Kategorie: Space Shuttle & ISS

The space shuttle Endeavour launched late Wednesday afternoon on a mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour lifted off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 6:36 p.m. after a smooth countdown and entered orbit eight minutes later. The main purpose of the STS-118 mission is to install a new truss segment to the International Space Station and deliver additional equipment to the facility, including a new gyro. STS-118 is the first mission for teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan, whose association with NASA began more than 20 years ago. Morgan had been the backup for teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe, who died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. The STS-118 mission is the first for Endeavour since STS-113 in late 2002. Endeavour underwent an overhaul while the other two orbiters, Discovery and Atlantis, returned to flight.
NASA – Space Shuttle

For the first time in almost five years, space shuttle Endeavour moved to the launch pad Tuesday in preparation for a flight which will deliver teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan and her six crew mates to the international space station. Endeavour is due to launch August 7.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts118/main/index.html

The space shuttle Atlantis launched Friday evening on a mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 7:38 p.m. EDT reaching orbit about eight minutes later. Weather cooperated for the launch and there were no major technical issues during the countdown. The main purpose of the STS-117 mission is to install a new truss segment and solar panel to the station. The mission will also feature the rotation of one ISS crew member, with Clay Anderson replacing current ISS astronaut Sunita Williams.
NASA Press Release

Wie vielleicht zu erwarten war, hat die NASA nach der Beschädigung der Atlantis durch heftige Hagelschauer und der damit einhergehenden Verzögerung ihres nächsten Starts nun auch die Flugpläne für die folgenden Missionen geändert.
Die Startverschiebung des Atlantis-Flugs STS-117 auf den 8. Juni 2007 beeinflusst auch die Planung der nachfolgenden fünf Flüge: sie verschieben sich um mindestens zwei Monate. Teilweise wurden auch die Raumfähren getauscht, um den Startplan besser einhalten zu können. Der nächste Flug, STS-118 mit der Endeavour, soll am 9. August 2007 starten und das ISS-Expeditionsmitglied Clayton Anderson ins All befördern. Danach folgt am 20. Oktober 2007 der Flug STS-120 mit ESA-Astronaut Paolo Nespoli an Bord. Er benutzt statt der ursprünglich vorgesehenen Raumfähre Atlantis die Discovery. Der Flug STS-122, der frühestens am 6. Dezember 2007 abheben kann, ist für die europäischen Belange besonders relevant: die Raumfähre Atlantis soll nämlich, zusammen mit Hans Schlegel (Deutschland) und Leopold Eyharts (Frankreich) an Bord, den Hauptbeitrag Europas zur ISS, das Labormodul Columbus, ins All befördern. Der bisherigen Planung zufolge war hier der Start für Oktober vorgesehen (mit der Raumfähre Discovery). Die Flüge STS-123 sowie STS-124 folgen am 14. Februar 2008 beziehungsweise 24. April 2008.
Darüber hinaus gibt es noch keine konkreten Startplanungen, da sich eventuell noch weitere Verzögerungen ergeben könnten.
https://www.nasa.gov/launchschedule/

A hail storm pounded the Space Shuttle Atlantis on Monday evening, chewing up foam at the top of the shuttle’s external fuel tank. The damage was so significant that managers decided to delay the shuttle’s launch until the damage can be repaired. Atlantis was originally supposed to launch as early as March 15, but the golf ball-sized hail pushed that date back. Workers found nearly 2.000 divots in the foam, and several damaged heat tiles on the shuttle’s left wing. The shuttle was rolled back from the launch pad to the Vehicle Assembly Building, to analyze the damage and begin repairs. Managers are currently hoping for a launch date starting as early as April 22.
https://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/feb/HQ_07060_Atlantis.html

Shuttle managers decided Wednesday to move up the launch of the next shuttle mission by one day to March 15. The mission, STS-117, had been scheduled to lift off on the morning of March 16, but will now take place a day earlier to give the space agency additional time to launch the shuttle Atlantis before the launch window closes on March 29. The shuttle has to complete its mission to the ISS at least 72 hours before the April 9 launch of a Soyuz mission to the station, to avoid having both the shuttle and the Soyuz in the vicinity of the station at the same time. The goal of the 11-day shuttle mission is to attach a new truss segment and a set of solar arrays to the ISS.
Source: NASA

Shuttle Atlantis has been handed a flagship finale, following the confirmation that she will now be the orbiter that will conduct the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, with the launch date slipping to September 11, 2008. The decision to swap STS-125 – known as HSM-04 – from Discovery to Atlantis was confirmed by the January 8 launch schedule document, which sees a widescale change to the shuttle mission manifest.
Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com

Due to a previous change in the shuttle manifest, Soyuz TMA-11’s October arrival ultimately conflicts with STS-122, causing Discovery’s launch to move to November, pushing STS-123 with Endeavour into 2008. Discovery’s return to action was set for October 17 with STS-122, but has now been pushed back to November 5. STS-123 – Endeavour’s second flight since coming out of her Major Modification Period – was set to take place on December 8, but now moves into 2008, with a new NET (No Earlier Than) date of January 17.
Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com

Space shuttle Discovery made a safe and successful sunset landing at Kennedy Space Center today to complete its two-week mission that prepared the space station to power the international expansion of the complex. Landing occurred at 5:32 p.m. EST.
(Source: NASA)