Space Flight Archives

May 20, 2011December 24, 2015 by Ken Kremer

Atlantis Rolls to Vehicle Assembly Building with Final Space Shuttle Crew for July 8 Blastoff

Final shuttle crew greets the media and shuttle workers during Atlantis rollover from the OPF-1 processing hanger to the VAB at KSC. From left: Rex Walheim Shuttle Commander Christopher Ferguson, Douglas Hurley and Sandra Magnus. The all veteran crew will deliver the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module (MPLM), science supplies, provisions and space parts to the International Space Station (ISS). Credit: Ken Kremer

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER – The end of NASA’s shuttle era has begun as pre-launch preparations for the final shuttle flight by Space Shuttle Atlantis kicked into high gear. The STS-135 mission is set to launch on July 8 at about 11:40 a.m. EDT on a 12 day flight.

Shuttle Atlantis has been moved about a quarter of a mile from its pre-launch processing hanger – known as Orbiter Processing Facility-1 (OPF-1) – to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Check out our eyewitness photo album herein.

Atlantis rolls over from the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-1, at right) processing hanger to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB, at left) at KSC for the STS-135 mission. Credit: Ken Kremer

The four person crew of STS-135 was on hand to meet and greet and thank the big crowd of NASA managers and shuttle workers who are preparing Atlantis for the final spaceflight of the Space Shuttle Program after three decades of flight.

Atlantis’ crew comprises of Shuttle Commander Christopher Ferguson, pilot Douglas Hurley and mission specialists Rex Walheim and Sandra Magnus.

Atlantis atop 78 wheeled transporter during rollover from OPF-1 to the VAB. Credit: Ken Kremer

More than a hundred photo journalists representing media worldwide gathered to watch this historic event – known as “rollover”. I had a chance to briefly speak and shake hands with Shuttle Commander Chris Ferguson and wish the crew good luck.

Under a gorgeous clear blue sky, Atlantis was hauled to the VAB – while bolted atop a 78 wheeled transporter – a key milestone setting a clear path to blastoff. Inside the VAB, the orbiter is mated to the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters before rolling out to Launch Pad 39 A in about two weeks.

Atlantis Up Close on the path to the VAB. Credit: Ken Kremer

Midway through the road trip, Atlantis was parked for several hours to allow KSC employees to pose for photo opportunities with the flight ready orbiter for the last time.

The goal of Atlantis mission is to carry the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module (MPLM) to the International Space Station (ISS) and stock up the orbiting outpost with science equipment, crew supplies, food, water, logistics, gear and spare parts before the shuttles are retired forever at the prime of their lifetime.

Check back later for more photos

The all veteran STS-135 crew poses with Atlantis during rollover to the VAB. Credit: Ken Kremer

Atlantis heads to the VAB for the last time in preparation for the STS-135 mission. Credit: Ken Kremer

Atlantis approaches the VAB for the final time. Credit: Ken Kremer

The Space Shuttle Program will be prematurely stopped after the STS-135 flight.
Lack of NASA funding from the US Federal Government is causing the retirement of the Space Shuttles although the orbiters are operating at peak performance. Credit: Ken Kremer

Ken Kremer and Space Shuttle Atlantis on the road to the VAB. Credit: Ken Kremer

May 20, 2011December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

DARPA Wants Your Ideas for a 100-Year Starship

Will humanity one day boldly go... somewhere? Credit: Paramount.

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The idea for a 100-year starship has been tossed around recently, and now DARPA the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has put out a Request for Information (RFI) looking for ideas about how a long-term human mission to boldly go out to the stars could possibly happen. It’s been estimated that such a mission would cost over $10 billion, and the idea has gotten $100,000 from NASA and $ 1 million from DARPA – which means that as of now it is just that, an idea.

