Post: #71

home thursday. for the last time.


Atlantis astronauts said a final farewell to the International Space Station today, marking the end of Nasa's 30-year shuttle program.

With heavy hearts, the four-member crew - who had awoken to the strains of Coldplay's Don't Panic - began their two-day journey back to Earth this morning.

Just over a week after arriving, Commander Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus undocked from the space station at 7.28am GMT before setting off for Florida's Kennedy Space Center for the final time.

Post: #72

July 21, 2011
sonic booms heard over Florida at 0600...and she is home for good.

Post: #73

when giants meet~~









Two of Nasa's three retired space shuttles were greeted with cheers as they traded places yesterday.

In a rare nose-to-nose encounter, Discovery and Endeavour met outside the shuttle hangar at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Discovery moved into the hangar and Endeavour went to the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Nasa employees lined the route to watch something they will never see again as the two giant shuttles were wheeled towards each other.

The switch was necessary for Nasa to continue preparing both spaceships for their future homes.

Discovery will head next spring to a Virginia hangar belonging to the Smithsonian Institution.

Endeavour will then be transported to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Post: #74

i was glad to see Cape still operating. cool about the cameras and kids.

Nasa today launched a set of twin spacecraft bound for the moon which it hopes will give an insight into its internal structure.

The near identical probes - named Grail-A and Grail-B - aboard a relatively small Delta II rocket, will take close to four months before reaching the moon.

The pair are traveling independently to the moon, with A due to arrive on New Year's Eve and B on New Year's Day.

"It will probe the interior of the moon and map its gravity field 100 to 1,000 times better than ever before. We will learn more about the interior of the moon with Grail than all previous lunar missions combined," Weiler said.

At the same time, four cameras on each spacecraft will offer schoolchildren the opportunity to order up whatever pictures of the moon they want. The educational effort is spearheaded by Sally Ride, America's first spacewoman.

Post: #75

the future

WASHINGTON — After months of debate, NASA has settled on plans for its next spaceship — a space shuttle hybrid that will fly twice in the next decade and cost $30 billion through 2021, according to senior administration officials and internal NASA documents.

That NASA decided to recycle elements of the shuttle is not unexpected. Last year, Congress and the White House agreed NASA should reuse equipment from old programs and the new design — which includes a giant fuel tank and two booster rockets — largely reflects that compromise. The most noticeable change is the plane-like orbiter will be replaced by an Apollo-like crew capsule atop the tank.

What is surprising — and potentially controversial — is the cost and scope of the new mission, especially since NASA largely is relying on 30-year-old technology to build the new rocket.

As scheduled, NASA will fly an unmanned test flight in 2017 and a crewed mission in 2021. If NASA stays on budget, which is far from certain given NASA's history of cost overruns, each mission would cost about $15 billion apiece, although planned missions after 2021 would reduce that average price tag.

Video: Crowd lifts burning car, saves Motorcycle crash victim

Related NASA documents show there would be a flight every year or two after 2021.

Unknown, however, is the destination. A senior administration official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said NASA had not picked where it planned to send either the unmanned capsule in 2017 or the crewed capsule in 2021.

Previously, administration sources had hinted the missions would loop around the moon — but not land — but the official said a moon shot was not set in stone.

The only certain goal, said the official, is that NASA still would be committed to meeting President Barack Obama's target of launching a manned mission to an asteroid by 2025.

Post: #76

I've always blamed Morton Thiokol for The Challenger explosion. It's obvious from the videos that the fuel was mixed improperly.

Oh , and


JENNIFER JUNIPER
Donovan

Jennifer Juniper lives upon the hill,
Jennifer Juniper, sitting very still.
Is she sleeping ? I don't think so.
Is she breathing ? Yes, very low.
Whatcha doing, Jennifer, my love ?
Jennifer Juniper, rides a dappled mare,
Jennifer Juniper, lilacs in her hair.
Is she dreaming ? Yes, I think so.
Is she pretty ? Yes, ever so.
Whatcha doing, Jennifer, my love ?
I'm thinking of what it would be like if she loved me.
You know just lately this happy song it came along
And I like to somehow try and tell you.
Jennifer Juniper, hair of golden flax.
Jennifer Juniper longs for what she lacks.
Do you like her ? Yes, I do, Sir.
Would you love her ? Yes, I would, Sir.
Whatcha doing Jennifer, my love ?
Jennifer Juniper, Jennifer Juniper, Jennifer Juniper.
Jennifer Juniper vit sur la colline,
Jennifer Juniper assise trs tranquille.
Dort-elle ? Je ne crois pas.
Respire-t-elle ? Oui, mais tout bas.
Qu'est-ce que tu fais, Jenny mon amour ?
Jennifer Juniper, Jennifer Juniper, Jennifer Juniper.


