NASA Fans Plan Shuttle Launch Tweetup

About 100 NASA fans have converged on Cape Canaveral for today's launch of the shuttle Atlantis, with plans to tweet the event providing a virtual play by play. "I'll be uploading stuff as it happens," promised Steve Wake, 38, a computer programmer who flew in from Denver. "On launch day, who knows? I may be too excited about everything else to even think about doing that stuff. When it's over with, I'm sure I will."

NASA invited it's Twitter followers to make the trek with 100 slots, and 50 backup positions, filling up in less than 20 minutes on Oct. 16th. The tweeps will represent 21 states, the District of Columbia, and five countries, including Morocco and New Zealand. Each of which are traveling at their own expense.

Weather is expected to be excellent for the launch schedules for 2:28 p.m. local time.

Source: USA Today

NASA Tracks Bungalow Sized Space Junk Approaching ISS

NASA does not believe that a 19 square metre piece of a European Ariane 5 rocket, debris from a three year old mission, will not cause the International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery to make evasive maneuvers.

The shuttle is docked with the space station and together are currently circling the Earth at a height of 354 kilometres. The debris is easily tracked because of its size and is expected to get within three kilometres from the station, 8 kilometres closer than previously estimated. If a maneuver is required, a decision will be made during the last hour of a space walk planned for today.

Source: CBC

Hubble Repairs

NASA is pleased thus far with testing performed on the upgraded Hubble Telescope after 4 days of difficult space walks performed by shuttle astronauts. Check out this video from the Telegraph

Shuttle Discovery Touches Down

The crew of the space shuttle Discovery had an extended mission by about 90 minutes when it's first entry window was waved off by Mission Control because of cloudy and windy conditions in Florida. The missions main goal was to install a final set of solar panels on the International Space Station which required 3 space walks. "We're very proud to have left the space station with more power, hopefully power that for many, many years will provide very useful research to your future payloads," mission commander Lee Archambault said before undocking from the station on Wednesday.

Source: CBC

Russian - US Satellites Collide

A pair of Russian and US satellites collided some 780 km (485 miles) above Siberia on Tuesday leaving a trail of debris. The Russian civilian space agency, Roscosmos, confirmed the collision of the defunct 950kg (2,094lb) satellite, which was said to have launched in 1993. "Spokesman Aleksandr Vorobyev was quoted as saying the satellite had "in all likelihood... belonged in the past to the military", and was therefore not the responsibility of Roscosmos." according to this BBC report. NASA is tracking hundreds of pieces of debris from the incident and says there is little chance of incident between this debris and the International Space Station or Shuttle flights. The ISS is in orbit 435 km below the debris and has the capability to maneuver away from space junk if necessary, it has done so on 8 occassions in it's 60,000 previous orbits.

Space Station To Get Extreme Makeover

The Space Shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station on Sunday afternoon bringing with it a second toilet, sleeping compartments, exercise equipment and a water regeneration system to support an extra 3 long term crew members. There are also 4 space walks planned for the Endeavour crew to work on the stations power system. The astronauts plan to clean a huge rotary joint needed to pivot solar panels to face the sun, the joint was shut down last year when it was found that it contained metal filings.

CBC Story.

Hubble Telescope Stops Sending Data

A mission to repair the Hubble Telescope scheduled for two weeks time has been put on hold by NASA until it understands the problems experienced by the telescope over the weekend. The space shuttle Atlantis had been scheduled to rendevous with Hubble in two weeks, but a new unexpected problem with Hubble appeared on Saturday night and the astronauts would potentially have new repairs to contend with, repairs that haven't trained for. Because it will take time to identify the failed part and train the astronauts to repair or replace it, the mission originally scheduled for October 14th will be postponed until early next year. Discovery Channel.

