Endeavour’s stack was still being inspected for damage on Friday, following severe weather over the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) this week. So far, only “very minor” damage has been observed on the External Tank (ET-122), which has its LOX topside exposed to the elements, although Endeavour herself is still being evaluated. Meanwhile, the Terminal Countdown Demonstration [...]
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As engineers and flight planners around NASA narrow in on the final stretch of the launch campaign for the STS-134 mission, flight engineers are in the process of reviewing a series of special topics, new operations, and weather support issues. Among the various items currently under final review/assessment are the 5th flight of the Boundary [...]
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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA’s) H-II Transfer Vehicle-2 (HTV-2) “Kounotori” (White Stork) is departing from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, after a 60 day visit to the orbital outpost. Launched to the ISS on 22nd January, HTV-2 arrived at the space station on 27th January after a five day free flight, whereupon it was [...]
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Preparations for Atlantis’ honor of rounding off the 30 year long Space Shuttle program are proceeding to plan, with processing about to enter the latest milestone of Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) stacking inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Minor alterations to the mission content – as is normal for this stage in the planning – [...]
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NASA and Roscosmos managers are understood to be negotiating the schedule of the upcoming Progress M-10M launch, due to a potential conflict with Endeavour’s STS-134 docked mission. Meanwhile, processing at Pad 39A is continuing to focus on the installation of the STS-134′s complex payload into Endeavour’s cargo bay.
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With a Shuttle Derived (SD) Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV) still leading the way via ongoing evaluations into the configuration of the Space Launch System (SLS), an evolvable vehicle – which can be delivered on time and on cost – is undergoing final refinements. It is understood that the only real competitor at this stage [...]
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Endeavour’s highly advanced payload arrived at Pad 39A on Monday evening, as STS-134 continues to track the April 19 launch date target with several contingency days to spare. Managers have also been discussing their Range Hold Coordination, following STS-133′s dramatic T-5 minute hold, which resulted in a restart with just two seconds to spare.
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Atlantis is continuing to enjoy a smooth processing flow inside her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-2) for the late June STS-135 mission, while her External Tank (ET-138) undergoes radius block modifications to avoid the potential of cracks forming in the intertank stringers. Former SSP manager Wayne Hale also noted the observation of such cracks is a [...]
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With the realigned Russian Soyuz TMA-21 schedule not impacting on STS-134′s launch date, Endeavour is pressing on with her April 19 target, after completing the first week of what will likely be her final pad flow. The week has been marked by the usual Interim Problem Reports (IPRs) and the slight drama of a dropped [...]
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With just over one month to go before the scheduled No Earlier Than launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on her 25th and final mission – and the penultimate flight of the Space Shuttle Program – NASA has defined the nominal mission timeline for Endeavour and her six-member Flight Crew, as well as determined OBSS contingency [...]
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Expedition 26 commander Scott Kelly, along with Russian flight engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Kaleri, have returned to Earth, following a nominal re-entry of their Russian Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft. The trio landed in horrendous weather conditions in Kazakhstan, resulting in a speedy evacuation by helicopter.
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Although Discovery has finished her space flight career in style, she still has many months of processing ahead of her – as deserving work follows a pre-planned schedule towards her eventual ferry away from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Her final mission was flawless, earning managerial praise for the teams tasked with “finishing strong” during [...]
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In an interview with NASASpaceflight.com, former Space Shuttle Program (SSP) manager Wayne Hale spoke about the upcoming book on the history of the Shuttle, “Wings In Orbit,” his role in the project, and about what he is doing today. “Wings In Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle” is due to go on [...]
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The United Launch Alliance (ULA) have launched their Delta IV rocket carrying a classified spacecraft for the United States National Reconnaissance Office on Friday. The mission, designated NRO Launch 27, lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 37 at 6:38pm Eastern (23:38 UTC) – following a delayed T-0 due to unacceptable upper level wind data [...]
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Just a day after the fleet leader, Discovery, landed at the nearby Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) to end her career, the youngest orbiter of the fleet headed out to Pad 39A as the STS-134 stack on Thursday evening (7:56pm Local), arriving at the pad at 3:49am Friday. Currently the final mission for Endeavour, the 24 [...]
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Discovery has completed her final – and flawless – mission in space with a return to her home port of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Two KSC opportunities existed on Flight Day 14 (End Of Mission), but excellent weather in Florida allowed a go for the deorbit burn to be given, prior to [...]
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To say that the final voyage of Discovery has been anything but unbelievably remarkable and awe-inspiring would be to lessen the spirit of STS-133. Now, as she spends her final day in orbit of Earth, Discovery is preparing for reentry. Paraphrasing the Admiral (Bill Adama) himself: “Discovery has not failed us. She will not fail [...]
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In an emotional farewell, Discovery has undocked and departed from the International Space Station (ISS) for the final time in her career. The undocking occurred at 6:00am Central Time, ahead of a stunning flyaround of the orbital outpost. As the two vehicles grow the distance between each other, the STS-133 crew completed Late Inspections on [...]
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As preparations continue for Discovery’s departure from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, her younger sister, Endeavour, is deep into preparations to rollout to Pad 39A. Following Endeavour’s final rollover for the STS-134 mission, and indeed her career, mating operations between the orbiter and the stack are complete – although her Vehicle Assembly Building [...]
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The United Launch Alliance (ULA) have launched their Atlas V 501 carrying the X-37B OTV-2 spacecraft on Saturday, the second attempt following Friday’s scrub due to unacceptable weather at Cape Canaveral. The launch came at the start of the second available launch window, which opened at 5:46pm, due to work to to replace a valve on [...]
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