NASA Prepares Shuttle Atlantis Tank for Sensor Fix

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NASA Preparing to Service Hubble for the Last Time, In Glorious Pictures [Nasa]

The Boston Globe's Big Picture blog continues its incredible coverage of all things wonderful to look at today with a spread relating to the space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis is scheduled to launch on October 8, equipped with all manner of instruments, batteries and gyroscopes for Hubble. Pictured above is one of the massive Atlantis engines being moved to the main bay for installation. That's just one engine, though—there's plenty of space-related tech porn to be found in the rest of the spread, too. Servicing Mission 4 astronaut Drew Feustel uses the "Pistol Grip Tool," a computer-controlled power tool, to install the Wide Field Camera 3 into a high-fidelity Hubble model. Just another day at the office. Feustel gets all the fun gadgets. [lien] [EN]

NASA Unlikely to Launch Shuttle Atlantis on January 10

While NASA engineers are still unsure when it will be safe to launch space shuttle Atlantis on its long-awaited mission to the International Space Station, they are optimistic that a fix to the problem delaying lift off is just weeks away. But a new round of tests and procedures that NASA is planning almost certainly means that the January 10 launch date the agency had hoped for just weeks ago is not going to happen. Space shuttle program manager Wayne Hale told reporters on Thursday that that engineers will remove wiring and components of an oversized electrical socket on the outside of Atlantis' fuel tank on Saturday for analysis and repair. "This is probably going to not allow us to fly on Jan. 10," Hale said. "We're probably going to be a little bit after that. [lien] [EN]

Space Shuttle Atlantis to launch Jan. 10

Space Shuttle Atlantis will make its next launch attempt Jan. 10, shuttle managers announced Thursday. "Moving the next attempt of Atlantis to Jan. 10 will allow as many people as possible to have time with family and friends at the time of year when it means the most," said Wayne Hale, space shuttle program manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Atlantis' initial attempts Dec. 6 and Dec. 9 were scrubbed because of malfunctioning sensors that monitor liquid hydrogen fuel levels in the tank. Atlantis' crew plans to install the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station. [lien] [EN]

NASA Finds Sensor Problem But Atlantis Launch Date No Closer

NASA troubleshooters determined on Tuesday that the problem that delayed space shuttle Atlantis’ launch by at least a month is not caused by defective fuel sensors as originally suspected, but by a bad connector that links wires from the sensors inside the shuttle's fuel tank to the outside. The findings were the result of a long test that monitored the sensors as the shuttle’s giant orange external tank was filled with 500,000 gallons of super-cold liquid hydrogen and then left to stand for hours before it was drained. It is a critical step to solving one of NASA’s most vexing problems since the shuttle returned to flight in 2005 after the Columbia disaster. "Today the sensors themselves were exonerated in this test. [lien] [EN]

NASA Troubleshoots in Space and On the Ground

As expected, Tuesday is turning out to be a busy day for NASA: two American astronauts are investigating a cranky rotary joint at the International Space Station while NASA engineers run a test on shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tank at Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A to pinpoint what's behind faulty fuel sensors. Space Station Commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Dan Tani are currently finishing the 100th spacewalk conducted in the history of the assembly of the station. The astronauts are peeking inside all 22 insulation covers surrounding the entire circumference of the starboard rotary joint that keeps solar panels on the right side of the station tracking the sun for power. The starboard joint has been locked in place since October after it first started malfunctioning. [lien] [EN]

Shuttle launch(es) delayed again

Sentinel Space Editor Robert Block just phoned this in: NASA still doesn't know when it will be able to launch shuttle Atlantis -- or the date of the other four launches that had been scheduled for 2008. In a press conference Thursday, engineers said that Atlantis -- whose Dec. 6 launch was scrubbed because of problems with fuel sensors -- now won't launch before Jan. 24 at the earliest, and more likely some time in February. That, in turn, will delay the scheduled February launch of Endeavor -- and could have a domino effect on the three other launches scheduled for later in the year. [lien] [EN]

Historic Photo Shows Atlantis and Endeavour Together for the Last Time [Nasa]

How's this for a truly awesome photo? Shown in the foreground is Space Shuttle Atlantis on Launch Pad A. The shuttle in the background is Endeavour, on Launch Pad B. Currently, both shuttles are locked and loaded for launch, should something go wrong up in space with the October 11 Atlantis mission. As Tom explains over at his Astronomy Blog, having two shuttles on the pad at the same time is rare, but it is not a cause for concern. When the ISS is not available for rescue purposes, as it might not be for this mission, a second shuttle is made ready for a quick launch. What is sobering, however, is this image is potentially the last of its kind. The space shuttle program is scheduled for retirement in 2010, leaving little chance for similar shuttle family photos in the future. [lien] [EN]

