Thursday, 3 March 2011

NASA'S Space Shuttle Endeavour Set For Final Trip To Launch Pad

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Journalists are invited to cover space shuttle Endeavour's move from the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, to Launch Pad 39A on Wednesday, March 9, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.


Six astronauts are targeted to launch aboard the shuttle on April 19. The STS-134 mission to the International Space Station is the final scheduled flight for Endeavour before it is retired.

Endeavour's first motion out of the VAB is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. NASA Television will provide live coverage of the rollout. NASA TV's Video File will broadcast highlights of the move. The shuttle's 3.4-mile journey atop a giant crawler-transporter is expected to take approximately six hours.

Activities include an 8 p.m. photo opportunity of the move followed by an interview availability at 8:30 p.m. with Endeavour Flow Director Dana Hutcherson. Media representatives must arrive at Kennedy's news center by 7:30 p.m. for the rollout photo opportunity.

NASA also will provide a sunrise photo opportunity at the launch pad on March 10, following Endeavour's arrival. Reporters must be at the news center by 6 a.m. for transportation to the viewing area. Updates for events are available at 321-867-2525.

To attend rollout and the sunrise pad photo opportunity, U.S. media representatives must apply by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 7. Accreditation for international media representatives is closed. Reporters requesting accreditation must apply online at:

Leonardo attached to Space Station

After a flawless launch last Thursday and a textbook docking on Saturday, the Space Shuttle today delivered the European-built Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module to the International Space Station.


Read the whole article here: http://www.esa.int/esaHS/SEMHGVHSBKG_index_0.html

Permanent Multipurpo​se Module Successful​ly Grappled

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 07:31:55 -0600


At 8:26 a.m. EST, Discovery Mission Specialists Mike Barratt and Nicole Stott inched the 58-foot-long space station robotic arm onto a grapple fixture on the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM). The arm will lift the fully-loaded 28,353 pound PMM from space shuttle Discovery's cargo bay and carry it to the Earth-facing port on the Unity node, where it will be permanently attached.