The US Air Force’s unmanned mini space shuttle has been located and tracked in orbit by a contingent of amateur astronomers, and now you can see the X37-B for yourself.
The spaceplane was spotted independently by amateur satellite watchers Greg Roberts of Cape Town, South Africa, and Kevin Fetter of Brockville, Canada, on May 20. Another satellite watcher, Ted Molczan, of Toronto, Canada was then able to calculate the spacecraft’s actual orbit. Then, from that data, Fetter was able to find the X37-B again the following night and photograph it flying across the starry sky. See more images on Spaceweather.com, and this movie of the X37-B in orbit, as seen by Fetter.
NEEMO 14 crew member tests mobility of a spacesuit design. Credit: NASA
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Talking with the astronauts living in the NEEMO habitat – NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations – is a bit like talking with Darth Vader; there’s a regular hiss of air intake and outflow in the background. But the ever-present pastel blue hue in the webcam feed lets you know these astronauts aren’t in space. They are living and working in an underwater habitat, 20 meters (70 feet) under the ocean, just off the coast of Key Largo, Florida. What are NASA astronauts doing under the sea?
“This is the closest thing to spaceflight I’ve ever had in all my NASA training,” astronaut Tom Marshburn told Universe Today in the midst of his 14-day stay in NEEMO. “It is very real. Our lives are completely dependent on our habitat, we have to follow checklists and procedures to be safe, we have to watch out for each other, we’re in a tight confined space and doing real work that will help future space missions. So, in all ways it is much like spaceflight, including having a great view out the window.”
Except in space, there wouldn’t be a giant grouper peering through the portal.
The habitat, called Aquarius, is the world’s only undersea laboratory. Mainly it is used for marine research but NASA has found it has great utility for training crews to live in space. “It’s the closest thing to spaceflight without going to space,” Marshburn said. “We’re able to do operational research, work that is applicable to what we need to know about flying in space. We also do life sciences research and some marine research.”
Chris Hadfield, left and Tom Marshburn inside the galley of Aquarius. Credit: NASA
Joining Marshburn is Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who is the commander for this undersea mission, as well as the Lunar Electric Rover Deputy Project Manager Andrew Abercromby and Steve Chappell, a research scientist, along with two technicians.
Aquarius itself is a long cylinder, “like a couple of Winnebagos set end to end,” Marshburn said, with a box-like entry at one end called the Wet Porch.
Simulating walking up a ladder in a low-gravity envirnoment. Except, no fish on the Moon. Credit: NASA
“When we dive into the Wet Porch, there is no hatch. The air pressure keeps the water out. There is cool pneumatic sliding door like something out of Star Trek, and you just walk on in. There’s a galley where we eat backpacking type food, we sleep in a bunk room. There’s six of us in a room about the size of a closet. You get to know your crewmates really well.”
The main working area of Aquarius is filled with valves, dials and lit panels. “It’s a lot like a spaceship,” Marshburn said.
Marshburn and Hadfield are members of the 14th NEEMO crew. The tasks and objectives for their mission, besides giving them training for a long-duration space mission is to do operational research on spacesuits for different gravity and environment requirements (on an asteroid, Mars or on the Moon).
“As you may know, astronauts train underwater in spacesuits, so this is a great place to work on spacesuit design,” said Marshburn, “specifically finding where the center of gravity is and what mobility issues there might be. Instead of just diving in the pool, it turns out we can get a lot more done by being down here and going out with the equipment on the sea floor, and be able to spend hours working on spacesuit design.”
The NEEMO 14 crew is doing intense research on the center of gravity and how that affects the ability to perform standard tasks, and helping spacesuit designers increase range of motion and maintain the comfort level for the astronauts on different planetary surfaces.
An underwater test set up to simulate rescuing an injured crew member. Credit: NASA
“If we want to explore an asteroid, how do you move around without handholds or something to grab on to?” said Hadfield in a press conference from Aquarius. “Where should the center of mass be for mundane tasks like picking things up or shoveling, or for complex tasks like rescuing a injured crew member? We’re finding that sometimes the center of gravity that is completely wrong on Earth — that would give you a backache in a matter of minutes — works better in a different gravity environment. And that’s what we are trying to figure out. If what we’re finding out is a surprise, that means our simulation is really doing its job.”
The suits can be weighted out to simulate different gravity. The crews do “EVAs” — like spacewalks, going outside every morning and afternoon.
