Send a postcard to the ISS

Send a Seasonal Greeting to the Crew Onboard the International Space Station!

Soaring high above the Earth, the crew of the International Space Station has beamed down season's greetings that will air on NASA Television starting Friday, Dec. 12. The public can return the extraterrestrial good will and send greetings to the crew.

Follow this link to send a postcard of your own

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Astronaut Carl Walz Leaves NASA

Dec. 04, 2008

Veteran Astronaut Carl Walz Leaves NASA

Photo Credit: NASA

HOUSTON -- NASA astronaut Carl Walz is leaving the agency to take a job in the private sector. Walz most recently served as director for the Advanced Capabilities Division in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. In the division, he played a key role in developing technologies that will lead to greater capabilities in robotic and human exploration of the solar system. He oversaw work in many fields, including nuclear power and propulsion, human adaptation to spaceflight, and lunar exploration. Many of these programs will help humans return to the moon and develop a sustained presence there. "NASA owes a great debt to Carl Walz for his service as an astronaut and the expertise and perspective he has shared with us in the Advanced Capabilities Division," said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. "The legacy of his leadership will be strongly felt in the next generation of manned space missions."

A veteran of four space shuttle missions and one International Space Station expedition, Walz spent 231 days in space. He and fellow astronaut Dan Bursch held the U.S. spaceflight endurance record of 196 days in space until April 2007. Expedition 4, his last mission, launched aboard space shuttle Endeavour in December 2001. Walz, one of the station's earliest inhabitants, set up equipment and experiments for the orbiting laboratory. He also completed two spacewalks during the mission, one in a Russian Orlan suit to outfit the Russian-supplied docking compartment and one in a U.S. spacesuit to prepare the station for its first truss segment. His spacewalks lasted a total of 11 hours, 52 minutes.

A retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, Walz also flew on STS-51 in September 1993, STS-65 in July 1994 and STS-79 in September 1996. Walz and the STS-51 crew deployed the U.S. Advanced Communications Technology Satellite and the Shuttle Pallet Satellite.

He also took a seven-hour spacewalk to evaluate tools for the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission during that flight. During STS-65, Walz and the crew worked in the second International Microgravity Laboratory spacelab module and conducted more than 80 materials and life sciences experiments. That mission completed 236 orbits of Earth, traveling 6.1 million miles and setting a new flight duration record for the shuttle program.

On STS-79, the seven-member crew docked with the Russian Mir station and set a record for docked mass in space. That mission also completed a crew transfer, provided vital supplies to the Mir, and conducted important research and technology demonstrations. NASA selected Walz as an astronaut in January 1990. In addition to his flights, he served in a variety of technical and management positions within the Astronaut Office in Houston.

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Official NASA Biography

Carl E. Walz (Colonel, USAF, Ret.)NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)

PERSONAL DATA: Born September 6, 1955, in Cleveland, Ohio. Married to the former Pamela J. Glady of Lyndhurst, Ohio. They have two children. He enjoys piano and vocal music, sports.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Charles F. Brush High School, Lyndhurst, Ohio, in 1973; received a bachelor of science degree in physics from Kent State University, Ohio, in 1977, and a master of science in solid state physics from John Carroll University, Ohio, in 1979.

ORGANIZATIONS: American Legion, Kent State University Alumni Association, John Carroll University Alumni Association, Association of Space Explorers.

SPECIAL HONORS: Graduated Summa Cum Laude from Kent State University. Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal with one Oak Leaf, the USAF Legion of Merit, the USAF Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf, the USAF Commendation Medal, and the USAF Achievement Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster. Distinguished Graduate from the USAF Test Pilot School, Class 83A. Inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. Awarded four NASA Space Flight Medals, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, Distinguished Alumnus Award, Kent State University, 1997, Alumni Award, John Carroll University, 2002, Diocesan Award, Catholic Diocese of Houston/Galveston 2002, Gagarin Award, National Aeronautic Association, 2003.

EXPERIENCE: From 1979 to 1982, Walz was responsible for analysis of radioactive samples from the Atomic Energy Detection System at the 1155th Technical Operations Squadron, McClellan Air Force Base, California. The subsequent year was spent in study as a Flight Test Engineer at the USAF Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, California. From January 1984 to June 1987, Walz served as a Flight Test Engineer to the F-16 Combined Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base, where he worked on a variety of F-16C airframe avionics and armament development programs. From July 1987 to June 1990, he served as a Flight Test Manager at Detachment 3, Air Force Flight Test Center.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in January 1990, Walz is a veteran of four space flights, and has logged a total of 231 days in space. He was a mission specialist on STS-51 (1993), was the Orbiter flight engineer (MS-2) on STS-65 (1994), was a mission specialist on STS-79 (1996), and served 196 days in space as flight engineer (FE-1) on ISS Expedition-Four (2001-2002). Carl also served as the Director for the Advanced Capabilities Division in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C. He was responsible for a broad range of activities to include Human Research, Technology Development, Nuclear Power and Propulsion and the Lunar Robotic Exploration Programs to support the Vision for Space Exploration. He retired from NASA on December 5, 2008 to pursue interests in the private sector.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE:

STS-51 Discovery (September 12-22, 1993). During the mission, the five member crew deployed the U.S. Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS), and the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS) with NASA and German scientific experiments aboard. Walz also participated in a 7-hour space walk (EVA) to evaluate tools for the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The mission was accomplished in 9 days, 22 hours, and 12 minutes.

STS-65 Columbia (July 8-23, 1994). STS-65 flew the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) spacelab module, and carried a crew of seven. During the 15-day flight the crew conducted more than 80 experiments focusing on materials and life sciences research in microgravity. The mission completed 236 orbits of the Earth, traveling 6.1 million miles, setting a new flight duration record for the Shuttle program.

STS-79 Atlantis (September 16-26, 1996). On STS-79 the six member crew aboard Atlantis docked with the Russian MIR station, delivered food, water, U.S. scientific experiments and Russian equipment, and exchanged NASA long duration crewmembers. During the mission, the Atlantis/Mir complex set a record for docked mass in space. STS-79 was the first flight of the double Spacehab module, and landed at KSC after 10 days 3 hours and 13 minutes.

Expedition 4 (December 5, 2001 to June 19 2002). The Expedition-4 crew launched on December 5, 2001 aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, STS-108, and docked with the International Space Station on December 7, 2001. During their 196 days in space, the Expedition-4 crew of three (two American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut) performed flight tests of the station hardware, conducted internal and external maintenance tasks, robotic control tasks, and conducted numerous experiments in a variety of scientific disciplines. Wearing the Russian Orlan spacesuit, Walz logged 6 hours of EVA time with Commander Yury Onufrienko as they continued the outfitting of the Russian-supplied Docking Compartment (DC). In addition, Walz logged 5 hours 52 minutes of EVA time in the U.S. EMU spacesuit in his second spacewalk with flight engineer Dan Bursch, preparing the ISS for the S0 truss, delivered by the STS-110 crew. The Expedition-4 crew also performed a Soyuz relocation from the FGB nadir to the DC nadir hatch to prepare for the arrival of a new Soyuz capsule. The Expedition-4 crew returned to Earth aboard STS-111, with Endeavour landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 19, 2002.

