Category: Space Shuttle

Computers on board the International Space Station crashed this morning, shutting down its orientation, water and oxygen supply. The 10 astronauts on board both the station and the visiting space shuttle Atlantis are in no immediate risk, but the glitch could push back Atlantis’ mission a day or more.

The Russian-built computer controlling these services went down for unknown reasons over the night. Officials in the US and Russia think it might have been caused by something electrical, and not a computer software problem. Flight controllers in Moscow were able to regain partial communications with the computer, and some of their functionality was brought back online.

The crew got quite a scare for a few hours, though. A malfunctioning fire alarm went off in the Russian Zarya module, but there was no indication of fire or smoke in the module.

In the worst-case scenario, the three crewmembers of the space station will have to evacuate, returning to Earth early, but the station has a 56-day oxygen supply left, so there’s no panic.

Atlantis has been using its thrusters to keep the station oriented until the problem can be solved.

Original Source: NASA Status report

NASA announced today that it has decided on June 8 as the official launch date for the space shuttle Atlantis, for mission STS-117. Barring any weather or technical delays, the shuttle will blast off at 2338 UTC (7:38 pm EDT), beginning its journey to the International Space Station.

Atlantis was originally supposed to launch back in March, but a hailstorm hammered the shuttle’s external fuel tank, requiring repairs. The shuttle was returned to its hanger and the foam insulation was repaired, pushing the launch back several months. This repair time made the tight launch schedule even tighter.

The shuttle will deliver a new set of solar powered wings to the station, increasing its electrical generating capacity. It will also deliver astronaut Clayton Anderson to the station for an extended stay, and return Sunita Williams back to Earth. Williams has been on board the station since December.

Original Source: NASA News Release

The Space shuttle Atlantis made the slow and steady journey out to its launch pad today, in preparations for its June 8 launch to return to the International Space Station and continue construction. With Atlantis back on its launch pad, NASA feels confident that the shuttle is fully repaired from the hailstorm that chewed up its foam insulation back in March.

The shuttle left the Vehicle Assembly Building at 5:02am local time, and crawled along at 1.4 kph (1 mph) for six hours and 45 minutes. With Atlantis at the launch pad, workers spent the rest of the day connecting up the electrical and mechanical umbilicals from the launch platform. This is the first time that a shuttle has blasted off from Launch Pad 39A in four years.

Atlantis is carrying the S3/S4 truss, which will be installed onto the International Space Station in June. During their 11-day mission, the astronaut team of STS-117 will install this new truss, unfold one set of solar arrays, and retract another.

The next major step will occur on May 23, when workers will start filling Atlantis with fuel. The 43-hour countdown will begin on June 5.

Original Source: NASA News Release