On the ocean floor are also mockups of a lunar rover and lander. Tests for these include hatch design, and ingress and egress simulations. The crew is also doing life sciences experiments, themselves being the subjects. “We’re in a hyper-oxygen environment,” said Marshburn, “that plus living in a confined environment is a lot like living in space and it puts our bodies under stress, so that is being studied, as well as psychological studies. We’re trying to maximize our time down here, so we’re also doing marine geology research.” They also do regular maintenance of the exterior of the habitat.
Marshburn said future designs for spacesuits, rovers, and landers will be based, in part, on what is learned from the NEEMO missions.
Mockups of future Mars or Moon habitats. Credit: NASA
This past week the crew has been in a Mars communication simulation, where there is a 20 minute delay each way for messages – both written and spoken — back and forth from “ground control” on the Earth’s surface. “That has really changed things,” Hadfield said, “it increases our level of isolation. It’s just the six of us with each other with only peripheral help. It forces us to make our own decisions.”
However, the crew has been Twittering during the mission is real-time, an activity Hadfield said he was initially suspicious of. “Twittering was foreign to me, and I only knew it would increase the crew’s work load.”
But what does he think about it now?
“I am delighted with what it has done,” Hadfield said, “not only with our ability to interact with the world, but it forces us to express what we are thinking about. This experience, and the experience of spaceflight is so remarkable that you really shouldn’t horde something that is important to you, or something remarkable that happens. So thousands of people now are following what we are doing down here. This new technology to spread the human experience has allowed us to better articulate to each other, too.”
Hadfield said he is a big proponent of Twitter now, as schools and other organizations have been able to be part of the NEEMO 14 mission.
The mission started on May 10, and the crew will “depressurize” over the weekend to prepare for returning to the surface early next week. It takes at least 16 hours to get the excess oxygen out of their blood. If there would be an emergency, there are backup plans for getting the crew out and keeping them underwater and depressurizing.
Hadfield will be taking a turn on a future long duration space station mission and Marshburn said he is in line for tour of duty on the ISS as well.
“This is best spaceflight simulation I’ve ever had,” he said. “NASA likes to keep their astronauts trained, and believe me, this is worth it. It is very cool.”
Another incredible shot of the ISS, with Atlantis' tail visible. Credit: NASA
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Is this Atlantis’ last mission to space? STS-132 is the last scheduled flight for space shuttle Atlantis, and it remains to be seen whether any additional shuttle flights will be added. But the imagery from this mission is incredibly rich with wonderful images of the orbiter. So, while previous shuttle mission galleries we have here on Universe Today normally feature images from the EVAs, this gallery will mainly showcase images of Atlantis. And there are some really great photos — not sure whether the astronauts/photographers are consciously focusing on the shuttle or these images are just marvelously serendipitous. We’ll do a second gallery as more images come in from the later part of the mission. Enjoy!
Atlantis during the R-bar pitch maneuver as it approaches the ISS. Credit: NASA
Atlantis is backdropped by Earth as the shuttle approaches the International Space Station during STS-132 rendezvous and docking operations. Docking occurred at 9:28 a.m. (CDT) on May 16, 2010.
Cool view of Atlantis' back end, as it approaches the ISS. Credit: NASA
Just a very neat image of Atlantis, as seen from the ISS, backdropped by a cloudy area on Earth.
Another incredible shot of the ISS, with Atlantis' tail visible. Credit: NASA
Amazing shot of the Russian Segment behind Atlantis’s tail on FD 4 prior to docking.
Robotic arm ballet, with astronaut. Credit: NASA
Anchored to a Canadarm2 mobile foot restraint, NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman works during the STS-132 mission’s first EVA. Dextre, a two-armed extension for the station’s robotic arm is also visible.
Fish eye view of Garrett Reisman working in the ISS's Cupola. Credit: NASA
This image might win the award for most futuristic looking image of the mission, and some have compared it to a scene from the movie “2001” — um, wait, is that considered a history movie now?
View of the ISS as Atlantis approaches on May 16, 2010. Credit: NASAThe Russian Mini Research Module, Rassvet, pulled from Atlantis' payload bay. Credit: NASA
In the grasp of the Canadarm2, the Russian-built Mini-Research Module 1 (MRM-1) is transferred from space shuttle Atlantis’ payload bay to be permanently attached to the Earth-facing port of the Zarya Functional Cargo Block (FGB) of the International Space Station.