DECEMBER 2008

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2009 Space Station Calendar

International Space Station 2009 Calendar Available Online

HOUSTON -- As part of NASA's celebration of the 10th anniversary of the International Space Station, the agency is providing a special 2009 calendar to teachers and the public. The calendar contains photographs taken from the space station. It highlights historic NASA milestones and fun facts about this international construction project of unprecedented complexity that began in 1998. The calendar can be downloaded and printed by visiting:
http://www.nasa.gov/station

"We hope this calendar will inspire the next generation of explorers and provide interesting and challenging information for educators, students and anyone interested in space," said International Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "As we near the completion of space station assembly, we are doubling the crew size, increasing our knowledge and operational experience, and continuing our quest of exploration and discovery."

Nearly 100,000 copies of the calendar will be delivered to schools in all 50 states. The calendars are distributed through NASA education programs and NASA-affiliated education networks such as the NASA Central Operation of Resources for Educators, NASA Education Resource Centers, NASA Explorer Schools and the Challenger Center for Space Science Education of Alexandria, Va. For more information about NASA's education programs, visit:
http://education.nasa.gov

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STS-119 NASA Space Shuttle Update

Dec. 10, 2008

NASA Sets Briefings to Preview Next Space Shuttle Mission

HOUSTON -- NASA will discuss the next space shuttle mission during a daylong series of media briefings from NASA's Johnson Space Center beginning at 8 a.m. CST, Friday, Jan. 9. The briefings will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's Web site. Questions also will be taken from participating NASA locations. Space shuttle Discovery's mission to the International Space Station is targeted for launch Feb. 12 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The 14-day mission will deliver the final set of solar arrays and the last segment of the station's backbone. The crew will perform four spacewalks during the 10 days the shuttle is docked to the station. Following the briefings, members of the shuttle crew will be available for a series of round-robin interviews.

Media planning to attend and participate in the interviews must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 5 p.m. on Jan. 6. Journalists who are foreign nationals, regardless of citizenship, must contact Johnson to arrange credentials no later than 5 p.m. on Dec. 19. Lee Archambault will command Discovery's mission, which is designated STS-119. Tony Antonelli will serve as the pilot.

The mission specialists are Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus, who will return to Earth with the STS-119 crew. Wakata will serve as a flight engineer for Expeditions 18 and 19 and will return to Earth on shuttle mission STS-127.

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-119 mission and its crew,

visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle For more information about the International Space Station, visit:

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STS-125 Launch Date Announced

Dec. 04, 2008

NASA Sets Target Shuttle Launch Date for Hubble Servicing Mission

HOUSTON -- NASA announced Thursday that space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope is targeted to launch May 12, 2009. The final servicing mission to Hubble was delayed in September when a data handling unit on the telescope failed. Since then, engineers have been working to prepare a spare for flight. They expect to be able to ship the spare, known as the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling System, to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in spring 2009.

STS-125 is an 11-day flight featuring five spacewalks to extend Hubble's life into the next decade by refurbishing and upgrading the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments and swapping failed hardware. Scott Altman will command STS-125, with Gregory C. Johnson serving as pilot. Mission specialists are veteran spacewalkers John Grunsfeld and Mike Massimino, and first-time space fliers Andrew Feustel, Michael Good and Megan McArthur. The manifest has been adjusted to reflect current planning.

The next space shuttle mission, STS-119, is targeted for launch on Feb. 12, 2009. Preparations continue for the STS-127 mission, currently targeted for launch in May 2009. That launch will be further assessed and coordinated with NASA's international partners at a later date. STS-128 is targeted for August 2009, and STS-129 is targeted for November 2009.

All target launch dates are subject to change.

STS-125 Crew Portrait

Astronaut Crews for Future Space Shuttle Missions

Astronaut Crews for Future Space Shuttle Missions

December 05, 2008

NASA Assigns Astronaut Crews for Future Space Shuttle Missions

WASHINGTON -- NASA has assigned the crews for space shuttle missions STS-130 and STS-131. The STS-130 mission will deliver a third connecting module to the International Space Station and a seven-windowed cupola to be used as a control room for robotics. The STS-131 mission will deliver research and science experiment equipment, a new sleeping area and supplies to the station in a logistics module carried in the shuttle's payload bay. Marine Col. George Zamka will command the shuttle Endeavour during STS-130, targeted for launch in December 2009. Air Force Col. Terry Virts, Jr., will serve as the pilot. Mission specialists are NASA astronauts Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Behnken, Nicholas Patrick, Kathryn Hire and Stephen Robinson. Virts will be making his first trip to space. Navy Capt. Alan Poindexter will command the shuttle Atlantis during STS-131, targeted for launch in February 2010. Air Force Lt. Col. James P. Dutton, Jr., will serve as the pilot. Mission specialists are NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio, Clayton Anderson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Naoko Yamazaki. Dutton, Metcalf-Lindenburger and Yamazaki will be making their first trip to space.

Zamka was born in Jersey City, N.J., and grew up in several cities including Medellin, Colombia. He received a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master's degree in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology. He served as the pilot on STS-120.

Virts was born in Baltimore and considers Columbia, Md., his hometown. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a master's degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Behnken recently flew as a mission specialist on STS-123. Behnken holds bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering and physics from Washington University in St. Louis. He also has master's and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Behnken was born in Creve Coeur, Mo.

STS-130 will be the second flight for Nicholas Patrick, who flew as a mission specialist on STS-116. Patrick was born in North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom and considers London and Rye, N.Y., his hometowns. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Hire will again serve as a mission specialist on her second spaceflight. Her first was STS-90. She holds a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master's degree in space technology from the Florida Institute of Technology. She was born in Mobile, Ala.

Stephen Robinson is a veteran of three spaceflights. Flying on STS-85, STS-95 and STS-114, he has logged more than 830 hours in space. He was born in Sacramento, Calif., and holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical and aeronautical engineering from the University of California and master's and doctorate degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.

STS-131 will be the second spaceflight for Poindexter, who served as the pilot on STS-122. He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering. He also has a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He was born in Pasadena, Calif. Dutton joined NASA in 2004. His hometown is Eugene, Ore. He has a bachelor's degree in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Mastracchio flew as a mission specialist on STS-106 and STS-118. He was born in Waterbury, Conn., and earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Connecticut. He also has master's degrees in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and physical science from the University of Houston.

Anderson spent 152 days on the space station, as a flight engineer on Expedition 15. He launched to the station as part of the STS-117 crew and returned on the STS-120 mission. Anderson's hometown is Omaha, Neb. He has a bachelor's degree in physics from Hastings College, Neb., and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University.

