SPACEBOOSTERS.CO.UK: March 2009

Tuesday, 31 March 2009

Space Shuttle Atlantis

NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis at Launch Pad for Hubble Mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After safely reaching its launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis now awaits liftoff for its target May 12 STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis arrived at Launch Pad 39A at approximately 9:10 a.m. EDT Tuesday on top of a giant crawler-transporter. The crawler-transporter left Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 3:54 a.m., traveling less than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The shuttle was secured on the launch pad at 11:17 a.m. Atlantis' 11-day mission is the final shuttle flight to Hubble.

During five spacewalks, the shuttle's seven astronauts will install two new instruments, repair two inactive ones and replace other Hubble components. The Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit that will be installed in the telescope arrived at Kennedy on Monday. The new unit will replace the one in Hubble that stopped working in September 2008 and delayed the servicing mission. The result of the upgrades will be six working, complementary science instruments with capabilities beyond those now available and an extended operational lifespan of the telescope through at least 2014.

Scott Altman will command Atlantis. Gregory C. Johnson will be the pilot. The Mission Specialists will be John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Megan McArthur, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. STS-125 is the 126th shuttle flight, the 30th flight for Atlantis and the fifth Hubble servicing mission.

Space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to roll out to Kennedy's other launch pad, 39B, on Thursday, April 17. Endeavour will be prepared for liftoff in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary following Atlantis' launch. After Atlantis is cleared to land, Endeavour will move to Launch Pad 39A for its upcoming STS-127 mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch in mid-June. Endeavour will roll over from Kennedy's Orbiter Processing Facility 2 to the Vehicle Assembly Building on April 10. In the assembly building, crews will attach the spacecraft to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters in preparations for its move to pad 39B.

NASA managers decided to proceed with the dual-pad approach after carefully reviewing the manifest options to complete the International Space Station and to ensure it is in the most robust condition possible following shuttle retirement. The dual-pad approach requires one month less processing time than the single-pad approach and will help complete both STS-125 and STS-127.

Endeavour will deliver the Japanese Exposed Facility and make the space station more robust to support cargo delivery for a six-person crew. The Space Shuttle Program will continue to work with the Constellation Program to minimize the impact on the Ares I-X test flight which will use Launch Pad 39B later this year.

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Astronaut James Lovell

NASA Honours Gemini and Apollo Astronaut James Lovell

WASHINGTON -- NASA will honour astronaut James "Jim" Lovell, Jr., with the presentation of an Ambassador of Exploration Award for his contributions to the U.S. space program. During a ceremony Friday, April 3, Lovell will accept the award at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum in Lexington Park, Md., and present it to the museum for display. NASA is giving the Ambassador of Exploration Award to the first generation of explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs for realizing America's goal of going to the moon. The award is a moon rock encased in Lucite, mounted for public display. The rock is part of the 842 pounds of lunar samples collected during six Apollo expeditions from 1969 to 1972. Lovell was born in Cleveland and received his bachelor's degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1952. He spent four years as a test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center, now the Patuxent River Naval Air Station.

Lovell was the pilot for the Gemini 7 mission and the command pilot for Gemini 12.

He and fellow crewmen, Frank Borman and William A. Anders, became the first humans to leave the Earth's gravitational influence and travel to the moon during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. On Lovell's fourth mission, he was the commander of Apollo 13.

