The Inquisitr » Space Shuttle

With a Sonic Boom, Space Shuttle Discovery Lands at Edwards Air Force Base

Paul Short — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 02:33:59 +0000

A sonic boom occurred over Los Angeles and could be heard across southern California today as the Space Shuttle Discovery landed at Edwards Air force Base at about 5:50pm Pacific.

The Space Shuttle Discovery made it’s descent late this afternoon, causing it’s normal sonic boom as it glided in over Los Angeles shortly before 6pm. Unpredictable weather caused NASA to make the decision to land the shuttle at Edwards Air Force base in California rather than at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Discovery started it’s de-orbit burn shortly before 5pm, where they burn the engines for about 3-4 minutes to slow it down enough to begin it’s descent. 50 minutes later, Discovery landed at Edwards, ending a 14 day supply mission to the International Space Station that covered some 5.7 million miles.

Shuttle Discovery Launch Postponed To Friday

AHN — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:51:17 +0000

Cape Canaveral, FL (AHN) – NASA will once again postpone the launch of the space shuttle Discovery after a hydrogen valve developed problems on Tuesday evening. STS-128 will send more equipment to the International Space Station (ISS) as NASA rushes to finish construction before Washington pulls the plug on funding for the space shuttle program.

Now, NASA says the first available launch window will take place Friday morning at 12:22 am ET.

On Tuesday morning, NASA officials at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida called off a launch citing poor weather. Astronauts and the shuttle support crew spent Tuesday evening preparing for a late-night launch at 1:10 am Wednesday morning, but discovered the problem during fueling operations.

American astronaut Rick Sturckow will command the 30th mission to the ISS, and the 37th space flight for the shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will deliver various equipment including the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert.

Shuttle Endeavour Docks With ISS; Will Deliver, Install Final Lab Components

AHN — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:00:15 +0000

Washington, D.C. (AHN) – The space shuttle Endeavour has successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) orbiting above the Earth. When the two vessels opened the air locks, they tied the largest recorded gathering of humans in space at 13 people.

The docking occurred above the Gulf of Carpentaria, north of Australia, at exactly 12;47 PM CT.

The mission, STS-127, will finish construction of the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section. The module will allow scientists to conduct experiments that are exposed to space.

LIVE WEBCAST: Shuttle Landing Delayed Due to Weather

JR — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:39:40 +0000

The shuttle landing scheduled for Friday has been delayed due to inclement weather, NASA has announced. The shuttle Atlantis had been set to return to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center before the weekend.

Shuttle Landing Schedule

With Friday’s return off, the shuttle landing schedule now shifts to Saturday. Atlantis will have four opportunities to land then, both at Kennedy and at California’s Edwards Air Force Base. The first possibility comes at 9:16 a.m. ET at Kennedy.

The space shuttle is wrapping up an 11-day mission repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. If need be, Atlantis has enough resources to remain in space through Monday.

Shuttle Landing Live Webcast

The following is a live Webcast from NASA TV about the shuttle landing and other space-related news. Click the play button to begin the stream.

Shuttle Launch Delay: What Happened and What’s Next

JR — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:27:20 +0000

The launch of NASA’s space shuttle Discovery is back on hold due to a leak discovered in the shuttle’s gaseous hydrogen vent. As of now, the earliest possible next launch attempt is set to take place on Sunday.

Shuttle Hydrogen Leak

The shuttle was originally set to launch at 9:20 p.m. EDT Wednesday. The weather was good and everything looked to be a go until engineers saw explosive hydrogen gas coming out of the main fuel tank. Such a leak could have potentially sparked an explosion had the shuttle lifted off as planned.

Shuttle Timeline Now

If NASA is able to find the source of the leak and repair it, Discovery will lift off at 6:43 p.m. Sunday. The launch could likely be pushed back to Monday or Tuesday, however. If Discovery is not ready to leave by Tuesday, the mission will have to be delayed until April 7 due to a Russian Soyuz capsule launch already scheduled.

NASA officials say the space shuttle Discovery’s mission may be cut short because of the timing changes. If a Sunday launch occurs, the mission will last 11 days instead of 14. At least one of the planned four spacewalks is expected to be cancelled as well. By Monday, the trip will be cut down to 10 days with only one to two walks, and for Tuesday, the mission will be shortened to nine days with a single spacewalk.

You can read more about the plans for the mission and see a live stream of NASA’s latest efforts at the Kennedy Space Center at our Shuttle Launch Live 2009 page.

Shuttle Launch Live 2009: Discovery Webcast

JR — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:17:54 +0000

UPDATE — Shuttle Launch Delay: What Happened and What’s Next

NASA’s space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center tonight — March 11, 2009 — at 9:20 p.m. EDT. You can watch the shuttle launch live, plus keep an eye on all the activity leading up to it during the day, right here.

Space Shuttle Discovery: The Delays

NASA scientists had pushed back Discovery’s launch by about a month because of tiny cracks discovered in the engine compartment’s hydrogen valves. Crews ended up replacing all of the shuttle’s valves as a safety precaution and now say the shuffle is safe to travel.

Discovery’s Mission

Discovery’s mission will include four spacewalks on which astronauts will install a 31,000-pound addition to the International Space Station. The truss, as it’s called, has two solar array wings that’ll convert solar energy into power for the station. It is the final piece of the station’s new backbone. Discovery will also bring a replacement for that much-discussed system that converts astronauts’ urine into drinkable water.

Discovery’s crew is made up of Commander Lee Archambault; Pilot Tony Antonelli; Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, and John Phillips; and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata.