Metcalf-Lindenburger was selected as an astronaut in 2004. She was born in Colorado Springs, Colo., and considers Fort Collins her hometown. She has a bachelor's degree in geology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. Wilson was born in Boston. This will be her third spaceflight. She flew as a mission specialist on STS-121 and STS-120. Wilson received a bachelor's degree in engineering science from Harvard University and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas.

Yamazaki was born in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. She holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Tokyo. Yamazaki was selected by National Space Development Agency of Japan (currently JAXA) as one of three astronaut candidates in 1999 and joined NASA's astronaut candidates for training in 2004.

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Space Photo Image DVD's

Space Image DVD's


Latest additions to our website offerings are the full range of Retro Space Image DVD's.

Discs for each mission will be added overtime. See below current titles:

Follow this link to checkout and purchase our full range of SPACE Image DVD Libraries at the SPACEBOOSTERS Online Store under Multimedia CD/DVD

STS-126 Lands at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

STS-126 Safe Return






With commander Chris Ferguson and pilot Eric Boe at the controls, space shuttle Endeavour descended to a smooth landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The STS-126 crew members concluded their successful mission to the International Space Station when the shuttle touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST.


Endeavour arrived at the station Nov. 16, delivering equipment that will help allow the station to double its crew size to six. In addition, the STS-126 astronauts delivered Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus, who replaced Greg Chamitoff, now a mission specialist who returned to Earth aboard Endeavour.


STS-126 is the 124th shuttle mission and 27th shuttle flight to visit the space station.


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Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-126 'Home'

Nov. 30, 2008
NASA'S SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR GLIDES HOME AFTER SUCCESSFUL MISSION
EDWARDS, Calif. -

Space shuttle Endeavour and its crew landed at 1:25 p.m. PST Sunday at Edwards Air Force Base in California, completing a 16-day journey of more than 6.6 million miles.

The STS-126 mission featured important repair work and prepared the International Space Station to house six crew members on long-duration missions beginning next year. The new station equipment includes a water recovery system, additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet and an exercise device. During four spacewalks, the crew serviced the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow its solar arrays to track the sun, and installed new hardware that will support future assembly missions.

Chris Ferguson commanded the flight and was joined by Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus. Magnus remained aboard the station, replacing Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff, who returned to Earth on Endeavour after more than five months on the station.

Weather concerns prevented the crew from returning to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the primary end-of-mission landing site. In 7-10 days, Endeavour will be transported approximately 2,500 miles from California to Florida on the back of a modified 747 jumbo jet.
Once at Kennedy, Endeavour will be separated from the aircraft to begin immediate processing for its next flight, targeted for May 2009.

STS-126 was the 124th space shuttle mission, the 22nd flight for Endeavour and the 27th shuttle visit to the station.

With Endeavour and its crew safely home, the stage is set for the launch of STS-119, targeted for Feb. 12, 2009. Discovery will deliver the final pair of U.S. solar arrays, which will be installed on the starboard end of the station's truss. The truss serves as the backbone support for external equipment and spare components.

Lee Archambault will command the 14-day flight that will include four planned spacewalks. Joining him will be Pilot Tony Antonelli, Mission Specialists John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Joseph Acaba and Richard Arnold, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace Magnus on the station as a flight engineer.

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Astronauts Charles Duke and Eugene Cernan Portrait Prints Now Available

Astronauts Charles Duke and Eugene Cernan Glossy Prints Now Available

Full colour glossy 8x10 prints of Astronaut Charles M Duke (Photo Credit NASA)

Full colour glossy 8x10 prints of Astronaut Eugene A Cernan (Photo Credit NASA)

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Project Gemini Space Mission Patches

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Space Shuttle Endeavour to Land Sunday

Nov. 28, 2008
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR SET TO LAND SUNDAY

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The space shuttle Endeavour crew is expected to complete its mission to the International Space Station with a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:19 p.m. EST on Sunday, Nov. 30. This will conclude a 16-day flight, 11 of which were spent docked to the station.

The STS-126 mission began Nov. 14 and prepared the space station to house six crew members for long-duration missions. The new station cargo includes a water recovery system, additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet and a resistance exercise device. During four spacewalks, the crew serviced the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow its solar arrays to track the sun, and installed new equipment in support of future assembly missions. The flight also delivered station resident Sandra Magnus to the outpost. Greg Chamitoff will return to Earth aboard Endeavour after spending more than five months aboard the complex.

The entry flight control team in Mission Control, Houston, will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Endeavour to return to Earth. Sunday landing opportunities at Kennedy are at 1:19 p.m. and 2:54 p.m.

The secondary landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., will be activated Sunday for consideration as well. The opportunities at Edwards are 4:24 p.m. and 5:59 p.m.

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STS-126 Mission Update # 21

10 p.m. CST Monday, Nov. 24, 2008 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-126 MCC Status Report #21

As the STS-126 and International Space Station Expedition 18 crews readied for the fourth and final spacewalk of the mission, NASA managers decided to extend Endeavour’s stay by one day with landing now scheduled for 12:18 p.m. CST Sunday. The extra day was approved in order to provide the crews as much extra time as possible for any continued troubleshooting on the new Water Recovery System.

Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke continued work on the Urine Processor Assembly’s (UPA) distillation hardware. He installed two more bolts to hard-mount the distiller assembly section of the UPA in place, which may further reduce vibrations that engineers believe are causing the UPA to prematurely shut down. Once complete, they added stored urine to the UPA and started another processing cycle at 7:06 p.m. CST.

Engineers hope the maintenance performed will enable the UPA to run for its full four-hour processing time. The astronauts also set up a wireless instrumentation system to track vibrations of the UPA. Meanwhile, outside the orbiting complex, astronauts Steve Bowen and Shane Kimbrough wrapped up the final spacewalk of the mission. The spacewalk began at 12:24 p.m. CST and lasted six hours, seven minutes, ending at 6:31 p.m. CST. The first priority was to complete all the remaining tasks associated with lubrication of the Solar Alpha Rotary Joints as well as other station assembly tasks. Thin lines of lubricant were observed on the port SARJ race ring with some minor wear where the trundle bearing assemblies are riding. Additional lubrication was added as a preventive measure against further degradation despite the unit working normally. Bowen returned to the starboard SARJ to install the final trundle bearing assembly. All 12 now have been replaced.

At approximately 4:30 a.m. CST Tuesday, the ground team plans to initiate an auto track of the newly cleaned and lubricated starboard SARJ to assess the performance and overall health. Bowen retracted a berthing mechanism latch on the Japanese Kibo Laboratory and reinstalled its thermal cover. He also installed a video camera on the Port 1 truss and attached a Global Positioning System antenna on the Japanese Experiment Module Pressurized Section.