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Monday, 30 March 2009

Astronauts & Cosmonauts

Astronaut Flight Order provided by SPACEBOOSTER.co.uk

This post includes Space Explorers 301 to Current,

There are currently 490 Space Explorers...and counting

301. Richard Searfoss STS 58

302. William McArthur STS 58

303. David Wolf STS 58

304. Martin Fettman STS 58

305. Yuri Usachev Soyuz TM-18

306. Ronald Sega STS 60

307. Thomas Jones STS 59

308. Yuri Malenchenko Soyuz TM-19

309. Talgat Musabayev Soyuz TM-19

310. James Halsell STS 65

311. Leroy Chiao STS 65

312. Donald Thomas STS 65

313. Chiaki Mukai STS 65

314. Jerry Linenger STS 64

315. Terrence Wilcutt STS 68

316. Steven Smith STS 68

317. Yelena Kondakova Soyuz TM-20

318. Joseph Tanner STS 66

319. Jean-Francois Clervoy STS 66

320. Scott Parazynski STS 66

321. Eileen Collins STS 63

322. William Gregory STS 67

323. John Grunsfeld STS 67

324. Wendy Lawrence STS 67

325. Vladimir Dezhurov Soyuz TM-21

326. Nikolai Budarin STS 71

327. Kevin Kregel STS 70

328. Mary Ellen Weber STS 70

329. Yuri Gidzenko Soyuz TM-22

330. Thomas Reiter Soyuz TM-22

331. Michael Gernhardt STS 69

332. Kent Rominger STS 73

333. Catherine Coleman STS 73

334. Michael Lopez-Alegria STS 73

335. Fred Leslie STS 73

336. Albert Sacco, Jr STS 73

337. Chris Hadfield STS 74

338. Brent Jett, Jr. STS 72

339. Winston Scott STS 72

340. Koichi Wakata STS 72

341. Daniel Barry STS 72

342. Yuri Onufrienko Soyuz TM-23

343. Scott Horowitz STS 75

344. Maurizio Cheli STS 75

345. Umberto Guidoni STS 75

346. Andrew Thomas STS 77

347. Richard Linnehan STS 78

348. Charles Brady STS 78

349. Jean-Jacques Favier STS 78

350. Robert Thirsk STS 78

351. Valeri Korzun Soyuz TM-24

352. Claudie André-Deshays Soyuz TM-24

353. Alexander Lazutkin Soyuz TM-25

354. Reinhold Ewald Soyuz TM-25

355. Susan Kilrain STS 83

356. Roger Crouch STS 83

357. Gregory Linteris STS 83

358. Carlos Noriega STS 84

359. Edward Lu STS 84

360. Pavel Vinogradov Soyuz TM-26

361. Robert Curbeam STS 85

362. Stephen Robinson STS 85

363. Bjarni Tryggvason STS 85

364. Michael Bloomfield STS 86

365. Steven Lindsey STS 87

366. Kalpana Chawla STS 87

367. Takao Doi STS 87

368. Leonid Kadenyuk STS 87

369. Joe Edwards STS 89

370. James Reilly STS 89

371. Michael Anderson STS 89

372. Salizan Sharipov STS 89

373. Leopold Eyharts Soyuz TM-27

374. Scott Altman STS 90

375. Kathryn Hire STS 90

376. Dafydd Rhys Williams STS 90

377. Jay Buckey STS 90

378. James Pawelczyk STS 90

379. Dominic Gorie STS 91

380. Janet Kavandi STS 91

381. Gennadi Padalka Soyuz TM-28

382. Yuri Baturin Soyuz TM-28

383. Pedro Duque STS 95

384. Frederick Sturckow STS 88

385. Ivan Bella Soyuz TM-29

386. Rick Husband STS 96

387. Julie Payette STS 96

388. Valeri Tokarev STS 96

389. Jeffrey Ashby STS 93

390. Scott Kelly STS 103

391. Gerhard Thiele STS 99

392. Sergei Zalyotin Soyuz TM-30

393. Jeff Williams STS 101

394. Dan Burbank STS 106

395. Richard Mastracchio STS 106

396. Boris Morukov STS 106

397. Pamela Melroy STS 92

398. Mark Polansky STS 98

399. James Kelly STS 102

400. Paul Richards STS 102

401. John Phillips STS 100

402. Yuri Lonchakov STS 100

403. Dennis Tito Soyuz TM-32

404. Charles Hobaugh STS 104

405. Patrick Forrester STS 105

406. Mikhail Turin STS 105

407. Konstantin Kozeev Soyuz TM-33

408. Mark Kelly STS 108

409. Daniel Tani STS 108

410. Duane Carey STS 109

411. Michael Massimino STS 109

412. Steven Frick STS 110

413. Rex Walheim STS 110

414. Lee Morin STS 110

415. Roberto Vittori Soyuz TM-34

416. Mark Shuttleworth Soyuz TM-34

417. Paul Lockhart STS 111

418. Phillipe Perrin STS 111

419. Peggy Whitson STS 111

420. Sergei Treschev STS 111

421. Sandra Magnus STS 112

422. Piers Sellers STS 112

423. Fyodor Yurchikin STS 112

424. Frank DeWinne Soyuz TMA-1

425. John Herrington STS 113

426. Don Pettit STS 113

427. Willie McCool STS 107

428. David Brown STS 107

429. Laurel Clark STS 107

430. Ilan Ramon STS 107

431. Yang Liwei Shenzhou 5

432. Michael Fincke Soyuz TMA-4

433. Andre Kuipers Soyuz TMA-4

434. Yuri Shargin Soyuz TMA-5

435. Charles Camarda STS 114

436. Soichi Noguchi STS 114

437. Greg Olsen Soyuz TMA 7

438. Fei Junlong Shenzhou 6

439. Nie Haisheng Shenzhou 6

440. Marcos Pontes Soyuz TMA-8

441. Mike Fossum STS 121

442. Lisa Nowak STS 121

443. Stephanie Wilson STS 121

444. Chris Ferguson STS 115

445. Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper STS 115

446. Anousheh Ansari Soyuz TMA-9

447. William Oefelein STS 116

448. Nicholas Patrick STS 116

449. Christer Fugelsang STS 116

450. Joan Higginbotham STS 116

451. Sunita Williams STS 116

452. Oleg Kotov Soyuz TMA-10

453. Charles Simonyi Soyuz TMA-10

454. Lee Archambault STS 117

455. Steven Swanson STS 117

456. John Olivas STS 117

457. Clayton Anderson STS 117

458. Tracy Caldwell STS 118

459. Barbara Morgan STS 118

460. Alvin Drew STS 118

461. Muszaphar Shukor Soyuz TMA-11

462. George Zamka STS-120

463. Douglas Wheelock STS-120

464. Paolo Nespoli STS-120

465. Alan Poindexter STS-122

466. Leland Melvin STS-122

467. Stanley Love STS-122

468. Gregory H. Johnson STS 123

469. Robert Behnken STS 123

470. Michael Foreman STS 123

471. Garrett Reisman STS 123

472. Sergei Volkov Soyuz TMA-12

473. Oleg Kononenko Soyuz TMA-12

474. Yi So-yeon Soyuz TMA-12

475. Kenneth Ham STS-124

476. Karen Nyberg STS-124

477. Ronald Garan STS-124

478. Akihiko Hoshide STS-124

479. Gregory Chamitoff STS-124

480. Liu Boming Shenzhou 7

481. Zhai Zhigang Shenzhou 7

482. Jing Haipeng Shenzhou 7

483. Richard Garriott Soyuz TMA-13

484. Eric Boe STS-126

485. Stephen Bowen STS-126

486. Robert Kimbrough STS-126

487. Dominic "Tony" Antonelli STS-119

488. Joseph Acaba STS-119

489. Richard "Ricky" Arnold STS-119

490. Michael Barratt Soyuz TMA-14

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NASA Space info available at NASA-Space

