By Rick on 25 August 2010 at 12:55PM
AMATEUR astronomers are enjoying a cat-and-mouse game with the US military in keeping track of its secret space plane, the X-37B.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/us-militarys-top-secret-x-37b-shuttle-disappears-for-two-weeks-changes-orbit/story-e6frfro0-1225909738276#ixzz0xdpyD3WW
By DIRECT2TheMoon on 15 June 2010 at 9:36AM
Fyodor Yurchikhin will command the Russian spacecraft, while NASA's Shannon Walker will act as Soyuz Flight Engineer. Doug Wheelock rounds out the crew as FE-2. Wheelock will command Expedition 25 in September.
The trio will launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome on a 2-day flight which will arrive at the ISS on Thursday, joining Expedition 24 commander Alexander Skvortsov, cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and American astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson.
Liftoff is scheduled for 5:35PM EDT today (that's 2135 GMT Tuesday, 3:35AM Wednesday local time).
Play-by-play at Spaceflight Now. Watch live on NASA TV.
Check our Twitter for updates.
By Rick on 14 June 2010 at 12:11PM
NASA has begun to wind down construction of the rockets and spacecraft that were to have taken astronauts back to the Moon — effectively dismantling the US human spaceflight program despite a congressional ban on its doing so.
Legislators have accused President Obama’s Administration of contriving to slip the termination of the Constellation program through the back door to avoid a battle on Capitol Hill.
By TonyF on 26 May 2010 at 8:06AM
"Space Shuttle Atlantis now comes home to the Kennedy Space Center for the final time. Twenty-five years, thirty-two flights and more than 120 million miles traveled - the legacy of Atlantis now in the history books".
"We'll... turn this incredible machine over to the ground teams to put her back in the barn for a little bit".
Atlantis and her six-man crew have come home to KSC's Runway 33, after traveling 4,879,978 miles on what is scheduled to be her last mission. NASA reports:
Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis lands at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA TV
With Commander Ken Ham and Pilot Tony Antonelli at the controls, space shuttle Atlantis descended to its final planned landing at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The STS-132 crew concluded its successful mission to the International Space Station when the shuttle touched down at 8:48 a.m. EDT.
The crew began its mission May 14 and arrived at the station May 16.
Using the station’s robotic arm, Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Garrett Reisman added Rassvet, the Russian Mini-Research Module 1, to the station. The new module will host a variety of biotechnology and biological science experiments and fluid physics and educational research.
During three spacewalks Reisman, along with Mission Specialists Mike Good and Steve Bowen, added a backup high-data-rate antenna to the station and a tool platform to Dextre, the robot-like special purpose dexterous manipulator. They removed and replaced six 375-pound batteries on the station’s P6 truss segment.
STS-132 is the 132nd shuttle mission and the 34th mission to visit the space station. The next mission, STS-133, is slated to launch in September.
› View Atlantis Landing Ground Tracks
Additional Resources
› Read more about the Russian-built Mini-Research Module-1
› STS-132 Mission Summary (710 Kb PDF)
› STS-132 Press Kit (9.8 Mb PDF)
Live coverage at SpaceVidCast. Live video at SFN and Florida Today. Discussion at Nasaspaceflight. Pics and video at KSC. More clips at Space Multimedia. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.
By DIRECT2TheMoon on 26 May 2010 at 6:33AM
Atlantis will be landing today at KSC at 8:48AM EDT. Follow along on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/NewsFromSpace
By Rick on 19 May 2010 at 11:01AM
A spacewalking astronaut freed a snagged cable on the inspection boom for shuttle Atlantis on Wednesday, accomplishing the job in a matter of minutes and earning a "superhero" title.
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/05/19/spacewalking-superhero-untangles-cable-boom/?test=latestnews
By DIRECT2TheMoon on 14 May 2010 at 8:19AM
Atlantis is fueled up and ready for her final mission to the International Space Station. Tanking operations began this morning, just before 5AM EDT, and were complete by about 8AM. The six-man crew will board Atlantis at 11AM EDT, for a 2:20PM liftoff. Only two more Shuttle flights are scheduled after this one - Discovery in September, and Endeavour in November. NASA reports:
Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis is clearly visible on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after rollback of the rotating service structure. Image credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
› View larger image
At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, space shuttle Atlantis stands ready to launch on its 32nd and last scheduled mission, STS-132. Major milestones and event times for launch day are provided below.
Friday's Countdown Highlights (all times are listed in EDT)
|
| 4:15 a.m. |
Mission Management Team meets to give a "go" for the fueling of Atlantis |
| 4:45 a.m. |
Fueling coverage begins on NASA TV |
| 4:55 p.m. |
Countdown resumes at the T-6 hour mark with the fueling of Atlantis |
| 7:55 a.m. |
Countdown enters a 2-hour, 30-minute built-in hold at the T-3 hour mark; fueling enters stable replenish |
| 9 a.m. |
Launch coverage begins on NASA TV and Launch Blog |
| 10:25 a.m. |
Countdown resumes at T-3 hours |
| 10:30 a.m. |
STS-132 astronauts depart crew quarters for Launch Pad 39A |
| 11 a.m. |
Astronauts arrive at the launch pad and begin to board Atlantis |
| 12:15 p.m. |
Atlantis' hatch is closed and latched for launch |
| 1:05 p.m. |
Countdown enters a 10-minute planned hold at the T-20 minute mark |
| 1:15 p.m. |
Countdown resumes at the T-20 minute mark |
| 1:26 p.m. |
Countdown enters a 45-minute planned hold at the T-9 minute mark, during which the Mission Management Team and Launch Control team conduct polls to give a final "go" decision for launch |
| 2:11 p.m. |
Countdown resumes at the T-9 minute mark |
| 2:15 p.m. |
Auxiliary Power Units start at the T-5 minute mark |
| 2:20 p.m. |
Atlantis launches on the STS-132 mission |
| 2:28 p.m. |
Main Engine Cut Off (MECO) |
Image above: At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, space shuttle Atlantis stands ready for liftoff following loading of its external tank with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Image credit: NASA TV
Live HD coverage at SpaceVidCast. Live video at SFN and Florida Today. Discussion at Nasaspaceflight. Preflight pics are up at JSC and Sentinel. Launch blog at NASA. Pics and video at KSC. More clips at Space Multimedia. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.
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