Astronaut Steve Bowen, STS-126 mission specialist, participates in the mission's fourth and final scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, seven-minute spacewalk, Bowen and astronaut Shane Kimbrough (out of frame), mission specialist, completed the lubrication of the port Solar Alpha Rotary Joints (SARJ) as well as other station assembly tasks. Bowen returned to the starboard SARJ to install the final trundle bearing assembly, retracted a berthing mechanism latch on the Japanese Kibo Laboratory and reinstalled its thermal cover. Bowen also installed a video camera on the Port 1 truss and attached a Global Positioning System antenna on the Japanese Experiment Module Pressurized Section.

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STS 126 Status Report # 20

9 a.m. CST Monday, Nov. 24, 2008Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-126 MCC Status Report #20

The fourth spacewalk by Endeavour astronauts outside the International Space Station will be the focus of today’s activities in space. Engineers continue to explore options for the off-and-on Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). It ran for almost three hours and processed about a gallon of liquid Sunday, after modifications by Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Endeavour Mission Specialist Don Pettit, before shutting down.

Today Fincke will install two bolts in the UPA’s distillation assembly to further reduce vibration. He is scheduled to begin that work about 1 p.m. CST. Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff, as well as Fincke and station flight engineers Yury Lonchakov and Sandra Magnus, were awakened at 7:55 a.m. The song was “Can’t Stop Loving You,” by Van Halen. It was played for Piper.

Spacewalkers Bowen and Kimbrough are scheduled to leave the station’s Quest airlock at 12:45 p.m. Bowen will wear the all-white suit and Kimbrough’s suit will have broken red stripes. They will work to finish up cleaning, lubrication and bearing assembly replacements on the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ). That joint has been the focus of activities on the first three spacewalks of Endeavour’s mission to the station. It has been used sparingly since increased power consumption and vibrations were noticed in September last year. A test of the joint rotating in the mode to automatically track the sun will be done early Tuesday morning to judge the repair work.

Kimbrough will lubricate the port SARJ, which has been working fine, and install a TV camera on the station’s truss. Bowen will inspect a balky berthing mechanism latch on the Japanese Kibo laboratory and reinstall a cover over it. He’ll also install a Global Positioning Satellite antenna that will guide the future unpiloted Japanese cargo vehicle to a point near the station, where the station’s Canadarm2 will grasp it for berthing. Boe will be today's intravehicular officer, or spacewalk choreographer.

The spacewalk is to last about 6.5 hours. Transfer of equipment and supplies, now mostly from the station to Endeavour and the Leonardo cargo carrier, which the shuttle will bring back home, is still a little ahead of schedule. Today marks the final day for transfer of equipment into Leonardo as it will be closed Tuesday.

(24 Nov. 2008) --- Astronaut Steve Bowen, STS-126 mission specialist, participates in the mission's fourth and final scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, seven-minute spacewalk, Bowen and astronaut Shane Kimbrough (out of frame), mission specialist, completed the lubrication of the port Solar Alpha Rotary Joints (SARJ) as well as other station assembly tasks. Bowen returned to the starboard SARJ to install the final trundle bearing assembly, retracted a berthing mechanism latch on the Japanese Kibo Laboratory and reinstalled its thermal cover. Bowen also installed a video camera on the Port 1 truss and attached a Global Positioning System antenna on the Japanese Experiment Module Pressurized Section.

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Astronaut Charles Duke in the U.K.

Charles Duke in the U.K



Details now confirmed. Information provided here as a courtesy. For up to the minute news/information on the event be sure to visit Andy Green at the official website.

ANDY GREEN BSc(Hons) FBIS, FRAS & NORWICH SCHOOL PRESENT
February 6th, 2009
AN EVENING WITH: APOLLO 16 LUNAR MODULE PILOT
&
10th MAN TO WALK ON THE MOON
GENERAL CHARLES MOSS DUKE

Apollo 16, April 16th - April 27th 1972 was the fifth manned lunar landing mission. The crew consisted of John W Young as spacecraft commander, Ken Mattingly as command module pilot, and Charles M Duke as lunar module pilot.
Apollo 16 was the first scientific expedition to inspect, survey, and sample materials and surface features in the Descartes region of the rugged lunar highlands. Duke commenced a record setting lunar surface stay of 71 hours and 14 minutes. Lunar Module Orion landed on the rough Cayley Plains. In three subsequent excursions onto the moon's surface, Duke logged 20 hours and 15 minutes of lunar EVA time involving the emplacement and activation of scientific equipment and experiments, the collection of nearly (96kg) of rock and soil samples, and the evaluation and use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle over the roughest and blockiest surface yet encountered on the moon.
This is your opportunity to meet one of only 12 men who have walked on the moon
We look forward to your company at:
St Andrew's Hall
Norwich
NR3 1AU
UK
Doors will be open from 5:30pm and the lecture will start at 7:30pm
500 tickets are available for the evening lecture and they are £20.00 each

They can be only be obtained by sending a cheque payable to "Norwich School"
along with your name and address to:
Mr Andy Green BSc(Hons) FRAS, FBIS.
173 The Rowans, Milton, Cambridge, CB24 6YZ, UK.

Once we receive your payment your name will be placed on the reserved list for your ticket/s and we will then send the tickets out to you, 2 weeks prior to the actual event.
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STS-126 Space Shuttle Mission Report # 18

10 a.m. CST Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-126 MCC Status Report #18

Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke will continue work Sunday on a system in the International Space Station's Destiny lab that converts urine and condensate into potable water. Endeavour and station crew members also will transfer equipment and supplies between the station and the shuttle and prepare for Monday’s final planned spacewalk.

Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff, and the Expedition 18 crew, Fincke and flight engineers Yury Lonchakov and Sandra Magnus, got their wakeup music at 8:05 a.m. CST. The music was “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” performed by Frankie Valli. It was for Ferguson. It was his 23rd wedding anniversary.

Endeavour crew members will have as much as four hours of free time beginning a little after 11 a.m. Fincke is scheduled to spend some of that time on the Urine Processer Assembly. The UPA is part of the Water Recovery System, which recycles condensate and urine. The UPA has experienced several shutdowns during testing. Engineers believe vibration caused physical interference with the UPA’s centrifuge, resulting in increased current draw and temperatures and causing the shutdowns. They believe Fincke can fix the problem.

Transfer activities continue to go well, with crew members a little ahead of schedule. At 3:05 p.m. Ferguson, Boe, Fincke and Magnus will gather in the station’s Harmony node to talk with media representatives. They’ll take questions from ABC News, CBS News and NBC News. Today’s spacewalk preparations include tool assembly, an hour-long spacewalk procedures review and the beginning of the campout in the Quest airlock for the spacewalkers.

Bowen and Kimbrough are scheduled to leave the station’s Quest airlock at 12:45 p.m. Monday on the mission’s fourth spacewalk. During Monday's spacewalk, Bowen and Kimbrough will install a multi-layer insulation blanket from the station's Kibo module and complete other maintenance tasks. Bowen will install a final trundle bearing assembly on the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) on the right side of the station while Kimbrough lubricates the SARJ on the left side.