Atlantis moves towards pad

NASA's Shuttle Atlantis Starts Move to Launch Pad at 4 a.m. Tuesday

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis' rollout to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has been rescheduled to begin at 4 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 31, as preparations for the STS-125 mission move forward. Atlantis is targeted to lift off May 12 to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. NASA Television's live coverage of the event will begin at 6:30 a.m. Video highlights will air on the NASA TV Video File. Journalists are invited to a photo opportunity of the shuttle's move to the pad and an interview opportunity with Atlantis Flow Director Angie Brewer at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Dates and times of this event are subject to change. Updates are available by calling 321-867-2525. Reporters must arrive at Kennedy's news center by 6:30 a.m. Tuesday for transportation to the viewing area. Media accreditation for this event has closed. Badges can be picked up through Tuesday at the Kennedy Badging Office on State Road 405. The badging office opens at 6 a.m. The fully assembled space shuttle, consisting of the orbiter, external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters is mounted on a mobile launcher platform and will be delivered to the pad atop a crawler-transporter. The crawler will travel slower than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The process is expected to take approximately six hours. During Atlantis' 11-day mission, the crew of seven astronauts will make the final shuttle flight to Hubble. During five spacewalks, they will install two new instruments, repair two inactive ones and replace components. The result will be six working, complementary science instruments with capabilities beyond what is now available, and an extended operational lifespan for the telescope through at least 2014. Scott Altman will be the commander of Atlantis. Gregory C. Johnson will be the pilot. Mission specialists will be John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Megan McArthur, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good.

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NASA Honours Astronaut Ken Mattingly

NASA Honours Apollo and Shuttle Astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly

WASHINGTON -- NASA will honor astronaut Thomas K. "Ken" Mattingly, II, with the presentation of an Ambassador of Exploration Award for his contributions to the U.S. space program. During a ceremony on Thursday, March 26, Mattingly will accept the award at the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University in Alabama and present it for display at the university. NASA is giving the Ambassador of Exploration Award to the first generation of explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs for realizing America's goal of going to the moon. The award is a moon rock encased in Lucite, mounted for public display. The rock is part of the 842 pounds of lunar samples collected during six Apollo expeditions from 1969 to 1972. Mattingly was born in Chicago and received his bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Auburn University in 1958. He was the command module pilot for the Apollo 16 mission. He also was designated command module pilot for the Apollo 13 flight, but he was removed from flight status 72 hours before the scheduled launch because of exposure to the German measles. Mattingly is one of a few Apollo astronauts who also flew aboard the space shuttle. He was the shuttle commander on missions STS-4 and STS 51-C.

Apollo 13 Crew Portrait, STS-4 Crew Patch, STS-51-C Mission Patch

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May - Space Shuttle Hubble Mission

Preparations Continue for the May Mission to Hubble

Image Above: Goddard engineer Steve Leete performs a mechanical fit-check of a contingency tool on the replacement Science Instrument Control and Data Handling (SI C&DH) unit in Goddard’s large clean room. The SI C&DH passed it final functional test and will be transported to Kennedy Space Center on March 29. Once it arrives, it will be integrated onto the Multi-Use Logistics Equipment (MULE) Shuttle Carrier where it will ride to orbit on the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Image Credit: NASA/Eric Foster.

Image Above: Goddard engineers re-install the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph instrument into its Shuttle carrier at the Payload Hazardous Systems Facility at Kennedy Space Center. The SM4 flight hardware is being prepared to re-enter the Shuttle launch flow in preparation for a May 12 launch.nbsp; Image Credit: NASA

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Friday, 27 March 2009

New Crew for ISS

New Crew for International Space Station

Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt of the 19th International Space Station crew launched in their Soyuz TMA-14 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7:49 a.m. EDT Thursday to begin a six-month stay in space. Less than 10 minutes after launch their spacecraft reached orbit. Its antennas and solar arrays were deployed shortly afterward.

With Padalka and Barratt is second-time spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi, flying under contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency. Simonyi previously flew to the station in April 2007 as a spaceflight participant with the Expedition 15 crew. Simonyi will return to Earth with Expedition 18 crew members, Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, in their Soyuz TMA-13 on April 7.

Expedition 18 launched to the station Oct. 12. Expedition 19 crew members will be welcomed by the Expedition 18 crew, including Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, after their docking to the orbiting laboratory, scheduled for Saturday. Wakata launched to the station on the STS-119 mission of Discovery March 15. He joined Expedition 18 in progress and will provide Expedition 19 with an experienced flight engineer for its increment.

For the latest news and information on the STS-119 mission, visit the main shuttle page. › Read more Padalka, a colonel in the Russian Air Force, will command the Expedition 19 mission and also serve as Soyuz commander. He previously served as commander of Expedition 9 in 2004. During Padalka's first stay at the International Space Station, he performed four spacewalks. Barratt will serve as a flight engineer for Expedition 19. He served as lead crew surgeon for the first Expedition crew to the station from July 1998 until he was selected as an astronaut candidate. This will be his first spaceflight. Wakata will serve as a flight engineer for Expeditions 18, 19 and 20. Wakata will be the first resident station crew member from JAXA. He will return to Earth on STS-127.

Image above: The Soyuz TMA-14 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday, March 26, 2009 carrying Expedition 19 Commander Gennady I. Padalka, Flight Engineer Michael R. Barratt and Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi to the International Space Station. (Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Soyuz TMA-14 Launch to the Interrnational Space Station

New Astronaut Crew Launches to International Space Station

HOUSTON -- The 19th crew to live and work aboard the International Space Station launched into orbit Thursday morning from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, and spaceflight participant and U.S. software engineer Charles Simonyi lifted off at 6:49 a.m. CDT.