Pete Worden, the Director of NASA’s Ames Research Center announced the idea last fall, and it received plenty of coverage, but not much publicized research on how the idea could possibly come to fruition. Worden optimistically said he expected to see the first prototype of a new propulsion system within the next few years, but that seem unlikely given NASA’s frozen budget and a Congress that doesn’t seem very forward-looking in their vision for what NASA should be doing. But perhaps DARPA’s input could have some leverage.

There would be several technological obstacles to overcome, such as how to create an artificial gravity so that those aboard the ship wouldn’t experience the muscle and bone loss that astronauts on the ISS have after just six months in space. Then there’s how to manufacture food, and create other things the crew might need while they are out in the middle of nowhere. Those are just a few examples of what would need to be dealt with.

But anyway, a journey starts with a single step, and so if you’ve got any ideas, here’s DARPA’s RFI (hurry, you’ve only got until June 3, 2011!):

DARPA is seeking ideas for an organization, business model and approach appropriate for a self-sustaining investment vehicle in support of the 100 Year StarshipTM Study. The 100 Year StarshipTM Study is a project seeded by DARPA to develop a viable and sustainable model for persistent, long-term, private-sector investment into the myriad of disciplines needed to make long-distance space travel practicable and feasible. The genesis of this study is to foster a rebirth of a sense of wonder among students, academia, industry, researchers and the general population to consider “why not” and to encourage them to tackle whole new classes of research and development related to all the issues surrounding long duration, long distance spaceflight. DARPA contends that the useful, unanticipated consequences of such research will have benefit to the Department of Defense and to NASA, and well as the private and commercial sector. The information obtained will be used for planning and acquisition strategy development. DARPA will use the information obtained as a result of this RFI on a non-attribution basis. Providing data and information that is limited or restricted for use by the Government for that purpose would be of very little value and the inclusion of such restricted/limited data/information is discouraged. Responses as a single file in Adobe PDF electronic format can be submitted to [email protected] by 12:00 pm (noon) Eastern Time, Friday, June 3, 2011. For complete details of this notice, please refer to the attachment, “RFI – 100 Year Starship Study“.

May 18, 2011January 18, 2016 by Nancy Atkinson

Timelapse: Clouds and Plume Amid Endeavour’s Launch

Photographers David Gonzales and Mike Deep shot this footage from the Kennedy Space Center Press Site for Universe Today of the final launch of NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour. See the launch approximately 27 times as fast, (don’t blink — you might miss it!) and watch how the smokey plume changes over time as it is tugged on by wind and casts a changing shadow on the cloud deck below. Replayed at 15 fps.

Below, see a timelapse of the RSS retract on May 15.

Continue reading “Timelapse: Clouds and Plume Amid Endeavour’s Launch”

May 18, 2011December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Endeavour Docks at Space Station

Space Shuttle Endeavour and ESA's Columbus laboratory seen after the Shuttle docked with ISS on 18 May 2011. Credits: NASA

Space shuttle Endeavour docked for the final time at the International Space Station carrying six astronauts and the long-anticipated Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a physics experiment that will hunt for dark matter and antimatter. The docking occured at 1014 GMT, and the hatches between the two vehicles opened at 1138 GMT (7:38 am Eastern time), about an hour earlier than scheduled.

Above, watch as space shuttle Endeavour performs the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver, or “backflip” so that the ISS crew can take high resolution pictures of the shuttle’s heat shield. Commander Mark Kelly rotated Endeavour to rotate 360 degrees backward.

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The combined crews total 12 now on the ISS, but only until May 23, when space station crew members Dmitry Kondratyev, Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli undock in a Soyuz and return home to Earth. Unlike most shuttle missions to the ISS, the two crews are working in staggered shifts instead of being on the same timeline. This is because of the two-week launch delay for Endeavour making the mission, unfortunately, causing the mission to overlap with the departure of the station crew members. The three leaving the ISS need to adjust their sleep cycle to synch up with the landing day timeline.

The shuttle will remain at the station until May 30, with landing scheduled currently for June 1.

