Endeavour on the launchpad for STS-130. Credit: NASA
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Liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station has been been given the go-ahead, and launch is scheduled for Feb. 7 at 4:39 a.m. EST. Universe Today will be at the launch to provide on-site coverage of all the pre- and post-launch events, and we look forward to sharing the experience with you. This is likely the last night launch of the space shuttle, and it should be a beautiful sight.
STS-130 will bring the Tranquility node and a cupola, a 7-window observation portal for the ISS. Mission managers said at a press briefing today that the issue with problematic ammonia coolant hoses on the module has been resolved. The 7-member crew will carry out three spacewalks to install and outfit the Tranquility node.
Mission Control at Johnson Space Center. Credit: NASA
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Listen up Space Tweeps: you can now Tweet your way to a personalized tour of Mission Control at Johnson Space Center during the upcoming STS-130 space shuttle mission. Well, personalized with 99 other Twitterers. NASA is hosting a unique Tweetup on Wednesday, Feb. 17 during Endeavour’s STS-130 mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour is targeted to launch on Sunday, Feb. 7. NASA will randomly select 100 individuals on Twitter from a pool of registrants who sign up on the Web. An additional 50 registrants will be added to a waitlist. Registration opens at noon EST on Tuesday, Jan. 26, and closes at noon EST Wednesday, Jan. 27.
“We’re excited to be hosting NASA’s sixth Tweetup,” said NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, who also is known as @astro_Mike. “This is the home of all of the astronauts and the historic Mission Control Center. It’s an outstanding location to provide our Twitter community with an insider’s view of human spaceflight. I’ll be on one of the two mission control teams working at that time to keep Endeavour and space station operating safely. Hopefully a few of my Twitter followers can participate in this exciting event.”
The event will provide NASA Twitter followers with the opportunity to take a tour of Johnson; view mission control and astronauts’ training facilities; and speak with flight directors, trainers, astronauts and managers. The Tweetup will include a “meet and greet” session to allow participants to mingle with fellow Tweeps and the staff behind the tweets on @NASA.
For more information about the Tweetup and to sign up, visit:
And if you don’t make it into the Tweetup, just follow the members of the Space Tweep Society on Twitter. They’ll tell you everything you need to know. And of course, so will I, so follow me on Twitter, too, and be sure to check Universe Today for lots of coverage of the STS-130 mission, as I’ll be live from Kennedy Space Center.
Atlantis lands following the STS-129 mission in November, 2009. Credit: NASA
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After the space shuttle program ends, NASA hopes to sell the three slightly used remaining orbiters to educational institutions, science museums or other organizations who could publicly display them. Over a year ago, the space agency put out a request for those interested to submit proposals for owning a shuttle and said the cost would be about $42 million, which would include “safeing” an orbiter, preparing it for display and ferrying it to a U.S. destination airport. Today, however—perhaps in response to the current economic downturn — NASA has slashed the price to just $28.8 million.
The agency will now absorb the costs of safeing, will only charge for display preparation and ferrying costs.
In the original “Request for Information” back in December 2008, NASA said they were proposing the idea of selling the shuttles and wanted to “gauge the level and scope of interest of US organizations in acquiring the two other orbiters for public display once NASA’s programmatic requirements for the assets have been satisfied.”
But in this new update, NASA says they have revised the costs, and perhaps can deliver the shuttles six months earlier than previously estimated. Hmm. Sounds like a year-end clearance sale.
Only US institutions or citizens are eligible to submit proposals. Likely, only two of the shuttles will be sold, with the third expected to remain in government hands, possibly on display in Washington, DC. “NASA advised Congress that it would begin discussions with the Smithsonian Institution regarding accession of a flown orbiter to the national collection,” the agency said in the 2008 document.
Previously, NASA has donated historically important space hardware for free. Saturn rockets, lunar modules and other artifacts from the Apollo era are on display at various locations including the Kennedy Space Centre, in Florida, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, in Washington DC, and the US Space and Rocket Center, in Alabama.
If you could own a shuttle, which would you choose: Atlantis, Discovery or Endeavour?
NASA’s Space Shuttle, which will make its last flight sometime later this year, has been a boon to the local economy surrounding the Kennedy Space Center, which is located in Cocoa, Florida. The closest county, Brevard, is where many of the workers that help maintain and launch the shuttle reside, and because of the presence of the space center, many a bar, restaurant, and local business have thrived.
