UPDATED
Shuttle's crew
is delivering $2B European laboratory
Associated Press Feb 9, 08 11:43 AM CST
(Newser)
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Space shuttle Atlantis docked flawlessly with the international space station today, the AP reports. Atlantis is delivering a $2 billion lab eagerly awaited by European scientists. Before docking, the shuttle performed a giant backflip so station crew members could take images of the shuttle's thermal shield. NASA engineers will examine them to make sure all is well.
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UPDATED
Weather doesn't delay mission to
international space station after all
Associated Press Feb 7, 08 2:11 PM CST
(Newser)
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After bad weather prompted worries of a further delay, US space shuttle Atlantis successfully blasted into space today, the AP reports. NASA had feared the same cold front that ravaged the South with tornadoes would push the launch to tomorrow, or later. Aboard, with seven astronauts, is the European Space Agency’s Columbus lab, bound for the international space station.
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Blast-off tomorrow has 70% chance of being rained out: NASA
Space.com Feb 6, 08 4:46 PM CST
(Newser)
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Conditions don’t look great for tomorrow’s launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, Space.com reports. The scheduled 2:45 pm ET launch has a 70% chance of being rained out as the southern US continues to feel the cold front that loosed several deadly tornadoes yesterday. If a thunderstorm or thick cloud cover scraps the launch, NASA will try again Friday.
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Agency will beam 'Across the Universe' into space as dual anniversary celebration
Houston Chronicle Feb 1, 08 2:19 PM CST
(Newser)
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NASA will send the Beatles song "Across the Universe" into deep space Monday, the Houston Chronicle reports. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of both the space agency and the band, NASA’s Deep Space Network will transmit the song toward the North Star, Polaris—which the signal should reach in about 431 years.
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7-hour mission on solar wing improves power supply
Associated Press Jan 30, 08 12:57 PM CST
(Newser)
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US astronauts pulled off a risky repair mission on the International Space Station’s troubled solar wing today, the AP reports. The possibility of electrical shock made the 7-hour spacewalk dangerous, forcing the team to wait until the station was on the dark side of the planet. “Yee-haw! Excellent,” cried Commander Peggy Whitson as much-needed electricity surged through the station.
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Hall to welcome 4 newcomers, including leader of Hubble launch mission
Space.com Jan 11, 08 1:20 PM CST
(Newser)
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Four space shuttle pilots have taken one giant leap toward immortality, NASA announced this week: They'll make up the Astronaut Hal of Fame class of 2008. The inductees, who will be honored at a May ceremony, include the commanders who presided over the initial assembly of the International Space Station and the first mission dedicated to life sciences, Space.com reports.
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Space agency pushing up against 2010 deadline
Washington Post Jan 6, 08 11:32 AM CST
(Newser)
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NASA is speeding up its space shuttle flight schedule to meet the 2010 deadline for the completion of the International Space Station. This year alone, the space agency will launch six missions—twice the number of the last two years—and some experts worry that the crunch is a recipe for a Columbia-like disaster. "Something has to give," one told the Washington Post .
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Joins 2nd Microsoft mogul in backing plan to photograph heavens
Guardian (UK) Jan 5, 08 4:05 PM CST
(Newser)
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Bill Gates and Bill Simonyi—space geeks and Microsoft billionaires both—are donating $30 million to the Chilean-based Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, the Guardian reports. The $400 million endeavor, scheduled to be working in 2015, will snap pics of the sky with a 3,200 megapixel digital camera every 15 seconds—and aid endeavors ranging from galaxy-hunting to cosmology.
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Faulty sensors push back date, possibly
to next month
Space.com Jan 3, 08 7:36 PM CST
(Newser)
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NASA has again pushed back the launch of the shuttle Atlantis as it wrestles with faulty fuel sensors, Space.com reports. The shuttle will go up Jan. 24 at the earliest, with a more likely launch either Feb. 2 or 7. Atlantis is due to begin an 11-day mission to the International Space Station, provided engineers can fix malfunctioning sensors that first delayed the mission last month.
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Tani speaks to family via teleconference
to help plan mother's memorial service
Chicago Sun-Times Dec 22, 07 8:32 AM CST
(Newser)
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Before they blast off for missions that could take months, NASA asks astronauts to choose if they want to learn if there's important news from home. Daniel Tani said yes, and is this week mourning his mother from space. Tani has chosen to continue his daily tasks, and yesterday spoke to his family via teleconference to help plan her Sunday memorial service.
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Space Station astronaut
Daniel Tani's mom dies in car accident
Chicago Tribune Dec 20, 07 7:40 AM CST
(Newser)
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Astronaut Daniel Tani, orbiting 200 miles above the Earth in the International Space Station, learned yesterday that his 90-year-old mother, Rose, had been killed when her car was struck by a freight train outside Chicago, reports the Chicago Tribune . Police said she drove around a school bus stopped at the tracks, past a lowered gate, and into the path of the train.
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'King of mind boggling,' astronaut says; new record set for female walk time at ISS
Space.com Dec 18, 07 6:13 PM CST
(Newser)
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An inspection of two faulty parts of the International Space Station today marked its 100th spacewalk, Space.com reports. Astronauts Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani, about to make the nearly seven-hour walk, were surprised to hear the news. "It is kind of mind boggling," Tani said. "I remember pre-ISS talking about the hundreds, and thinking that was a huge mountain to climb."
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Fuel sensor fails to reset a second time
Reuters Dec 9, 07 9:06 AM CST
(Newser)
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After a controversial call to go ahead with the launch today of the problem-plagued Atlantis, NASA officials have now decided to delay the mission until at least January, Reuters reports. The decision was made when one of the two fuel sensors that failed before the abortive launch Thursday failed again today.
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Shuttle to lift off with stricter rules in controversial decision
Orlando Sentinel Dec 9, 07 5:15 AM CST
(Newser)
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With tighter safety guidelines in place, NASA plans to go forward this afternoon with the launch of the Atlantis, although the problem of the shuttle's faulty fuel sensors remains unresolved. Following three days of debate, NASA engineers agreed unanimously that the shuttle could launch safely, though the decision has sparked controversy, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
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