Shuttle Flights Would Continue Under New Proposal

From The Orlando Sentinel:

WASHINGTON — The space shuttle era could get a new lease on life under a bill filed today by U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

The measure would delay the shuttle’s planned retirement in 2010 until NASA is confident that a replacement spacecraft is ready or that the shuttle and its massive payload bay is no longer needed to keep the International Space Station afloat through 2020.

The 37-page bill also authorizes an additional $1.3 billion in NASA spending next year above President Barack Obama’s request of $19 billion. The extra money would help prepare NASA for as many as two additional shuttle flights per year after 2010, as well as fund new spacecraft development.

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Shuttle Sparks Panic In Central America

From Information Week:

Endeavour's sonic boom over El Salvador sent residents into the streets and put local authorities on high alert.

The shuttle Endeavour made an unexpected course change during its landing approach to Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Sunday.

The maneuver allowed the craft to circumvent bad weather plaguing its normal route across the southern U.S., but it also sent unwary residents of Central America into the streets in panic.

Endeavour's sonic boom over El Salvador caused a stir not unlike what occurred in the wake of Orson Welles' infamous War Of The Worlds radio broadcast.

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Endeavour Set For Sunday Night Landing

Space shuttle Endeavour took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 8 for the International Space Station, and was scheduled to return Sunday evening. (Terry Renna/Associated Press)

From The CBC:

NASA pressed ahead with a Sunday night landing for space shuttle Endeavour, even though poor weather on both coasts threatened to scuttle any touchdown attempt.

Endeavour and its crew of six were returning from the International Space Station, which was hit by computer trouble that triggered temporary communication blackouts Sunday.

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Shuttle Leaves Station As NASA Plans Last Flights

British born astronaut Nicholas Patrick, who is a former Harrow school boy, waves as he works on the Cupola far above Earth. Photo from the Daily Mail

From Reuters:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The space shuttle Endeavour sailed away from the International Space Station on Friday after delivering a final connecting hub and an observation deck, completing U.S. assembly of the orbital complex.

Four more shuttle missions remain to stock the station and deliver science experiments before NASA retires its three-ship fleet later this year. The station, a $100 billion project of 16 nations, has been under construction 220 miles above Earth since 1998.

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Space Shuttle Blasts Off For Space Station

From The New York Times:

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — The space shuttle Endeavour thundered into orbit before dawn Monday morning, briefly turning darkness into daylight.

It was the second effort to get the Endeavour off the ground, 24 hours after clouds over the launching pad scrubbed Sunday’s attempt.

Clouds again encroached, but there were enough holes to allow the Endeavour to lift off on schedule at 4:14 a.m., a bright streak rising to the northeast along the East Coast. It was the 130th launching of a shuttle and probably the last night launching as the program winds down and ends after four more flights.

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More News On Today's Space Shuttle Launch

5 Men, 1 Woman Aboard Shuttle Endeavour -- ABC News
Endeavour completes final night launch -- BBC
Shuttle Endeavour blasts off for space station -- Reuters
Endeavour Roars into Night Sky -- FOX News
Endeavour en route to ISS -- Register
Endeavour Starts Mission With Night Launch -- Aviation Week

Endeavour To Deliver Space Station 'A Room With A View'

EARTHGAZING: Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver Node 3, also known as Tranquility, along with a panoramic cupola, seen in place on the International Space Station in an artist's conception. NASA

From The Christian Science Monitor:

Space shuttle Endeavor will bring a new seven-window module to the International Space Station. It'll be used as a utility room for air and water purification and for exercise equipment. It'll also give astronauts a spectacular view of Earth and space.

After years of construction, the International Space Station is about to get a room with a spectacular view.

At 4:39 a.m. Eastern Standard Time Sunday, NASA is set to launch the space shuttle Endeavour and its six-member crew on a mission to deliver the final US components – made in Europe – to the orbiting lab: Node 3, named Tranquility, and a seven-window cupola for the node, which will give crewmembers breathtaking views of Earth and space.

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NASA Sets Feb. Launch Date For Shuttle Endeavour

From ABC News:

NASA sets Feb. 7 launch date for shuttle Endeavour, delivering new space station room.

NASA has set an early February launch date for space shuttle Endeavour.

Senior managers met Wednesday and decided unanimously to proceed toward a Feb. 7 launch date for Endeavour. It will be a pre-dawn liftoff at 4:39 a.m. — in all probability the last shuttle launch in darkness.