This is in part due to those that work in the space industry, both for NASA itself and many of its private contractors. There are also the thousands of tourists that flock to the region to view launches and take tours of the Kennedy Space Center. All this, however, will change once the shuttle program is finished, and with five-year gap (at least) until the Constellation program gets rolling, the “Space Coast” may take quite a hit economically.
The end of the shuttle program will potentially eliminate as many as 7,000 – 8,000 jobs, some of which will need to be filled once again when the Constellation program is in full swing. But during the gap, many workers are expected to vacate the area in search of jobs elsewhere. This will impact the local economy that relies on these residents, and as many as 14,000 workers in the area may be indirectly affected.
According to a state study, in the 2008 fiscal year NASA generated $4.1 billion dollars in revenue and benefits for the state. $2.1 billion of that was in household income, and over 40,000 jobs were created due to NASA-related activities.
The local unemployment rate has already risen to 11.9 percent at present, largely due to the nationwide economic problems. Housing and construction have taken a hit as well, and will continue to suffer as the area sees the space workers leave.
This is the second time in NASA’s history that they’ve had to wind down a human space program, the first being the Apollo missions which ended in 1972. After the end of Apollo, Brevard county saw a dramatic downturn in the economy, as 10,000 workers left the region to find jobs and unemployment rose to 15 percent.
Estimations of the economic aftereffects of the end of the shuttle program aren’t as grim as those figures for the post-Apollo period, but there will be repercussions nonetheless.
There are several other factors that complicate the renewal of these lost jobs once the Constellation program starts up in earnest. Since Constellation utilizes a non-reusable launch system, fewer workers will be needed for repair and retrofit between launches.
Frank DiBello of the state agency Space Florida told Florida Today, “There is no escaping the transition that will occur when we go from a very labor intensive, reusable space flight system to one that is expendable. Simply by its nature, it is going to take a smaller workforce.”
Almost one-third of the current NASA employees working on the shuttle are up for retirement, so these posts would have been vacated anyway, and approximately 2,000 civil servants for NASA will retain their jobs over the gap between programs.
Though the region surrounding the Kennedy Space Center will surely struggle these next few years, it’s possible that many aerospace workers will flock to the private space industry during the gap, and companies like Virgin Galactic will benefit.
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A small amount of cocaine was found in a restricted area of the processing hangar for shuttle Discovery at Kennedy Space Center, NASA is launching an extensive investigation into the incident. KSC spokeswoman Lisa Malone said the substance was found by a United Space Alliance worker in a hallway outside two bathrooms and a janitor’s closet, in an area where workers have to swipe their identification cards to enter. Every one of the approximately 200 people who were in the Orbital Processing Facility 3 would be easily identified, NASA says, and added Discovery’s planned launch in March should not be impacted by this event.
“This is a rare and isolated incident, and I’m disappointed that it happened, but it should not detract from the outstanding work that is being done by a dedicated team on a daily basis,” Kennedy Space
Center Director Bob Cabana said. “We are conducting an investigation and working with center security and law enforcement officials to get to the bottom of it. We have multiple checks and balances in place to ensure the work on the orbiter is done correctly, and I have no concern for Discovery’s fitness for flight.”
While there are no indications anyone who was working on Discovery was under the influence of any illegal substances, drug testing of personnel who were in that area has been conducted. Drug-sniffing dogs were immediately called in to check out the employees, but found nothing.
NASA said extensive efforts are being made to ensure flight hardware and equipment that will be used by astronauts on Discovery’s upcoming STS-131 mission are completely safe.
“We have processes that will ensure the integrity of the shuttle,” Cabana said. “There is no reason whatsoever to believe this incident will have any impact on Discovery’s upcoming launch.”
Meticulous records are kept on all work that is performed. Shuttle safety and quality assurance teams have the capability to trace individuals’ work in detail. In addition, most work tasks are reviewed and approved by one, and sometimes two, quality inspectors and specialists who verify proper work was done on critical flight hardware.
Caption: Overhead view of Tranquility & Cupola modules inside the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on Jan 8, 2010. Tranquility will be attached to ISS by STS 130 astronaut crew. Credit: Ken Kremer
(Editor’s Note: Ken Kremer is in Florida for Universe Today covering the pre-launch activities of Endeavour.)