Shuttle Launch Live 2009 Webcast

Below is a live stream from the Kennedy Space Center, courtesy NASA TV. (Note that NASA may come in and out of coverage during the afternoon hours. Nonstop coverage should begin by evening.) You can find the minute-by-minute breakdown of Discovery’s timeline on our Space Shuttle Launch Schedule 2009 page.

Space Shuttle Launch Schedule 2009: Discovery’s Timeline

JR — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:17:41 +0000

UPDATE — Shuttle Launch Delay: What Happened and What’s Next

The space shuttle Discovery is set to launch tonight — March 11, 2009 — at 9:20 p.m. EDT. After four weeks of delays, NASA says the shuttle is ready to lift off and head out on its two-week voyage to the International Space Station.

Read more about Discovery’s delays and what’s involved in this mission on our Shuttle Launch Live 2009 page. There, you’ll also find a live streaming Webcast of Discovery on the launch pad and during its launch.

Space Shuttle Launch Schedule 2009

As of Wednesday morning, the weather at the Kennedy Space Center is expected to cooperate with the launch — in fact, chances of “excellent conditions” are currently set at 90 percent. Weather is also predicted to stay good at the three overseas emergengy landing sites.

Assuming everything stays on track, here is the current space shuttle launch schedule for March 11, 2009:

Demate orbiter mid-body umbilical unit (3:30 a.m.)

Resume orbiter and ground support equipment closeouts

Resume countdown (7 a.m.)

Main engine avionics, pneumatics and controller checkout completed (7:30 a.m.)
Begin filling pad sound suppression system water tank (8 a.m.)
Pad sound suppression system water tank filling complete (11 a.m.)
Begin star tracker functional checks (2:50 p.m.)

Enter planned hold at T-11 hours for 13 hours, 7 minutes (3 p.m.)

Activate the orbiter’s communications systems (7:15 p.m.)

Launch Day – Wednesday, March 11

Move Rotating Service Structure to the park position (1 a.m.)
Perform ascent switch list
Fuel cell flow-through purge complete

Resume countdown at T-11 hours (4:55 a.m.)

Activate the orbiter’s fuel cells (6:05 a.m.)

Switch Discovery’s purge air to gaseous nitrogen (6:55 a.m.)

Enter planned 2-hour built-in hold at the T-6 hour mark (9:55 a.m.)

Clear the blast danger area of all nonessential personnel
Launch team verifies no violations of launch commit criteria prior to cryogenic loading of the external tank
Clear pad of all personnel

Resume countdown (11:55 a.m.)

Chill down propellant transfer lines (11:55 a.m.)
Begin loading the external fuel tank with about 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants (about 12:05 p.m.)

Enter planned 2-hour, 30-minute built-in hold at T-3 hours (2:55 p.m.)

Complete filling the external tank with its flight load of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants (about 2:55 p.m.)
Final Inspection Team proceeds to launch pad
Perform inertial measurement unit preflight calibration
Align Merritt Island Launch Area tracking antennas

Resume countdown at T-3 hours (5:25 p.m.)

Perform open loop test with Eastern Range
Crew departs Operations and Checkout Building for the pad (5:30 p.m.)
Complete closeout preparations in the White Room
Check cockpit switch configurations
Begin Eastern Range final network open loop command checks

Flight crew begins entry into the orbiter (6 p.m.)
Astronauts perform air-to-ground voice checks with Launch and Mission Control
Begin to close Discovery’s crew hatch (7:05 p.m.)

Perform hatch seal and cabin leak checks
Complete White Room closeout
Closeout crew moves to fallback area
Primary ascent guidance data is transferred to the backup flight system

Enter planned 10-minute hold at T-20 minutes (8:05 p.m.)

NASA test director conducts final launch team briefings

Resume countdown at T-20 minutes (8:15 p.m.)

Transition the orbiter’s onboard computers to launch configuration
Start fuel cell thermal conditioning
Close orbiter cabin vent valves
Transition backup flight system to launch configuration

Enter estimated 40-minute hold at T-9 minutes (8:26 p.m.)

Launch director, Mission Management Team and NASA test director conduct final polls for “go/no go” to launch

Resume countdown at T-9 minutes (9:11 p.m.)

Start automatic ground launch sequencer (T-9 minutes)
Retract orbiter crew access arm (T-7:30)
Start APU recorders (T-6:15)
Start auxiliary power units (T-5)
Terminate liquid oxygen replenish (T-4:55)
Start orbiter aerosurface profile test (T-3:55)
Start main engine gimbal profile test (T-3:30)
Pressurize liquid oxygen tank (T-2:55)
Begin retracting the gaseous oxygen vent arm (T-2:50)
Fuel cells to internal reactants (T-2:35)
Pressurize liquid hydrogen tank (T-1:57)
Deactivate bi-pod heaters (T-1:52)
Deactivate solid rocket booster joint heaters (T-0:50 seconds)
Orbiter transfers from ground to internal power (T-0:50 seconds)
Ground launch sequencer go for auto sequence start (T-0:31 seconds)
Booster gimbal profile (T-0:21 seconds)
Ignition of three space shuttle main engines (T-6.6 seconds)
Booster ignition and liftoff (T-0)

Shuttle Launch Live 2009: Watch Discovery Lift Off Here

Space Shuttle Launch from Air Canada Plane

Duncan Riley — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:22:25 +0000

The above video surfaced on Gizmodo and is alleged to have been shot by a passenger on an Air Canada flight during a Space Shuttle launch. There’s no reason to believe that it’s fake, and ignoring the commentary on the video, it’s pretty cool. The speed of the Shuttle as it rises is phenomenal. According to NASA, the Space Shuttle does zero to 17,000 mph (27,400kmh) in 8.5 minutes