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STS 126 Status Report #16

9:00 a.m. CST Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-126 MCC Status Report #16

The third spacewalk by Endeavour astronauts outside the International Space Station will be the focus of today’s activities aboard the two spacecraft.

Endeavour crew members Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff were awakened at 7:55 a.m. CST. The song was “You Are Here,” by the group Dutton. It was played for Kimbrough. Spacewalkers Piper and Bowen are scheduled to leave the station’s Quest airlock at 12:45 p.m. Piper, the lead spacewalker, will wear the red-striped suit while Bowen will be in the all-white suit.

Their work will be further cleaning and lubrication of the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) and replacement of some of more its bearing assemblies. The joint has seen limited use since September 2007 when flight controllers saw increased power consumption and vibration as it moved the 240-foot solar wings like a paddlewheel to follow the sun. Much of the work on all four spacewalks during Endeavour’s stay at the station involves the starboard SARJ.

The port SARJ, which continues to function well, will get a precautionary lubrication on the Monday spacewalk. Kimbrough, who participated in the Thursday spacewalk, will be today's intravehicular officer, or spacewalk choreographer. The spacewalk is planned for about seven hours. Just about every day Endeavour is at the station is moving day.

Crew members of both spacecraft, including Expedition 18 commander Mike Fincke and flight engineers Yury Lonchakov and Sandy Magnus, will continue moving supplies and equipment between Endeavour and the International Space Station and work on station equipment. Work continues to check out the Water Recovery System and its Urine Processor Assembly.

The UPA was activated again overnight to gather more information on why it had shut down on previous tests. One theory is that its centrifuge might as it rotates be touching another structure.

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STS 126 Status Report #17

10 p.m. CST Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-126 Status Report #17

Astronauts Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen today completed the third spacewalk of Endeavour’s mission to the International Space Station. The spacewalk began at 12:01 p.m. CST and ended at 6:58 p.m. for a total time of six hours and 57 minutes. Piper and Bowen focused their efforts on the continued cleaning of the station’s starboard solar alpha rotary joint (SARJ) and the removal and replacement of the remaining trundle bearing assemblies (TBA).

Today, Piper replaced three TBAs and Bowen replaced two. Five have been replaced during the mission’s prior two spacewalks, and one was replaced on the STS-124 mission this past summer. The two astronauts also cleaned the area around the SARJ’s drive lock assemblies, which help the joint to rotate and lock into place.

A final trundle bearing assembly replacement will take place during the fourth and final spacewalk of the flight, which is scheduled for Monday. That spacewalk, which will be conducted by Shane Kimbrough and Bowen, will focus on the lubrication and servicing of the port SARJ. Work continued inside the station on the transfer of cargo and supplies from the Leonardo Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM).

The station and shuttle crews also worked on setting up the station’s new Water Recovery System (WRS), with Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandy Magnus working on taking the first samples from the Water Processor Assembly (WPA). Ground controllers in Houston continue to examine data from the Urine Processor Assembly, which is also part of the WRS, to determine why it continues to experience errors. Engineers are exploring the possibility that there is a sensor touching part of the system’s centrifuge as it rotates, which might be causing it to slow down.

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STS-126 Space Shuttle Mission Report # 15

Friday, Nov. 21, 2008 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-126 Status Report #15

The space shuttle and International Space Station crews were hard at work transferring, assembling and testing hardware at the station today. Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus tested latches on the Exposed Facility Berthing Mechanism for the Japanese Kibo laboratory. The mechanism will be used to install an exterior science platform from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency during a shuttle flight next year.

Magnus continued on with installation of a component for the regenerative life support system. The Total Organic Carbon Analyzer will be used to test samples that come from the new Water Recovery System. Engineers are continuing to assess indications from sensors within the Water Recovery System that caused the Urine Processor Assembly to shut down during initial test operations Thursday and again Friday morning. The system uses a rotating distillation process to separate out water from urine for further treatment.

Sensors associated with the motor of the centrifuge within the processor showed the speed of the motor slowing and that the power the motor was using changed. Space shuttle Commander Chris Ferguson and Pilot Eric Boe used Endeavour’s reaction control system jets to boost the station’s altitude by about one nautical mile. The new position sets up for docking of the next Progress cargo craft at the end of November.

Crew members also got ready for another spacewalk by assembling tools, reviewing procedures and beginning the campout in the Quest airlock for the spacewalkers. Saturday’s spacewalkers Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen are scheduled to leave the station’s Quest airlock at 12:45 p.m. on the mission’s third spacewalk. They will clean and lubricate the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint and replace some of its bearing assemblies. Yesterday’s spacewalkers Piper and Shane Kimbrough assembled a camera that will be installed on the outside of the station during the fourth spacewalk by Kimbrough and Bowen. It will be placed on the station’s port one truss segment to assist with views during the future docking of a Japanese H-IIA Transfer Vehicle.

Today the crews also continued transferring material between the station and the shuttle, participated in a news conference and had some off-duty time. Endeavour’s crew is scheduled to go to bed at 11:55 p.m. today and be awakened at 7:55 a.m. Saturday. The next shuttle status report will be issued after the crew is awakened, or earlier if events warrant.

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STS-126 Crew Portrait

STS-126 Mission Update # 14

Friday, Nov. 21, 2008 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-126 Status Report #14

After completing a spacewalk Thursday Endeavour and International Space Station crew members will work today on getting ready for another spacewalk Saturday, transferring material between the station and the shuttle and other tasks.

Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff, and the station crew, Commander Mike Fincke and flight engineers Yury Lonchakov and Sandra Magnus, were awakened at 8:05 a.m. CST. The music was for Piper. The song was in the Ukrainian language, which she learned as a child. It was “Unharness Your Horses, Boys,” a traditional song about Cossacks performed by The Ukrainians.

In addition to moving equipment and supplies, today’s schedule includes a reboost of the station by Endeavour, a news conference with shuttle and station crew members, some off-duty time for all crew members and preparations for Saturday’s spacewalk. The reboost is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. Plans call for Endeavour to add about three feet per second to the station’s velocity.

At 2:05 p.m. all 10 crew members will gather in the Harmony node of the station for the 40-minute joint news conference. They will field questions from journalists at participating NASA centers.

Crew members will have an hour for the mid-day meal. Just afterward they will have an hour of free time, beginning at 4:05 p.m. Today’s spacewalk preparations will include tool assembly, a spacewalk procedures review and the beginning of the campout in the Quest airlock for the spacewalkers. Spacewalkers Piper and Bowen are scheduled to leave the station’s Quest airlock at 12:45 p.m. Saturday on the mission’s third spacewalk. They will clean and lubricate the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint and replace some of its bearing assemblies.

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STS-126 Crew Portrait

ISS Expedition Crews Announced

21-11-08
NASA Assigns Space Station Crews, Updates Expedition Numbering

HOUSTON -- NASA and its international partners have assigned the International Space Station's crew members through 2010. The numbering sequence of expeditions was modified to reflect the start of six-person crews. The update to the expedition numbering begins with the docking of a Soyuz spacecraft in May 2009. That Soyuz will mark the beginning of six-person crew operations. From that point forward, expeditions will end with the undocking of a Soyuz.