The launch of Shuttle Endeavour on the STS 130 flight now faces a potential delay due to technical problems with the external ammonia connecting lines which are designed to provide critical cooling capability to the new Tranquility module. Tranquility is a pressurized module being brought aloft as payload in the cargo bay of Endeavour on the STS 130 mission. Launch of Endeavour is currently set for 4:39 AM on Feb. 7.
NASA spokesman Allard Beutel told me Friday afternoon Jan 8 that, “As space station and space shuttle teams prepared for February’s launch of Endeavour, a high-pressure ammonia jumper hose assembly failed during a prelaunch test Thursday. Four such hoses, which will be used to connect the new Tranquility module to the station’s cooling system, are to be installed and activated by spacewalkers during the STS-130 mission.â€
Delivery and attachment of Tranquility to the International Space Station (ISS) is the primary goal of STS 130. Its like adding a new room to your house. Tranquility will provide extra living and work space for the astronaut residents aboard the ISS.
NASA engineering teams are now working diligently to try and rectify the hose problems through additional testing, developing alternative work arounds and data evaluation. As they continue searching for solutions throughout the weekend and beyond, its not clear at this point if they can maintain the targeted Feb 7 launch date or if the technical glitch will force a delay.
NASA is considering many options on how to proceed and an on time lift off is still a possibility if the hoses can be cleared for flight as is. Some alternatives include delaying the launch for days if the hoses can be somehow modified quickly and easily, constructing new custom hoses or basically launching with the hose problems as is and living with the problem. This would require significantly revamping all the procedures for how the STS 130 crew would attach and activate Tranquility at the ISS. In this case the mission could potentially be shortened by deleting one or more of the planned three spacewalks. New high pressure ammonia hoses could then be built, delivered and installed on a future shuttle flight.
Image caption: NASA technician proudly enjoys his work preparing Tranquility for launch to the ISS. Credit: Ken Kremer
A more drastic solution would be to switch the order of the remaining five shuttle flights and launch the STS 131 mission, currently slated for Mar. 18, ahead of STS 130. This alternative however would wreak havoc on this years schedule of the final flights before the shuttle is retired and appears less likely as an option, at least as of today. In order to switch the missions, Endeavour would necessarily have to be rolled back off Pad 39 A and be returned to wait inside the VAB since NASA now has only one functioning shuttle launch pad. The second pad, 39 B, was transferred to the Constellation program last May for launch of the Ares 1 X rocket. To accommodate the new Ares booster, Pad 39 B is being dismantled and is no longer capable of launching space shuttles.
Beutel said to me that, “NASA managers are assessing the possible options to address this. We should have a better idea where things are heading early next weekâ€.
NASA held a media briefing on Tranquility on Friday which I attended was able to observe Tranquility first hand inside the Space Station Processing Facility (see photos). The current plan is to place Tranquility inside the payload transport canister located nearby inside the facility and then transport it to the launch pad on Jan 15.
Space Shuttle Atlantis sits poised for the STS 129 launch from Pad 39 A on 16 November 2009. Atlantis would likely fly a proposed new flight as STS-135. Credit: Ken Kremer
The end of the Space Shuttle Era is rapidly approaching and with it some urgent questions including, “How will the US support continued use of the ISS?” and “What would NASA do if granted an additional shuttle flight?”
Currently, only 5 flights remain on the manifest and right now, the final shuttle flight is set for September 2010. This deadline and policy was decreed by the Bush Administration and simultaneously coincides with the end of ISS assembly and the end of the Fiscal 2010 budget year. Thus far the Obama Administration has not announced any policy changes despite recurring questions from Congress and the press as the retirement approaches.
Then comes the big “gap” in US human spaceflight launch capability between the looming shuttle shutdown and the debut of the Orion capsule. Orion will not be ready until 2015 or later. So there will be a minimum 5 year “gap” when NASA cannot launch its own astronauts or even unmanned cargo supply vessels to the International Space Station which will operate until at least 2015. Hence the practical questions from the US side on “How to re-supply the ISS?”
NASA will then be utterly dependent on Russia to launch US astronauts to the ISS at a cost of some $50 million per Soyuz seat. Several companies are receiving NASA funding under the COTS program to develop cargo up-mass vehicles to the ISS and are also exploring crewed options.
For the most part, the general public is unaware of these facts. Congress has been fully aware of this quandary since 2004 when President Bush announced new NASA goals as part of the VSE or “Vision for Space Exploration” to return to the Moon and beyond to Mars. NASA’s budget has been cut in the intervening years and the “gap” has grown longer. Insufficient funding from Washington, DC directly caused a slower development pace for Orion and the Ares rocket.
