Following initially positive opening investigations into the possibility of allowing a Space Shuttle orbiter to be present (i.e. docked) to the International Space Station (ISS) during Russian Progress and/or Soyuz dockings and undockings, Space Shuttle Program and ISS Program officials have decided that more investigation and information is necessary before allowing this scenario to unfold.
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With the International Space Station (ISS) extended to at least 2020, its upmass and downmass lifelines have received a blow – following the decision to remove the possibility of using the Launch On Need (LON) vehicle, Atlantis, for supporting STS-133 as an additional logistics flight (STS-135). Meanwhile, nearly 2,600 kg are enroute to the Station, [...]
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Managers have been evaluating options for STS-130’s launch and mission duration, following the test failures of ammonia lines that are related to Endeavour’s Node 3 payload. While options to keep Node 3 alive without the installation of the troublesome lines appear positive, the Tiger Team have a potential solution for beefing up the lines, or [...]
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International Space Station (ISS) managers are conducting a series of meetings to discuss problems relating to Node 3’s associated ammonia lines, which have suffered from rupturing during proof testing. Options available to managers range from reducing STS-130 to a shortened, single EVA, mission, to potentially postponing the flight via swapping the order of the 2010 [...]
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International Space Station Program (ISSP) and Space Shuttle Program (SSP) engineers have updated NASA on the safety issues pertaining to Dual-Docked Operations (DDO) between the Space Shuttle and various Russian visiting vehicles making use of the numerous Russian docking ports. Meanwhile, the three man crew of Soyuz TMA-17 have docked with the Station.
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STS-129 is spending its last full day on the International Space Station, ahead of Wednesday’s undocking. Flight Day 9 is focusing on transferring the remaining items on the manifests, including the Distilliation Assembly (DA) from the broken Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – a task that required a large amount of debate, to ensure the large [...]
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With her Flight Day 2 (FD-2) Thermal Protection System inspections behind her, Atlantis has docked with the International Space Station (ISS) – following a visually stunning R-bar Pitch Maneuver (RPM). Docking came after engineers cleared a minor ring alignment issue on Atlantis’ Orbiter Docking System (ODS).
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The 3,670kg module Mini Research Module-2 (MRM-2) has launched at 9:22 am Eastern on Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on top of a Russian Soyuz-U launch vehicle. The module will become the latest addition to the Station - providing an additional docking port for Russian vehicles, an airlock for Russian-based spacewalks and a platform for external [...]
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International Space Station Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka, Flight Engineer Michael Barratt and spaceflight participant Guy Laliberte have landed safely in their Soyuz TMA-14 on the steppes of Kazakhstan Sunday morning. The trio left the ISS just a few hours prior to landing, leaving a Station that is now busily working through its Expedition 21 [...]
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Soyuz Commander Max Suraev, NASA Flight Engineer Jeff Williams and spaceflight participant Guy Laliberte launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:14 am (Central). Meanwhile, NASA controllers have been looking into Soyuz “Safe Haven” procedures, in the event of late conjunction threats to the Station.
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Japan space agency JAXA has successfully launched the HTV (H-II Transfer Vehicle) on its debut flight to the International Space Station (ISS). The HTV launched on schedule from Tanegashima Space Center on an H-IIB vehicle – into an initial 200 km x 300 km orbit – at 02:01 local time on Friday (13:01 on Thursday Eastern time).
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STS-128 has successfully completed the second of three spacewalks, which focused on the replacement of an Ammonia Tank on the International Space Station (ISS). Meanwhile the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) have given an expansive roundup of their rationale to clear Discovery for entry, which was approved by the Mission Management Team (MMT).
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NASA Managers debated advancing or delaying EVA-2, due to a now-removed conjunction threat to Discovery and the ISS - relating to part of an expended Ariane 5 upper stage - before deciding the spacewalk would remain on schedule. Unique operations to maneuver the Shuttle/Station stack are already on the drawing board, due to the issue with Discovery’s vernier thrusters, [...]
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Discovery celebrated her 25th birthday in style by docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on Flight Day 3 of STS-128. During the Approach Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) phase of the mission, Discovery helped verify the performance of Neptec’s TriDAR vision system for unmanned AR&D via a Detailed Test Objective (DTO).
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With Discovery deep into S0007 (Launch Countdown) operations, the Mission Management Team (MMT) has passed STS-128 to proceed towards the business end of the count – with the aim to launch early Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, NASA managers conducted a systematic review of Discovery’s Cargo Integration Hardware (CIH) and CSCS (Contingency Shuttle Crew Support) calculations brought forth [...]
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The International Space Station (ISS) is fighting back at claims made during the Augustine Commission review into Human Space Flight (HSF), where it was suggested scientists have seen only a small amount of science being produced on the orbital outpost. With a media relations push to counter such claims set to take place on Sunday [...]
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After a wait of nearly a decade, the International Space Station is just a matter of weeks away from welcoming another new visitor, in the form of the Japanese HTV (H-II Transfer Vehicle). NASA recently held a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for their role in aiding the cargo vehicle’s debut stay at the orbital outpost, [...]
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With NASA authorization language already being drawn up behind the scenes by Congress, Augustine Commission ISS/Shuttle subgroup lead Dr Sally Ride – along with several key NASA and United Space Alliance (USA) managers – have embarked on a major push to extend the shuttle program, linking the move with the allowance for the International Space [...]
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Endeavour’s Dave Wolf and the ISS’s Tim Kopra ventured outside the Shuttle/Station complex on Saturday and completed the first of five EVAs (spacewalks) scheduled for the STS-127 mission. Meanwhile, the Mission Management Team (MMT) continues to monitor the Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) levels and operating temperature of Fuel Cell 3 on Endeavour as the docked portion of the [...]
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Endeavour has docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Flight Day 3, following a stunning RPM (Rbar Pitch Maneuver) – allowing engineers on the ground to make extensive evaluations into the orbiter’s Thermal Protection System (TPS). So far, engineers expect to see only minor cosmetic damage on Endeavour’s heatshield, following several debris events during her [...]
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