Top Stories
|
|
|
|
|
 A Zombiesat menace - The out-of-control Galaxy 15 satellite threatens to scramble signals from three more spacecraft by the end of August.
Good news for NPP - The next U.S. weather satellite receives its final observation instrument.
Curiosity's first steps - NASA drives the next Mars rover for the first time inside a California clean room.
ESA looks abroad - Europe's next space science missions depend on international help.
Clash in Congress - The House and Senate have proposed vastly different visions for NASA's human space program.
Taurus 2 update - Orbital Sciences says it will fly a standalone Taurus 2 rocket flight with extra NASA money.
Boeing unveils capsule - Boeing is developing a crew capsule to serve the International Space Station and private orbiting outposts.
Booster stacking begins - The solid rocket boosters for the final scheduled space shuttle mission are being assembled.
Bringing Mars to Earth - The multi-billion dollar effort to return samples from Mars could begin in 2018.
House presents bill - The House version of the NASA authorization act would undo White House proposals.
Spirit's future - The best time to hear from the hibernating Spirit rover again will be October.
WISE completes survey - NASA's WISE telescope finishes its first scan of the infrared universe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Astronauts give Endeavour full post-launch inspection
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: February 9, 2010
The shuttle Endeavour's crew worked through the early morning hours Tuesday carrying out a detailed inspection of the ship's critical nose cap and wing leading edge panels. While it will take engineers another few days to fully assess laser scans and photography, no obvious problems were seen in the initial stages of the heat shield inspection.
Credit: NASA TV
|
"So far, the crew has been doing very well on orbit, they've been adjusting fairly
nicely and we've been pretty much on the pace with respect to execution of the
timeline," said lead Flight Director Kwatsi Alibaruho. "We're looking forward to
rendezvous and docking tomorrow (with the International Space Station)."
Carrying a new habitation module and a seven-pane cupola that will provide bay
window views of Earth and approaching spacecraft, Endeavour is scheduled to dock
with the space station around 12:06 a.m. EST Wednesday. Three spacewalks are planned
to install and outfit the new module and cupola. Early Tuesday, astronauts Robert
Behnken and Nicholas Patrick inspected and checked out their spacesuits and found no
problems.
Overnight Monday and into Tuesday morning, their crewmates used a 50-foot-long
instrument boom on the end of the shuttle's robot arm to inspect the ship's carbon
composite nose cap and wing leading edge panels, which experience the most extreme
heating during re-entry.
During launch early Monday, a camera mounted on the side of the shuttle's external
tank showed a strip of foam insulation falling away about two minutes after liftoff.
Based on a quick view of the shuttle's belly when Endeavour separated from the tank,
there were no obvious signs of any impact damage.
During final approach to the station late Tuesday, commander George Zamka will flip
Endeavour over in a now-routine post-Columbia procedure that will allow the station
astronauts to carry out a detailed photo survey of the protective heat shield tiles
on the shuttle's belly.
"So far, there is nothing that has been brought to my attention aside from the few
pieces of foam we saw yesterday that would give us pause," Alibaruho said. "The data
that we've seen so far in the RCC (reinforced carbon carbon) inspections of the
wings and nose cap, so far that data looks in family with the things we typically
see. Obviously, the engineers are going to be doing their analysis through the night
to come up with some formal conclusions. But we haven't noticed anything that really
pokes out at us as being a significant concern.
"We're looking forward to getting the (rendezvous pitch maneuver) imagery from
tomorrow," he said. "Obviously, that'll give us some more data on some areas of the
spacecraft that we haven't looked at yet."
