Atlantis kicked off what was a historic evening for the Space Shuttle Program (SSP), as she rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) – with first motion at 8:42pm local time. Now at the pad, she will be put through a nominal pad flow, prior to a Tanking Test on ET-138, to be followed [...]
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After nearly 12 days of docked operations with Space Station Alpha, the Space Shuttle Endeavour, NASA youngest Shuttle orbiter, departed the international outpost to begin her final journey home. Thanks to the superb work by her flight crew and her thousands of support staff on terra firma, Endeavour’s Thermal Protection System (TPS) was formally cleared [...]
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Concluding a highly successful docked mission for STS-134, Endeavour and her crew undocked at 22:55 Central on Sunday, ahead of a busy and prolonged farewell to the Station which she was heavily involved in building. It involves nearly five hours of work until Endeavour’s final separation burn, as she performed a debut manuever specific to [...]
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Managers are reviewing one item of interest – relating to an ascent observation during Endeavour’s ride uphill – ahead of Atlantis’ rollout to Pad 39A next week. As one of the milestones for the final shuttle mission was completed – the S0044 Launch Countdown Sim – Launch Director Mike Leinbach received a standing ovation from [...]
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As Endeavour heads into the sunset portion of her historic final voyage to space, her crew have completed one of the biggest lasts in the Shuttle Program: the 162nd and FINAL Space Shuttle spacewalk. This historic day concluded all scheduled EVA activities for the Space Shuttle Program and its astronauts since EVAs on Shuttle missions began [...]
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As the historic milestones continue to come thick and fast, Endeavour was put through her final inspections via the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), ahead of presenting it to the International Space Station (ISS) as a farewell gift. The results of the scans – which focus on her Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) panels – will [...]
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STS-134 Spacewalkers Drew Feustel and Mike Fincke have marked a historic first – surrounding their EVA-3 consisting of FGB Power Data Grapple Fixture work, Y-Jumper installations, and cable tasks – as they debuted a new campout procedure called the In-Suit Light Exercise (ISLE) EVA Pre-Breathe Protocol. Meanwhile, the Mission Management Team (MMT) decided not to [...]
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The Russian Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft, also known by its US designation of 25S, departed from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday after five months on-orbit. Prior to a successful landing, Soyuz TMA-20 participated in a unique and historical event to photograph the ISS while the Space Shuttle Endeavour is docked to the complex, providing [...]
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Endeavour’s flight crew have completed the second of four planned EVAs/spacewalks - focusing on port SARJ and Dextre lubrication and ammonia coolant line and tank work - lasting an epic eight hours and seven minutes. The spacewalk came after mission managers officially cleared Endeavour’s Thermal Protection System for reentry, following a multi-day review process of the vehicle’s ascent data, [...]
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Following the decision made by the Mission Management Team (MMT) to press ahead with a Focused Inspection (FI) on one area of Thermal Protection System (TPS) damage located on Endeavour’s belly, the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) was used to gain imagery which has successfully allowed managers to clear the vehicle for entry. Later on Flight Day [...]
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Arianespace have launched two telecommunications satellites via their Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle. The two passengers – ST-2 and GSAT-8 – are being lofted into their respective transfer orbits from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana – with lift-off on time at the opening of the launch window at 20:38 GMT.
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International Launch Services (ILS) are in action on Friday, as the countdown clocks ticked down to the launch of their Proton-M rocket. The workhorse launch vehicle lofted the Telstar 14R telecommunications satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is scheduled for 19:15 GMT, ahead of over nine hours of [...]
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Endeavour’s flight crew have completed the mission’s first EVA, focusing on MISSE experiment swap outs and ammonia jumper line installations. Meanwhile, engineers on the ground poured over imagery data from FD-3′s RPM (R-bar Pitch Maneuver) which helped engineers identify a debris impact area on Endeavour which will require a Focused Inspection (FI) during FD-6 (Saturday).
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As Endeavour works through Flight Day 4 (FD4), the historic milestone of delivering and attaching the final component for the U.S. segment of the ISS has been completed, with the installation of the premiere scientific experiment to the Station: the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2. Meanwhile, Endeavour performed above and beyond expectations during her triumphant final ascent to space [...]
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The STS-134 crew have completed the installation of ExPRESS Logistics Carrier -3 (ELC-3) to round up a busy Flight Day 3, which opened the docked phase of the mission. Meanwhile, the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) are carrying out a Focused Inspection (FI) review of the additional imagery gained during Endeavour’s R-Bar Pitch Manuever (RPM), which [...]
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In another historic milestone for Endeavour’s final flight, the fleet’s youngest orbiter chased down the International Space Station (ISS) to kick start the docked phase of the STS-134 mission. Endeavour arrived in superb shape, with the Mission Management Team (MMT) only having to review a handful of very minor issues, following an extremely clean ascent to [...]
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Atlantis has rolled over to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for mating operations ahead of her July mission to the International Space Station (ISS) – the final scheduled shuttle mission. NASA managers are expected to set a realigned planning date for Atlantis’ launch, which – according to preliminary schedules – ranges between July 10-12.
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The 25th and final mission of Endeavour is underway following a visually stunning mid-morning liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Endeavour and her six-man international crew are for an orbital mission filled with firsts and unique and inspiring challenges.
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Shuttle Endeavour is back in space for what is scheduled to be her final mission. A nominal countdown, which included an issue-free tanking, resulted in an on time launch at 8:58am Eastern. The countdown also provided a full test of the mitigation effort on the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU-1) Heater system issue which caused the [...]
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International Space Station (ISS) program managers have approved the use of Dual Docked Operations (DDO) during the upcoming STS-134 mission, the first time such an operation has ever been cleared for use. Managers are also planning to conduct a Soyuz flyabout during the STS-134 mission, per its official return to the mission plan following previous [...]
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