One much discussed “gap” closing measure is to slightly extend the deadline for closing out the shuttle program by adding 1 or more new flights. This action requires a direct decision soon from President Obama and enabling funding from Congress.
If granted the authority to extend the Shuttle program with an additional flight, NASA officials at a very high level have already decided on paper what such a mission would entail. Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations says that the team has done some planning for what is dubbed a ‘contingency’ flight. “It sits on the manifest as a ‘contingency’ if we need to fly it. It would be prudent to have an MPLM (pressurized Multi-purpose logistics module) in there to carry spares and restock station. We originally wanted to have a back up shuttle available in case we had a situation where we needed to do a contingency crew support to keep them in orbit for some period of time.”
At the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), I spoke with Scott Higginbotham about the details of the ‘contingency’ flight. Scott is a shuttle payload mission manager at KSC, most recently for STS-129 . He told me, “If there was to be another mission then the plan is to fly another MPLM. We have two more MPLM’s but only one is flight worthy. For the call up mission, the possible new last flight, we would fly ‘Raffaello’. But NASA needs more money and work modifications to get ‘Raffaello’ ready and up to speed”. ‘Donatello’ MPLM module inside the Space Station Processing Facility at KSC. This module is being utilized for spare parts. Outer shielding is being removed. Credit: Ken Kremer
NASA has three MPLM’s total, named ‘Leonardo’, ‘Raffaello’ and ‘Donatello’ after significant engineers in Italian history and the Ninja turtles too. All were built by Alenia in Italy under contract to the European Space Agency (ESA). ‘Leonardo’ will be permanently attached on the current last flight, STS 133, after “beefing up the outside to provide extra micrometeoroid debris protection for the module. That will allow it to stay on orbit,” according to Gerstenmaier. ‘Leonardo’ would then be redesignated as a Permanent Multipurpose Module, or PMM. Initially it will be docked at a space facing port on the Harmony connecting node.
“Since the MPLM’s only go up on short sortie missions, their shielding is not as thick as the other station elements,” said Higgenbotham. ‘Leonardo’ flies once more in March 2010 and will then be modified to add shielding. “Donatello will never fly. It’s become our spare parts man to be raided if needed.” Alenia also constructed the Tranquility and Cupola long duration modules I observed recently at a ceremony inside the KSC Space Station Processing Facility (LINK). While inside the station facility, I inspected all three of the MPLM’s (see photos).
“Because of the limited number of shuttle missions left and budget constraints, it makes more sense financially to just fly ‘Leonardo’ over and over again. ‘Raffaello’ is being maintained just in case” added Higgenbotham. “We know that we would like to fly more supplies to the station and bring things home. But whether we actually go prepare ‘Raffaello’ for that contingency mission is being discussed. So we are doing some of the advanced exercises in case we get turned on.” Leonardo’ MPLM module inside the Space Station Processing Facility at KSC built by Alenia under contract to ESA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). This module will be left attached to the ISS on the last scheduled shuttle mission, STS 133. It will be modified with additional shielding for protection against strikes by micrometeoroids. Note grapple fixture at top. Each MPLM is 21 feet long, 15 feet in diameter, weighs 4.5 tons, and can deliver up to 10 tons of cargo to the ISS. Credit: Ken Kremer
“We know the big picture of what would be included. It would include science experiments, spare parts, food, clothing, station consumables and what the crew needs to get by day to day”, he said. “So if I have the ability to launch another MPLM mission, then I can loft thousands of pounds that I don’t need to pay a commercial vendor or the Russians to do,” Higgenbotham explained. “We can save them for other items that may break down in the future.”
Large outside items would probably not go up on that mission. “The expectation is we are going to clear the house of all large external parts by the time the last mission flies. All those are planned for going up on the already manifested missions. We have analyzed what’s needed over the lifetime of the station if we extend out to 2020,” said Higgenbotham.
The station must be continually resupplied with spare parts and logistics for its remaining lifetime whether it’s 2015 or longer to 2020 which is far beyond the upcoming retirement of the Space Shuttle.
“NASA has one External Tank (ET) already built for the ‘contingency’ mission” according to Mike Moses, shuttle integration manager at KSC. Two others exist only in pieces he told me. Since it takes 3 years to build a new ET from scratch, there would be some launch delay for any further missions beyond the possible ‘contingency’ flight.