The STS-134 mission includes four spacewalks, in part to install the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2, a two-billion-dollar, 15,000 pound (7,000 kilogram) particle detector that will hopefully operate for a decade and provide new details about the origins of the Universe.

The mission is commanded by astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who is recovering after being shot in the head in January. Giffords reportedly will undergo intensive cranioplasty brain surgery in Houston this morning (May 18), just three days after attending the launch.

May 16, 2011April 13, 2022 by Ken Kremer

Endeavour Blasts Off on Her 25th and Final Mission

Blastoff of Space Shuttle Endeavour on her 25th and final flight on May 16, 2011 at 8:56 a.m. from Pad 39 A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Alan Walters – awaltersphoto.com

[/caption]KENNEDY SPACE CENTER – The second time was a charm for Space Shuttle Endeavour as she blasted off this morning (May 16) from Pad 39 A at the Kennedy Space Center on her historic final mission under overcast skies after a two week delay caused by a heater malfunction in the orbiters critical hydraulic fuel lines.

The threatening clouds moved in over the pad in the last 30 minutes of the countdown and nearly derailed the launch. Forecasters had predicted a 70 chance of favorable conditions.

The Universe Today team of Ken Kremer and Alan Walters witnessed Endeavour’s exciting launch from the press site next to the world famous countdown clock. Check out our photo album here.

Space Shuttle Endeavour launches from Pad 39 A on May 16, 2011. View from the countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Endeavour will deliver the $2 Billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station. The AMS will search for dark matter, dark energy and antimatter
to determine the birth of the Universe. Credit: Ken Kremer -www.kenkremer.com

Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly and his five crewmates lifted off at 8:56 a.m. EDT Monday on the STS-134 mission which will deliver a state of the art particle physics detector to the International Space Station.

The $2 Billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) could potentially revolutionize our understanding of how the Universe was born and evolved over time. The AMS is a world class science instrument sponsored by the United States and 15 countries around the globe. Nobel Prize Winner Samuel Ting of MIT leads the international science project.

Endeavour’s three main engines roared to life six seconds before the twin Solid Rocket Boosters were ignited and pushed the shuttle off the pad atop a tremendous roar and brilliant flames shooting from Endeavour’s tail.

The blastoff was flawless and majestic. Endeavour disappeared into the clouds at about T plus 25 seconds

Liftoff of Endeavour on May, 16, 2011 from the Kennedy Space Center with the $2 Billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer destined for the International Space Station. Credit: Alan Walters – awaltersphoto.com

Nearly half a million people flocked to the Florida Space Coast to be a part of history and witness the launch of Shuttle Endeavour on her 25th and final mission to space. Many hotels were sold out for the night.

Numerous folks staked out their claim to a prime view location along area waterways and beaches by camping out for the night or by arriving many hours early to avoid the crush and clogged local roadways.

Kelly’s crewmates are Pilot Greg H. Johnson and Mission Specialists Mike Fincke, Drew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and Roberto Vittori of the European Space Agency. This is the first shuttle flight for Fincke and Vittori.

“This mission represents the power of teamwork, commitment and exploration,” Commander Mark Kelly said shortly before liftoff. “It is in the DNA of our great country to reach for the stars and explore. We must not stop. To all the millions watching today including our spouses, children, family and friends, we thank you for your support.”

Both Finke and Vittori flew to space atop Russian rockets on their prior spaceflights. Vittori will be the last international astronaut to fly aboard a shuttle.

Endeavour is slated for a 16 day mission to the International Space Station which will include the final four spacewalks for the space shuttle program.

The STS-134 mission is the penultimate flight of the shuttle program and the 25th and final one for shuttle Endeavour, NASA’s youngest Orbiter.

Space Shuttle Endeavour blasts off on her 25th and final mission from Pad 39 A on May 16, 2011 at 8:56 a.m. View from the world famous countdown clock at T Plus 5 Seconds at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer

If you watched Endeavour’s May 16 blastoff, send me your launch and crowd photos to post in an STS-134 launch gallery here at Universe Today.

