington.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, the ranking Republican on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, introduced a bill in March that would extend funding for the shuttle as work continues on the next generation of space vehicles. Texas is home to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, which serves as mission control for U.S. human space flight.


Obama’s budget for NASA, which must be approved by Congress, provides an additional $600 million to Kennedy Space Center for the space shuttle program in case the last missions are delayed until the first quarter of next year.


Atlantis, built by Rockwell International and named after a sailing ship operated for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts from 1930 to 1966, was delivered to Kennedy Space Center in April 1985 and made its first voyage into space in October 1985.
First Mir Docking


The orbiter was the first to dock with Russia’s Mir space station and carried the U.S. laboratory named Destiny to the International Space Station. It also took the Magellan and Galileo planetary probes into space.
During the latest mission, Atlantis’s crew delivered a new Russian research module to the space station, installed a spare antenna and replaced six new batteries. Today’s landing was shown live on NASA Television.
A new mission for Atlantis would send the orbiter with a minimum crew of four to the space station to deliver critical spare parts and logistics, Nelson said in his letter. Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for space operations, said a decision on whether to launch such a mission would likely be made by the end of next month.


“The problem is, between December and June or whenever we decide to fly this other flight, we need to keep the workforce around, we need to keep contractors in place, we need to be ready to do failure analysis and need to have the shuttle test equipment and folks around to support that activity,” Gerstenmaier said during a press conference from Kennedy Space Center shown live on NASA TV. “And we do not have funding for that period.”


--Editors: Mark Schoifet, Bill Schmick
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Old 06-03-2010, 05:17 PM   #27
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Manned Mission To Mars (Virtually) Underway
"Astronauts" will live inside a simulated environment for next 18 months as researchers study challenges of extended space flight.

By Paul McDougall, InformationWeek
June 3, 2010
URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225300232


An international team of researchers shuttered themselves inside a virtual spacecraft in Russia Thursday to begin a 520-day simulation of a manned mission to Mars.
The six-man team isn't scheduled to exit their self-contained environment, which includes a mock up of the Red Planet's surface, until November, 2011.
During their mission, the crewmembers will 'fly to Mars' during the first 250 days, land and explore terrain for a month, and then embark on a 230 day return flight.
Their enclosure is equipped with enough food, water, and other supplies to last through the duration of the period. It's also armed with video games, books, and other materials designed to stave off boredom.
The project, called Mars500, is underwritten by the European, Russian, and Chinese space agencies, and operated by Moscow's Institute for Medical and Biological Problems.
The goal is to gain a better understanding of the physical and psychological stresses astronauts would encounter during a months-long trip to Mars.
"In addition to evaluating many novel technologies, Mars500 is the ultimate test of human endurance," the European Space Agency said in a statement. "The crew will no doubt have ups and downs during their long mission and these psychological changes are a key part of the experiment," ESA said.
The crew consists of researchers from Russia, France, Italy, Colombia, and China. They'll work 8-hours per day and have weekends off. Perhaps the worst part? They'll have to exercise two hours per day to avoid muscle atrophy, but they can only shower once a week.
Although the U.S. isn't participating, President Obama recently made it clear that mounting a manned mission to Mars should be a priority for NASA. Obama's recent budget includes funds for research that could see NASA astronauts head to Earth's closet planetary neighbor by the mid-2030's.
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Old 06-09-2010, 07:14 PM   #28
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Put your face on one of the last two shuttle missions. Just follow the instructions on the enclosed link below. Then you may want to forward this to your e-mail friends





http://faceinspace.nasa.gov/index.aspx



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Old 06-30-2010, 11:48 AM   #29
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Old 07-05-2010, 09:18 AM   #30
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Shuttle's Final Countdown Pushed Back

The program gets a slight reprieve as last mission is delayed until early 2011.

By Paul McDougall, InformationWeek
July 2, 2010
URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225702240


The space shuttle program will live on for a few months longer as a result of a schedule change. NASA said Thursday that it has pushed back the final launch of a shuttle until February.
In what was to have been the final mission in space shuttle history, Endeavour was originally scheduled to blast off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center in November. Now, the final countdown is scheduled for February 26.
As for the penultimate shuttle flight, Discovery's last mission has been pushed back to November from its original launch window in September.
The decision to cancel the shuttle program was made under the administration of former president George W. Bush, in part due to the 2003 destruction of the shuttle Columbia, which exploded upon reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. All seven crewmembers were killed.
The program had previously lost a crew of seven when Challenger blew up shortly after liftoff on January 28, 1986.
President Obama has stuck with the cancellation plan, and in addition decided to scrap a Bush initiative that would have seen astronauts return to the moon by 2020 in a new system comprising the Ares rocket and Orion crew capsule.
Obama's current fiscal budget scraps Ares and retasks Orion as an emergency lifeboat that would be permanently docked at the International Space Station.
NASA engineers recently successfully tested an escape system for Orion that's designed to jettison the capsule away from the launch pad in the event of an emergency like the one that claimed Challenger.
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