NASA firms up space shuttle launch manifest: related news

NASA Sets Launch Dates For Remaining Space Shuttle Missions

HOUSTON, July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following a detailed, integrated assessment, NASA selected target launch dates for the remaining eight space shuttle missions on the current manifest in 2009 and 2010. The manifest includes one flight to the Hubble Space Telescope, seven assembly flights to the International Space Station, and two station contingency flights, planned to be completed before the end of fiscal year 2010. The agency previously selected Oct. 8 and Nov. 10 as launch dates for Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service Hubble and Endeavour's STS-126 / ULF-2 mission to supply the space station and service both Solar Alpha Rotary Joints on the port and starboard end of its truss backbone that supports equipment and solar arrays. The approved target dates are subject to change based on processing and other launch vehicle schedul

Launch Pad Repairs to Begin; Hubble Repair Mission Should Go As Scheduled

Work will begin on Friday to repair damaged sections of Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A that was damaged during the last space shuttle launch on May 31. On Thursday, (June 26) NASA managers approved a plan that would complete the repairs by the third week of August. Therefore the mission schedule shouldn’t be impacted. The next space shuttle flight, the high-profile final mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope is scheduled to launch on October 8, and if all goes well with the repairs, space shuttle Atlantis would crawl its way out to the pad on August 29. "We really like the plan," said shuttle Program Manager John Shannon. "We expect to start moving out on it right away."

NASA considers continuing shuttle use after 2010

Michael Griffin, administrator of the American space agency, NASA has ordered a study into considering the possibility of continuing the usage of the space shuttle, a space vehicle that takes astronauts to the International Space Station. The agency originally planned to retire all shuttles in 2010 after mission STS-134, but concerns over staff job losses that were created by the Space Shuttle program caused Griffin to order the study. The space crafts have been in use since 1981 and it's replacements, the Ares rockets, will not be in use until 2015 causing a 5 year gap where NASA will have no manned space flights, which is the reason the agency is considering extending usage for five more years, when the vehicles can be immediately replaced by their successors.

Infrastructure needed for future space exploration

The United States is facing a crisis in its human space program. The huge investments in the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS) programs are leveling off, but the replacement for the Space Shuttle and the new space exploration architecture plans for future visits to the Space Station and missions to the Moon and Mars (called the “Vision for Space Exploration” or VSE) are still in early development. A “gap” in the ability of the United States to provide human and cargo transportation to and from the ISS is now of grave concern as the fleet of Space Shuttles is reaching the end of its operational life. This type of unfortunate situation has happened before (1975 to 1981) between the end of Saturn-Apollo rocket operations and initial operations of the Space Shuttle.

NASA Sets Briefings For Hubble Space Telescope Shuttle Mission

HOUSTON -- NASA will hold a series of news media briefings Sept. 8 - 9 to preview the space shuttle's fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA Television and the agency's Web site will provide live coverage of the briefings from the Johnson Space Center and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Questions also will be taken from other participating NASA locations.

Retired NASA SpaceCraft Operator Witnessed Extraterrestrial in Space Shuttle Mission

Clark McClelland is a retired Spacecraft Operator with NASA who during a 34 year career was responsible for ensuring the safety of numerous NASA missions including Mercury spaceflights, Apollo missions, the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle. In a statement released on his website on July 29, 2008, McClelland revealed that he witnessed an eight to nine foot tall extraterrestrial in association with a Space Shuttle mission he was monitoring from the Kennedy Space Center. He wrote:

NASA starts repairs of space shuttle launch pad

NASA has started repairing a damaged Florida launch pad in preparation for the October launch of space shuttle Atlantis in a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA firms up space shuttle launch manifest

10 flights before retirementNASA has released its final manifest for space shuttle launches before the fleet retires in 2010.…

NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis To Move To Launch Pad Saturday

Aug. 25, 2008 -- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, Aug. 30. Atlantis is targeted to lift off Oct. 8 to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA starts repairs of space shuttle launch pad

BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhuanet) -- NASA has started repairing a damaged Florida launch padin preparation for the October launch of space shuttle Atlantis in a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA starts repairs of space shuttle launch pad

BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhuanet) -- NASA has started repairing a damaged Florida launch pad in preparation for the October launch of space shuttle Atlantis in a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA starts repairs of space shuttle launch pad

BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhuanet) -- NASA has started repairing a damaged Florida launch pad in preparation for the October launch of space shuttle Atlantis in a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

Aldrin Warns that NASA will fall Behind Russia and China in Space Exploration

The world knows the huge potential China and Russia have for space exploration. Russia is maintaining a strong presence in space with their sturdy Soyuz program and China has set its sights on having their very first "taikonaut" EVA at the end of this year. But where does this leave NASA? The US space agency has spearheaded the exploration of space for the last 50 years, but amongst all the talk about NASA setbacks, overspending and delays, could the glory days be coming to an abrupt end? In May, the legendary astronaut John Glenn spoke out against Shuttle decommissioning and last week, US Senator Bill Nelson called a meeting at Cape Canaveral to raise concerns about announced job cuts in 2010. Now, the most famous NASA ex-employee and second man on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin has voiced warnings that the US could lose its grip on space and beg

