Space Shuttle Archives

August 7, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Weather Looks Good For Endeavour’s Wednesday Launch

Weather in Florida this time of year can be dramatic. Thunderstorms, rain and lightning can appear at any time – and that’s not good for launching space shuttles. Fortunately, a heat wave has swept across the area around Cape Canaveral, holding off the typical thunderstorm conditions, and improving Endeavour‘s chances for blasting off on Wednesday.

If all goes well, Endeavour will lift off from Pad 39A on Wednesday, August 8th at 2236 UTC (6:36 pm EDT), beginning mission STS-118 to continue the construction of the International Space Station. Endeavour is carrying supplies, spare parts, experiments, and a new starboard-side truss element that will be bolted onto the station’s backbone-like main truss.

Endeavour will have the usual 7-crew compliment, led by veteran astronaut Scott Kelly. Also on board will be teacher Barbara Morgan. If you recall back to the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, one of the crew members of that ill-fated mission was Christa McAuliffe. Barbara Morgan was her backup. Now 22 years after the disaster, NASA is ready to continue its “Teachers in Space” program.

As I mentioned, weather in this area can get nasty this time of year. But NASA’s official weather officer, Kathy Winters raised Endeavour‘s chances of an on-time launch to 80 percent. The drier air and hot temperatures causing a heat wave in Florida is good news for the shuttle.

Because of the good weather, controllers will retract the Rotating Service Structure that’s protecting the shuttle from bad weather tonight. And then they’ll begin filling up the external fuel tank with liquid oxygen and hydrogen tomorrow morning.

Original Source:NASA Shuttle

August 2, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Engineers Working to Resolve Endeavour’s Air Leak

NASA workers are still working to fix the mysterious air leak in the space shuttle Endeavour’s cabin. They’ve been able to trace the problem down to one of two pressure-relief valves which are designed to ensure the crew cabin doesn’t become over-pressurized.

The space agency seems confident enough that they’ll trace down the source of the leak and have it resolved. The launch is still scheduled for Tuesday, August 7th at 7:02 pm EDT. If all goes well, Endeavour’s launch will begin mission STS-118 – the 22nd to fly to the International Space Station.

The shuttle has a collection of cargo, air, fuel and water on board, as well as another truss segment to build up the station’s backbone. I’ll keep you all posted if there’s another delay.

Original Source:NASA Space Shuttle

July 31, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Endeavour Cabin is Leaking Air

Here’s another little bit of NASA bad news; let’s heap it on with the rest. Shuttle workers are trying to track down the source of an air leak on the space shuttle Endeavour that’s above acceptable limits. The problem was first discovered a few days ago, and engineers thought they’d tracked down the faulty nut. But even after tightening that nut, the cabin was still losing pressure.

This is a problem since Endeavour is supposed to blast off for the International Space Station at 7:02 pm EDT on August 7th. If they can’t trace the leak down quickly, it’ll push the mission back in an already crowded launch schedule.

If everything does go smoothly, Endeavour’s STS-118 mission will deliver cargo, spare parts and a new truss segment to the International Space Station.

July 26, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Drunk Astronauts Were Allowed to Fly

Now this is a NASA scandal that I never saw coming. Apparently twice in the past, shuttle astronauts were permitted to fly, even though they had levels of alcohol in their system so high they posed a risk to the shuttle mission. What?!

Aviation Week is reporting that an independent 8-person panel was convened to study astronaut health after the arrest of former astronaut Lisa Nowak (I’m sure you remember this little incident). As part of their research, the panelists interviewed shuttle flight surgeons, and these details came to light. NASA is keeping the revelations, tight-lipped, but they have a press conference on Friday to discuss it further.

NASA will also release the fully document on Friday, which contains the findings of both the outside committee, as well as an internal panel. This external panel included Air Force experts in aerospace medicine and clinical psychiatry.

I suppose I can understand how astronauts might want to have a celebration with their friends and family before heading up into space. But considering the sacrifices they’ve already made to get to this point in their careers, and the stakes involved for any kind of failure on the mission, I’m amazed anyone drinks a sip of alcohol months before their scheduled flight. I’m also amazed that flight surgeons would permit astronauts to fly while intoxicated. I can just imagine the pressure they’re under to certify astronauts for flight.

Anyway, I suppose we’ll just to wait for the final report to see all the details. I’ll keep you posted.

Original Source: Aviation Week

July 16, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

European Columbus Module Preparated for Atlantis Mission

With the shuttles back to their regular flight schedule, NASA is working through the backlog of components they need to attach to the International Space Station. One of the important ones will be the Columbus space laboratory, developed by the European Space Agency.