The expedition number will change every two to four months as new crew members arrive and depart. The arrangement emphasizes that every six-person crew living on the station is a cohesive team. A crew member typically will stay about six months and be part of two expeditions. In addition to the Russian Soyuz, the space shuttle will continue to provide transportation for station crew members through mission STS-129, targeted for the fall of 2009.

With the departure of a Soyuz, command of the station will be handed over to a crew member remaining aboard, and the next expedition will begin. Specific backup crew members will not be announced because of the streamlined training flow for six-person crews. If needed, backups can be selected from subsequent crews in training.

The groups of assigned crew members, beginning with the first six-person crew and including newly announced crew members, are outlined below by expedition. An asterisk indicates the crew member was previously announced.

Expedition 20 begins with the Soyuz 19 docking and the arrival of three new crew members in May 2009. - Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, International Space Station commander, who will launch in March 2009 on Soyuz 18 and return in October 2009 on Soyuz 18.* - NASA astronaut Michael R. Barratt, who will launch in March 2009 on Soyuz 18 and return in October 2009 on Soyuz 18.* - NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, who will launch on STS-127 and return on STS-128.* - Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, who will launch in May 2009 on Soyuz 19 and return in November 2009 on Soyuz 19. - European Space Agency, or ESA, astronaut Frank De Winne, who will launch in May 2009 on Soyuz 19 and return in November 2009 on Soyuz 19* - Canadian Space Agency, or CSA, astronaut Robert Thirsk, who will launch in May 2009 on Soyuz 19 and return on STS-129.* - NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, who will launch on STS-128 and return in November 2009 on Soyuz 19.*

Expedition 21 begins with the Soyuz 18 undocking in October 2009. Two new crew members will arrive on Soyuz 20 for the handover before the previous crew departs. - ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, the first European station commander - CSA astronaut Robert Thirsk - Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko - NASA astronaut Nicole Stott - Russian Cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, who will launch in September 2009 on Soyuz 20 and return in March 2010 on Soyuz 20 - NASA astronaut Jeffrey N. Williams, who will launch in September 2009 on Soyuz 20 and return in March 2010 on Soyuz 20.

Expedition 22 begins with the Soyuz 19 undocking in November 2009. Three new crew members will arrive shortly thereafter on Soyuz 21. - NASA astronaut Jeffrey N. Williams, station commander - Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev - Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, who will launch in December 2009 on Soyuz 21 and return in May 2010 on Soyuz 21. - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who will launch in December 2009 on Soyuz 21 and return in May 2010 on Soyuz 21.* - NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer, who will launch in December 2009 on Soyuz 21 and return in May 2010 on Soyuz 21.*

Expedition 23 begins with the Soyuz 20 undocking in March 2010. Three new crew members will arrive shortly thereafter on Soyuz 22. - Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, station commander - JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi - NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer - Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, who will launch in April 2010 on Soyuz 22 and return in September 2010 on Soyuz 22. - Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, who will launch in April 2010 on Soyuz 22 and return in September 2010 on Soyuz 22. - NASA astronaut Tracy E. Caldwell, who will launch in April 2010 on Soyuz 22 and return in September 2010 on Soyuz 22.

Expedition 24 begins with the Soyuz 21 undocking in May 2010. Three new crew members will arrive shortly thereafter on Soyuz 23. - Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, station commander - Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko - NASA astronaut Tracy E. Caldwell - Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, who will launch in May 2010 on Soyuz 23 and return in November 2010 on Soyuz 23. - NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, who will launch in May 2010 on Soyuz 23 and return November 2010 on Soyuz 23. - NASA astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock, who will launch in May 2010 on Soyuz 23 and return in November 2010 on Soyuz 23.

Expedition 25 begins with the Soyuz 22 undocking in September 2010. Three new crew members will arrive shortly thereafter on Soyuz 24. - NASA astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock, station commander - Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov - NASA astronaut Shannon Walker - Russian cosmonaut Dmitri Kondratyev, who will launch in September 2010 on Soyuz 24 and return in March 2011 on Soyuz 24. - Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, who will launch in September 2010 on Soyuz 24 and return in March 2011 on Soyuz 24. - NASA astronaut Scott J. Kelly, who will launch in September 2010 on Soyuz 24 and return in March 2011 on Soyuz 24.

Expedition 26 begins with the Soyuz 23 undocking in November 2010. Three crew members will arrive shortly thereafter on Soyuz 25. - NASA astronaut Scott J. Kelly, station commander - Russian cosmonaut Dmitri Kondratyev - Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka - Russian cosmonaut Andrey Borisienko, who will launch in November 2010 on Soyuz 25 and return in May 2011 on Soyuz 25. - NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman, who will launch in November 2010 on Soyuz 25 and return in May 2011 on Soyuz 25. - ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli, who will launch in November 2010 on Soyuz 25 and return in May 2011 on Soyuz 25.

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STS-126 Space Shuttle Mission Report #13

10 p.m. CST Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-126 MCC Status Report #13

Two down, two to go. Building on Tuesday’s spacewalk experience, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Shane Kimbrough headed out of the International Space Station’s Quest Airlock at 11:58 a.m. CST to continue the process of removing debris around the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) and applying lubrication in an effort to eventually restore it to full functionality. The EVA ended at 6:43 p.m. for a total time of six hours and 45 minutes.

As the spacewalkers were finishing up their activities, ground controllers noticed that Kimbrough’s carbon dioxide levels were increasing, so he made his way back to the airlock a few minutes ahead of Piper. Piper and Kimbrough began the second spacewalk by relocating two equipment carts in preparation for February’s installation of the final pair of solar arrays. Once that task was completed, the two applied lubrication to a balky snare on the end of the station’s robotic arm before concentrating on repair of the rotary joint designed to automatically track the sun as the station circles the Earth.

The balance of the spacewalk was focused on replacing four more of the 12 trundle bearing assemblies (TBA). One of them was over-torqued during installation, so Piper installed one of the two back-up TBAs instead. The 116th spacewalk dedicated to station assembly and maintenance was the second of the four planned during space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-126 mission. It set the stage for Saturday’s third excursion to complete the cleaning and lubricating process. Station flight controllers plan to briefly test the repair early Sunday morning by commanding the solar array into “auto track” mode to evaluate its performance.

On the 10th anniversary since station construction began with launch of the Zarya Control Module atop a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the station worked inside and outside to increase the capability and performance of systems to eventually support doubling the crew size from three to six. Friday at 11:10 a.m., shuttle Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and Flight Engineer Steve Bowen will oversee a small reboost of the station’s altitude using spare propellant aboard Endeavour.

