SPACE JUNK MAY MAKE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS' ARRIVAL AT STATION TRICKIER - A piece of space junk near the International Space Station this weekend may force the massive orbiting laboratory to dodge out of the way, adding a bit more complexity to the shuttle Atlantis' planned arrival at the outpost on Sunday. The chunk space debris is expected to zip by the station Sunday morning. To dodge it, the orbiting lab may fire its Russian thrusters Saturday at about 9:08 p.m. EDT (0108 Sunday GMT), NASA officials said. More (Source: Space.com - May 15)
ATLANTIS IN ORBIT! - Space shuttle Atlantis is officially in orbit, kicking off its STS-132 mission and the pursuit of its target, the International Space Station. Atlantis lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center right on time at 2:20 p.m. EDT, rising into a picture-perfect Florida sky and capping a relatively problem-free countdown. More (Source: NASA - May 14)
SPACE SHUTTLE SET FOR FRIDAY LIFTOFF - The Space Shuttle Atlantis is on schedule for a Friday afternoon liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA said. "We've had a very clean countdown so far and we're currently on schedule, and we're not working on any issues," said Jeremy Graeber, NASA test director. The forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions at launch time, according to Todd McNamara, NASA's weather officer. He said the biggest concern is low cloud cover. More (Source: CNN - May 14)
LAST CHANCE TO SEE ATLANTIS IN NIGHT SKY - Skywatchers across the continental United States will get a fine opportunity this weekend to watch as the space shuttle Atlantis — on its final scheduled mission into space — chases and ultimately docks with the International Space Station. Both the shuttle and space station will be visible as separate entities, each appearing as bright "stars" sailing across the evening twilight sky on Friday and Saturday. By Sunday evening, Atlantis will be docked to the space station, and both will appear as a single bright moving "star." More (Source: MSNBC - May 14)
SHUTTLE MISSION IS 'GO FOR LAUNCH' - The astronauts who will man the next shuttle mission arrived Monday at Florida's Kennedy Space Center to prepare for launch Thursday. The astronauts will board shuttle Atlantis later this week as they prepare for the May 14 launch, which is set for 2:20 p.m. EDT. More (Source: InformationWeek - May 12)
NASA TESTS LAUNCH ABORT SYSTEM FOR SPACE CAPSULES - In a spectacular $220 million test, NASA fired a new astronaut escape system rocket in New Mexico Thursday, boosting a dummy crew module more than a mile up in just 20 seconds to demonstrate how a future manned spacecraft could be pulled to safety in the event of a catastrophic on-pad rocket failure. Using a solid-fuel motor generating some 500,000 pounds of thrust, the launch abort system ignited with a torrent of orange fire and smoke at 9 a.m. EDT, pulling the dummy crew module to nearly 450 mph in just 2.5 seconds with an acceleration of 16 times the force of gravity. More (Source: Space Flight Now - May 10)
IRAN READY TO SEND SIX SATELLITES INTO SPACE - Iran is preparing to launch five to six satellites into the space as part of its aerospace development programme. "We are currently carrying out a project which will see the design, production and launch of 5 to 6 satellites. We hope to send one satellite into space in the first half of the coming year," Iranian Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour said. "Iran has laid the foundation for the development of its aerospace industry in the past three to four years," Taqipour told Fars News Agency. More (Source: The Times of India - May 9)
ZOMBIESAT! WHAT'S NEXT FOR OUT-OF-CONTROL SATELLITE - The Galaxy 15 commercial satellite recently lost contact with the ground, joining a boatload of other debris adrift in space. What's next for this 4,171-pound zombiesat? The Galaxy 15 commercial satellite that recently lost contact with the ground has joined the ranks of a boatload of other debris adrift in space. It's now termed a "zombiesat" by engineers who have a better sense of humor than you might have imagined. More (Source: Fox News - May 7)
OIL SPILL HINDERS SPACE SHUTTLE FUEL TANK DELIVERY - The massive oil spill plaguing the United States Gulf Coast has also thrown a wrench in NASA's plans to deliver a huge space shuttle fuel tank from Louisiana to Florida for the last launch of shuttle Discovery in September. The expanding oil slick has cut into the deep water route typically used by NASA barges and their tugs to haul the 15-storey space shuttle fuel tanks from their manufacturing site — the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans — to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to be attached to an orbiter for launch. More (Source: MSNBC - May 5)
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