They are scheduled to dock with the station at 8:14 a.m. Saturday, March 28. Padalka will serve as commander of Expeditions 19 and 20 aboard the station. Barratt will serve as a flight engineer for those two missions. Padalka and Barratt's other crewmate is Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. He arrived to the station March 17 on space shuttle Discovery. Simonyi, flying to the station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency, previously visited the complex in April 2007. He is the first spaceflight participant to make a second flight to the station and will spend 10 days aboard. Simonyi will return to Earth April 7 with Expedition 18 Commander Michael Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, who have been on the station since October 2008.

The Expedition 19 crew will continue science investigations and prepare for the arrival of the rest of the station's first six-person contingent. Roman Romanenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk will launch from Baikonur on May 27, arriving at the station on May 29. After all the astronauts are aboard, Expedition 20 will begin, ushering in an era of six-person station crews.

This mission also will be the first time the crew members represent all five International Space Station partners. For more information about the space station and how to view it from Earth, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station

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Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Spaceboosters - STS 119 Mission Report #7

Wednesday, March 18, 2009Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-119 Mission Report #07

A busy day in orbit for the crews of Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station has set the stage for another station assembly task – the installation of the final truss segment and American solar power panels. As the crew prepared for the first spacewalk to assist with the truss installation, Mission Control radioed that no further inspection of Discovery’s heat shield is necessary clearing the way for an earlier deployment of the solar wings Friday. Late today, imagery analysts along with the Damage Assessment Team in Mission Control determined Discovery’s heat shield is healthy for reentry next week. A final routine inspection of the shuttle’s wing leading edge panels will be conducted after Discovery leaves the station to ensure their health. Near the end of the crew day, the station’s robotic arm maneuvered the 31,000 pound, 45-foot-long truss segment to an overnight “park” position to await the start of the first spacewalk by Mission Specialists Steve Swanson and Ricky Arnold. They will “campout” in the Quest airlock of the station at a reduced air pressure overnight to prepare their bodies for the spacewalk planned to last six and a half hours. The two astronauts will assist with final connection of the S6 to its permanent home attached to the remaining station truss. They will connect plumbing, electrical and data cables bringing the segment to life before deployment of the 240-foot-long solar panels. Meanwhile, the newest station crew member Koichi Wakata is settling in for a three-month stay on board after swapping places with Sandy Magnus who returns home aboard Discovery after four months in space. Wakata is the first Japanese astronaut to stay long-term aboard the station. He will be on board when the final pieces of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory are launched aboard Endeavour this summer on the STS-127 mission. The crews head to bed between 10 and 11 tonight as preparations continue toward Thursday’s assembly task.

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Spaceboosters - STS 119 Mission Report #6

Wednesday, March 18, 2009Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-119 Mission Report #06

The last set of American solar power panels for the International Space Station start the last leg of their journey today when the astronauts on space shuttle Discovery position the new S6 truss element for installation. At 10:18 a.m. CDT, Mission Specialists John Phillips and Sandra Magnus start the procedure to command the station’s Canadarm2 to grapple S6 and lift it out of the shuttle’s payload bay, where Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialist Joseph Acaba are waiting for a handoff to the shuttle’s robot arm. The station arm will release S6 so its operating base can move out to the starboard end of the station’s truss structure. Once there, Phillips and station Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata will fly Canadarm2 back to take a handoff back from the shuttle arm, and then move S6 into an overnight park position near its final installation location. The new element, and its two solar array wings, will be put in place on the starboard end of the truss during the first spacewalk of the mission Thursday. In the meantime, Mission Specialists Steve Swanson and Richard Arnold will spend the first part of the day checking out systems in the station’s Quest airlock and configuring the tools they’ll take outside with them on the mission's first planned spacewalk Thursday. The two spacewalkers will assist with the installation of the S6 Truss and open the solar array blanket boxes. Station Commander Mike Fincke and Discovery Commander Lee Archambault will join Acaba and Arnold to talk about the progress of the mission in an interview with Channel One News at 1:58 p.m. Just before the combined crews break for lunch at 2:20 p.m. station Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov will assist his new crewmate Wakata with a leak check of the Japanese astronaut’s Soyuz launch and entry suit. Wakata has time in his schedule each day to familiarize himself with the stations’ systems and operations. This morning’s wakeup song, “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash, was played for Swanson. The next status report will be issued at the end of the crew day, or earlier if events warrant.

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Spaceboosters - STS 119 Mission Report #5

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-119 Mission Report #05

The space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station at 4:20 p.m. CDT, delivering the final truss segment and pair of U.S. solar arrays and a new crew member to take up residence aboard the growing orbital scientific complex. Discovery Commander Lee Archambault guided the shuttle to a docking as the two spacecraft flew 220 miles above Western Australia. Before closing the final 600 feet to the station, Archambault commanded Discovery through a “backflip” allowing the station’s Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Sandy Magnus to take photos that imagery experts will review to assess the health of Discovery’s heat shield. The shuttle and station crews opened hatches and greeted one another at 6:09 p.m., beginning more than a week of joint operations between the two crews. One of the first major tasks of the crews was to swap station crew member Magnus for Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. The official swap occurred when a specially fitted seat liner was installed in the Soyuz crew vehicle. That swap at 9 p.m. signified the official designation change making Wakata an Expedition 18 flight engineer and Magnus a shuttle mission specialist. The mission’s main objective Thursday will be to install the 31,000 pound, 45-foot-long truss segment known as S6 and solar array pair to the far starboard end of the truss during the first spacewalk planned by Mission Specialists Steve Swanson and Ricky Arnold. Throughout the joint mission, transfer of shuttle middeck items to the station will take place, including a replacement Distillation Assembly for the urine recycler. The station crew is scheduled to go to bed about 11 p.m. and the shuttle crew 30 minutes later just after 11:30 p.m. Wake up Wednesday is scheduled for 7:43 a.m. Prime business for the crews Wednesday will be to lift the truss segment out of Discovery’s payload bay with the shuttle robot arm and hand it off to the station’s mechanical arm for an overnight stay before Thursday’s permanent installation on the station. The next shuttle status report will be issued after crew wake, or earlier if events warrant.