Last Liftoff of Endeavour on May 16, 2011 from the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Alan Walters – awaltersphoto.com

Endeavour disappeared into the clouds at about T plus 25 seconds after May 16 launch. Credit: Ken Kremer

May 16, 2011January 18, 2016 by Nancy Atkinson

Watch Endeavour’s Final Launch

Space shuttle Endeavour launched on its final flight Monday at 8:56 a.m. EDT. Commander Mark Kelly and his five crewmates are now on their way to the International Space Station with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment. Our launch team on hand at Kennedy Space Center will have full coverage with images and commentary, but for now watch the video of the launch, as well as a retrospective of Endeavour’s career, below.
Continue reading “Watch Endeavour’s Final Launch”

May 16, 2011April 13, 2022 by Ken Kremer

Endeavour Unveiled for Historic Final Blastoff

Space Shuttle Endeavour unveiled for final blastoff set for May 16, 2011. Endeavour and her six man crew will deliver the $2 Billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station which seeks to determine the origin and evolution of our Universe. Credit: Ken Kremer

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER – A humongous crowd numbering perhaps half a million excited people is expected to witness the historic final blast off of Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Clocks are ticking down as the countdown enters the final phase before Monday morning’s liftoff (May 16) scheduled for 8:56 a.m. EDT from Pad 39 A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

Endeavour was unveiled for blastoff earlier today as a protective cocoon like structure was pulled away from the shuttle stack. The Rotating Service Structure (RSS) was retracted from around the orbiter starting at 11:45 a.m. over about 45 minutes and under a gorgeous blue sky. See my photo album

Space Shuttle Endeavour awaits launch from Pad 39 A on May 16, 2011. Endeavour will deliver the $2 Billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station. The AMS will search for dark matter, dark energy and antimatter to determine the birth of the Universe. Credit: Ken Kremer

In a lucky break, expected thunderstorms that could have delayed the retraction and launch preparations actually passed through the area overnight, much earlier than expected.

Shuttle managers will gather at 11 p.m. tonight for a critical meeting and decision to give the “Go-No Go” directive to load the External Fuel Tank with supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel that powers the shuttle main engines for the eight and one half minute climb to orbit. The tanking process is scheduled to begin at 11:36 p.m.

There are no technical issues at this time that would prevent a launch. The weather outlook remains at “70 Percent GO”.

The goal of Endeavour and her all veteran six man crew is to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station. The $2 Billion AMS is a state of the art particle physics detector that will search for dark matter, dark energy and antimatter and seek to determine how the Universe was born and evolved.

The 134 mission is set to last 16 days and will feature the final 4 spacewalks of the space shuttle program.

Close up of Endeavour at Pad 39A shows astronaut walkway to the White Room and crew cabin.
Credit: Ken Kremer

The crew will wake up at 12 a.m. Monday. They depart for the launch pad shortly after 5 a.m.

Launch coverage begins on NASA TV tonight at 11:30 P.M. shortly before fueling commences:

www.nasa.gov/ntv

If you watch Endeavour’s launch, send me your launch and crowd photos to post in an STS-134 launch gallery here at Universe Today.
Read my related stories about the STS-134 mission here:
Looking to the Heavens with Endeavour; Launch Pad Photo Special
Endeavour Astronauts Arrive at Cape for May 16 Launch
NASA Sets May 16 for Last Launch of Endeavour; Atlantis Slips to July
Endeavour’s Final Launch further delayed another Week or more
On the Cusp of Endeavour’s Final Flight
Brush Fires Erupt at Kennedy Space Center during Endeavour’s Last Countdown
Commander Mark Kelly and STS-134 Crew Arrive at Kennedy for Endeavour’s Final Flight
President Obama to Attend Endeavour’s Last Launch on April 29
Shuttle Endeavour Photo Special: On Top of Pad 39A for Final Flight
Endeavour Mated to Rockets for Last Flight Photo Album
Endeavour Rolls to Vehicle Assembly Building for Final Flight

