Discovery space shuttle – News Stories About Discovery space shuttle - Page 3

Jun 1, 2008 5:07 PM CDT

Lawmaker Sees Off Spaceman Hubby

Arizona rep. married Discovery commander 6 months ago

(Newser) - Arizona lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords waved goodbye as her husband went to work yesterday, in command of the Discovery shuttle. Giffords, who married astronaut Mark Kelly 6 months ago, admits she's nervous about the trip. "You don't really relax" until the shuttle comes home, she told Space.com. "At...

Discovery Launches, With Kibo Aboard

May 31, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

Discovery Launches, With Kibo Aboard

Shuttle also bears a new toilet for space station crew

(Newser) - The space shuttle Discovery blasted into a clear blue sky today, carrying Kibo, a huge Japanese laboratory for the International Space Station. The $1 billion lab will be the station’s biggest room. “This is a real milestone,” said one NASA administrator. The Discovery is also bringing a...

Houston, We Have
a (Potty) Problem

May 27, 2008 7:36 PM CDT

Houston, We Have a (Potty) Problem

The space station's toilet is broken

(Newser) - The three-member crew aboard the International Space Station has a delicate problem—the toilet's on the fritz. The station's liquid-waste collector—a tricky system involving fans and the lack of gravity—is kaput, the New York Times reports. (The solid-waste collector still works.) Astronauts are working on a backup...

Space Shuttle Discovery
Makes a Date

May 20, 2008 11:51 AM CDT

Space Shuttle Discovery Makes a Date

With concerns over Soyuz safety allayed, voyage to ISS is a go

(Newser) - The investigation into last month's scary landing by a Russian Soyuz spacecraft is still going on, but another Soyuz at the International Space Station is off the hook, so NASA has cleared the Discovery shuttle for launch on May 31, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The shuttle is expected to attach...

Endeavour Crew
Finishes Final Walk

UPDATED

Mar 22, 2008 6:49 PM CDT

Endeavour Crew Finishes Final Walk

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...

Dextre Lives! Space Robot Gets Power

Mar 15, 2008 1:46 PM CDT

Dextre Lives! Space Robot Gets Power

NASA solves glitch; astronauts continue assembly tonight

(Newser) - Dextre's finally getting some juice. Astronauts aboard the international space station solved a glitch last night and got power flowing to their partially built robot, the AP reports. Now they can go ahead with a spacewalk tonight to finish assembling it. “There was obviously some real concern over the...

Discovery Touches Down Safely

Nov 7, 2007 12:14 PM CST

Discovery Touches Down Safely

Marathon shuttle mission ends with touchdown in Florida at 1:01pm EST

(Newser) - Pam Melroy became only the second woman to safely land a space shuttle as the Discovery touched down at Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 1:01pm today. The touchdown capped a blistering 15-day mission during which the shuttle crew attached a new room to the international space station and repaired damaged...

Discovery to Fly Over US

Nov 6, 2007 1:35 PM CST

Discovery to Fly Over US

Columbia disaster sparked changes in NASA procedures

(Newser) - The space shuttle Discovery will fly across the US tomorrow before landing in Cape Canaveral, a feat NASA hasn’t attempted since the doomed shuttle Columbia rained debris over the country in 2003. New safety procedures have minimized the risk of another disaster, ABC News reports. People below may see...

Discovery Headed for Earth

Nov 5, 2007 2:12 PM CST

Discovery Headed for Earth

After tearful goodbye and record mission, space shuttle sets sights on home

(Newser) - The space shuttle Discovery pushed off from the International Space Station today and, after flying around the station to admire its crew's handiwork, set course for Earth. The crew will perform a routine inspection of the Discovery’s underbelly tomorrow—a measure enacted after 2003’s Columbia disaster—and should...

Discovery Crew Bids Teary Bye

Nov 5, 2007 3:55 AM CST

Discovery Crew Bids Teary Bye

Astros exit space station after 11-day renovation project

(Newser) - Astronauts bid each other teary goodbyes yesterday as the shuttle Discovery prepared to leave the international space station and return to Earth. Seven people will make the two-day journey home, including astronaut Clay Anderson, who completed a 152-day mission aboard the station. Crew member Dan Tani is taking his place...

