This very first image from the WISE space telescope shows 3,000 stars, more or less, in the constellation Carina.
(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA )Just about everybody gets excited about the first picture from a new camera, and NASA is no exception to the rule.
In this case, the "first light" image came from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, aka WISE, which NASA sent into space last month. Just last week, the agency popped off the space telescope's "lens cap," a cover that shielded the optical gear from the travails of lift-off and from the spacecraft's own heat.
WISE does like things chilly, says NASA--really, really chilly:
To sense the infrared glow of stars and galaxies, the WISE spacecraft cannot give off any detectable infrared light of its own. This is accomplished by chilling the telescope and detectors to ultra-cold temperatures. The coldest of WISE's detectors will operate at less than 8 Kelvin, or minus 445 degrees Fahrenheit.
Brr. But the images that come from the 9-foot-tall, 1,400-pound WISE spacecraft will no doubt warm the hearts of NASA's mission planners and legions of astronomers as the telescope scans the firmament for hidden objects, ranging from asteroids to galaxies. In orbit around Earth, WISE will take motion-corrected infrared images every 11 seconds, a rate that the space agency says will result in millions of images of the sky.
On Wednesday, NASA released the very first image, taken shortly after the cover was jettisoned and WISE got its initial glimpse of the heavens--in this case, staring at a fixed portion of the sky as NASA engineers calibrated the spacecraft's pointing system. The image shows a section of the constellation Carina, near the Milky Way, that includes some 3,000 stars, give or take a few. It's a patch of the sky about three times bigger than a full moon, NASA says.
The 8-second exposure shows infrared light from three of WISE's four wavelength bands--blue, green and red, which, according to NASA, correspond to 3.4, 4.6, and 12 microns, respectively.
Over time, data from WISE will be used in the creation of navigation charts for other missions, including those of the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. Alas, WISE's moment of glory won't last long--the frozen hydrogen that keeps the instruments at those necessary ultra-cold temperatures is expected to evaporate by about October.
The first survey of the sky by WISE will take about six months, followed by a second scan, of just half the sky, over three months.
NASA will be releasing selected images to the public starting in February. It expects to release preliminary survey images in April 2011, and to have a final atlas and catalog ready by March 2012.
And those images should be dandies. WISE has a resolution of 4 million pixels, spread about equally over the system's four detectors. The last time an infrared survey of the sky took place, in 1983, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) taking the pictures could muster only 62 pixels, period.
See also:
• Photos: Hubble's newest visions of space
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--The shuttle Endeavour was hauled to a launch pad Wednesday for work to ready the ship for a planned February 7 launch on a space station assembly mission, the first of a final five flights planned for 2010.
Endeavour, mounted atop a mobile launch platform carried by an Apollo-era crawler-transporter, began the 3.4-mile trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building to launch complex 39A at 4:13 a.m. EST. The MLP was "hard down" at the pad at 10:37 a.m.
The shuttle Endeavour approaches pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
(Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now)A program-level flight readiness review is planned for January 19 and 20, followed by an executive-level review January 27 to assess launch processing and set an official launch date.
"February 7th is looking great," Dana Hutcherson, the Endeavour flow director, said Wednesday. "We got a little bit of contingency time (in the processing schedule), so everything is looking well. We're not tracking any major issues or concerns."
Endeavour's crew--commander George Zamka, pilot Terry Virts, Kathryn Hire, Stephen Robinson, Nicholas Patrick and Robert Behnken--plans to fly to the Kennedy Space Center January 19 to review emergency procedures and participate in a practice countdown Januar 21.
If all goes well, the real countdown will begin at 2 a.m. on February 4. Liftoff on the 130th shuttle mission currently is targeted for 4:39 a.m. on February 7.
The primary goal of the flight is to deliver and attach a final major U.S. pressurized module, a roomy addition known as node 3, or Tranquility, that will house life support equipment and exercise gear currently located elsewhere in the lab complex.
Sporting a multiwindow cupola that will permit spectacular panoramic views, Tranquility will be attached to the left-side port of the central Unity module, directly across from the station's Quest airlock.
Assuming an on-time launch, Endeavour will dock with the space station around 1:23 a.m. on February 9. Tranquility will be attached during a spacewalk by Behnken and Patrick on February 10. Two more spacewalks are scheduled for February 12 and 15 before undocking February 17 and landing back at the Kennedy Space Center two days later.
