By Rick on 27 May 2009 at 12:46PM
Did a UFO deliberately crash into a meteor to save Earth 100 years ago? That's what one Russian scientist is claiming.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,522217,00.html?test=latestnews
By DIRECT2TheMoon on 27 May 2009 at 10:41AM
Liftoff! Riding aboard Soyuz TMA-15 atop a Soyuz-FG rocket, three space voyagers will join the three crewmembers of Expedition 19 already in orbit, to become Expedition 20, the first six-person crew of the ISS. Launch occurred at 6:34AM EDT. Docking is scheduled for Friday at around 8:36AM. NASA reports:
Image above: The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft carrying three additional crew members to the International Space Station lifts off from Baikonur Cosmodrome. Credit: NASA TV
Flight Engineers Roman Romanenko, Frank De Winne and Robert Thirsk of the 20th International Space Station crew launched in their Soyuz TMA-15 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:34 a.m. EDT Wednesday to begin a six-month stay in space.
Expedition 20 will mark the start of six-person crew operations aboard the International Space Station. All five of the international partner agencies – NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) – will be represented on orbit for the first time.
› Read more about the launch
› Read more about Expedition 19
› View crew timelines
Expedition 20 pics are up at the JSC Gallery and Energia. Video clips at NASA and Space Multimedia. Discussion at Nasaspaceflight. News resources at NASA, ESA, and CSA. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.
By TonyF on 25 May 2009 at 10:39AM
Memorial Day is here again. Please take a moment of silence at 3PM (your local time) to remember all the men and women who gave all in order to defend the United States.
By TonyF on 24 May 2009 at 11:41AM
Atlantis is on the ground at Edwards, and the post-flight News Conference is underway. Was this the last non-ISS shuttle flight? STS-125 was Atlantis' 30th trip, the 126th Space Shuttle mission, & the 53rd Shuttle landing at Edwards (not including Enterprise).
NASA reports:
Landing times in Eastern Daylight Time and Mission Elapsed Time:
Main Gear Touchdown 11:39:05 a.m. EDT
Nose Gear Touchdown 11:39:15 a.m. EDT
Wheels Stop 11:40:15 a.m. EDT
MET: 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds
Number of Orbits: 197
Total Distance: 5276000 miles/8490899 kilometers
Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California, completing the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Image Credit: NASA TV
With Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Gregory C. Johnson at the controls, space shuttle Atlantis descended to a smooth landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The STS-125 astronauts concluded their successful mission to the Hubble Space Telescope when the shuttle touched down at 11:39 a.m. EDT.
Atlantis arrived at the Hubble Space Telescope on May 13, and the STS-125 crew performed five spacewalks on five consecutive days to repair and upgrade the telescope.
Landing blog at NASA. Landing pics and video will be at KSC. More clips at Space Multimedia. Live video at SFN. Discussion at Nasaspaceflight. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.
By TonyF on 24 May 2009 at 10:44AM
Atlantis is home! Fox News covered the landing live, and they are chatting with former astronaut Paul Lockhart about the new NASA Administrator nominee Charlie Bolden. NASA reports:
Image above: Atlantis touches down in the California desert at Edwards Air Force Base. NASA Image credit: NASA
Space shuttle Atlantis and the STS-125 astronauts are safely on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California, capping a bold mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope for the final time. The orbiter landed at Edwards on Sunday, May 24, at 11:39 a.m. EDT.
Space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 11. During the 13-day mission, astronauts performed five challenging spacewalks over five consecutive days, improving Hubble's discovery power by 10 to 70 times and extending the 19-year-old observatory's lifespan by at least five more years.
Landing blog at NASA. Landing pics and video will be at KSC. More clips at Space Multimedia. Live video at SFN. Discussion at Nasaspaceflight. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.
By TonyF on 24 May 2009 at 10:28AM
Atlantis is flying at Mach 15 over the Pacific ocean, heading for a west coast landing at Edwards AFB. NASA reports:
Image above: Conditions are favorable at Edwards Air Force Base in California as a T-38 jet aircraft monitors the weather for the secondary landing site: NASA TV
Space shuttle Atlantis will land on orbit 197 at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 11:39 a.m. EDT with a deorbit burn performed at 10:24 a.m. The burn slowed Atlantis to begin its descent.
Weather conditions forced flight controllers to pass on STS-125’s first landing opportunity at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Landing blog at NASA. Landing pics and video will be at KSC. More clips at Space Multimedia. Live video at SFN. Discussion at Nasaspaceflight. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.
By TonyF on 24 May 2009 at 9:18AM
Mission managers were not feeling comfortable with weather conditions at Kennedy, so they have decided to take the next landing opportunity for Edwards AFB in California. Deorbit burn would start at 10:24AM EDT, putting Atlantis on the runway at 11:39AM EDT. NASA's earlier report:
Image above: Houston's Mission Control Center's weather monitors show the poor weather conditions at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Image credit: NASA
› STS-125 Landing Ground Tracks
Mission managers have waved off today's first opportunity to land space shuttle Atlantis at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Uncooperative weather has plagued the Florida spaceport for several days, foiling previous attempts on Friday and Saturday.
Both Edwards and Kennedy will be considered for the next landing opportunities: Edward's next attempt is at 11:39 a.m. EDT and Kennedy's next attempt is at 11:48 a.m.
Space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Kennedy on May 11. During the 13-day mission, astronauts performed five challenging spacewalks over five consecutive days, improving Hubble's discovery power by 10 to 70 times and extending the 19-year-old observatory's lifespan by at least five more years.
Landing blog at NASA. Landing pics and video will be at KSC. More clips at Space Multimedia. Live video at SFN. Discussion at Nasaspaceflight. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.
By TonyF on 24 May 2009 at 7:45AM
Flight Day 14 looks to be the last one in space for Atlantis and the STS-125 crew. Rainy Florida weather thwarted landing attempts for two consecutive days, but mission managers will call the orbiter back to Earth today, diverting to Edwards AFB in California if necessary. The first of four opportunities has already been waved off. NASA reports:
Image above: Pilot Gregory C. Johnson occupies the commander's station in the flight deck of space shuttle Atlantis. Photo Credit: NASA
Four landing opportunities are available for space shuttle Atlantis and the STS-125 crew to return to Earth today.
Atlantis’ first landing opportunity is at 10:09 a.m. EDT on orbit 196. If controllers elect to take it, Commander Scott Altman will perform the deorbit burn at 8:57 a.m. to begin the descent to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. One other opportunity is available for Atlantis to land at Kennedy and two opportunities are available at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The first California landing opportunity would start with a deorbit burn at 10:24 a.m., and result in landing at 11:40 a.m.
Weather prevented Atlantis’ astronauts from landing yesterday at Kennedy.
Atlantis arrived at the Hubble Space Telescope on May 13, and the STS-125 crew performed five spacewalks on five consecutive days to repair and upgrade the telescope.
STS-125 is the 126th shuttle mission.
Status Report #26 at NASA. Landing blog at NASA. Landing pics and video will be at KSC. More clips at Space Multimedia. Live video at SFN. Discussion at Nasaspaceflight. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.
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