Steve Bowen during the first EVA of STS-132. Credit: NASA
Obligatory image of a waving astronaut during an EVA. But it never gets old, so keep it up, guys!
Stunning view and colors. Credit: NASAAnother great view of Atlantis, her starboard wing area, over Earth. Credit: NASANASA astronaut Garrett Reisman takes a self-portrait visor while participating in the first of three spacewalks. Credit: NASAAtlantis' launch on May 14, 2010. Credit: NASA
UPDATE: Sorry, but the video includes an annoying loud commercial that starts up automatically every time the page loads on UT, but you should really watch this cool video here. Read about it below, though, first!
This is incredible! Smithsonian Air & Space photographers Scott Andrews, Stan Jirman and Philip Scott Andrews created a unique time-lapse video (at the request of shuttle commander Alan Poindexter) from from thousands of individual frames, and they condense six weeks of painstaking work into three minutes, 52 seconds (read here how they did it). The video quickly chronicles the processing of Discovery for the STS-131 mission, and starts at the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, then goes on to the Vehicle Assembly Building, (the video of how the shuttle is hoisted into a vertical position and lowered onto its external fuel tank is absolutely amazing). Then it’s off to the pad for launch, and you even get to see a quick glimpse of Discovery as it lands. This is the shuttle and mission for which I was able to see much of the processing and pre-launch events, so I found it especially meaningful, but it is even more poignant since the end of the shuttle program is quickly approaching.
U.S. Air Force X-37B reusable space plane. Credit: Boeing, US Air Force.
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Last month’s launch of the US Air Force X-37B secret mini space plane has fueled speculation about the real mission of this vehicle and if it could possibly be used for a new type of military weapon. The X-37B launched on April 22, 2010 and has the ability to stay in orbit for up to 270 days. While the Air Force provided a webcast of the launch, since then there has been no word — leaked or official – about the status of the mission. “There has been a lot of speculation about what this vehicle could do and what sort of capabilities it could provide to the U.S. military, and some of that speculation was based on more science fiction than fact,” said Brian Weeden from the Secure World Foundation. “While a successful completion of the X-37B flight, landing, and turn-around will certainly be a significant step forward in reusable space vehicle technology, it is a long ways away from a single-stage-to-orbit capability.”
Weeden has put together a fact sheet on the X-37B, looking at the technical feasibility of some of the proposed missions for the mini space shuttle look-alike, and says that there’s almost no chance it could be used as a new weapon or a new weapon delivery system.
The X-37B will land unpiloted at Edwards Air Force Base in California. It uses solar arrays and lithium ion batteries to generate power instead of fuel cells like the space shuttle, a major reason why it can stay on orbit for much longer. Artist impression of the Boeing X-37B (USAF)
Weeden said that after looking at all the proposed missions for the X-37B, he concluded the most likely probability is that it will be used as a flexible, responsive spacecraft to collect intelligence from space and as a platform to flight test new sensors and satellite hardware.
“One of the downsides to using satellites for collecting intelligence is that once they are launched they have a fixed set of sensors and capabilities,” Weeden said. “The X-37B brings to space the capability to customize the on-board sensor package for a specific mission, similar to what can be done with U.S. reconnaissance aircraft such as the U-2 and SR-71. In many ways, this gives the X-37B the best of both worlds,” he added.
Here’s a brief look at the potential uses for the X-37B:
On-orbit sensor platform and test bed, with the ability to return payload. “What it offers that we have seldom had is the ability to bring back payloads and experiments to examine how well the experiments performed on-orbit,” said Gary Payton, the undersecretary of the Air Force for space programs. “That’s one new thing for us.”
Given the R&D that likely was put into the X-37B, this approach probably isn’t very cost-effective, but Weeden said this is the most likely use the spaceplane. X-37B payload bay could hold various sensors used for intelligence collection of the Earth from space, potentially including radar, optical, infrared, and signals/electronic intelligence suites to flight-test and evaluate new sensors and hardware.
Deployment platform for operationally responsive space satellites. Weeden said this has a midrange chance of being X-37B’s mission, and he quotes Payton: “We could have an X-37 sitting at Vandenberg or at the Cape, and on comparatively short notice, depending on warfighter requirements, we could put a specific payload into the payload bay, launch it up on an Atlas or Delta, and then have it stay in orbit, do the job for the combatant commander, and come back home. And then the next flight, we could have a different payload inside, maybe even for a different combatant commander.”