Endeavour's flight is the first of five station-bound missions planned for 2010, the final five shuttle flights before NASA's orbiters are retired. Here is the current schedule (times in EST/EDT and subject to change):
- 02/07/10, 04:39 a.m.: STS-130/ISS-20A - Endeavour
- 03/18/10, 01:34 p.m.: STS-131/ISS-19A - Discovery
- 05/14/10, 02:28 p.m.: STS-132/ISS-ULF 4 - Atlantis (final flight)
- 07/29/10, 07:51 a.m.: STS-134/ISS-ULF 6 - Endeavour (final flight)
- 09/16/10, 11:57 a.m.: STS-133/ISS-ULF 5 - Discovery (final flight)
NASA's depiction of an exoplanet discovered last year.
(Credit: NASA)NASA's Kepler space telescope, which searches for Earth-like planets in habitable zones beyond our solar system, has found five new exoplanets.
NASA said on Monday that the exoplanets, planets outside of our solar system, are called Kepler 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b, and 8b. Finding those planets, NASA says, justifies using Kepler as a means of finding another Earth-like planet. The space agency also said the telescope "will meet all its science goals."
NASA's Kepler mission, which launched on March 6 last year, is designed to observe more than 150,000 stars to find Earth-like planets. NASA said in a statement that although it has announced five discoveries, Kepler has already identified "hundreds of possible planet signatures that are being analyzed." In the end, Kepler's goal is to determine if we really are alone in our galaxy.
The five planets NASA found are being called "hot Jupiters" by scientists and range from the size of Neptune to even larger than Jupiter. Their orbits range from 3.3 days to 4.9 days. They get their "hot" moniker thanks to temperatures ranging from 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Unfortunately, that means that all five planets are too hot for human life.
"It's gratifying to see the first Kepler discoveries rolling off the assembly line," Jon Morse, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA headquarters in Washington, said in a statement. "We expected Jupiter-size planets in short orbits to be the first planets Kepler could detect. It's only a matter of time before more Kepler observations lead to smaller planets with longer period orbits, coming closer and closer to the discovery of the first Earth analog."
Kepler is one of NASA's most sophisticated tools for identifying planets. The instrument looks for planets by measuring dips in the brightness of stars. As planets move around their stars, they block starlight, a phenomenon that can therefore be used as an indication of their presence. Kepler will continue searching until at least November 2012. NASA believes it could take at least three years for it to locate and verify an Earth-size planet.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Which should it be? The moon, Venus, or a nearby asteroid?
(Credit: NASA)NASA has chosen three options it will consider as its next target for future scientific space exploration--Venus, the moon, or an asteroid.
The three areas of focus are finalists in a competition designed to help the space agency determine where it should spend its time and money to get the most scientific value out of research about our solar system. It's part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, which already has two missions under way. The first is the New Horizons mission, a spacecraft that's currently on its way to Pluto and has already sent back images from a quick flyby of Jupiter. The second is called Juno, a large-scale survey of Jupiter that's planned for launch in 2011. This competition will determine the focus of New Frontiers' third mission.
The three final proposals being considered are:
- Venus: The Surface and Atmosphere Geochemical Explorer, or SAGE, mission designed by Larry Esposito of the University of Colorado at Boulder would send a probe to Venus. The probe's instruments would collect data as it descends through the planet's atmosphere, then collect and analyze geological and minerological content after landing on Venus' surface.
- An asteroid: The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer spacecraft, called Osiris-Rex and designed by Michael Drake of the University of Arizona at Tucson, would instead set its sights on a nearby asteroid. Osiris-Rex would collect material from the surface of an asteroid and return the samples to Earth for NASA to analyze.
- Moon: The Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return Mission, devised by Bradley Jolliff of Washington University in St. Louis, would entail dropping a lander near the south pole of the moon. The lander would collect material from the lunar surface, believed to have come from the moon's mantle, and return it to Earth for further study.
NASA will give $3.3 million to each of the three teams so they can conduct year-long studies to devise their mission's feasibility, cost, and management and technical plans. A final selection will be made in 2011 after those studies are complete.