Space Shuttle Rushes Home Before Pentagon Blows Up Satellite [Satellite Of Love]

NASA is rushing the Space Shuttle Atlantis back to Earth on Wednesday so the mad scientists at the Pentagon can try to shoot a monstrous poisonous spy satellite out of the sky before it crashes back... [lien] [EN]

NASA Engineers Team Up With Retirees to Secretly Develop Alternative Moon Rocket [Nasa]

A handful of rogue NASA engineers have gone underground and spent their spare time from the Constellation program working on a rocket dubbed "Jupiter"—an alternative that they believe will be "safer, cheaper and easier to build than the two Ares spacecraft that will replace the space shuttle." Jupiter is being developed with the help of a team that includes retired NASA engineers and enthusiasts who are working (mostly) anonymously. The Jupiter design would require two separate launches to get to the moon (one with payload, one with astronauts), but both rockets would utilize the old shuttle fuel tank at the core. Its backers claim that it could save NASA $19 billion in development costs and another $16 billion in operating costs over two decades. [lien] [EN]

NASA Last shuttle launch for Columbia - Raw video MUST SEE

NASA Last shuttle launch for Columbia - Raw video MUST SEEiweberdudei3 mn - 31 oct. 2006This video was shot with my DVCPro camera and gear by a crew from Israel who hired my services to uplink this video (I had leased out a KU band uplink truck at the time) back to their country. This video depicts a rare glimpse of an actual shuttle launch that is unedited. Turn your volume up and experience the roar of the booster rockets through your woofer speakers. Sadly the shuttle was carrying the crew that lost their lives when Columbia exploded during its descend over Texas in February of 2003. Cherish the clip. If you'd like to download a copy of this fascinating video: Click here. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=245775144 To Own a DVD copy (best quality) go here. [lien] [EN]

STS-115 SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS LAUNCH

STS-115 SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS LAUNCHne0heavymetal2 mn - 9 sept. 2006Sept. 9, 11:15 a.m. EDT Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Kennedy Space Center and charged into the midday Florida sky on a mission to boost power on the International Space Station. The launch was on time, with liftoff at 11:15 a.m. EDT. Over the 11-day mission, the six-member crew will perform three spacewalks to install the P3/P4 integrated truss and solar arrays on the station, doubling the current power generating capability of the orbiting outpost. Atlantis Heads for Station The shuttle Atlantis is in orbit, headed for a challenging new phase in the construction of the International Space Station. Commander Brent Jett and his five crewmates will install a new 17-ton segment of the station's truss backbone. [lien] [EN]

NASA Releases Dirty Photos of Spirit Rover Solar Panels [Spirit Rover]

Hey Pig Pen. Yeah, you, the Mars Spirit Rover with the red Martian dust all over your solar panels. We're filing a post on a bathtub later today, so why don't you take the hint and use one? What's that? You're millions of miles away and potable water may or may not be somewhere on the planet you're currently exploring? Oh, well, in that case, pray for another wind storm or something, because these filthy before and after pics mean only about 1/3 of the Sun's light is getting through to power your electronics. NASA's plea for a sensor-cleaning interstellar dust storm is after the break. Says NASA, via its Jet Propulsion Laboratory web page: If Mars had an on-line Web site for ads, one of them might say something like this: "Wanted: Gentle space-age dust removal system to clean solar cells without leaving grit behind. [lien] [EN]

Space Shuttle Final Flight Programmed: May 31 2010 [To Infinity And Into Storage]

NASA has put a final date on the shuttle program: May 31 2010. That day, the shuttle will launch for the last time, putting an end to 29 years of amazing missions, two of them with tragic endings. The final will be STS-133, in which Endeavour "will carry critical spare components that will be placed on the outside of the station," including new communication antennas, a gas tank, spare parts for giant space robot Dextre, and the coolest of them all: "micrometeoroid debris shields." I don't know about you, but I hope these involve invisible fields or laser micro-turrets or some kind of plasma generator. They also released details for the remaining flights of Endeavour, Discovery, and Atlantis: SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2009 Feb. 12 — Discovery (STS-119 / 15A) will kick off a five. [lien] [EN]

Atlantis Reaches Orbit

STS-122 carrying the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory module has attained orbit. Despite earlier concerns about the weather, Atlantis lifted off at 2:45 EST. With Atlantis safely attaining orbit, NASA mission managers gave the command to proceed with main engine cutoff, or MECO, and the giant orange tank that provided fuel for the climb into space has been jettisoned. As the tank falls away and descends toward Earth, its onboard cameras record the process. Atlantis' next stop: the International Space Station. Cheers and shouts could be heard throughout the space center as Atlantis, carrying the STS-122 crew and Columbus Laboratory, roared off the launch pad into the mid-afternoon sky to begin the 24th mission to the International Space Station. [lien] [EN]