Astronauts Fix Solar Panel

Apollo 11 rock left behind as Endeavour finishes mission to ISS

(NEWSER) - The Endeavour shuttle departed the ISS last night, leaving behind the station's new connecting hub and observation deck as well as one well-traveled lump of rock. A lunar rock brought to Earth by Neil Armstrong and brought to the top of Mount Everest by astronaut Scott Parazynski is now an ornament in the station's windowed cupola, along with fragments of Everest, InformationWeek reports. More»

Astronauts complete final spacewalk

(NEWSER) - Astronauts from the space shuttle Atlantis finished the final spacewalk of their mission at the International Space Station today, clearing the way for their return Wednesday. Astronauts Robert Satcher and Randy Bresnik installed a science experiment that will test how materials, including a new kind of Teflon, hold up to the rigors of space. The pair also installed an oxygen tank on the station’s Quest airlock, Space.com reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Astronauts on the International Space Station successfully unfurled the last of the craft’s solar panels today, despite the chronic problem of “stiction,” ABC reports. Stiction is, predictably, the engineering term for things sticking together. When panels have had trouble opening in the past, spacemen have resorted to everything from rattling the delicate devices to exercising inside the station to shake them loose. More»

(NEWSER) - The space shuttle Endeavour lifted off last night on a journey to the International Space Station, where astronauts will install new equipment and fix a solar panel, Space.com reports. The crew of the ISS will double from three to six next year; ahead of that, the Endeavour crew is installing new bedrooms, another toilet, and a high-tech device that can recycle astronauts' urine into water. The shuttle is due to arrive tomorrow afternoon. More»

Astronauts set up inspection boom for next mission

(NEWSER) - A pair of Endeavour astronauts completed the last spacewalk of their historic assembly mission tonight, the Houston Chronicle reports. Over 6 hours, Mike Forman and Bob Behnken set up an inspection boom outside the International Space Station to help future shuttles avoid disasters like the 2003 Columbia tragedy. The boom scans thermal armor for damage that shuttles may sustain in the nose and wings after launch. More»