Close up of aft fuselage of Endeavour at Pad 39A. Credit: Ken Kremer

Ken Kremer and Space Shuttle Endeavour at Launch Pad 39 A at the Kennedy Space Center.
Credit: Ken Kremer

May 15, 2011April 13, 2022 by Ken Kremer

Looking to the Heavens with Endeavour; Launch Pad Photo Special

Two access walkways leading to Endeavour. Astronaut walkway to White Room at center. Credit: Ken Kremer

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER – Space Shuttle Endeavour is poised for launch as the countdown clock ticks down to a liftoff from Pad 39 A on Monday morning, May 16 at 8:56 a.m. EDT. The shuttle Mission Management Team (MMT) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) met today (May 14) and gave the green light to continue launch preparations for the STS-134 mission, which is the final flight of shuttle Endeavour.

The weather forecast remains at a 70 percent favorable chance of acceptable conditions on Monday, according to Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters. The weather outlook drops to only 20 percent favorable on Tuesday in case of a one day delay. The weather rebounds to 80 percent favorable if the launch is postponed by 48 hours.

Side view of shutte Endeavour stack and access walkways. Astronaut walkway to White Room at top center. Credit: Ken Kremer

At a briefing for reporters at KSC today, shuttle launch managers were upbeat about preparations for the launch.

“We had a really good meeting today, unanimous consent from the Mission Management Team to press on with the launch countdown,” said Mike Moses, MMT chairman and manager of shuttle integration at KSC. “Everything’s in really great shape, really no issues at all.”

Moses added that no problems are expected with the heaters in the auxiliary power units (APU’s) that caused the launch scrub two weeks ago on April 29.

To the heavens with Endeavour. Credit: Ken Kremer

Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach said, “The countdown is going extremely well and the team is ready to go. Tanking of the External Tank begins just prior to midnight. We are not working any issue at this time.”

Fueling of the External Tank with supercold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen starts at 11.36 p.m. Sunday night.

Leinbach said that local officials are expecting a crowd of about half a million people to descend on the Florida Space Coast area for the launch.

“You’ll recall for the first launch attempt on that Friday afternoon, the estimate was between 500,000 and 750,000,” he said. “So they’re not quite expecting that big surge, but it’ll still be a heck of a traffic jam after launch.”

Endeavour and her six man crew will deliver the $2 Billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer – a particle physics detector searching for dark matter, dark energy and antimatter – to the International Space Station during a 16 day mission that will include 4 spacewalks.

After Endeavour was rolled out to the pad, I had an awesome opportunity to photograph Endeavour at the pad from stunning vantage points all around the launch pad from top to bottom.

Herein is part 2 of my photo album focusing on my visit to the base of the shuttle stack on the mobile launch platform while looking to the heavens and standing directly beneath the External Tank and in between the Twin Solid Rocket Boosters. Part 1 of my photo album concentrated on the view from the upper levels and our visit to the White Room – where the astronauts board the shuttle orbiter to take their seats for the adventure of a lifetime.

Looking to the heavens from directly beneath Endeavour’s tail. Credit: Ken Kremer

Space Shuttle Endeavour awaits launch from Pad 39 A
Endeavour will deliver the $2 Billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station which seeks to unveil the Unknown and uncover the birth of the Universe. Credit: Ken Kremer

View from directly below the External Tank and shuttle body flap between twin SRB’s. Credit: Ken Kremer

Space Shuttle Endeavour atop Launch Pad 39 A is slated for liftoff on May 16. Endeavour and her six man crew will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station. Credit: Ken Kremer

Shuttle belly with attach points to External Tank connected to loaded Solid Rocket Boosters
on top of pad 39 A. Credit: Ken Kremer

Ken Kremer standing beside the Solid Rocket Booster and External Tank and on top of Launch Pad 39 A with Space Shuttle Endeavour. Credit: Ken Kremer

If you watch Endeavour’s launch, send me your launch and crowd photos to post in an STS-134 launch gallery here at Universe Today.