But given it still would be dependent on the availability of EELV, it may not have a very quick response time for launch.
On-orbit repair vehicle. Weeden said this option has a fairly low chance of being X-37B’s real mission. While it could be used to rendezvous with malfunctioning satellites and repair or refuel them, the X-37B is limited in altitude (it has been rumored that it will have a maximum altitude range of 700 or 800 km (about 500 nautical miles), potentially high enough to access most Sun-synchronous satellites, but this is unconfirmed, plus not many existing operational military satellite components will fit in the X-37B cargo bay. And as the engineers who tried to figure out how to fix the Hubble Space Telescope robotically, without humans, on-orbit repair is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Launch of the X37-B. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today On-orbit inspection of satellites. This option has a low potential, as well. The X-37B could be used to rendezvous and inspect satellites, either friendly or adversary, and potentially grab and de-orbit satellites. However, the X-37B cargo bay is much smaller than many operational satellites, and most of the space in the bay is likely to be filled by the required robotic arm and other gear.
Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS) weapon or delivery system. Weedend says that chance of this being X-37B’s mission is zero. It could be launched in response to a pending crisis and remain on orbit for a length of time to respond to high value/very time sensitive targets. However, since the X-37B re-enters like the space shuttle and lands at an estimated 200 mph (321 kph), this means it travels in the atmosphere much slower than a ballistic arc or a hyperkinetic weapon, so it would need to carry conventional explosives to do any significant damage. Also, after re-entry would be a slow moving, not-very-maneuverable glide bomb, easy prey for any air defense system along its path to the target.
For more information, a four-page, fact-filled X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Fact Sheet is now available on Secure World Foundation’s website.
Bad weather postponed a scheduled multi-mission launch of an H-IIA rocket from Japan early Tuesday, which includes the first Japanese probe to Venus and an experimental solar sail. The next launch attempt for the “Akatsuki” Venus Climate Orbiter and the solar sail called IKAROS will be Thursday, May 20, at 21:58 UTC (May 20 at 5:58 EDT) – which is May 21 at 6:58 in Japan. Akatsuki is Japan’s first mission to Venus, and it will work closely with the ESA’s Venus Express, already at Venus. Also called Planet C, the box-shaped orbiter should arrive at Venus in December and observe the planet from an elliptical orbit, from a distance of between 300 and 80,000 kilometers (186 to 49,600 miles), looking for — among other things — signs of lightning and active volcanoes.
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Another payload is the solar sail, or “space yacht” IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun). This 320kg, 1.8m-wide, disc-shaped spacecraft will deploy an ultra-thin, ultra-light, 14 meter sail that will propel the structure from the radiation pressure from sunlight hitting it.
“The purpose of IKAROS is to demonstrate the technology of the Solar Power Sail,” said Osamu Mori, project leader of IKAROS. “Simply put, the solar sail is a ‘space yacht.’ A yacht moves forward on water, pushed by wind captured in its sails. A solar sail is propelled by sunlight instead of wind, so it’s a dream spaceship – it doesn’t require an engine or fuel. Part of IKAROS’s sail is covered by a solar cell made of an ultra-thin film, which generates electricity from sunlight.”
So far, solar sails have only been tested, but never flown successfully. It is hoped IKAROS will be the world’s first solar-powered sail, and that the structure will sail towards Venus, following Akatsuki.
The experimental sail is thinner than a human hair, is also equipped with thin-film solar cells to generate electricity, creating what JAXA calls “a hybrid technology of electricity and pressure.”
To control the path of IKAROS, engineers will change the angle at which sunlight particles bounce off the sail. Akatsuki and IKAROS on the launch pad Taken on May 17, 2010, about 24 hours before the planned launch of Akatsuki and IKAROS toward Venus. They are stacked aboard an H-IIA rocket. Credit: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
If you are a member of The Planetary Society, your name will be heading to Venus on both Akatsuki and IKAROS. The Planetary Society, a long-time proponent of solar sail technology, and Japan’s space exploration center, JSPEC/JAXA, have an agreement to collaborate and cooperate on public outreach and on technical information and results from IKAROS, which will help TPS plan for its upcoming launch of its own solar sail vehicle, LightSail-1, which they hope to launch in early 2011.
