Tuesday 22 December 2009

Endeavour Ready for Holidays

Endeavour Ready for Holidays


Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:32:32 -0600

Space shuttle Endeavour's hatch has been closed and purging systems are set up to blow warm air into the shuttle and critical systems during the holiday break. Standing inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Endeavour has been bolted onto its external tank and twin solid rocket boosters. The temperature inside the shuttle will be kept at about 70 degrees with about 50 percent humidity. Blowers are positioned to protect the main engines and orbital maneuvering system thrusters. They will come on when the forecast calls for temperatures of 45 degrees or lower for four hours. Endeavour's next major milestone is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2010, when it is rolled out to Launch Pad 39A. Liftoff of the spacecraft on the STS-130 mission is targeted for Feb. 7 at 4:39 a.m. EST.

Crew Lifts Off From Kazakhstan

Crew Lifts Off From Kazakhstan to Begin Science and Construction Work Aboard the International Space Station

HOUSTON -- NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi safely launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station on Sunday. Liftoff occurred at 3:52 p.m. CST from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.


The three Soyuz crew members are scheduled to dock with their new home at 4:58 p.m., Tuesday. They will join Expedition 22 crew members Jeff Williams, a NASA astronaut and the station commander, and Max Suraev, a Russian cosmonaut and station flight engineer, aboard the orbiting laboratory.

The station's five residents have some busy months ahead. Kotov and Suraev will conduct a planned spacewalk in January from the Pirs airlock, part of the station's Russian segment. Less than a week later, Williams and Suraev will fly the Soyuz spacecraft that brought them to the station from its current location on the end of the outpost's Zvezda service module to the new Poisk module. In February, the crew will welcome a Progress unmanned resupply ship and space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission. Endeavour and its crew will deliver the new Tranquility node and its cupola, one of the last major portions of the station to be installed.

Coverage of the docking of Creamer, Kotov and Noguchi will begin on NASA Television at 4:30 p.m. NASA TV will return at 6 p.m. for coverage of the hatches opening and the welcoming ceremony between the two crews, which will take place at about 6:29 p.m. For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the space station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station

For expedition 22 mission pins, patches and crew photographs visit the Spaceboosters Online Store!.

Expedition 22 Lifts Off

Expedition 22 Lifts Off


The Soyuz TMA-17 rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:52 p.m. EST on Sunday, Dec. 20, carrying Expedition 22 NASA Flight Engineer Timothy J. Creamer of the U.S., Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov of Russia and Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi of Japan to the International Space Station.



Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Thursday 3 December 2009

STS-129 Payload Emblem Design

STS-129 Payload Emblem Design


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STS-130 Payload Emblem Design.- Just Released

STS-130 Payload Emblem Design.




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Endeavour Readied for VAB Trip

Endeavour Readied for VAB Trip


Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:28:17 -0600

In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians are halfway complete with a three-day leak test on space shuttle Endeavour's environmental control and life support system, as well as structural leak tests.

The shuttle's move, also known as rollover, to the Vehicle Assembly Building is scheduled for Dec. 12. Once inside, the Endeavour will be hoisted and then lowered onto the waiting mobile launcher platform where the massive external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters stand ready.

Today, the six STS-130 astronauts are studying flight procedures at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Shuttle Endeavour, with its payload of the Tranquility node and the seven-windowed Cupola module, is targeted to launch Feb. 4, 2010.

Endeavour, Crew Prep for STS-130 On-going

Endeavour, Crew Prep for STS-130 On-going


Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:52:58 -0600

Technicians in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are preparing space shuttle Endeavour for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Dec. 12.

Throughout the next three days, they'll leak test Endeavour's environmental control and life support system. Techs also are testing the space shuttle main engine and aerosurface hydraulics, as well as testing and calibrating the Inertial Measurement Units, or IMUs, which provide navigational information for the shuttle while it's in orbit.

Meanwhile, Endeavour's STS-130 astronauts ‪are practicing an integrated launch simulation today at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.