NPR Radio interview including Ken here:
Shuttle Fixes Will Take At Least One Week

May 13, 2011April 13, 2022 by Ken Kremer

Endeavour Astronauts Arrive at Cape for May 16 Launch

The STS-134 crew arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on May 12, 2011. The crew is preparing for the liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour at 8:56 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 16. From left are, Commander Mark Kelly, Mission Specialists Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel, European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori, Mission Specialist Mike Fincke and Pilot Greg H. Johnson.

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER – The all veteran crew for the last launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour flew back to Florida today for their second try to lift off into space on the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station. This follows the launch scrub called by Shuttle launch managers on April 29 caused by a malfunction of critical heaters inside one of the orbiters three auxiliary power units (APU’s) which power the ships hydraulics.

The weather forecast for Monday morning launch is currently “70% GO” and liftoff is targeted for 8:56 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 16. Stormy weather and rain is expected to sweep across central Florida over the weekend and clear out in time for the launch. But Sunday’s rain could potentially delay the retraction of the Rotating Service Structure – which protects the shuttle from bad weather – for a short time.

Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly and his five crewmates arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center early this morning (May 12) at 9 a.m. aboard the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) after flying in from the astronauts training base at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Mark Kelly, Space Shuttle Commander
for the STS-134 mission speaks ro reports after crew arrives at KSC. Credit: Ken Kremer

“It’s great to be back,” said Kelly to the large crowd of reporters, including me, gathered to greet the crew. “We really appreciate all the hard work by the team that’s worked over the last couple of weeks to get shuttle Endeavour ready. We are really excited to be here, excited to launch, hopefully on Monday if the weather holds.

Kelly is joined on the crew by pilot Greg H. “Box” Johnson and Mission Specialists Mike Fincke, Andrew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and Roberto Vittori. Vittori is a European Space Agency astronaut and spoke first in his native Italian language and then in English.

“Box” celebrated his 49th birthday today. “I can’t think of a more perfect way to spend my birthday then to come here with my crew a get ready to fly Endeavour next week.”

He also thanked the teams for resolving the APU issues. ”Hats off to Dana Hutcherson and her team for preparing Endeavour for this flow and finally a special thanks to the APU team for all the hard work you’ve done getting us to this point. Kudos for solving it and getting us back on track.”

Kelly and Johnson will fly practice landings in the STA in the remaining days prior to Monday’s launch. The STA is a modified Gulfstream II jet which handles like a space shuttle.

Mission Specialist Mike Finke whipped out a camera and photographed the gaggle of media as we were photographing them – a rare and thrilling experience for all of us. Finke tweeted the photo of us a short time later – and is included here.

STS-134 Astronaut Mike Finke snapped this photo of the media gaggle that greeted the crew on their arrival at the Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. Finke tweeted the photo as “AstroIronMike” and wrote - Astronaut view of our press conference. Ken is 4th from left and left of NASA logo. Credit: NASA/Mike Finke

Technicians at the Kennedy Space Center have been working around the clock since April 29 to determine the cause of the heater failure and fix the problems. The malfunction was traced to a switch box located in the aft section of the shuttle. Shuttle workers swaped out the ALCA -2 load control assembly box. Then they retested the new unit and qualified it for flight.

STS-134 Astronaut Mike Finke (2nd from right) photographs the media
as we photograph the crew upon their arrival in Florida on May 12. See Finke’s twitpic above.
Credit: Ken Kremer

Humongous crowds are again expected to travel to prime viewing locations around the Kennedy Space Center and pack the local hotels, roadways and beaches. Flocks of tourists are already arriving in anticipation on Monday’s launch. About 750,00 folks had swarmed to Florida for the April 29 launch attempt.