At 2:05 p.m., both the crews will hold their traditional news conference before reviewing procedures for the third spacewalk scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

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Status Report #12 For STS-126

STS-126 Status Report #12

The second spacewalk by Endeavour astronauts outside the International Space Station will be the focus of today’s activities aboard the two spacecraft. Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff, were awakened at 7:55 a.m. CST.

The song was “Summertime,” played for Pettit. It was recorded by Bandella. Members of that group include singer Michi Pettit, Don Pettit’s wife, and astronauts Steve Robinson, Chris Hadfield and Cady Coleman. Spacewalkers Piper and Kimbrough are scheduled to leave the station’s Quest airlock at 12:45 p.m. CST. Piper will wear the red-striped suit while Kimbrough will be in the suit with broken red stripes.

Spacewalk tasks include moving two of the small handcarts on the rails of the station’s main truss and lubricating the Latching End Effector (LEE) of the orbiting laboratory’s robotic Canadarm2. Much of the spacewalkers' time will be devoted to the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint on the right side of the station’s main truss. They will continue cleaning and lubricating bearing race rings and the replacement of the joint’s trundle bearing assemblies. The use of the joint has been limited since September 2007 when flight controllers noticed increased power consumption and vibration. The handcarts will be moved to clear the tracks for future work.

The LEE lubrication is being done after the snares showed some balkiness on opening and closing. Boe will be the intravehicular officer or spacewalk choreographer, while Pettit and Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus will operate Canadarm2. Moving of supplies and equipment between Endeavour and the International Space Station and installation in the station of equipment are on today’s agenda for the 10 members of the spacecraft’s crews. All the racks brought to the station in the Multi-purpose Logistics

Module Leonardo have been installed in the station, though a considerable amount of equipment and supplies remains to be transferred. Endeavour’s crew is scheduled to go to bed at 11:55 p.m. today and be awakened at 7:55 a.m. Friday. The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew day, or earlier if events warrant.

Two New Bedrooms for the Space Station

STS-126 Status Report #11

Home improvements continued aboard the International Space Station with installation of two new bedrooms and preparations to activate a water recycling facility. Station flight engineer Sandra Magnus and her predecessor Greg Chamitoff moved the port and starboard crew quarters to the station and installed them in the Harmony node. They also installed a rack with equipment for return to Earth inside the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module.

Other crew members also continued moving equipment and supplies between the two spacecraft. Transfer of all of the phone-booth-sized racks planned for this mission has been completed. Transfer work overall is about twenty five percent complete. Former Expedition 6 station resident, Endeavour mission specialist Don Pettit and Expedition 18 station commander Mike Fincke spent a bulk of the day configuring hardware on the new Water Recovery System.

The facility will treat wastewater and provide recycled water clean enough to drink. The system will be activated for initial checkouts tonight. It will take about two days of initial operations before the first sample of water processed from urine is available for testing. Later today, the crew members will prepare for the second of four spacewalks by gathering tools and reviewing procedures. Subsequently, spacewalkers Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Shane Kimbrough will begin the standard pre-spacewalk campout in the station’s Quest airlock.

The campout will begin at 10:20 p.m. Piper and Kimbrough will be in Quest overnight, with its pressure at 10.2 psi compared to the station’s 14.7 psi, to reduce their systems’ nitrogen content. That is to avoid the possibility of decompression sickness. Endeavour’s crew is scheduled to go to bed at 11:55 p.m. today and be awakened at 7:55 a.m. Thursday. The spacewalk is set to start at 12:45 p.m. Thursday.

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STS-126 Mission Update #10

STS-126 Status Report #10

Moving of supplies and equipment between Endeavour and the International Space Station and installation in the station of equipment are on today’s agenda for the 10 members of the spacecraft’s crews. They also will begin preparations for the second of four mission spacewalks, this one to start at 12:45 p.m. CST Thursday.

The preparations include a spacewalk procedure review for shuttle astronauts and station Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus. Subsequently spacewalkers Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Shane Kimbrough will begin the standard pre-spacewalk campout in the station’s Quest airlock. Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Piper, Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff, were awakened at 7:55 a.m. CST. The song was “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Aaron Copeland. It was played for Boe.

The Waste and Hygiene Rack, which includes a new toilet, was moved into the station Tuesday and installed in the U.S. laboratory Destiny. To be moved to the station today and installed in the Harmony node are the port and starboard crew quarters. That job will be handled by Chamitoff and Magnus. The Multi-purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Leonardo will be on the receiving end for some of the equipment moved.

A resupply stowage rack is scheduled to be moved from the Harmony node to the MPLM by Chamitoff and Magnus after the crew quarters installation. The campout by spacewalkers Piper and Kimbrough is to begin at 10:20 p.m., immediately after the procedure review. They will be in Quest overnight, with its pressure at 10.2 psi compared to the station’s 14.7 psi, to reduce their systems’ nitrogen content. That is to avoid the possibility of decompression sickness.

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Stefanshyn-Piper and Bowen Complete First Spacewalk

STS-126 Status Report #09

Astronauts Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen completed the first of four spacewalks scheduled for Endeavour’s mission to the International Space Station today. The spacewalk was the 115th in support of ISS construction. Piper and Bowen began the spacewalk at 12:09 p.m. CST and ended it at 7:01 p.m.

They spent six hours and 52 minutes outside the station working on several tasks, including removing a depleted nitrogen tank from a stowage platform on the outside of the complex and moving it into Endeavour’s cargo bay. They also moved a flex hose rotary coupler from the shuttle to the station stowage platform, as well as removing some insulation blankets from the common berthing mechanism on the Kibo laboratory.

The majority of the spacewalk was spent focusing on one of the station’s Solar Alpha Rotary Joints (SARJ). These joints are the large, circular devices that allow the complex’s solar arrays to automatically rotate and track the sun as the station orbits the Earth. Piper and Bowen worked to clean and lubricate part of the joint and to remove two of the joint’s 12 trundle bearing assemblies.

This work will continue during the rest of the mission’s scheduled spacewalks. About halfway into the spacewalk, one of the grease guns that Piper was preparing to use on the SARJ released some Braycote grease into her crew lock bag, which is the tool bag the spacewalkers use during their activities. As she was cleaning the inside of the bag, it drifted away from her and toward the aft and starboard portion of the International Space Station. Inside the bag were two grease guns, scrapers, several wipes and tethers and some tool caddies. Piper and Bowen spent the remainder of the spacewalk sharing a duplicate set of tools from the other crew lock bag they had with them.

The next spacewalk of the mission will take place on Thursday, which will be the 10th anniversary of the launch of the first element of the station, the Zarya module. Inside the station, Endeavour’s crew and the Expedition 18 crew worked to continue moving items out of the Leonardo Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM) that was docked with the station yesterday.

The crew is ahead of its transfer timeline and focused on moving two water recovery system (WRS) racks and one of the new sleep stations into the ISS. The transfer tasks will continue on throughout Endeavour’s visit to the station, when the MPLM will be undocked and placed back into Endeavour’s payload bay for return to Earth.