Crew Begins Solar Panel Repairs

Nov 3, 2007 8:33 AM CDT

Crew Begins Solar Panel Repairs

Astronauts get to work on risky spacewalk

(Newser) - A pair of Discovery astronauts embarked this morning on repairs to a ripped solar panel on the International Space Station in one of the most dangerous and challenging spacewalks ever undertaken, the AP reports. Astronaut Scott Parazynski took a 45-minute trip on a modified robotic arm to the station's far...

NASA Buys Time for Dangerous Spacewalk

Nov 2, 2007 12:55 PM CDT

NASA Buys Time for Dangerous Spacewalk

Engineers work around the clock to make mission safer

(Newser) - NASA has pushed back until tomorrow a spacewalk to repair a key solar panel, allowing engineers as much prep time as possible for the risky mission. An astronaut will perch alone on the station’s 80-foot robotic arm to work on the electrified panel. "It's a real test of...

Repairs Throw Wrench Into Spacewalk Plan

Oct 31, 2007 2:16 PM CDT

Repairs Throw Wrench Into Spacewalk Plan

Ripped solar wing affects space station, shuttle schedules

(Newser) - A ripped solar wing on the international space station has fouled NASA's spacewalk plans for the crew of its shuttle Discovery—and could send ripples through schedules for future shuttle missions and hinder station construction. Today's scheduled spacewalk has been canceled; one scheduled for Thursday to inspect a broken rotary...

Space Station's Solar Panel Rips

Oct 30, 2007 4:31 PM CDT

Space Station's Solar Panel Rips

Spacewalking astronauts discover large tear

(Newser) - A critical solar panel on the International Space Station tore today as Mission Control was unfurling it remotely. The station's power supply was already wobbly because of damage to another panel discovered Sunday, the Houston Chronicle reports, and the rip worsens the problem. Astronauts beamed photos of the panel to...

Astronauts Wrestle With Solar Panel

Oct 29, 2007 2:10 PM CDT

Astronauts Wrestle With Solar Panel

Damage on solar wings raises stakes on installation tomorrow

(Newser) - Astronauts continued work on the space station today, using a robot arm to move a huge 17.5-ton solar panel into position for installation during a spacewalk tomorrow—to some musical accompaniment. "It's a heck of a lot more fun flying the arm with some Huey Lewis in the...

Astronauts Find Station Damage

Oct 28, 2007 3:17 PM CDT

Astronauts Find Station Damage

Metal shavings plague solar panel rotators

(Newser) - The International Space Station’s power system is damaged, astronauts discovered today on the second of five scheduled spacewalks. Investigating the vibrations and electrical spikes that have wracked the solar tower, they found metal shavings clinging to the rotating joint. "There’s metal-to-metal scraping, and it’s widespread,"...

Astronauts Link Harmony to ISS

Oct 26, 2007 2:35 PM CDT

Astronauts Link Harmony to ISS

'Great day in outer space' sums up lead spacewalker

(Newser) - Astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery today successfully attached the 16-ton Harmony addition to the International Space Station, expanding the station's living and working space by more than 2,500 cubic feet. The 6-hour project, moving the Harmony and retrieving a broken antenna from the station, was the first of...

Discovery Docks at Space Station

Oct 25, 2007 1:29 PM CDT

Discovery Docks at Space Station

Shuttle crew readies outpost for European, Japanese arrivals

(Newser) - The shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station this morning, after a two-day journey from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Station commander Peggy Whitson rang a ship's bell to welcome the shuttle crew, which will over the next 10 days prepare the station for European and Japanese researchers, Reuters reports.

China Launches 1st Lunar Probe

Oct 24, 2007 12:46 PM CDT

China Launches 1st Lunar Probe

Plans to land astronaut on lunar surface by 2020

(Newser) - China launched its first lunar mission today, beginning its gambit to be the third country to put a man in space. The Chang'e-I probe fired into space unmanned, but the lunar orbiter should earn China’s space program respect—and lucrative contracts, Bloomberg reports. China next plans to land a...

Discovery Blasts Off Safely

Oct 23, 2007 1:51 PM CDT

Discovery Blasts Off Safely

(Newser) - Despite dubious weather, ice buildup, and wing cracks, Discovery successfully launched from Cape Canaveral this morning. The spacecraft carries a crew of seven—including Pamela Melroy, only the second female shuttle commander—to a daunting construction job on the International Space Station, the AP reports. The "to do" list...