The future goals of NASA and US human and robotic spaceflight hangs in the balance awaiting critical choices by President Obama and political leaders in Washington, DC. At this point, there is no indication of when President Obama will make a decision on goals or funding. With each day’s delay, the chances to extend the shuttle program are diminished as US manufacturing production lines are shut down, more shuttle workers are layed off and their high technology skills are lost.
About 7000 shuttle workers will lose their jobs at KSC and many more across the US as the Space Shuttle program is terminated in the midst of the current recession.
Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts landed safely at Kennedy Space Center Friday morning at 9:44 a.m. EST, ending an 11-day journey to the ISS. The Atlantis shuttle flew 171 orbits around Earth and traveled 7,226,176 kilometers (4,490,138 miles) since its Nov. 16 launch. STS-129 was the 129th space shuttle mission, the 31st for Atlantis and the 31st shuttle mission to the International Space Station. It was the fifth and final flight of 2009. Enjoy the landing video!
This video compilation of the STS-129 ascent is incredible! (and is it now available again after a short hiatus.) It includes video highlights from ground, air, SRB and external tank cameras during the launch of Atlantis on Nov. 16, 2009. It will give you a new appreciation for the space shuttle. The music is great, as well. Not to be missed! Continue reading “Absolutely Amazing Shuttle Ascent Video”
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear some of the images from the STS-129 shuttle mission to the International Space Station were CGI renderings taken from a science fiction novel. Take the above image, for example of astronaut Mike Foreman working on the exterior of the ISS during the second space walk of the mission. It looks almost surreal. But these are genuine images of real people working on an authentic, almost-completed space station. This images, and the other images below, leave me in awe of what we are accomplishing in space. Enjoy this gallery of amazing images from the fifth and last shuttle flight of 2009.
Robert Satcher on the Canadarm2 during the first space walk of STS-129. Credit: NASA
Here’s another awe-inspiring image. Anchored to a Canadarm2 mobile foot restraint, astronaut Robert Satcher Jr. works during the first space walk of the mission. Satcher and Mike Foreman (out of frame)installed antennas, cables, and other items to prepare for the Tranquility node that will be brought up to the station next year.
Starship Enterprise? No, just the space shuttle and space station. Credit: NASA
There was some chatter on Twitter that this image brought to mind visions of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek. But this is a closeup of Atlantis’ docking ring backdropped by the ISS as the shuttle crew approached for docking with the station. Docking occurred at 10:51 a.m. (CST) on Nov. 18, 2009.
Another great shot: Sunrise in space. This scene shows from the Russian section of the ISS, as photographed by one of the STS-129 crew members.
Satcher works on the Z1 truss. Credit: NASA
I always love these images which demonstrate how HUGE the ISS is. Here, Robert Satcher works on the Z1 truss section during the first EVA of the mission.
ISS and docked spacecraft. Credit: NASA
Taking on the appearance of a busy spaceport, the Russian segment of the ISS has a docked Soyuz spacecraft (center) and a Progress resupply vehicle that is docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment.
Mike Foreman looks at his spacewalking partner Randy Bresnik. Credit: NASA
Every shuttle mission picture gallery isn’t complete without a picture of an astronaut with another astronaut visible in the helmet visor reflection. Here, Mike Foreman’s helmet reveals his crewmate, Randy Bresnik, capturing the image with an electronic still camera. The two were in the midst of the second scheduled space walk for the Atlantis crewmembers.
Upside down, or not? Credit: NASA
Who is upside down? Charlie Hobaugh (left), STS-129 commander and Robert Satcher , or the astronaut who took the picture? The two are pictured near a window in the Destiny laboratory.
Mealtime on the ISS. Credit: NASA
Eight of the 12 crew members of the joint ISS/shuttle crews pose for a photo at the galley in the Unity node. Pictured from the left are NASA astronauts Leland Melvin, Robert Satcher Jr., Charlie Hobaugh, Nicole Stott, cosmonauts Roman Romanenko, Maxim Suraev, and astronauts Jeff Williams, and Frank De Winne, commander of Expedition 21 from the ESA.
Launch of Atlantis on Nov. 16, 2009. Credit: NASA
A gorgeous shot of Atlantis’ launch on Nov. 16. Below is another launch picture, with the members of the NASA Tweetup watching by the famous countdown clock. Atlantis' launch with Twitterers. Photo credit:Jim Grossmann