Additional coverage for subscribers:
 VIDEO:
AMAZING LAUNCH FOOTAGE FROM COCKPIT CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO:
TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
TIME-LAPSE OF WING INSPECTIONS PLAY
VIDEO:
INSPECTION BOOM READIED FOR USE PLAY
VIDEO:
PREVIEW OF FLIGHT DAY 2 ACTIVITIES PLAY
VIDEO:
NARRATED TOUR OF ENDEAVOUR'S PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO:
FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO:
THE FULL STS-130 LAUNCH EXPERIENCE PLAY
VIDEO:
SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR BLASTS OFF! PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
GO BEHIND THE SCENES IN MISSION CONTROL PLAY
VIDEO:
JETTISONED EXTERNAL FUEL TANK TUMBLES AWAY PLAY
VIDEO:
PAYLOAD BAY DOORS OPENED FOLLOWING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO:
CREW FINISHES GETTING SUITED UP PLAY
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS LEAVE CREW QUARTERS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
CREW ARRIVES AT LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS BOARD THEIR SPACECRAFT PLAY
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD CAMERA 070 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD CAMERA 071 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA BEACH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT CAMERA PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: BANANA CREEK SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
NARRATED REVIEW OF SHUTTLE'S PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
NARRATED REVIEW OF PAYLOADS' PREPARATIONS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
EXPLANATION OF WEATHER PROBLEMS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LOW CLOUDS SCRUB FIRST COUNTDOWN PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS DEPART QUARTERS FOR PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
CREW GETS SUITED UP FOR LAUNCH ATTEMPT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
PAD SERVICE GANTRY RETRACTED PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
TIME-LAPSE OF MOBILE TOWER ROLLBACK PLAY
VIDEO:
INTERVIEW WITH COMMANDER GEORGE ZAMKA PLAY
VIDEO:
INTERVIEW WITH PILOT TERRY VIRTS PLAY
VIDEO:
INTERVIEW WITH MISSION SPECIALIST 1 KAY HIRE PLAY
VIDEO:
INTERVIEW WITH MISSION SPECIALIST 2 STEVE ROBINSON PLAY
VIDEO:
INTERVIEW WITH MISSION SPECIALIST 3 NICK PATRICK PLAY
VIDEO:
INTERVIEW WITH MISSION SPECIALIST 4 BOB BEHNKEN PLAY
VIDEO:
ENDEAVOUR'S PRE-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO:
THURSDAY STATUS AND WEATHER UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO:
COUNTDOWN PREVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH DATE SET AT FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW PLAY
VIDEO:
PAYLOAD BAY DOORS CLOSED FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
CREW SEES TRANQUILITY LOADED INTO SHUTTLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
SHUTTLE EVACUATION PRACTICE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS BOARD ENDEAVOUR PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
THE LAUNCH DAY SIMULATION BEGINS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
PAD BUNKER TRAINING FOR THE CREW PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
CREW BRIEFED ON EMERGENCY PROCEDURES PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
TEST-DRIVING AN EMERGENCY ARMORED TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
NIGHTTIME APPROACHES IN TRAINING AIRCRAFT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS CHAT WITH REPORTERS AT PAD 39A PLAY
VIDEO:
SPACEWALKER UPDATES COOLING HOSE FIX PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ROBINSON'S THOUGHTS ON SHUTTLE RETIREMENT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
TRANQUILITY DELIVERED TO PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
PAYLOAD TRANSPORTER GOES UPRIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
PACKING UP PAYLOAD FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR'S FRIGID ROLLOUT TO PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ENDEAVOUR HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
CRANE ROTATES THE ORBITER VERTICALLY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ENDEAVOUR MOVES TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
TIME-LAPSE SHOWS ENDEAVOUR ASCENDING IN VAB PLAY
VIDEO:
TIME-LAPSE SHOWS THE MOVE TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY
VIDEO:
ORBITER READY TO LEAVE HANGAR PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
EXTERNAL TANK ATTACHED TO BOOSTERS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ENDEAVOUR'S MAIN ENGINE INSTALLATION PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS VISIT THEIR SPACECRAFT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
CREW INSPECTS MISSION PAYLOADS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
FUEL TANK UNLOADED FROM THE BARGE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
EXTERNAL TANK ARRIVES AT SPACEPORT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
FORWARD THRUSTER POD CHECKED OUT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ENDEAVOUR TOWED OFF RUNWAY FROM STS-127 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
TRANQUILITY HATCH SEALED FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
CUPOLA ATTACHED TO TRANQUILITY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
THE SPACE STATION'S NEW CUPOLA PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
TRANQUILITY UNPACKED IN FLORIDA PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
NEW MODULE ARRIVES FROM EUROPE PLAY | HI-DEF
SUBSCRIBE NOW
|
|
|
|
Current Shuttle Mission Patch
Free shipping to U.S. addresses!
 The final planned flight of space shuttle Atlantis is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-132. Available in our store!
U.S. STORE
WORLDWIDE STORE
STS-131 Patch
Free shipping to U.S. addresses!
 The official embroidered patch for shuttle Discovery's STS-131 flight to launch science and supplies for the space station now available in our store!
U.S. STORE
WORLDWIDE STORE
Ares 1-X Patch
 The official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.
U.S. STORE
WORLDWIDE STORE
Apollo Collage
 This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.
U.S. STORE
WORLDWIDE STORE
Project Orion
 The Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA's first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.
U.S. STORE
Fallen Heroes Patch Collection
 The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.
U.S. STORE
WORLDWIDE STORE
|