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Monday, 23 March 2009

Astronauts Flight Order

Astronauts Flight Order - from SPACEBOOSTERS.co.uk

A complete listing with images of all space explorers to date. 1- 300 are listed on this post; 301 to current on the next post!

490 Space Travellers and Counting....

A listing of all international space travellers in order of their first mission into space.

Each name is linked to an appropriate image of that person.

1. Yuri Gagarin Vostok 1

2. Alan Shepard M-R 1

3. Virgil Grissom M-R 3

4. Gherman Titov Vostok 2

5. John Glenn M-A 6

6. Scott Carpenter M-A 7

7. Andrian Nikolaev Vostok 3

8. Pavel Popovich Vostok 4

9. Walter Schirra M-A 8

10. Gordon Cooper M-A 9

11. Valeri Bykovski Vostok 5

12. Valentina Tereshkova Vostok 6

13. Vladimir Komarov Voskhod 1

14. Konstantin Feoktistov Voskhod 1

15. Boris Yegorov Voskhod 1

16. Pavel Belayaev Voskhod 2

17. Alexei Leonov Voskhod 2

18. John Young Gemini 3

19. James McDivitt Gemini 4

20. Edward White Gemini 4

21. Charles Conrad Gemini 5

22. Frank Borman Gemini 7

23. James Lovell Gemini 7

24. Thomas Stafford Gemini 6

25. Neil Armstrong Gemini 8

26. David Scott Gemini 8

27. Eugene Cernan Gemini 9

28. Michael Collins Gemini 10

29. Richard Gordon Gemini 11

30. Buzz Aldrin Gemini 12

31. Don Eisele Apollo 7

32. Walter Cunningham Apollo 7

33. Georgi Beregovoi Soyuz 3

34. William Anders Apollo 8

35. Vladimir Shatalov Soyuz 4

36. Boris Volnyov Soyuz 5

37. Alexei Yelisiev Soyuz 5

38. Yevgeni Khrunov Soyuz 5

39. Russell Schweickart Apollo 9

40. Georgi Shonin Soyuz 6

41. Valeri Kubasov Soyuz 6

42. Anatoli Filipchenko Soyuz 7

43. Vladislav Volkov Soyuz 7

44. Viktor Gorbatko Soyuz 7

45. Alan Bean Apollo 12

46. John Swigert Apollo 13

47. Fred Haise Apollo 13

48. Vitali Sevastyonov Soyuz 9

49. Stuart Roosa Apollo 14

50. Edgar Mitchell Apollo 14

51. Nikolai Rukavishnikov Soyuz 10

52. Georgi Dobrovolski Soyuz 11

53. Viktor Patsaev Soyuz 11

54. Alfred Worden Apollo 15

55. James Irwin Apollo 15

56. Thomas Mattingly Apollo 16

57. Charles Duke Apollo 16

58. Ronald Evans Apollo 17

59. Harrison Schmitt Apollo 17

60. Joseph Kerwin Skylab 2

61. Paul Weitz Skylab 2

62. Owen Garriott Skylab 3

63. Jack Lousma Skylab 3

64. Vasili Lazarev Soyuz 12

65. Oleg Makarov Soyuz 12

66. Gerald Carr Skylab 4

67. Edward Gibson Skylab 4

68. William Pogue Skylab 4

69. Pyotr Klimuk Soyuz 13

70. Valentin Lebedev Soyuz 13

71. Yuri Artyuhkin Soyuz 14

72. Gennadi Sarafanov Soyuz 15

73. Lev Dyomin Soyuz 15

74. Alexei Gubarev Soyuz 17

75. Georgo Grechko Soyuz 17

76. Vance Brand ASTP

77. Donald Slayton ASTP

78. Vitali Zholobov Soyuz 21

79. Vladimir Aksyonov Soyuz 22

80. Vyacheslav Zhudov Soyuz 23

81. Valeri Rozhdestvenski Soyuz 23

82. Yuri Glazkov Soyuz 24

83. Vladimir Kovalyonok Soyuz 25

84. Valeri Ryumin Soyuz 25

85. Yuri Romanenko Soyuz 26

86. Vladimir Dzhanibekov Soyuz 27

87. Vladimir Remek Soyuz 28

88. Alexander Ivanchenkov Soyuz 29

89. Miroslaw Hermaszewski Soyuz 30

90. Sigmund Jähn Soyuz 31

91. Vladimir Lyakhov Soyuz 32

92. Georgi Ivanov Soyuz 33

93. Leonid Popov Soyuz 35

94. Bertalan Farkas Soyuz 36

95. Yuri Malishev Soyuz T-2

96. Pham Tuan Soyuz 37

97. Arnoldo Tamayo Mendez Soyuz 38

98. Leonid Kizim Soyuz T-3

99. Gennadi Strekalov Soyuz T-3

100. Viktor Savinykh Soyuz T-4

101. J. Gurragchaa Soyuz 39

102. Robert Crippen STS 1

103. Dumitru Prunariu Soyuz 40

104. Joe Engle STS 2

105. Richard Truly STS 2

106. Charles Fullerton STS 3

107. Anatoli Berezovoi Soyuz T-5

108. Jean-Loup Chretien Soyuz T-6

109. Henry Hartsfield, Jr. STS 4

110. Alexander Serebrov Soyuz T-7

111. Svetlana Savitskaya Soyuz T-7

112. Robert Overmyer STS 5

113. Joseph Allen STS 5

114. William Lenoir STS 5

115. Karol Bobko STS 6

116. Donald Peterson STS 6

117. Story Musgrave STS 6

118. Vladimir Titov Soyuz T-8

119. Frederick Hauck STS 7

120. John Fabian STS 7

121. Sally Ride STS 7

122. Norman Thagard STS 7

123. Alexander Alexandrov Soyuz T-9

124. Daniel Brandenstein STS 8

125. Dale Gardner STS 8

126. Guion Bluford STS 8

127. William Thornton STS 8

128. Brewster Shaw STS 9

129. Robert Parker STS 9

130. Byron Lichtenberg STS 9

131. Ulf Merbold STS 9

132. Robert Gibson STS 41B

133. Bruce McCandless STS 41B

134. Ronald McNair STS 41B

135. Robert Stewart STS 41B

136. Vladimir Solovyov Soyuz T-10

137. Oleg Atkov Soyuz T-10

138. Rakesh Sharma Soyuz T-11

139. Francis Scobee STS 41C

140. George Nelson STS 41C

141. James van Hoften STS 41C

142. Terry Hart STS 41C