NASA negotiating to buy space shuttle successor from Japan

A Japanese newspaper is reporting that NASA has begun negotiating with Japan's space agency to purchase a Japanese spacecraft to replace the space shuttle. The newspaper says US officials have been in unofficial talks with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency about buying the H-2 Transfer Vehicle, or HTV. The HTV is an unmanned cargo vessel being designed to deliver supplies to the international space station, which is currently kept stocked by the space shuttle as well as Russian and European spacecraft.

NASA engineers work on alternative moon rocket

This artist rendering shows NASA's next-generation of moon rockets being developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Ala. Ares I, left, is the crew launch vehicle that will carry astronauts to space. Ares V is the cargo launch vehicle that will deliver the lunar lander and other large hardware to space. By day, the engineers in Huntsville, work on NASA's new Ares moon rockets. By night, some go undercover, working on a competing design. These dissenters and their backers say their alternative rocket would be safer, cheaper and easier to build than the two Ares spacecraft, which have already cost NASA $7 billion. (AP Photo/NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center)

NASA engineers work on alternative moon rocket

This artist rendering shows NASA's next-generation of moon rockets being developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Ala. Ares I, left, is the crew launch vehicle that will carry astronauts to space. Ares V is the cargo launch vehicle that will deliver the lunar lander and other large hardware to space. By day, the engineers in Huntsville, work on NASA's new Ares moon rockets. By night, some go undercover, working on a competing design. These dissenters and their backers say their alternative rocket would be safer, cheaper and easier to build than the two Ares spacecraft, which have already cost NASA $7 billion. This artist rendering shows NASA's next-generation of moon rockets being developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Ala.

Celebrate NASA's 50th Birthday With Every Space Launch Ever!

Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists celebrate Explorer I, the first American satellite to launch after Sputnik started the space race on Oct. 4, 1957. Although the sat launched in January 1958 and the National Aeronautics and Space Act was approved in July, NASA didn't open its doors until Oct. 1. (Photograph Courtesy of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Collection via NASA's new nasaimages.org)

Kennedy Space Center - Space Station Processing Facility, USA

The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is one of the USA's most visible government installations, handling multiple space shuttle, military and commercial launches with payload values exceeding $1 billion per year. The KSC is located on Florida's Space Coast and is 55km (34 miles) long from north to south, and 16km (10 miles) across at its widest point. It is the United States of America's only launch complex for manned operations. KSC houses some of the most unique facilities in the world. Among these is the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), which accommodates shuttle payloads for the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA Space Shuttle Orbiter Vehicles , USA

The space shuttle is the family of manned launch vehicles used by NASA to place payloads and crews into low earth orbit. The first space shuttle was launched in April 1981. The first orbiter was the Enterprise which was a non-orbital test vehicle.

10 shuttle missions left: NASA sets launch dates for 2009 & 2010 flights

The NASA Space Transportation System (STS) program has ten space shuttle missions remaining before its retirement in 2010. On July 7, 2008, NASA announced the future launch dates of the remaining eight missions in 2009 and 2010.

Shuttle Retirement In 2010 Under Review

An anonymous reader alerts us to an Orlando Sentinel report based on a leaked NASA email, indicating that NASA is looking at options to extend the Shuttle program. The fighting between Russia and Georgia has put a strain on plans to rely on Russian boosters until the Shuttle's replacement flies in 2015. Yet extending the Shuttle's life is no sure thing. According to a former NASA program manager, "We started shutting down the shuttle four years ago. That horse has left the barn." And NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has told Congress that if the Shuttle fleet were to fly two missions a year until 2015, "the risk would be about one in 12 that we would lose another crew. That's a high risk... [one] I would not choose to accept on behalf of our astronauts.

NASA firms up space shuttle launch manifest

Customer Perspectives on the Impact of Storage Vendor Decisions on Power, Cooling, & Space in Enterprise Data Centers

Space shuttle gets its final assignments

shuttleOn Monday NASA released the final mission dates and details of the space shuttle, marking May 31, 2010 as the last flight of this icon of modern space flight. For many young scientists and engineers, the space shuttle represents their only image of manned space exploration, and for a lot of them, it was part of their inspiration to pursue the sciences.

NASA moves space shuttle Atlantis to launch pad

Space shuttle Atlantis moves slowly on a six-hour journey to pad 39A in preparation for the upcoming STS-125 mission at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008. Atlantis is scheduled to launch Oct. 8.

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