Posts Tagged ‘centre’
May 10, 2011
by yaska77
Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center will finish closing out Endeavour’s aft compartment and will retract the access arm to the external fuel tank today, as work continues to prepare for the start of the countdown on Friday.
Endeavour is now scheduled to launch Monday 16th May at 08:56 EDT (13:56 BST) on a 16-day mission to the International Space Station. The launch originally planned for 29th April was scrubbed when telemetry showed an electrical problem within the aft load control assembly in the Shuttle’s engine compartment.
Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
Meanwhile at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the STS-134 crew is preparing to return to Kennedy this Thursday. Pictured in the official crew portrait above (clockwise) are NASA astronauts Mark Kelly (bottom centre), Commander Gregory H. Johnson, Pilot Michael Fincke, and Mission Specialists Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel and ESA’s Roberto Vittori.
The delay to this launch has also pushed back the expected lift-off of STS-135 (Atlantis) to early July, with an exact date still to be confirmed.
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Posted in yaska77 | Tagged 16, 2011, andrew feustel, atlantis, centre, crew list, date, Endeavour, ESA, greg chamitoff, gregory h. johnson, International, ISS, johnson, Kennedy, launch, mark kelly, may, michael fincke, names, NASA, new, penultimate, postaweek2011, roberto vittori, shuttle, space, Station, STS-134, STS-135, update | Leave a Comment »
May 3, 2011
by yaska77
Work to replace and fully test an electrical distribution box in STS-134 Endeavour’s engine compartment will further delay the next launch attempt to at least 10th May, NASA advised yesterday. An official launch date is only likely to be announced on Friday after the repairs are complete.
Inside Endeavour's aft compartment - Credit: NASA
This tentative new date is based on a full review of the work needed to replace the faulty aft load control assembly. This showed it would take longer than originally expected to complete repairs (and all required testing) in time to start a fresh countdown for a launch on Sunday.
The lift-off of Endeavour was scrubbed on Friday 29th April when telemetry showed hydraulic power system fuel line heaters were not working properly. Later tests determined the problem was with the aft load control assembly No. 2 in the Shuttle’s engine compartment.
NASA are hoping to extend Endeavour’s mission by up to two days to allow the crew more time to complete their objectives, but with the Russian Soyuz* capsule scheduled to detach from the ISS on 23rd May (returning 3 of the 6 ISS crew to Earth) this will depend entirely on which day Endeavour is able to launch on. (* edited to correct errors)
Full article on Spaceflight Now
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Posted in yaska77 | Tagged 42p, aft, assembly, cargo, centre, control, date, Endeavour, failure, freighter, fuel, heater, information, Kennedy, latest, launch, Line, load, M-10M, NASA, new, postaweek2011, progress, russian, shuttle, soyuz, space, STS-134, twitter | Leave a Comment »
April 29, 2011
by yaska77
NASAKennedy on Twitter is reporting the launch today has been scrubbed due to the heater problem on the Auxiliary Power Unit No. 1. With an expected turnaround of 48 hours, NASA says the next launch attempt isn’t likely to happen before Sunday at 14:59 EDT (19:59 BST).
Update: NASA now says the Launch will be no earlier than Monday at 14:33 EDT (19:33 BST)
The NASATV feed in the previous post will be showing a press conference later this afternoon/evening at 16:00 EDT (21:00 BST) today, so keep watching for the latest news.
And we’ll see you back here for the second launch attempt with live NASATV coverage!
Source: @NASAKennedy and @spaceflightnow on Twitter
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Posted in yaska77 | Tagged 48 hours, auxiliary, centre, conference, Endeavour, failure, heater, Kennedy, launch, NASA, NASATV, postponed, power, press, scrubbed, shuttle, space, STS-134, twitter, unit | Leave a Comment »
April 29, 2011
by yaska77
NASA has fuelled up the external tank ready for the planned launch of Endeavour at 20:47 BST (15:47 EDT).
There are actually two compartments inside the Shuttle’s external fuel tank. The liquid oxygen tank occupies the top third of the bullet-shaped container and has been filled with 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen (chilled to -298 degrees Fahrenheit). The liquid hydrogen tank fills the bottom two-thirds and holds 385,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen (chilled to -423 degrees Fahrenheit).
NASA is reporting a 70% “Go” for today’s launch, as recent storm systems have dissipated (as dramatically captured in the NASA Image of the Day, taken Thursday 28th April!)
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The launch can be watched live on NASA TV, or on this blog as we’ll be showing the feed here!
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Posted in Image gallery, NASA, yaska77 | Tagged 29th, April, centre, day, Endeavour, external, Florida, fuel, image, ISS, Kennedy, launch, NASA, of, postaweek2011, shuttle, space, storm, STS-134, system, tank, the | Leave a Comment »
April 26, 2011
by yaska77
The six astronauts for Space Shuttle Endeavour‘s STS-134 mission to the International Space Station have arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for their prelaunch preparations.
Commander Mark Kelly introduced his crew, talking about how excited they were to be flying this mission and delivering the special payloads to the station, and how happy he is that his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, has recovered enough to travel to Kennedy in time for the launch on Friday. Congresswoman Giffords was the victim of an assassination attempt in January this year.
Storm clouds gather around the vehicle assembly building at the Kennedy Space Centre - Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Later today, Kelly and Pilot Greg H. Johnson will practice landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA), which are Gulfstream II jets modified to handle like a space shuttle.
The countdown for launch begins today at 2 p.m. local time, with liftoff for Endeavour’s final scheduled flight set for 3:47 p.m. EDT (20:47 BST) 29th April.
Source: NASA
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Posted in Image gallery, NASA, yaska77 | Tagged 2011, 29, April, assassination, attempt, centre, congresswoman, Endeavour, Florida, gabrielle, giffords, International, ISS, Kennedy, launch, liftoff, NASA, NASA TV, penultimate, postaweek2011, shuttle, space, Station, STS-134 | Leave a Comment »