The H-IIA will also carry four other small satellites, developed by Japanese universities and other institutions. They include:
The 2-pound Negai CubeSat, developed by Soka University of Japan. Negai will test an information processing system during a three-week mission.
The WASEDA-SAT2, developed by Waseda University. The 2.6-pound spacecraft will conduct technology experiments in orbit.
The 3.3-pound KSAT spacecraft developed by Kagoshima University will conduct Earth observation experiments.
The 46-pound UNITEC-1 satellite from the Japanese University Space Engineering Consortium will test computer technologies and broadcast radio waves from deep space for decoding by amateur radio operators.
The rocket will launch from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.
Screenshot from NASA TV of the new Rassvet module attached to the space station. Credt: NASA TV
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A 8,550 kg (17,760-pound) Russian Mini-Research Module, known as Rassvet or “Dawn,” was attached to the International Space Station today. This is the first (and last) Russian-built module to be delivered by a space shuttle, and the 8 meter long (20 ft) 2.5 meter (8 ft) diamater module will serve an area for scientific research, as well as for stowage and a docking port extension for future visiting spacecraft such as the Soyuz and Progress resupply vehicles.
“The ISS has grown by one more module,” Moscow mission control radioed up the crew. “We are really very grateful to you. And our congratulations to all of you for this new step in space research and thanks for all your effort and all your work.”
The MRM is packed full of 1,400 kg (3,086 pounds) of NASA equipment and supplies, plus an experiment airlock and European robot arm equipment that will be attached to other modules later. Location of MRM-1 and other components on the Russian Orbital Segment of the ISS
MRM was docked to the Earth-facing port of the central Zarya module, and will provide needed clearance between the forward Russian docking port and a US storage module, the Permanent Logistics Module, scheduled to arrive at the station later this year.
Operations began early this morning to install the MRM, with Atlantis commander Ken Ham and pilot Dominic Antonelli, operating the shuttle’s robot arm to take the new module from the shuttle’s cargo bay. Then astronauts Garrett Reisman and Piers Sellers installed the MRM-1 on Zarya, — appropriately waiting until orbital sunrise to attach the module with great precision. Controllers said Reisman maneuvered the module so precisely, he made a “hole in one.” The MRM, or Rassvet, seen during processing at Cape Canaveral. Image credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.
Now that the MRM is attached, the ISS and shuttle astronauts now turn their attention to the second spacewalk of the mission scheduled for Wednesday, May 19 to be conducted by Steven Bowen and Michael Good. The primary tasks are the removal and replacement of P6 truss batteries that store solar energy. These batteries have outlived their expected lifespan of 6 years, so the batteries will be swapped out with new ones.
Behind the scenes work has also been ongoing to develop a task to clear a cable that is pinched out on the end of the Atlantis’ boom and sensor system that prevented an inspection of the shuttle’s thermal protection system. NASA TV commentator Kyle Herring said the procedure appears to be a fairly straightforward task to clear the cable out of the way and secure it with a wire-tie. Mission planners are seeing where the procedure fits in best with the rest of the spacewalks tasks.
Atlantis launches on its last scheduled mission. Image credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today
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Here’s a gallery of images from the last scheduled launch of space shuttle Atlantis, taken by Universe Today photographer Alan Walters (check out his website!), writer Ken Kremer, and a few from NASA. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful launch. But was it really Atlantis’ last? Only time will tell, but for now enjoy these great images.
The STS-132 crew walkout. Image credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.
Photographers vie for position at the crew walkout location. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.Birds take flight along with Atlantis. Image credit: Alan Walters for Universe Today. Atlantis goes into the roll program during the STS-132 launch. Credit: Alan Walters for Universe TodayKen Kremer captured this gorgeous image of Atlantis' launch. Credit: Ken KremerA crowd of media and Twitterers watch the launch from the Kennedy Space Center Press site. Credit: NASAA close-up of Atlantis during launch. Credit: NASAAnother view of the launch from KSC. Credit: NASA
Atlantis launched successfully, and beautifully, on its final scheduled voyage to space Friday at 2:20 pm EDT (1820 GMT). The shuttle and its six astronauts will deliver 3,000 pounds of U.S. supplies, including food and laptop computers to the International Space Station. and — for the first (at last) time — bring a Russian module to the station. The 12-day mission will include 3 spacewalks for that will focus on storing spare components outside the station, including six batteries, a communications antenna and parts for the Canadian Dextre robotic arm.