The future of U.S. involvement in space exploration was the subject of much debate in 2009 and remains up in the air. NASA's current shuttle program is due to be retired this year, and a replacement program is not likely to be put in place for at least another seven years, according to a presidential panel that recently analyzed several possible strategies for manned spaceflight. And NASA currently has no money in its projected budget to operate the International Space Station beyond 2015.
A veteran Russian cosmonaut, a Japanese shuttle flier, and a NASA astronaut making his first space flight docked with the International Space Station Tuesday after a two-day orbital chase, donning Santa hats to mark the holiday season.
With Commander Oleg Kotov monitoring a problem-free automated approach to the huge lab complex, the Russian Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft docked at an Earth-facing port on the Russian Zarya module at 5:48 p.m. EST, as the two spacecraft sailed 220 miles above the Atlantic Ocean east of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov, left, chats with family members after docking with the International Space Station. Timothy Creamer and Soichi Noguchi look on to his left, while Maxim Suraev and station Commander Jeff Williams float in the foreground.
(Credit: NASA TV)Hatches were opened about an hour and a half later, after leak checks to make sure the Soyuz was firmly latched in place.
Expedition 22 Commander Jeffrey Williams and cosmonaut Maxim Suraev were standing by to welcome Kotov and his two crewmates--Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi and NASA astronaut Timothy Creamer--on board to boost the lab's complement back up to five.
"It's great to see all you guys on orbit," Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's chief of space operations, radioed from the Russian mission control center near Moscow. "Have a great Christmas, a good New Year. I can't think of a better family to have in space than you. I'm here with your families in the control center, so have a great expedition."
"Thank you, Gerst, it's good to hear your voice, it's great to have these guys on board," Williams replied. "It completes the complement of Expedition 22."
"Oleg, hello, we're so happy to see you aboard the station one more time," a family member radioed Kotov. "Daddy, I'm so proud of you. You're the best father in the world! We wish you the best of luck."
The Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft slowly approaches its docking port on the International Space Station after an automated approach.
(Credit: NASA TV)"Thanks to you for coming, thank you for your words, I love you very much and I'll talk to you soon," Kotov replied.
Said Creamer: "Everything's doing really great here. It's better than great, it's 154 times better than great. So thanks for the well wishes."
Williams and Suraev have had the station to themselves since December 1 when cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne, and Canadian Robert Thirsk returned to Earth after a six-month stay in space.
Kotov, Creamer, and Noguchi plan to remain aboard the lab complex for a six-month tour of duty. Williams and Suraev will return to Earth in late March, but three more crew members are scheduled for launch in early April to boost the crew to six.
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying three fresh crew members bound for the International Space Station blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Monday local time, lighting up a cold, pre-dawn sky with a torrent of flame visible for miles around.
With Soyuz commander Oleg Kotov, a station veteran, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, a shuttle veteran, and rookie astronaut Timothy Creamer strapped into the Soyuz TMA-17 capsule, the rocket roared to life at 4:52 p.m. EST Sunday (3:52 a.m. Monday local time) and quickly climbed away from the same pad used by Yuri Gagarin at the dawn of the space age.
The Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
(Credit: NASA)Liftoff was timed for roughly the moment Earth's rotation carried the launch pad into the plane of the space station's orbit. Kotov, seated in the spacecraft's center seat, was flanked by Creamer to his right and Noguchi on his left.
The climb to space appeared normal and live television views from inside the TMA-17's central module showed all three crew members relaxed and at ease as they monitored their cockpit instrument displays. Noguchi flashed a thumbs up and Creamer waved.
A little less than nine minutes after liftoff, the spacecraft slipped into its planned preliminary orbit and Kotov reported "everyone feels great, no problems." Later this evening, Kotov planned to oversee two rendezvous rocket firings to fine-tune the craft's approach to the lab complex.
A third rocket firing is planned for Monday and if all goes well, the TMA-17 spacecraft will execute an automated approach to the Earth-facing port of the station's Zarya module Tuesday for a docking around 5:54 p.m.
Waiting to welcome the new crew members on board will be Expedition 22 commander Jeffrey Williams and Maxim Suraev, launched to the outpost Sept. 30. Suraev and Williams, who has a previous station flight to his credit, have had the lab to themselves since December 1, when cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne and Canadian Robert Thirsk returned to Earth after a six-month stay in space.