143. Igor Volk Soyuz T-12

144. Michael Coats STS 41D

145. Judith Resnik STS 41D

146. Steven Hawley STS 41D

147. Richard Mullane STS 41D

148. Charles Walker STS 41D

149. Jon McBride STS 41G

150. Kathryn Sullivan STS 41G

151. David Leestma STS 41G

152. Paul Scully-Power STS 41G

153. Marc Garneau STS 41G

154. David Walker STS 51A

155. Anna Fisher STS 51A

156. Loren Shriver STS 51C

157. Ellison Onizuka STS 51C

158. James Buchli STS 51C

159. Gary Payton STS 51C

160. Donald Williams STS 51D

161. Margaret Seddon STS 51D

162. Jeffrey Hoffman STS 51D

163. David Griggs STS 51D

164. Jake Garn STS 51D

165. Frederick Gregory STS 51B

166. Don Lind STS 51B

167. Lodewijk van den Berg STS 51B

168. Taylor Wang STS 51B

169. John Creighton STS 51G

170. Shannon Lucid STS 51G

171. Steven Nagel STS 51G

172. Patrick Baudry STS 51G

173. Sultan Al-Saud STS 51G

174. Roy Bridges, Jr. STS 51F

175. Karl Henize STS 51F

176. Anthony England STS 51F

177. Loren Acton STS 51F

178. John-David Bartoe STS 51F

179. Richard Covey STS 51I

180. John Lounge STS 51I

181. William Fisher STS 51I

182. Vladimir Vasyutin Soyuz T-14

183. Alexander Volkov Soyuz T-14

184. Ronald Grabe STS 51J

185. David Hilmers STS 51J

186. William Pailes STS 51J

187. Bonnie Dunbar STS 61A

188. Reinhard Furrer STS 61A

189. Ernst Messerschmid STS 61A

190. Wubbo Ockels STS 61A

191. Bryan O’Connor STS 61B

192. Mary Cleave STS 61B

193. Sherwood Spring STS 61B

194. Jerry Ross STS 61B

195. Rodolfo Neri Vela STS 61B

196. Charles Bolden STS 61C

197. Franklin Chang-Díaz STS 61C

198. Robert Cenker STS 61C

199. William Nelson STS 61C

200. Alexander Laveikhin Soyuz TM-2

201. Alexander Viktorenko Soyuz TM-3

202. Muhammed Faris Soyuz TM-3

203. Musa Manarov Soyuz TM-4

204. Anatoli Levchenko Soyuz TM-4

205. Anatoli Solovyov Soyuz TM-5

206. Alexander Alexandrov Soyuz TM-5

207. Valeri Polyakov Soyuz TM-6

208. Abdul Ahad Mohmand Soyuz TM-6

209. Sergei Krikalev Soyuz TM-7

210. Guy Gardner STS 27

211. William Shepherd STS 27

212. John Blaha STS 29

213. James Bagian STS 29

214. Robert Springer STS 29

215. Mark Lee STS 30

216. Richard Richards STS 28

217. James Adamson STS 28

218. Mark Brown STS 28

219. Michael McCulley STS 34

220. Ellen Baker STS 34

221. Manley Carter STS 33

222. Kathryn Thornton STS 33

223. James Wetherbee STS 32

224. David Low STS 32

225. Marsha Ivins STS 32

226. Alexander Balandin Soyuz TM-9

227. John Casper STS 36

228. Pierre Thuot STS 36

229. Gennadi Manakov Soyuz TM-10

230. Robert Cabana STS 41

231. Bruce Melnick STS 41

232. Thomas Akers STS 41

233. Frank Culbertson STS 38

234. Carl Meade STS 38

235. Charles Gemar STS 38

236. Samuel Durrance STS 35

237. Ronald Parise STS 35

238. Viktor Afanasyev Soyuz TM-11

239. Toyohiro Akiyama Soyuz TM-11

240. Kenneth Cameron STS 37

241. Jerome Apt STS 37

242. Linda Godwin STS 37

243. Blaine Hammond STS 39

244. Gregory Harbaugh STS 39

245. Donald McMonagle STS 39

246. Charles Lacy Veach STS 39

247. Richard Hieb STS 39

248. Anatoli Artsebarski Soyuz TM-12

249. Helen Sharman Soyuz TM-12

250. Sidney Gutierrez STS 40

251. Tamara Jernigan STS 40

252. Andrew Gaffney STS 40

253. Millie Hughes-Fulford STS 40

254. Michael Baker STS 43

255. Kenneth Reightler STS 48

256. Tokhtar Aubakirov Soyuz TM-13

257. Franz Viehböck Soyuz TM-13

258. Terence Henricks STS 44

259. Mario Runco STS 44

260. James Voss STS 44

261. Thomas Hennen STS 44

262. Stephen Oswald STS 42

263. William Readdy STS 42

264. Roberta Bondar STS 42

265. Alexander Kaleri Soyuz TM-14

266. Klaus-Dietrich Flade Soyuz TM-14

267. Brian Duffy STS 45

268. Michael Foale STS 45

269. Dirk Frimout STS 45

270. Kevin Chilton STS 49

271. Kenneth Bowersox STS 50

272. Lawrence DeLucas STS 50

273. Eugene Trinh STS 50

274. Sergei Avdeev Soyuz TM-15

275. Michel Tognini Soyuz TM-15

276. Andrew Allen STS 46

277. Claude Nicollier STS 46

278. Franco Malerba STS 46

279. Curtis Brown STS 47

280. Jan Davis STS 47

281. Mae Jemison STS 47

282. Mamoru Mohri STS 47

283. Steven MacLean STS 52

284. Michael Clifford STS 53

285. Susan Helms STS 54

286. Alexander Poleshchuk Soyuz TM-16

287. Kenneth Cockrell STS 56

288. Ellen Ochoa STS 56

289. Charles Precourt STS 55

290. Bernard Harris STS 55

291. Ulrich Walter STS 55

292. Hans Schlegel STS 55

293. Nancy Currie STS 57

294. Peter Wisoff STS 57

295. Janice Voss STS 57

296. Vasili Tsibliev Soyuz TM-17

297. Jean-Pierre Haigneré Soyuz TM-17

298. James Newman STS 51

299. Daniel Bursch STS 51