But will it be the final flight of Atlantis? “We like to call this the first last flight of Atlantis,” said commander Ken Ham in a preflight news conference. Since Atlantis will be ready to go as a rescue ship for the currently schedule final flight of the shuttle program (for the post-Columbia Launch On Need mission), many have said it should be flown. Continue reading “Atlantis Launches Successfully on Last Scheduled Flight (Video)”
Atlantis sits on the pad on May 13, 2010, ready for the STS-132 mission. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.
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The Atlantis space shuttle now sits poised for her final scheduled flight to space. On this mission, STS-132, Atlantis will bring a veteran six-man crew to the International Space Station to deliver a new Russian science module called Rassvet (Russian for “Dawn.”) Launch is currently set for today, May 14 at 2:20 p.m. EDT (1820 GMT) from Kennedy Space Center.
The Atlantis shuttle is the fourth of the five original shuttles and has pulled her weight in 32 successful launches – compared with 39 for Discovery, and 28 for Columbia, 25 for Endeavour and 10 for Challenger.
In looking back, this mainstay of the shuttle fleet has definitely had her share of highlights and successful missions. But, alarmingly, there have also been some close calls where this orbiter and her crews have teetered on the edge of disaster.
Atlantis (OV-104) was delivered to Kennedy Space Center in April 1985. Credit: NASA
Triumph: Atlantis’ first flight came on October 3, 1985. The STS-51-J flight for the Department of Defense brought a five-man military crew and two DoD communications satellites to space.
Close call: On Atlantis’ next flight, just a month later, STS-61-B, which was the second night launch in the shuttle program, one of the solid rocket boosters experienced primary O-ring erosion in both nozzle joints. There was blow-by of hot gases past the primary O-ring. Post-launch analysis brought the problem to NASA’s attention, but they ignored the issue. Just three months later, an O-ring leak on Challenger destroyed the vehicle and killed the seven-member crew.
Close call: On STS-27 in December, 1988, just the second mission after the Challenger accident, another foreboding of future disaster occurred. 85 seconds after launch, a piece of insulation on the tip of the shuttle’s right-side solid-fuel booster broke away and struck Atlantis’ right side. After the flight, NASA engineers said that while Atlantis had suffered more tile damage than usual, it “wasn’t a major concern.” Damage to Atlantis' tiles was wide-spread. Credit: NASA, via Spaceflightnow.com. Click for larger image.
But more than 700 heat shield tiles were damaged, and one tile was completely missing. The metal underneath was partially melted.
The crew knew about some of the damage because of routine heat shield inspections. However, because it was a classified Department of Defense mission, no pictures or television were being downlinked, even to Mission Control. Because there was limited communication between the crew and Houston, the problem was mostly overlooked by NASA officials and the crew actually feared for their lives. Metal under a missing heat-shield tile was partially melted. Credit: NASA
“We had spent all that money and all that time rebuilding and revamping and we launched one successful mission, we [could have] lost the very next one,” said mission commander Robert “Hoot” Gibson in an article by Bill Harwood for Spaceflightnow.com. “I think the Congress would have said OK, that’s the end guys, we just don’t need to do this again. I think that just would have been the end of it.”
But Atlantis returned her crew safely, even with the damaged tiles. Space Shuttle Atlantis clears the tower as it launches on mission STS-46. Credit: NASA Triumph: Atlantis became a satellite deploying machine! In May and October of 1989, two major interplanetary science missions were launched from Atlantis: Magellan to Venus and Galileo to Jupiter. Then in April 1991, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was sent on its mission by an Atlantis crew. Several other satellites launched from Atlantis’ payload bay including more DoD satellites and a Tracking Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-5).
A view of the US Space Shuttle Atlantis and the Russian Space Station Mir during STS-71 as seen by the crew of Mir EO-19 in Soyuz TM-21.