"One of the things we've learned over the last couple of years is it's really beneficial to have (experienced) crew members (on board) when a new crew arrives," said Kirk Shireman, deputy manager of the space station program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
"So while it'll be a new experience for these guys, the fact that Max and Jeff have already been up there, they'll know where everything is, they'll know how things work and that'll allow these three guys to quickly adapt and be able to hit the ground running."
According to an Associated Press report, Creamer told reporters he would miss his family over the Christmas holidays, but "we are going as a family together to a family in space." He has been using Twitter to keep friends, family and the public up to date and plans to continue posting from space.
"I thought if I can give you the status of what I am doing, what we are hoping for, what we are looking forward to seeing, those would be good little teasers," he said.
The Soyuz TMA-17 crew, bound for the International Space Station. Left to right: Soyuz commander Oleg Kotov, Timothy Creamer, Soichi Noguchi.
(Credit: NASA)After a break for Christmas and the New Year holidays, the crew will face a busy month in January.
Using the station's robot arm, a NASA pressurized mating adapter currently attached to the left side of the central Unity module will be relocated Jan. 5 to clear the way for attachment of a new U.S. module in February.
Suraev and Kotov plan a spacewalk January 14 to finish outfitting a new Russian docking port known as Poisk, or MRM-2, that was recently attached to the Zvezda command module's upward-facing hatch. Once that work is done, the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft now docked to Zvezda's aft port--the capsule that carried Williams and Suraev to the station--will be moved to Poisk on January 20.
The shuttle Endeavour is scheduled for launch from the Kennedy Space Center on Fabruary 7 to deliver Tranquility, or Node 3, a roomy module that will be attached to Unity's left-side port. Once installed and checked out, a toilet now installed in the Destiny lab module will be moved into Tranquility, along with exercise equipment and other life support gear that has been temporarily housed elsewhere.
"This increment really sets the stage for the last year of the shuttle program," Shireman said. "It's a big growth year...the last major growth spurt for the International Space Station...We're looking forward to a really, really exciting year."
As it currently stands, four Soyuz flights to the station are planned in 2010, NASA's final five shuttle missions and up to six unmanned Progress supply ships. Along with Tranquility, a new Russian module will be delivered by the shuttle, along with a cargo transfer module that will be left aboard the station after the final shuttle visit.
"This is the beginning of another phase where we learn to operate with a larger crew size, more demands on the hardware, more demands on the space station," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associated administrator of space operations. "So for the systems to work right requires a lot of extra preparation and this is the beginning of that preparation."
Said chief astronaut Peggy Whitson: "It's obviously very complicated. I think we have done in the past several years a fantastic job of making very difficult things look easy. We always have problems, but we always seem to be able to overcome them and I think that's kind of NASA's theme for survival.
"We expect that adding on a new module, two new modules this year ... it's going to be pretty exciting, expanding the station even further. I know when I was up there when we increased the station volume with three new modules it was just really exciting, opening up this huge new space to live in and explore."
UPDATED at 5:30 p.m. EST with Soyuz launch.
A certain American Airlines 757 pilot gave me and a couple of hundred others a very hard landing this week.
So my jaw finally began to cease chattering when I discovered NASA is beginning to work on dropping flying things from the sky to see if perhaps the impact can be absorbed.
NASA's Web site told me that it dropped a helicopter from 35 feet in order to see whether an expandable honeycomb cushion that NASA calls a "deployable energy absorber" could minimize damage to life, limb, and even nervous systems.
The MD-500's landing gear did bend a little, NASA said, but the agency seemed most pleased that "four crash test dummies along for the ride appeared only a little worse for the wear."
Perhaps you will be most heartened by the words of Karen Jackson, an aerospace engineer who was one of the brains behind the test, which was conducted at NASA's Langley Research Center: "I'd like to think the research we're doing is going to end up in airframes and will potentially save lives."
I know we're only talking about helicopters right now. But given that commercial pilots do enjoy the occasional drink and have even drifted past Minneapolis and headed out to Wisconsin, surely one can dream that one day someone will create an extraordinary cushion for your average 757.
Hubble going deep into space to look back at history.
(Credit: NASA)The Hubble Space Telescope has taken the deepest near-infrared image of the universe in history, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced on Tuesday.
The image, which was taken in August by the "HUDF09" team, features galaxies that formed just 600 million years after the Big Bang. NASA said that not only are those the oldest galaxies ever seen, but the data that can be extracted from the image will provide "insights into how galaxies grew in their formative years early in the universe's history."
Hubble was able to capture such detail, thanks to the Wide Field Camera 3, which was installed earlier this year. The camera captures light from "near-infrared wavelengths," allowing it to peer deeper into the galaxy than its predecessors. "The light from very distant galaxies is stretched out of the ultraviolet and visible regions of the spectrum into near-infrared wavelengths by the expansion of the universe," NASA said.
Although the image might just look like a series of lights to the untrained eye, NASA said 12 scientific papers have already been submitted by those who studied the data contained in the image. It's entirely possible that this discovery will shed more light on galaxy formation and the universe's history.
But that Hubble shot is only the beginning. NASA wrote that the Hubble observations are "trailblazing a path for Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, which will look even farther into the universe than Hubble, at infrared wavelengths." NASA said the James Webb Space Telescope should be launched in 2014.
Until then, we can feast our eyes on the astounding image returned from Hubble. Note the detail. Even more amazing: this image was taken of just a small slice of the universe. Imagine what else is out there.
If you'd like to learn a little more about Hubble's discovery, click here.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft undocks from the International Space Station.
(Credit: NASA TV)Outgoing space station commander Frank De Winne, cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, and Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk strapped into a Russian Soyuz capsule, undocked and fell back to Earth on Tuesday, braving icy weather in Kazakhstan to close out a 188-day stay in space.
Descending under a large orange-and-white parachute, Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft made a rocket-assisted touchdown about 50 miles northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, at 2:15:34 a.m. EST, about three hours and 20 minutes after undocking from the International Space Station.
Recovery forces, including U.S. and Russian flight surgeons, were near the landing site to help the returning spacemen out of the spacecraft's cramped descent module. Despite icy weather that forced authorities to ground the helicopters normally used, recovery crews in all-terrain vehicles reached the spacecraft within about 15 minutes of touchdown.
It was the first December landing of a Soyuz since 1990, but the Russians said the weather was acceptable for a safe descent.
Russian recovery teams surround the Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft, helping extract the crew members.
(Credit: NASA TV)Monitoring the re-entry and landing from the International Space Station were Expedition 22 commander Jeffrey Williams and flight engineer Maxim Suraev, who arrived at the outpost in early October.
"Four more months, guys, then it's your turn," De Winne said before departing. "Have a good flight. It's wonderful in space, enjoy it.
The Soyuz descent module landed upright, and recovery crews extracted Romanenko, Thirsk and then De Winne one at a time, transporting them on stretchers to nearby vehicles. All three were reported to be in good condition.
Because NASA is responsible for arranging Canadian, Japanese, and European Space Agency rides to and from the space station aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft, NASA flight surgeons and managers joined Russian recovery crews to assist the returning station fliers and carry out initial medical checks.
Frank De Winne waves as he is helped from the Soyuz descent module.
(Credit: NASA TV)With the departure of Romanenko, Thirsk and Belgium's De Winne, the European Space Agency's first station commander, the International Space Station was left in the hands of Williams and Suraev. It is the first time since mid-2006 the station has been staffed by just two crew members.
But the solitude will not last long. Three more crew members--cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, NASA flight engineer Timothy Creamer, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi--are scheduled for launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft on December 20. Docking is expected two days later.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--The shuttle Atlantis dropped out of a crystal clear Florida sky and glided to a "picture-perfect" landing at the Kennedy Space Center Friday to close out a successful 11-day space station mission, bringing astronaut Nicole Stott back to Earth after 91 days in space.
The view through shuttle pilot Barry Wilmore's heads-up display as Atlantis lined up on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center.
(Credit: NASA TV)With commander Charles Hobaugh at the controls, Atlantis executed a sweeping right overhead turn to line up on runway 33, pilot Barry Wilmore deployed the ship's landing gear and the shuttle settled to a tire-smoking touchdown at 9:44:23 a.m. EST.
"Houston, Atlantis, wheels stopped," Hobaugh radioed as the orbiter rolled to a halt on the runway center line.
"Roger, wheels stopped, Atlantis, that was a picture-perfect end to a top-fuel mission to the space station," replied astronaut Chris Ferguson from mission control at the Johnson Space Center. "Everybody, welcome back to Earth, especially you, Nicole."
Hobaugh, Wilmore, flight engineer Leland Melvin, and spacewalkers Robert Satcher, Michael Foreman, and Randolph Bresnik doffed their pressure suits for a traditional runway inspection about an hour and a half after touchdown.
"We really had truly an amazing mission," Hobaugh said on the runway. "It was not us, it was not any single group, but it was just an incredible team from all around the nation.
"We were lucky, I mean, part of it's luck and part of it's just pure, great skill, workmanship in processing Atlantis, getting it ready for us. We had no hitches, we went off on time, we landed on time. ... Nicole came back with us, she's doing great, she's headed back to see her family."
Atlantis settles to a smooth landing at the Kennedy Space Center.
(Credit: NASA TV)Launched to the lab in August, Stott made the trip back to Earth resting on her back in a recumbent seat on the shuttle's lower deck to ease her return to gravity after 91 days in orbit.
Flight surgeons were standing by to help her off the shuttle and carry out initial medical checks before accompanying her to crew quarters for a more detailed exam. Looking comfortable and in good spirits, she told a NASA interviewer a few hours later that while her vestibular system had not yet re-adapted to gravity, she was in good shape and glad to be home.
"As you move, everything else seems to be moving around you," she said. "And it's not a spinning, dizzy feel, it's more if I get up, then everything else seems to want to move up. ... But other than that, the main thing was when they opened the hatch, it smelled like fresh, clean, fall air. And that was really nice."
Her husband and 7-year-old son were on hand to welcome her back to Earth and "I have the promise of a Coca-Cola with crushed ice in a styrofoam cup and some good food, Thanksgiving left overs, waiting for me upstairs. There are also nice, warm showers here so that's a definite luxury I think I will enjoy for some time."
Stott, Hobaugh, Wilmore, Melvin, Foreman, and Satcher planned to fly back to Houston early Saturday. Bresnik, whose wife Rebecca gave birth to the couple's second child on Saturday, flew home right away aboard a NASA training jet to meet his daughter for the first time.
Stott is the last space station crew member to launch and land aboard a space shuttle. With just five more shuttle missions before the fleet is retired next year, all future U.S. station astronauts will fly to and from the lab complex aboard Russian Soyuz capsules.
Stott's former station crewmates face a busy weekend in orbit preparing for the December 1 departure and landing of Expedition 21 commander Frank De Winne of Belgium, cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk, who were launched to the lab May 27. They are scheduled to land in Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz TMA-15 capsule around 2:16 a.m. EST Tuesday to close out a 188-day stay in space.
Expedition 22 commander Jeffrey Williams and cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, who arrived at the lab complex in October, will have the outpost to themselves until December 23 when three fresh crew members--cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, astronaut Timothy Creamer and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi--are scheduled to arrive.
A braking parachute is deployed as the shuttle Atlantis races down the runway .
(Credit: NASA)Hobaugh and his shuttle crewmates delivered nearly 15 tons of spare parts and equipment to the space station, including two pallets loaded with large components as a hedge against failures after the shuttle is retired.
The gear included two orientation control gyroscopes, a spare pump module, nitrogen pressurization tank and ammonia coolant for the lab's external cooling system, equipment for the mobile transporter that carries the station's mechanical arm, a new latching end effector, or hand, for the space crane, and equipment for the lab's electrical system.
The astronauts also carried out three spacewalks to prepare the complex for the attachment of NASA's final major module in February and the eventual arrival of additional spare parts and equipment that will be ferried up next year. In addition, a high-pressure oxygen tank was attached to the station's Quest airlock module.
For the trip back to Earth, the shuttle carried 2,100 pounds of station gear, including a urine distillation centrifuge that failed shortly before Atlantis took off. A replacement will be carried aloft on the next shuttle mission in February.
Only five shuttle flights reamin on NASA's manifest between now and the end of September as the agency works to complete the space station and retire the fleet.
UPDATED at 4 p.m. EST: Astronaut Randy Bresnik flew back to Houston shortly after landing to meet his new daughter; adding comments from Stott.