300. Carl Walz STS 51

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Spaceboosters - STS 119 Mission Report #4

Tuesday, March 17, 2009Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-119 MCC Status Report #04

The astronauts on space shuttle Discovery are primed for rendezvous and docking operations that will link their ship to the International Space Station this afternoon and deliver a new crew member. The crew was awakened at 8:44 a.m. CDT with “Radio Exercise,” performed by the Tokyo Broadcast Children’s Choir. The song traditionally accompanies exercise for Japanese schoolchildren, and was played for astronaut Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, who’s to become his nation’s first long-duration space traveler later today. By 10:38 a.m., shuttle Commander Lee Archambault, Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialist John Phillips will step into the rendezvous timeline for a series of engine firings to refine the orbiter’s pursuit of the station. The terminal initiation burn of Discovery’s engines is scheduled for 1:35 p.m., setting the shuttle on course to close the last eight miles to the station over the subsequent orbit. Discovery should arrive at a point 1,000 feet below the station at 3 p.m., when Archambault will begin manually flying the shuttle. He’ll pause 600 feet away to perform the rendezvous pitch maneuver, a backflip that points Discovery’s belly toward the station so Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus can document the condition of the shuttle's heat protection tiles with up to 300 digital photos. Archambault will guide the shuttle to a point 400 feet directly in front of the station, then begin a slow final approach. Discovery is expected to dock with the International Space Station at 4:12 p.m. CDT, as the two vehicles fly above Jakarta, Indonesia. After hatch opening and a safety briefing, the crews will begin moving supplies and equipment into the station. Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson and Richard Arnold will move spacesuits and spacewalking tools into the Quest airlock, and Flight Engineer Yuri Lonchakov will help Wakata install his custom-fitted seat liner in the Soyuz vehicle. Once that’s complete, Wakata officially becomes a member of the station crew and Magnus transfers to the shuttle after 121 days as a member of Expedition 18. The next status report will be issued at the end of the crew day, or earlier if events warrant.

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Spaceboosters - STS 119 Mission Report #3

Monday, March 16, 2009Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-119 Mission Report #03

Space Shuttle Discovery’s first full day in space focused on an up close inspection of its wing leading edge panels using the robotic arm and Orbiter Boom Sensor System extension. Combined with video documentation on launch day and photographs taken by the International Space Station crew when Discovery approaches on Tuesday afternoon, imagery experts will analyze the photographs and video to assess the health of the shuttle’s Thermal Protection System for reentry. The five-hour inspection today paralleled work by the seven crew members onboard to prepare for the docking Tuesday planned for 4:13 p.m. Some of that work included pre-positioning transfer items and checking out spacesuits that will be used during the three spacewalks planned while Discovery is docked. In preparation for docking, the crew tested rendezvous equipment, installed an Orbiter Docking System “centerline” camera and extended the docking ring atop the docking system before going to bed just before 1 a.m. Tuesday. The shuttle crew includes Koichi Wakata – Japanese astronaut on his third mission – who will become the newest station crew member after docking and hatch opening. He will replace Sandy Magnus who returns home after four months aboard the station. On board the space station, Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineers Yury Lonchakov and Magnus prepared for Discovery’s arrival by reviewing procedures they will use to capture images of Discovery as it approaches and conducts a backflip exposing its underside tiles to the paparazzi armed with long-range lenses inside the station. At about 4:30 Monday afternoon, trajectory experts called off the need for a station maneuver to avoid a piece of space debris when calculations showed it would pass harmlessly by the complex. The next status report will be issued after crew wake-up at 8:43 a.m. Tuesday, or before, if events warrant.