NASA Rushes Parts To Shuttle For ISS Toilet Repairs

I guess jiggling the handle will not fix the problem, and when you are confined to the close quarters of the International Space Station(ISS) the last thing you want is a misbehaving toilet. The Russian made toilet has apparently been acting up for weeks and a pump within it had been bypassed by the crew aboard. NASA has sent an employee from Russia to Florida with a replacement 1½-foot-long pump and related hardware, packed in a diplomatic pouch and carried on board a commercial jetliner as carry on luggage. The parts will fly to the ISS on board the Shuttle Discovery, taking the place of some wrenches, a spare part for the station's oxygen generator, and a microbe-killing device used in the European space lab, as space aboard the shuttle is limited. "Clearly, having a working toilet is a priority for us, so some of these things that we didn't need for the next six months or so could wait," said payload manager Scott Higginbotham. Interestingly, not scrapped is a Disney action figure, Buzz Lightyear, who is going "to infinity and beyond" aboard Discovery as part of an educational program for math and science teachers and their students. CNN story here.

Disk Drive Data Recovered From Columbia Disaster

A Minnesota data recovery company, Kroll Ontrack, has been able to recover 95% of the data recorded on a disk drive that fell from the sky when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated in 2003. The drive's metal and plastic elements where scorched and the seal on the side that keeps dirt and dust out had melted. The company was fortunate that the drive was not full and the spinning metal platters that store the data were not warped. It turns out that because the computer housing the disk was running DOS and not a more modern operating system, the data was not scattered across the platters but rather bunched together and while they where not entirely intact most of the data was recoverable. The disk contained information from a scientific experiment, much of which had already been sent back to earth when the disaster took place, but the recovery of the missing data has enabled researchers to publish their findings. Amazing! CNN has the story here.

NASA's Goo Test - Looking Good

The lead spacewalk planner for the Johnson Space Center, Zebulon C. Scoville called an Orbital Putty test during the most recent space walk “a huge success,” saying “We’re just thrilled with the way it turned out.” The putty was dispensed using a “goo gun” formally known as a tile repair ablator dispenser. The substance has been under development in an effort to give shuttle crews a means of repairing damaged heat resistant tiles before re-entry. The test results will have to be examined further on earth once the crew returns, but the tile repair kit seems to have preformed as well as it did during trials back on earth. The NY Times points out that the Columbia crew would not have been saved by such advances as the hole that proved to be the cause of the tragic re-entry disaster was too large to be fixed in such a fashion. NASA has however, been working hard to limit the amount of foam and ice that contacts the delicate shuttle tiles and the combination of that work and the new repair kit could save future flights. This is a great step, and I love that name... Zebulon! It's fitting that he works for NASA.

NASA delays Atlantis launch until at least Jan. 2

A flight that was to begin on Thursday, for the crew of Atlantis, and then postponed until Sunday has now been pushed back until January 2nd and perhaps later. According to the New York Times, "one of four critical sensors in the liquid hydrogen section of the external tank malfunctioned during early morning fueling." The folks at Kennedy Space Center will attempt to make repairs on the launch pad but if it becomes necessary to roll Atlantis off the pad the delay could extend to later in January.

While I'm sure this is disappointing news for the mission crew, it opens up a whole new opportunity for my family during our vacation. We are arriving in Orlando on New Years Eve and plan on spending a week at Disney. The one thing that I've maintained would get me off of the resort is a shuttle launch! Perhaps we'll have a chance to experience the Atlantis launch in person, talk about your geek dream vacation!

Droids in space!

I was surfing the NASA site just now trying to find out a little info about the shuttle payload, namely Luke Skywalker's lightsabre that was carried aboard in celebration of Star Wars 30th anniversary. While that is a pretty cool event, I found an interesting story that I don't recall ever reading about before and it's totally inspired by Star Wars with a little Star Trek for good measure! It's describes as "a self-propelled, floating, talking, computerized personal assistant with artificial intelligence" that was inspired by the floating globe that Luke Skywalker used for lightsabre training in the original flick. The "robot will fly autonomously around the shuttle or space station, floating effortlessly in orbital free fall and propelling itself with 6 small ducted fans.", with Star Trek tricorder like capabilities, "the PSA will have sensors that can detect the pressure and temperature of the ambient air, as well as concentrations of gases such as CO₂." This is awesome!