The o-ring wouldn't have given out if the flame hadn't been on it so long.

Post: #77

(09-14-2011 12:45 PM)Lady Cop Wrote:  The only certain goal, said the official, is that NASA still would be committed to meeting President Barack Obama's target of launching a manned mission to an asteroid by 2025.[/b]

I suppose an asteroid would be a good warm up for a Mars mission since there should be several of them in more favorable orbits and the fuel to leave is far less.

I'm surprised they aren't more concerned with the international space station as a way point for all etraterrestrial missions.

Post: #78

CHALLENGER, 26 YEARS AGO TODAY.

Post: #79

after all these years, this man only recently realized what he had--->
he's at the airport, you can hear him talking to his family, wondering what happened.




Jan. 28, 1986: The Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right solid rocket booster caused an explosion soon after launch. This photograph, taken a few seconds after the accident, shows the main engines and solid rocket booster exhaust plumes entwined around a ball of gas from the external tank. (NASA)


A newly released amateur video depicts the tragic explosion of the space shuttle Challenger -- the Jan. 28, 1986 explosion that took the lives of seven crew members and shook America's confidence in spaceflight.

The incident led to a 32-month hiatus in Shuttle flights and the creation of the Rogers Commission, which ultimately urged NASA to reorganize and place a fresh emphasis on safety.

The newly discovered video was captured by registered nurse Bob Karman while his family was vacationing at Disney World, reported New Scientist. His late wife and 3-year-old daughter Kim, who now works at the science website, are visible in the clip amazed at the shuttle launch -- unaware that something had gone horribly wrong.

"After shooting the video, I had a sense that something went wrong but it wasn't until we were on the plane that the pilot confirmed the tragedy," he told New Scientist.

The site reports that only one other amateur video of the disaster was known to exist. NASA spokesman Michael Curie told New Scientist that the Rogers Commission had gathered all known footage of the disaster, but even the space agency itself was unaware if they had used outside amateur videos.


video here:
http://www.newscientist.com/videoredirec...3275978001

Post: #80

NASA
This stunning photo shows the well-lit cities of the East Coast of the U.S. as seen from the International Space Station.The photo was taken on February 6 when the Expedition 30 crew was on board the International Space Shuttle.

FABULOUS SHOT!

Post: #81

Awesome shot! Whenever I see shots like that I get impressed we can electrically power up that much.

Post: #82

ANOTHER SUPER-8 FILM OF CHALLENGER HAS EMERGED. HERE:

http://www.5min.com/Video/Exclusive-New-...-517298688

it's very clear.

details here:

http://main.aol.com/2012/03/09/challenge...latestnews

Post: #83

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER --
Space shuttle Discovery will be the first shuttle to leave NASA's Kennedy Space Center on the road to retirement.

Discovery is set to depart KSC on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Boeing 747 on Tuesday, April 17. And you have a chance to say goodbye before it heads to its new home at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Discovery's final ferry flight will mark the 38^th time it has taken to the air atop NASA 905, the original of two shuttle carrier aircraft. NASA retired its second modified Boeing 747 earlier this year.

NASA 905 is scheduled to fly into Kennedy Space Center from Dryden Flight Research Center in California on April 10. Four days later, Discovery will be lowered onto its back using a specially built crane, designed to load and unload orbiters for their ferry flights.

According to Kennedy Space Center, Discovery and the final crew members to fly aboard the shuttle, will be at KSC in the days leading up to the departure.

Details of the departure are still being finalized, but here's what we know:

Tuesday, April 17, 2012:

Discovery, mounted atop the 747, is scheduled to depart at 7 a.m., weather permitting.
The mated aircraft will leave the KSC landing facility and fly south over Brevard beaches.
At some point, they will loop and do another flyby over the beaches.
KSC intends to then have the aircraft fly near Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and over the KSC Visitor Complex before it heads north to Washington, D.C. for a 10 a.m. landing at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Members of the public and current & former space workers are expected to line the beaches of Brevard County in hopes of getting a glimpse of this historic retirement flight.

An arrival ceremony, including a parade of space shuttle Discovery's former astronaut crew members, is planned for April 19. The event will launch the Smithsonian's four day public festival celebrating the orbiter's addition to the National Collection.

Post: #84

Space shuttle Discovery rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building's high bay 4 to the shuttle landing facility at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, April 14, 2012. Discovery is harnessed to the "mate-demate device" at the shuttle landing facility at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, April 14, 2012, during the rollout of the orbiter from the Vehicle Assembly Building.











A bald eagle takes a perch from another eagle atop a lightpost near the Vehicle Assembly Building at Cape Canaveral, on Saturday, April 14, 2012.



The Boeing 747 that will carry shuttle Discovery to the Smithsonian