WEATHER FORECAST "NO GO" FOR FRIDAY LANDING - Before going to sleep at 6:01 p.m. EDT, space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts were making final preparations for Friday's planned 10 a.m. landing at Kennedy Space Center. A second landing opportunity follows at 11:39 a.m. Weather currently is forecast "no go" due to a prediction of broken clouds at 4000 feet and a chance of thunderstorms within 30 nautical miles of Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. STS-125 Entry Flight Director Norm Knight and his mission control team will assess the Kennedy weather Friday before giving a "go" for the deorbit burn. More (Source: NASA - May 22)
CREW CONDUCTS TESTS FOR FRIDAY LANDING - Space shuttle Atlantis' crew completed a test of the Reaction Control System steering thrusters that will help control Atlantis' attitude and speed after Friday's deorbit burn. They also tested the shuttle aerosurfaces and flight control systems that will be used once the shuttle enters the atmosphere. Landing time has changed slightly to 10:00:31 a.m. EDT at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. A second landing opportunity is available at 11:39 a.m. More (Source: NASA - May 21)
CREW ENJOYING OFF DUTY TIME - The STS-125 crew woke up at 4:03 a.m. EDT to the theme from the television series “Star Trek,” which was composed by Alexander Courage. The song was played for the entire crew. At 10:26 a.m., the crew will talk with members of the media at different NASA centers about the mission. At 12:06 p.m., the crew will make a ship-to-ship call to Expedition 19 aboard the International Space Station. The shuttle astronauts will spend the balance of the day enjoying some off duty time as they prepare for Friday’s entry and landing. More (Source: NASA - May 20)
MINOTAUR I MISSION #8 – TACSAT-3 - Orbital’s Minotaur-I space launch successfully launched the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Tactical Satellite-3 (TacSat-3) on May 19, 2009 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, VA. The TacSat-3 mission, the eighth since the Minotaur Vehicle’s debut in 2000, originated from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA. The TacSat-3 launch was the third Minotaur I mission from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. More (Source: Orbital - May 20)
UPGRADED HUBBLE FLIES SOLO AGAIN - The Hubble Space Telescope was released into orbit Tuesday. Space shuttle Atlantis crew member Megan McArthur used the shuttle's robotic arm to release the telescope at 8:57 a.m. ET. "With soft separation burn, Atlantis now is slowly backing away from the telescope," NASA said in a statement. "A jet firing will be performed in about a half-hour to increase Atlantis' separation rate from the telescope, as the seven crew members bid farewell to Hubble for the final time." More (Source: CNN - May 19)
PREPARING TO LAUNCH TERRESTAR-1 THE BIG BOY OF SATELLITES FROM FRENCH GUIAN - The world's largest commercial satellite ever to be launched has arrived in French Guiana, where the TerreStar-1 spacecraft will be readied for Arianespace's late June mission aboard a dedicated Ariane 5. The large shipping container with TerreStar-1 is unloaded after arriving at Cayenne’s international airport aboard an An-124 cargo jet. TerreStar-1 was delivered to Cayenne's Rochambeau International Airport, making the trip from its U.S. production site in Palo Alto, California on an An-124 cargo aircraft. More (Source: SatNews.com - May 19)
HUBBLE GRAPPLED FOR RELEASE - Space shuttle Atlantis' robotic arm grappled the Hubble Space Telescope at 6:45 a.m. EDT in preparation for its release. Commander Scott Altman next will maneuver Atlantis to the correct orientation to release the observatory. The telescope's aperture door, which protects Hubble's ultra-sensitive optics, will be commanded open to allow starlight to fall upon its optical instruments. Working the arm, Mission Specialist Megan McArthur will maneuver Hubble to a point high above the shuttle bay before releasing the telescope from the shuttle. More (Source: NASA - May 19)
ASTRONAUTS BEGIN FINAL SPACEWALK TO FIX HUBBLE - The space shuttle Atlantis crew began its final spacewalk to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope on Monday morning. If all goes as planned, it will be the last time human hands touch the orbiting telescope, which has provided astronomers distant images that have helped them see further into the origins of the universe. More (Source: CNN - May 18)
SPACEWALKERS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE BATTERY INSTALLATION - We now are 1 hours, 27 minutes into today's spacewalk. Grunsfeld and Feustel have successfully completed the battery installation task. They next will remove and replace one of Hubble's three Fine Guidance Sensors, FGS-2. To remove the old sensor, Grunsfeld and Feustel will work together to unhook nine connectors. Then Grunsfeld will release one latch and install a handle on the equipment that he’ll use to carefully lift the sensor out of the telescope. He’ll carry it to a protective enclosure inside the shuttle’s cargo bay, where Feustel will be waiting to assist him in storing it and removing the new sensor. More (Source: NASA - May 18)
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