Exploring the Cosmos

The space shuttle Endeavour was rolled out on 6 January 2010 from the Vehicle Assembly Building to launch pad 39A. This will be mission STS-130 and will rendezvous with the International Space Station.

Image Credit: NASA

Check out this fantastic photograph taken by one of the STS129 crew from the vantage point of the aft flight deck window.  It shows a partial view of Atlantis’ payload bay, vertical stabiliser, orbital manoeuvring system pods and docking mechanism.

If you missed the live stream, you can see it here.

If you didn’t manage to see the launch of Atlantis, you can see it below.  Also if you are on Twitter check out what the Space Tweeps have been saying that were invited to experience the launch themselves.  All you need to do is search for #nasatweetup

Discovery’s launch has been rescheduled for Friday 28 August at 12.22am EDT (5.22am BST).  Wednesday’s launch was postponed after a valve in the shuttle’s main propulsion system failed to perform as expected during fueling of the shuttle’s external fuel tank.

Discovery’s 13-day STS-128 flight to the International Space Station will deliver storage racks; materials and fluids science racks; a freezer to store research samples; a new sleeping compartment; an air purification system; and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The space shuttle Discover is due to launch on Tuesday 25 August 2009 at 6.35am BST.  The fueling of the external tank has started and is a 3 hour process and will provide the fuel required for the 8½ minute journey to orbit.

NASA decided to postpone the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour to to the International Space Station due to a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system.  The launch is now on hold for at least 96 hours.

The next earliest date that the shuttle could be ready for launch is 17 June, unfortunately this is the scheduled launch date for  Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LRO/LCROSS).  Due to this the schedule for LRO/LCROSS may be changed.

The 16-day mission is expected to feature five spacewalks and the construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory.  Astronauts will also attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.

The STS-127 crew members are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette.  Tim Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata.  Koichi Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour and this will conclude his three-month stay at the station.

The next shuttle mission is due to take off on 13 June 2009. The crew members on board Endeavour will consist of:

Commander Mark L Polansky, Pilot Douglas G Hurley and the mission specialists are Christoper J Cassidy, Thomas H Marshburn, David A Wolf and Julie Payette, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut.

The mission will deliver Timothy L. Kopra to the station as a flight engineer and science officer and return Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata to Earth. Hurley, Cassidy, Marshburn and Kopra will be making their first trips to space.

Endeavour sets sail on its 23rd mission with the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section. The facility will provide a type of “front porch” for experiments in the exposed environment, and a robotic arm that will be attached to the Kibo Pressurized Module and used to position experiments outside the station. The mission will include five spacewalks.

STS-127 is the 29th shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California, completing the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Image Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas

The space shuttle Atlantis and crew landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base California at 8.39am PDT (add 8 hours for BST).  This completes the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.  Five spacewalks were successfully undertaken during the flight which have helped to enhance and extend the life of Hubble.

Atlantis has been in space for almost 13 days and during this time has updated Hubble’s equipment which has  extended it’s life to at least 2014.

Scott Altman commanded the shuttle flight and was joined by Pilot Gregory C Johnson and Mission Specialists Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good.  Megan McArthur served as the flight engineer and lead for robotic arm operations, while the remaining mission specialists paired up for challenging spacewalks on Hubble.

Due to bad weather Atlantis was unble to land at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida as was originally intended.

In the next seven to ten days, the space shuttle Atlantis will be transported from California to Florida on the back of a modified 747 jumbo jet.  Once it arrives at Kennedy Space Centre it will be processed to get it ready for it’s next flight which is expected to be in November 2009.

The STS-125 mission brings the grand total of shuttle flights to 126.  This was Atlantis’ 30th flight and is the 2nd of 5 planned missions for 2009.