STS-126 Crew Portrait

STS-126 Spacewalks

STS-126 Status Report #08

The first of four spacewalks scheduled for Endeavour crew members at the International Space Station will highlight today’s activities in orbit. Much of the work by Endeavour crew members, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Don Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Greg Chamitoff, will involve the spacewalk and transfer of equipment and supplies between the station and Endeavour.

The crew got its wakeup call at 7:55 a.m. CST. The song was “City of Blinding Lights,” by U2. It was played for Kimbrough. Piper, in a red-striped suit, and Bowen, in the all-white suit, will leave the Quest airlock at 12:45 p.m. for the 6.5-hour spacewalk. Their tasks, like most of those on the remaining three spacewalks, will focus on the station’s Solar Alpha Rotary Joints (SARJ). The joints are designed to rotate the station’s 240-foot solar arrays, to keep them facing the sun for maximum production of electricity.

Last year flight controllers noted an increase in power consumption by the starboard SARJ, and it has seen limited use. The port SARJ is working fine, but it will be lubricated during the fourth spacewalk. Today’s spacewalkers also will take a depleted nitrogen tank from a station stowage platform to Endeavour’s cargo bay and move a flex hose rotary coupler from the shuttle to that station stowage platform. Additionally, they will remove an insulation blanket on the Japanese laboratory Kibo. Kimbrough, who will participate in the second and fourth spacewalks, will be today’s intravehicular officer, the spacewalk choreographer.

Pettit and Expedition 18’s Sandra Magnus will operate the Canadarm2 robotic arm during the spacewalk, while Boe also will provide support. Chamitoff and Ferguson will help with spacewalk preparations in the airlock, where the spacewalkers spent the night in lower air pressure to remove nitrogen from their systems. Station Commander Mike Fincke and others also will transfer cargo.

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Hubble Photographs Another World

First Snap shots of a planet circling another star!!

Image above: Artist's concept of the star Fomalhaut and the Jupiter-type planet that the Hubble Space Telescope observed. A ring of debris appears to surround Fomalhaut as well. The planet, called Fomalhaut b, orbits the 200-million-year-old star every 872 years. Credit: ESA, NASA, and L. Calcada (ESO for STScI)

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken the first visible-light snapshot of a planet circling another star.Estimated to be no more than three times Jupiter's mass, the planet, called Fomalhaut b, orbits the bright southern star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away in the constellation Piscis Australis, or the "Southern Fish."

Fomalhaut has been a candidate for planet hunting ever since an excess of dust was discovered around the star in the early 1980s by NASA's Infrared Astronomy Satellite, IRAS.

In 2004, the coronagraph in the High Resolution Camera on Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys produced the first-ever resolved visible-light image of the region around Fomalhaut. It clearly showed a ring of protoplanetary debris approximately 21.5 billion miles across and having a sharp inner edge.

This large debris disk is similar to the Kuiper Belt, which encircles the solar system and contains a range of icy bodies from dust grains to objects the size of dwarf planets, such as Pluto.

Hubble astronomer Paul Kalas, of the University of California at Berkeley, and team members proposed in 2005 that the ring was being gravitationally modified by a planet lying between the star and the ring's inner edge.

Circumstantial evidence came from Hubble's confirmation that the ring is offset from the center of the star. The sharp inner edge of the ring is also consistent with the presence of a planet that gravitationally "shepherds" ring particles. Independent researchers have subsequently reached similar conclusions.

Now, Hubble has actually photographed a point source of light lying 1.8 billion miles inside the ring's inner edge. The results are being reported in the November 14 issue of Science magazine."Our Hubble observations were incredibly demanding. Fomalhaut b is 1 billion times fainter than the star. We began this program in 2001, and our persistence finally paid off," Kalas says."

Fomalhaut is the gift that keeps on giving. Following the unexpected discovery of its dust ring, we have now found an exoplanet at a location suggested by analysis of the dust ring's shape. The lesson for exoplanet hunters is 'follow the dust,'" said team member Mark Clampin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Observations taken 21 months apart by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys' coronagraph show that the object is moving along a path around the star, and is therefore gravitationally bound to it. The planet is 10.7 billion miles from the star, or about 10 times the distance of the planet Saturn from our sun.

The planet is brighter than expected for an object of three Jupiter masses. One possibility is that it has a Saturn-like ring of ice and dust reflecting starlight. The ring might eventually coalesce to form moons. The ring's estimated size is comparable to the region around Jupiter and its four largest orbiting satellites.

Kalas and his team first used Hubble to photograph Fomalhaut in 2004, and made the unexpected discovery of its debris disk, which scatters Fomalhaut's starlight. At the time they noted a few bright sources in the image as planet candidates. A follow-up image in 2006 showed that one of the objects is moving through space with Fomalhaut but changed position relative to the ring since the 2004 exposure. The amount of displacement between the two exposures corresponds to an 872-year-long orbit as calculated from Kepler's laws of planetary motion.

Future observations will attempt to see the planet in infrared light and will look for evidence of water vapor clouds in the atmosphere. This would yield clues to the evolution of a comparatively newborn 100-million-year-old planet. Astrometric measurements of the planet's orbit will provide enough precision to yield an accurate mass.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2013 will be able to make coronagraphic observations of Fomalhaut in the near- and mid-infrared. Webb will be able to hunt for other planets in the system and probe the region interior to the dust ring for structures such as an inner asteroid belt.

J.D. Harrington NASA Headquarters

Ray Villard Space Telescope Science Institute

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STS-126 Space Shuttle Mission Report #7

STS-126 Status Report #07

The joint Space Shuttle Endeavour and International Space Station crews today took the first step toward updating the complex’s interior by installing a packed logistics module on a docking port. The Leonardo Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM) – stuffed with additional sleeping stations, new exercise equipment, a water regeneration system, experiments and hardware – was carefully moved from Endeavour’s payload bay to the station in preparation for unloading for the next several days.

Following Sunday’s arrival and orientation, the crews got down to business with swapping Sandra Magnus for Greg Chamitoff who spent 167 days on the station as an Expedition crewmember. Magnus replaces Chamitoff as a Flight Engineer until her return trip home arrives in February 2009. While Magnus and Chamitoff conducted specific handover activities, the remaining crewmembers focused on moving Leonardo to its temporary location on the station where more than 14,000 pounds of hardware and supplies will be unloaded into the station making room for stowage to be returned to Earth.

The hatch was opened to begin that transfer work at 5:43 p.m. Monday. While the crew worked, imagery experts on the ground poured over images taken by the crew of Endeavour’s thermal protection system. Late Monday, the crew was informed that there was no need for additional inspection Wednesday allowing planners to fill that time with transfer and new equipment activation.

Late Monday night, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve Bowen prepared for the first of four spacewalks planned during the mission. They are following a proven protocol known as the “campout” to spend the night in the Quest airlock to lessen the preparatory time before beginning the spacewalk scheduled for 12:45 p.m.

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