Triumph: In June 1995, Atlantis became the first shuttle to dock with the Russian space station Mir. The STS-71 mission began the first phase of an astronaut-cosmonaut exchange program called the Shuttle – Mir program, which eventually led to the International Space Station program. Atlantis made six more trips to Mir out of nine total by the shuttles. Atlantis docked at the International Space Station on September 12, 2006. Credit: NASA Triumph: Atlantis was a major contributor to the construction of the ISS, and in February 2001 brought the Destiny Lab – one of the major component—to the station This current mission will be Atlantis’ 11th trip to the ISS. Two shuttles on the pads in September 2008.Credit: NASA Close call: Rescue ship: Following the Columbia accident, Atlantis was on standby for several rescue flights – called Launch On Need missions, including for the return to flight mission, STS-114. After the Columbia accident, it was recommended that rescue shuttles be on standby which would be mounted to rescue the crew of an orbiter if their vehicle was damaged and deemed unable to make a successful reentry. Atlantis will also be on standby as a LON – designated as STS-335 — for the last shuttle flight.
Atlantis begins the slow journey to Launch Pad 39A from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) in preparation for the launch of STS-79 in 16 September 1996. This dramatic view looking directly down onto the shuttle stack atop the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) and crawler-transporter was taken from the VAB roof approximately 525 feet (160 meters) above the ground. In view are the Orbiter, orange External Tank and twin white Solid Rocket Boosters. Credit: NASA Close call: Atlantis was almost decommissioned. NASA had planned to withdraw Atlantis from service in 2008 to have the shuttle completely overhauled. However, because of the final retirement of the shuttle fleet in 2010, it didn’t make economic sense to do the make-over — what is called the Orbiter Maintenance Down Period. But aging parts needed to be replaced and refurbished, and some critical parts were past their design lifetime. Originally, it was planned that Atlantis would be kept in near flight condition to be used as a parts hulk for Discovery and Endeavour. However, with the significant planned flight schedule up to 2010, NASA engineers found ways to keep Atlantis in flying condition, including a new way of pressurizing helium tanks to reduce the risk of possible rupture. Atlantis was then swapped for one flight of each Discovery and Endeavour.
* Astronauts Michael Good (left) and Mike Massimino repair Hubble's existing spectrograph during the mission's fourth spacewalk on May 17, 2009. Credit: NASA
Triumph: May 2009 4th Hubble servicing mission. Atlantis brought the crew of STS-125 to the Hubble Space Telescope for a final mission to refurbish and extend the lifetime of the noble and iconic space telescope. Atlantis’ crew made 5 space walks to do several painstaking repairs, as well as install the Cosmic Origins spectrograph, an instrument designed to allow Hubble to look farther into the universe in the ultraviolet light spectrum than ever before, and Wide Field Camera 3, which allows astronomers to better observe galaxy evolution, dark matter and dark energy. It was such a great mission, IMAX made a movie about it! The knob wedged in Atlantis' window. Credit NASA, via NASASpaceflight.com
Close call: After the STS-125 mission, a work light knob was discovered jammed in the space between one of Atlantis’s front interior windows and the orbiter dashboard structure. The knob was believed to have entered the space during flight, when the pressurized Orbiter was expanded to its maximum size. Then, once back on Earth, the Orbiter contracted, jamming the knob in place. Engineers determined leaving the knob where it was would be unsafe for flight, and some options for removal (including window replacement) would have included a 6 month delay of Atlantis’s next mission (planned to be STS-129). Had the removal of the knob been unsuccessful, the worst-case scenario is that Atlantis could have been retired from flight, leaving Discovery and Endeavour to complete the manifest alone.
But On 29 June 2009, Atlantis was pressurised to 17 psi/120 kPa which forced the orbiter to expand slightly. The knob was then frozen with dry ice, and was successfully removed.
Atlantis on the launchpad on May 13, 2010, after RSS rollback. Image credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today
Will there be one – and maybe two more triumphs?
This current mission will be NASA’s 132nd space shuttle flight. But will it be Atlantis’ last? Since Atlantis will serve as the LON rescue shuttle and basically will be ready to fly, some shuttle proponents have said it should fly – why waste a space shuttle that is fully ready to launch to space? Others have proposed an extension of the shuttle program to shorten the gap until the NASA’s next human vehicle –whatever that may be – will be ready. Only time will tell if funds will be appropriated for an additional flight or program extension before the shuttle fleet becomes artifacts in museums.
But Atlantis has stood the test of time and for 25 years has provided many memorable moments.
Godspeed, Atlantis
Atlantis launches for STS-129 in Nov. 2009. Credit: NASA
This video aired on NASA TV today, about Atlantis’ legacy:
