NASA retargets Atlantis launch for May 11
Launch of the shuttle Atlantis on a mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope has been moved up one day and retargeted for May 11 at 2:01:49 p.m. EDT.
NASA officials said Wednesday that they
The Space Shot
NASA: No shuttle damage from dropped socket
A one-and-one-eighth-inch socket from a torque wrench fell from a service platform and hit the shuttle Atlantis' left payload bay door radiator during Hubble Space Telescope cargo installation earlier this week. In a lucky break for NASA's shuttle team, no one was injured, coolant lines in the radiator were not damaged, and a dent where the socket impacted will not need repairs.
Atlantis is tentatively scheduled for liftoff May 12 on a fifth and final mission to service, repair, and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. Shuttle managers planned to meet Friday for a second round of discussions on whether more
NASA considers moving Hubble launch up one day
NASA managers are debating whether to move up launch of the shuttle Atlantis by one day to maximize the launch opportunities it has before reaching a May 14 deadline, officials said Wednesday.
The shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch at 1:31 p.m. EDT on May 12 for the fifth and final mission to service and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. But a military operation on the range will prevent any shuttle launch attempts for about a week starting May 14. That operation requires support from the Air Force Eastern Range, which provides tracking and telemetry support for all more
Shuttle Endeavour moved to pad for rescue duty
The space shuttle Endeavour was hauled to launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center early Friday for work to prepare the ship for a flight NASA managers hope will never happen: a mission to rescue the astronauts charged with repairing and upgrading the Hubble Space Telescope.
The shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for launch May 12 from pad 39A on NASA's fifth and final mission to the space telescope. Because Hubble operates in a different orbit, the Atlantis astronauts would not be able to seek safe haven aboard the International Space Station if any problems develop that might prevent more
Space junk risk for Hubble crew: 1 in 221
Even factoring in a recent satellite collision, a threat analysis found that the crew of space shuttle Atlantis will not face a dramatically higher risk of catastrophic damage due to space debris when it travels to the Hubble Space Telescope in May, according to NASA.
The overall risk of impact damage is higher for a mission to Hubble, which is 350 miles from Earth, than it is for a flight to the International Space Station, which orbits at a lower, less debris-choked altitude. However, the actual numbers are better than flight planners initially expected, a NASA official said Thursday.
"It'more
Space station ready for six-person crew, 'Colbert'
The International Space Station's power, life support, and emergency systems are in good condition and ready for the arrival of three additional crew members in late May, the commander said Wednesday.
Michael Barratt, a NASA astronaut and flight surgeon making his first flight, said the crew has been cleared to use processed urine and condensate for personal hygiene, and expects permission to begin
Barratt also told CBS News that he looked forward to "running on Colbert" when a new treadmill, named after comedian Stephen Colbert, is delivered to the station more
NASA mulls 2010 shuttle retirement plans
NASA managers are meeting this week to discuss the impact of ending projects that have been keeping open the possibility of an extension of the shuttle program, which is currently planned to end in 2010.
NASA faces several challenges, including a tight budget, a 2010 deadline to end space shuttle operations, and a lack of concrete political support to fund additional flights or extend the current manifest. In a note to shuttle managers and engineers that was obtained by CBS News, shuttle program manager John Shannon outlined the issues in stark terms:
You have heard me say that 'hope is more
Rescue shuttle prepped for trip to launch pad
The space shuttle Endeavour, the designated rescue ship for next month's Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission in case something goes awry, was hauled from its processing hangar to the vehicle assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, Fla., early Friday.
Inside the vehicle assembly building, the shuttle will be attached to an external tank and solid-fuel boosters. Rollout to pad 39B is planned for April 17.
The shuttle Atlantis already is mounted atop pad 39A for work to ready the ship for blastoff on May 12, at 10:31 a.m. PDT, on a fifth and final more
Space station crew, tourist return to Earth
Dropping to Earth under a huge parachute, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying outgoing space station Commander Mike Fincke, Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, and space tourist Charles Simonyi settled to a jarring landing in Kazakhstan on Wednesday after a descent from the International Space Station.
With Lonchakov at the controls, the central descent module of the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft touched down at 3:16 a.m. EDT northeast of Dzhezkazgan, coming to rest on its side.
Russian recovery forces were staged nearby to assist the returning space fliers, as required, and by 3:30 a.m., all three were resting comfortably more
Station crew boards Soyuz for Wednesday landing
Outgoing International Space Station Commander Mike Fincke, Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, and space tourist Charles Simonyi bid farewell to their station crewmates Tuesday and boarded a Soyuz ferry craft for re-entry and landing Wednesday in Kazakhstan.
Fincke and Lonchakov, launched to the International Space Station on October 12, are wrapping up a 178-day stay off planet as the core members of the lab's 18th full-time crew. Simonyi, a wealthy software developer making his second paid trip to the station, took off March 26 with Expedition 19 commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Michael Barratt.
After a busy day of more