Columbus was flown to Florida back in May, 2006, to get in line for its launch to the station. Earlier this year, it was removed from temporary storage, and engineers equipped it with experiment racks and orbital hardware. After a break over the summer, workers will continue preparing it for launch. If all goes well, it will blast into space atop the space shuttle Atlantis as early as December 6th, 2007.

The module was originally supposed to launch in 2002, but the Columbia disaster and the station construction delays pushed the schedule back 5 years.

Original Source: ESA News Release

July 11, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Endeavour is Back on the Pad

It seemed like only yesterday that Atlantis wrapped up mission STS-117, and already, the next shuttle is sitting on pad, ready to return to the International Space Station. Okay, so Atlantis actually landed last month, but still, NASA is clearly making its way through the schedule with a sense of urgency.

Next up, the space shuttle Endeavour, which made its journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building out to Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. It started the journey at 8:10pm EDT July 11, mounted atop the slow-moving crawler-transporter, and arrived at its final destination (5.4 km) 3.4 miles away at the launch pad 6 hours later.

If all goes well, Endeavour will blast off on August 7th, carrying the S5 truss, SPACEHAB module and stowage platform 3 to the International Space Station.

Original Source: NASA Shuttle Site

July 2, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Genesis II Launches, Deploys Solar Panels

Along with your jetpack, flying car, and moving sidewalks, a hotel in space is one of the great, undelivered promises of the future. Well, Bigelow Aerospace took another step towards fulfilling that promise last week with the launch of Genesis II, its prototype of an inflatable space hotel.

Genesis II was lofted into space atop Dnepr rocket on Thursday from the SC Kosmotras Yasny Cosmodrome in Russia. Shortly after launch, ground controllers confirmed a strong signal with the vehicle, confirming that it reached orbit.

On Friday, the habitat unfurled its solar panels, and inflated itself to its full width of 2.4 metres (8 feet).

Like it predecessor, Genesis 1, this spacecraft is a 1/3rd scale prototype of a future space hotel, designed to demonstrate various technologies and techniques needed for space tourism. The eventual plan is to put a manned habitat up by 2015, and then connect additional modules together to build up a space station.

Genesis II has 22 cameras, and many new systems that weren’t aboard Genesis I.

Original Source:Bigelow Aerospace

July 2, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Atlantis is Carried Back Home

The latest space shuttle mission landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California, no thanks to the bad weather at its normal landing site in Florida. Since the shuttle launches from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, it needs to be carried back to the launch facility on board a specially strengthened Boeing 747.

On Monday, the shuttle began that journey home.

Atlantis flew out of California today on board the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, and then landed for refueling at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Because of poor weather in Florida, NASA decided the shuttle should remain there for tonight. They’ll try and complete the journey o n Tuesday.

Back in Florida, NASA is processing the next shuttle mission, STS-118. This will deliver the S5 truss segment to the International Space Station, and it’s targeted for an August 7th launch.

Original Source: NASA

June 22, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Atlantis Home from STS-117

The space shuttle Atlantis touched down Friday afternoon after a successful mission servicing the International Space Station. Because of bad weather in Florida, the shuttle was delayed a day, and finally re-routed to Edwards Air Force Base in California. It touched down at 3:49 pm EDT.

Over the course of their 14-day mission in space, the astronaut crew installed the new S3/S4 truss to the station, and deployed the new solar wings. They also retracted an older solar array, and performed some other minor fixes.

One of the big concerns was a thermal blanket that dislodged during Atlantis‘ launch. The astronauts tucked the blanket back in during one the mission’s 4 spacewalks. Whether or not the repair was necessary, Atlantis returned through the Earth’s atmosphere without a problem.

The next mission, STS-118, is scheduled for August and will deliver the S5 truss segment to the station.

Original Source : NASA

June 21, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Shuttle Landing Delayed Until Friday

The space shuttle Atlantis was supposed to land Thursday afternoon, but this was called off because of bad weather. The region surrounding the Kennedy Space Center was all thunderstorms.

The next landing opportunity will be 2:18 pm on Friday. If that’s not going to happen, they can try again one orbit later, landing at 3:55 pm. If that doesn’t work, there are three opportunities for Atlantis to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Unfortunately, the weather forecast doesn’t look so good: thunderstorms at Kennedy, and high winds at Edwards. Perhaps New Mexico then?

Good luck Atlantis.

Original Source: NASA Update