STS-134 is the penultimate mission in the Space Shuttle Program. The last shuttle flight by Atlantis is expected to occur in early July, but a firm launch date has not yet been set.

Space Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach greets the STS-134 crew upon arrival at KSC
as they depart the Shuttle Training Aircraft. Credit: Ken Kremer

If you do attend Endeavour’s launch, send me your launch and crowd photos to post in an STS-134 launch gallery here at Universe Today.

NPR Radio interview including Ken here:
Shuttle Fixes Will Take At Least One Week

May 11, 2011April 13, 2022 by Ken Kremer

Dawn Begins Approach to Asteroid Vesta and Snaps First Images

Dawn's First Glimpse of Vesta – Processed. This image, processed to show the true size of the giant asteroid Vesta, shows Vesta in front of a spectacular background of stars. It was obtained by the framing camera aboard NASA's Dawn spacecraft on May 3, 2011, from a distance of about 1.2 million kilometers (750,000 miles). Since Vesta is so bright that it outshines its starry background, Dawn team members commanded a long exposure time to make the stars visible. They corrected the resulting exaggerated size of Vesta by superimposing a short exposure image of the target asteroid, showing its true size. Vesta is the small, bright pearl in the middle of the image. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

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NASA’s revolutionary Dawn Asteroid Orbiter has begun the final approach phase to the giant asteroid Vesta and snapped its first science image. The image was taken on May 3, when Dawn was approximately 1.21 million kilometers (752,000 miles) distant from Vesta using the science imager known as the Framing Camera.

Besides the pure delight of seeing Vesta up close for the first time, the images play a crucial role in navigating Dawn precisely through space and successfully achieve orbit around the protoplanet that nearly formed into a full fledged planet.

Vesta is the second most massive object in the Asteroid Belt and is 530 kilometers (330 miles) in diameter.

Dawn launch on September 27, 2007 by a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer

Dawn should be captured into orbit about Vesta around July 16 as the engineering team works to maneuver the spacecraft to match the asteroids path around the sun using the exotic ion thrusters. Using the background stars in the framing camera images, they will be able to determine Dawn’s location in space relative to the stars in order to precisely navigate the spacecrafts trajectory towards Vesta.

“After plying the seas of space for more than a billion miles, the Dawn team finally spotted its target,” said Carol Raymond, Dawn’s deputy principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “This first image hints of detailed portraits to come from Dawn’s upcoming visit.”

The best images of Vesta to date were taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Jim Adams, Deputy Director of Planetary Science, told me that the images from Dawn’s Framing Camera will exceed those from Hubble in a few weeks.

Dawn will initially enter a highly elliptical polar orbit around Vesta and start collecting science data in August from an altitude of approximately 1,700 miles (2,700 kilometers). The orbit will be lowered in stages to collect high resolution data as Dawn spends about a year collecting data from its three science instruments.

Dawn's First Glimpse of Vesta -- Unprocessed
This image shows the first, unprocessed image obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft of the giant asteroid Vesta in front of a background of stars. It was obtained by Dawn's framing camera on May 3, 2011, from a distance of about 1.2 million kilometers (750,000 miles). Vesta is inside the white glow at the center of the image. The giant asteroid reflects so much sunlight that its size is dramatically exaggerated at this exposure. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Thereafter Dawn will be targeted to Ceres, the largest object in the Asteroid Belt which it will reach in 2015.

Dawn is an international mission.

The framing cameras have been developed and built under the leadership of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany, with significant contributions by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, and in coordination with the Institute of Computer and Communication Network Engineering, Braunschweig. The framing camera project is funded by the Max Planck Society, DLR, and NASA.

The Visible and Infrared mapping camera was provided by the Italian Space Agency. The Gamma Ray Detector was supplied by Los Alamos National Labotatory.

Read more about Dawn in my prior story:
Revolutionary Dawn Closing in on Asteroid Vesta with Opened Eyes