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Spaceboosters - STS 119 Mission Report #2

March 16, 2009Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas

STS-119 Report #02

The astronauts on board space shuttle Discovery plan a day of orbiter inspection on their way to deliver a new set of solar arrays to the International Space Station. The crew was awakened at 9:13 a.m. CDT to the sounds of “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, played for Pilot Tony Antonelli. First up for Antonelli and Commander Lee Archambault is a planned firing of the shuttle’s orbital maneuvering system engines to refine its approach to the station for Tuesday’s planned docking at 4:13 p.m. Then, Antonelli joins Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba and John Phillips to begin inspection of critical elements of Discovery’s heat shield. The astronauts use the shuttle robot arm to lift the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) from the starboard sill of the payload bay and move it into position to examine the reinforced carbon-carbon panels that line the leading edges of both wings and the orbiter’s nose cap. Data gathered by the OBSS sensor packages is transmitted to Earth for review by specialists looking for evidence of damage caused by debris during the shuttle’s Sunday evening climb into orbit. Also on tap for Monday are checkouts of the spacesuits to be worn by Acaba and Mission Specialists Steve Swanson and Richard Arnold during the three spacewalks they’re to conduct from the International Space Station. The crew also will prepare the orbiter docking system and a suite of rendezvous tools they’ll use during Tuesday’s approach to the station. International Space Station Commander Mike Fincke and flight engineers Yury Lonchakov and Sandra Magnus are scheduled to spend today getting ready for the arrival of Discovery, which is delivering Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata to take over for Magnus; she’ll come home with the shuttle crew later this month after some four months in orbit. Along with the S6 Truss element and another set of U.S. solar array wings, Discovery’s crew is delivering a new distillation assembly to get the station’s water recycling system up to full operation for a doubling of the station’s crew size later this summer.

STS-119 Official Crew Portrait

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Spaceboosters - Shuttle Discovery Launches

March 15th 2009
NASA's Shuttle Discovery Launches to Fully Power Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 7:43 p.m. EDT Sunday to deliver the final set of power-generating solar array wings and a new crew member to the International Space Station. Discovery's STS-119 flight is carrying the space station's fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station's truss, or backbone. The arrays will provide the electricity to fully power science experiments and support the station's expanded crew of six in May. The 13-day mission will feature three spacewalks to help install the S6 truss segment to the starboard, or right, side of the station and deploy its solar arrays. The flight also will replace a failed unit for a system that converts urine to potable water. Shortly before launch, Commander Lee Archambault thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible. "It's truly an honor to be part of this team representing NASA, the nation and the international partners," Archambault said. "See you in a couple of weeks." Archambault is joined on STS-119 by Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace space station crew member Sandra Magnus, who has been aboard the station for more than four months. He will return to Earth during the next station shuttle mission, STS-127, targeted to launch in June 2009. Former science teachers Acaba and Arnold are now fully-trained NASA astronauts. They are making their first journey to orbit on the mission and will to step outside the station to conduct critical spacewalking tasks. Discovery's launch was postponed Wednesday, March 11, after a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system was detected during fueling. Technicians rebuilt and replaced seals and other components associated with the system. No leaks were detected during the Sunday's fueling. NASA is providing continuous television and Internet coverage of Discovery's mission, which is the 125th shuttle flight, the 36th for Discovery and the 28th shuttle mission to the station. NASA Television features live mission events, daily mission status news conferences and 24-hour commentary. NASA TV is webcast at:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv NASA's Web coverage of STS-119 includes current mission information, interactive features, news conference images, graphics and videos. Mission coverage, including the latest NASA TV schedule, also is available on the main space shuttle Web site at:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle Live updates to the NASA News Twitter feed will be added throughout the shuttle mission and landing. To access the NASA News Twitter feed and other agency Twitter feeds, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/collaborate

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Spaceboosters - STS 119 Mission Report #1

7 p.m. CDT Sunday, March 15, 2009Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
03.15.09

STS-119 Status Report #01

Space shuttle Discovery blasted off Sunday from the Kennedy Space Center on the first shuttle flight of the year, lighting up the skies along the Eastern seaboard on a mission to deliver a fourth and final set of U.S. solar arrays that will put the International Space Station into full-power status. Commander Lee Archambault, Pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata began their journey at 6:43 p.m. CDT. Less than nine minutes later, Discovery and its seven crew members reached their preliminary orbit and began to stow gear and prepare for the opening of the shuttle’s cargo bay doors. At the time of Discovery’s launch, the International Space Station flew 220 miles above Tasmania just south of the Australian continent. The station crew, Commander Mike Fincke and flight engineers Yury Lonchakov and Sandra Magnus, watched the launch on a special television feed from Mission Control. Wakata will become a station crew member Tuesday evening to begin a three-month stay shortly after docking. He will replace Magnus, who will return to Earth aboard Discovery to end her four-month stay in space. Wakata is scheduled to spend a little more than three months on the orbital complex. Discovery took flight after engineers fixed a gaseous hydrogen leak in a vent line for the shuttle’s external tank that forced a postponement last Wednesday. Today, there were no issues as Discovery was fueled for the start of its 36th mission under cloudless skies. During the 13-day flight, Swanson, Arnold and Acaba will rotate assignments on three spacewalks. The first, by Swanson and Arnold Thursday has them assist with installation of the 16-ton S6 truss element and its solar arrays onto the end of the station’s starboard truss. Discovery’s crew will deliver a replacement distillation assembly for the station’s water recycling system, and help the Expedition 18 crew prepare for doubling of the station’s crew size later this summer. The crew will begin a sleep period just after 1 a.m. Monday and awaken at 9:13 a.m. The next shuttle status report will be issued after crew wakeup, or earlier if events warrant.

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