Endeavour will carry up a new room and observation deck for the International Space Station, the last of the major U.S. components. The six-person crew will hook up the chamber, named Tranquility, during a series of spacewalks.

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For £17.7m ($28.2 million), Shuttle Is A Gift That's Out Of This World

The price of Nasa's Space Shuttle fleet has just been slashed from £25.8m. Getty

From The Independent:

It flew faster and higher than any machine in history and was the was the ultimate boy's toy, but at $42 million (£25.8 m) it was beyond most budgets. But now the price of Nasa's soon-to-be redundant space shuttles has plummeted to something more down-to-earth: a new analysis of the costs of hauling the monster from the Kennedy Space Centre to a major US airport has led the space agency to slash the price to $28.2 m (£17.7m) .

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Space Shuttles For Sale

From New Scientist:

Space shuttle for sale, fully loaded, air conditioning, one careful owner. It's the ultimate bargain. NASA has cut the price of a space shuttle to $28.8 million. The vehicles will go on sale after they finish constructing the International Space Station, scheduled to be later this year. The New York Times reports that NASA had hoped to get $42 million for each vehicle but lowered the cost in the hope of sealing a deal. It has three to sell, although one of these, Discovery, is already promised to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

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Cocaine Found In Shuttle Work Area, NASA Says

Workers align the space shuttle Discovery's thrusters in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in December 2009. A small amount of cocaine was found in a restricted area of the facility on Wednesday, NASA said. NASA

From MSNBC/Space.com:

NASA says workers face drug tests; no impact on flights expected.

NASA is investigating how a small amount of cocaine ended up in a space shuttle hangar at the agency's Florida spaceport.

A bag containing the cocaine residue was discovered in the space shuttle Discovery's hangar at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The hangar, known as the Orbiter Processing Facility, is a restricted zone for shuttle workers only.

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The U.S. Air Force's Space Shuttle

The Air Force hopes its unmanned X-37 (in taxi tests in 2007)
will take on some of the functions of the shuttle. (USAF)

Space Shuttle Jr. -- The Air & Space Smithsonian

After 2010, the only spaceplane in the U.S. inventory will be the Air Force's mysterious X-37.

It's been a long wait—in some ways, more than 50 years—but in April 2010, the U.S. Air Force is scheduled to launch an Atlas V booster from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the newest U.S. spacecraft, the unmanned X-37, to orbit. The X-37 embodies the Air Force's desire for an operational spaceplane, a wish that dates to the 1950s, the era of the rocket-powered X-15 and X-20. In other ways, though, the X-37 will be picking up where another U.S. spaceplane, NASA's space shuttle, leaves off.

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Space Shuttle Atlantis Returns To Earth

From Reuters:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space shuttle Atlantis touched down at its Florida home port on Friday, wrapping up an 11-day mission to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, one of NASA's final supply runs before the shuttle fleet is retired next year.

Gliding through clear, blue skies, commander Charles Hobaugh circled Atlantis high over the Kennedy Space Center to burn off speed, then nosed the 100-ton space plane toward a 3-mile (4.8-km) concrete runway framed by palm trees and marshlands.

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Astronauts Celebrate Thanksgiving in Space on Two Spaceships

(Click Image to Enlarge)
This image from the Space Station looks down over the Russian Soyuz spacecraft and the docked space shuttle Atlantis, with Earth's horizon forming the background. Photo from The Daily Mail

From Space.com:

A dozen astronauts in orbit will pause for a weightless Thanksgiving Thursday, despite the fact that they're flying on two different spaceships.

The space shuttle Atlantis, with seven crewmembers onboard, left the International Space Station early Wednesday, capping off a week-long visit to stock the outpost with spare equipment. The orbiter is slated to land Friday at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

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Shuttle Atlantis Departs From Space Station

From Space.com:

The space shuttle Atlantis cast off from the International Space Station early Wednesday after almost a week linked to deliver vital spare parts.

The shuttle detached from the orbiting laboratory at 4:53 a.m. EST (0953 GMT), and flew in a circle around the station so that astronauts on the orbiter could snap detailed photographs to check on the state of the outpost.

"It's a pretty exciting thing to do, be able to see the station you were living in again now on the farewell," STS-129 commander Charlie Hobaugh said in a preflight interview. "Just having it gives us a new snapshot in time of the condition of the vehicle at that point."