Endeavor touches down

Congratulations to those on board and on the ground!

Hurricane shortens shuttle mission

Fearing that Hurricane Dean might disrupt operations, NASA has ordered Space Shuttle Endeavor to depart the International Space Station today and is scheduling landing for Tuesday. NASA is concerned that the hurricane might make course for Houston, Mission Control, which would necessitate a relocation of flight controllers to Cape Canaveral the back up control center which is not considered as good a location. Boy, never a dull day for this mission! CNN story here.

NASA decides not to fix damaged tiles

The crew of the space shuttle Endeavor said in a media briefing from space that they are in agreement with NASA on it's decision not to risk a spacewalk to the shuttles underbelly. “We think they absolutely did the right decision.” The spacewalk is considered risky because it takes the crew members below the shuttle where their helmet cams are unable to operate. The crew at mission control have been studying the issue for a week and have determined that the craft is fit for re-entry. Our thoughts will be with you STS-118: Endeavor!

Endeavor inspection shows gouge penetrates tiles completely

A laser inspection of the damaged area of the space shuttle Endeavor shows that the affected tiles are compromised through to the felt material sandwiched between the tiles and the shuttle's aluminum frame. NASA scientists are preparing a test with similarly damaged tiles back here on earth, in an attempt to determine whether or not the damaged area will withstand re-entry. John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team said "We have really prepared for exactly this case, since Columbia," and "We have spent a lot of money in the program and a lot of time and a lot of people's efforts to be ready to handle exactly this case." A decision is expected to be made today or tomorrow, regarding the necessity of a space walk to repair the damage. CBC Story Here. For a video explaining the Thermal Protection System - How Thing Work, Click Here (Real Media).

In keeping with the space theme... more on Endeavor

I'm finding NASA TV to be very interesting and time consuming. The dialog that happens between the folks on the ground and the shuttle crew is, as you would expect, technical but you can really hear the personalities shine through. They are busy, and every step is carefully planned out to the smallest of detail.

Today is a big day, the shuttle crew will be using the Canadarm 2 to maneuver a boom equipped with laser sensors to the underbelly. The sensors will allow NASA to determine the extent of the damage sustained during liftoff and will provide them with the necessary information to decide whether a repair is warranted. Since the shuttle disaster of 2003, every mission now carries a repair kit for these circumstances. The chairman of the mission management team, John Shannon is reported to have said "In the past, we didn't even know we had damage and we flew back home. So what I would tell you is we're going to do all the work required to understand it. ... I would not even venture to guess what the probability is that we would have to go repair this." CNN Story here.

NASA's mission site gives no clues - business as usual

I decided to have a look at the mission site this morning to see what NASA was saying about Endeavor and possible damage to it's underbelly. Nothing too revealing there, according to the site Endeavor's crew is preparing for a scheduled space walk with a number of goals in mind, all related to the International Space Station. The only clue that there might be concern is in the following statement: "Meanwhile, the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System, which was activated after Friday’s docking, will be shut down during the spacewalk. The transfer system may allow Space Shuttle Endeavour and the STS-118 crew to stay at the station longer. A decision on a possible mission extension is expected to be made Sunday."

Image of astronauts preparing for space walk.
Check out NASA TV (Yahoo!) for space walk coverage.

CNN reporting possible shuttle damage

Endeavor astronauts have discovered a possibly worrisome gouge in the under belly of the space shuttle. Endeavor is currently docked with the International Space Station and it's crew will use the Canadarm to have a closer look at the damage on Sunday. NASA says a space walk could be used to repair damage but it is not yet known what the extent is. CNN story here and video here.