The Mission Management Team (MMT) have approved the extension of the STS-135 mission by one day, thanks to Atlantis’ healthy cryo margins. The extension will provide additional time for transfers to and from the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) which was berthed on the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, along with supporting additional ISS [...]
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In an important step for the next phase of its manned space program, China has launched its second tracking and data relay satellite, Tian Lian-1B (TL-1B). The launch took place at 15:41 UTC on Monday from the Xi Chang Satellite Launch Center, in Sichuan Province, utilizing a Long March 3C (Chang Zheng-3C) launch vehicle.
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Atlantis has docked to the International Space Station (ISS) – one final time – following an emotional R-Bar Pitch Maneuver (RPM) and text book approach to the orbital outpost. Her mission performance continues to be exemplary, as the Damage Assessment Team review the health of the Thermal Protection System, in tandem with data from the orbiter’s [...]
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The crew of Atlantis have completed the main task of Flight Day 2, a sweep of the orbiter’s Wing Leading Edges (WLE) and nose cap via the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), as they close in on Sunday’s docking with the International Space Station (International Space Station). Initial imagery points to only a few items [...]
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Following a typically eventful shuttle launch countdown, the Mission Evaluation Room (MER) teams have confirmed Atlantis enjoyed a flawless launch on Friday, as her crew prepare to head into Flight Day 2′s tasks relating to the inspections of the Thermal Protection System (TPS). Atlantis is currently in pursuit of the International Space Station (ISS) for [...]
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Following was Atlantis’ last – and rather eventful – final full day at Launch Pad 39A, STS-135 has launched into orbit. After beating the odds on the weather front, a hold at T-31 seconds – related to the GOX Vent Hood retraction – was soon resolved, allowing Atlantis to blast off into the heavens via [...]
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As Space Shuttle Atlantis prepares to blast off to the International Space Station (ISS) for her STS-135 mission on Friday, signalling the end of the Space Shuttle era, a new era in robotic satellite refuelling will just be beginning, as Atlantis will transport to the ISS a payload designed to demonstrate and evaluate the technologies and [...]
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The Chinese have launched the Shi Jian 11-03 satellite via their Long March 2C (Chang Zheng-2C) launch vehicle. The launch was listed at 04:28 UTC on Wednesday, lifting off from the SLS-2 launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Assuming the same flight profile as the Shi Jian 11-01 – launched on November 12, [...]
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Atlantis and her engineers are now working through the complex set of tasks relating to S0007 – better known as the launch countdown – with no major issues currently under evaluation. However, Friday’s countdown does have at least one challenge to overcome, related to the stormy weather which is expected to roll in over the [...]
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For Atlantis, the last decade of her career would be marked with many more triumphs as she joined her sisters in the most ambitious project in space to date: construction of the International Space Station. This would mean dodging the order for retirement a whooping two times to become the only Space Shuttle orbiter with [...]
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With Atlantis’s early years behind her, the middle years of OV-104′s impressive career would serve to radically shift the gears of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program as the iconic vehicles gradually drifted away from solo research missions toward construction, utilization, and support of orbiting space stations. But for Atlantis, this shift in priorities would be immediate, [...]
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The Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis, in many ways the middle-child orbiter of the Space Shuttle Program – in many ways the one vehicle that has consistently represented the spirit and determination of the Shuttle Program. Over her 25 and a half year, 33 mission career, the Shuttle orbiter Atlantis has ingrained herself into our hearts [...]
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