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Space Shuttle Has Docked With The Space Station

Shuttle Docks With Space Station -- BBC

The space shuttle Atlantis has successfully docked with the International Space Station, according to Nasa officials.

The shuttle blasted off on Monday with six astronauts on an 11-day voyage to deliver new equipment to the station.

The docking was manually completed by commander Charlie Hobaugh as the two spacecraft travelled towards each other at 17,000 miles an hour.

The astronauts' arrival will be met with a traditional welcoming ceremony.

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More News On the Space Shuttle Mission

Shuttle Atlantis arrives at space station -- Reuters
Shuttle docks at space station, looks 'beautiful' -- AP
Space Shuttle Atlantis Docks at ISS -- Voice of America
FACTBOX: The mission of space shuttle Atlantis -- Reuters
NASA: With Atlantis docked, work begins today -- Computer World
NASA seeks new emblem for shuttle program -- MSNBC

The Retirement Of The Space Shuttle—And What's Next For NASA

From Popular Mechanics:

Today, November 16, 2009, the Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully launched to rendezvous with the International Space Station. This will be the sixth-to-last launch for NASA's Space Shuttle program. For now, NASA plans to retire the Space Shuttle after the last launch and replace it after a yet-to-be-determined gap in time with the Constellation Program, which will make use of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and Ares I rockets. At this pivotal moment in manned space flight history, PM looks back at our coverage of the technology behind the Constellation Program and the development of the International Space Station, as well as news surrounding the Space Shuttles.

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Shuttle Atlantis Lifts Off for 11-Day Mission

From The New York Times:

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — The shuttle Atlantis vaulted into orbit Monday and set off after the International Space Station, carrying 15 tons of spare parts and equipment as a hedge against failures after the shuttle fleet is retired next year.

“We’re looking for the long-term outfitting of station,” said the shuttle commander, Col. Charles O. Hobaugh of the Marines.

With Colonel Hobaugh and Capt. Barry E. Wilmore, a Navy pilot, at the controls, Atlantis’s twin solid-fuel boosters ignited with a blast of fire at 2:28 p.m., Eastern time, instantly pushing the winged spacecraft away from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

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More News On Today's Shuttle Launch

Shuttle Atlantis takes off on station delivery mission -- CNET
NASA launches shuttle Atlantis to space station -- Reuters
Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on supply mission -- AP
Space Shuttle Atlantis Blasts off on Delivery Mission -- FOX News
Atlantis heads for ISS with spare parts: Last shuttle blast of year -- The Register

Space Shuttle To Haul Spare Parts For Monday Afternoon Launch

Space Shuttle Atlantis on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center on Sunday in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Matt Stroshane/Getty Images

From The New York Times:

The space shuttle has often been called a pickup truck to orbit, and the next flight of the shuttle Atlantis, scheduled to launch Monday afternoon, lives up to that description.

The Atlantis is lugging up to the International Space Station a cargo bay full of spare parts, including a couple of refurbished gyroscopes, pumps, tanks for ammonia and nitrogen and piece called the “trailing umbilical system reel assembly” for the railway system that moves the station’s robotic arm.

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Hot Space Shuttle Images

Photo: Hot body: These thermal images were taken of space shuttle Discovery on September 11. Temperature data was used to make the color images (middle and bottom), blue being the lowest temperatures and red the highest. Credit: NASA/HYTHIRM team

From Technology Review:

NASA researchers capture thermal images of the shuttle's reentry to design better heat shields.

Researchers at NASA are using a novel thermal-imaging system on board a Navy aircraft to capture images of heat patterns that light up the surface of the space shuttle as it returns through the Earth's atmosphere. The researchers have thus far imaged three shuttle missions and are processing the data to create 3-D surface-temperature maps. The data will enable engineers to design systems to protect future spacecraft from the searing heat--up to 5,500 degrees Celsius--seen during reentry.

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Veteran Crew Named For Final Space Shuttle Flight

Astronaut Steven W. Lindsey speaks after the STS-121 shuttle mission in 2006. NASA

From USA Today:

WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA's chief astronaut will shut off the lights on America's space shuttle program.

NASA announced Friday the crew for the last scheduled space shuttle mission, targeted for next September. It will be on the space shuttle Discovery and bring equipment to the international space station.

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