Space Shuttle Atlantis lands safely

[Squarethecircle]

How many more pieces are needed, again? To complete the ISS finally and forever, that is.

[HURAKAN]

There are still 12 more missions, I believe.

[JonathanBelles]

The hatch is now open and the two crews have now united.

[Cyclenall]

There are still 12 more missions, I believe.

That's funny, because a TV program back in the late 90s, said the ISS would be complete by the year 2006.

[HURAKAN]

How it looked November, 2007:


How it will look in 2010:

[JonathanBelles]

There are still 12 more missions, I believe.

That's funny, because a TV program back in the late 90s, said the ISS would be complete by the year 2006.

The program has been stalled numerous times since the 90's. The shuttle is planned to be retired in 2010.

[JonathanBelles]

In a press Conference, it was released that a crew member of Atlantis has an injury. They did not say who, or what. EVA #1 has been pushed back 24 hours.

Edit: Somebody has an illness, still no certain illness declared

[Cryomaniac]

In a press Conference, it was released that a crew member of Atlantis has an injury. They did not say who, or what. EVA #1 has been pushed back 24 hours.

Edit: Somebody has an illness, still no certain illness declared

Thats fine unless it's contagious.

[Squarethecircle]

Even if it's contagious, they have some resources aboard the station with which to help.

Hopefully it won't be like that post-Super Bowl House episode (even though that's literally impossible).

[Cryomaniac]

:uarrow: Even if it's contagious, they have some resources aboard the station with which to help.

Hopefully it won't be like that post-Super Bowl House episode (even though that's literally impossible).

Didn't see that, what happened in the house episode?

[Squarethecircle]

It was awesome. Some person got freakily sick (as always), but this time, it was in Antarctica.

[Cryomaniac]

:uarrow: It was awesome. Some person got freakily sick (as always), but this time, it was in Antarctica.

Why was it 'literally impossible' though?

[Squarethecircle]

That someone would get that sick even with the medical tests that are usually done when checking for a shuttle flight (just like a pilot's medicals).

[Cryomaniac]

:uarrow: That someone would get that sick even with the medical tests that are usually done when checking for a shuttle flight (just like a pilot's medicals).

Makes sense I suppose.

[JonathanBelles]

Space shuttle Atlantis arrived at the International Space Station Saturday morning after a two-day rendezvous. Atlantis is delivering the European Space Agency Columbus science laboratory, which will be attached to the station’s Harmony module on Monday now after the decision was made to delay the first spacewalk due to a crew medical issue.

With no impact to the overall mission objectives, the first spacewalk Monday will be conducted by Rex Walheim and Stan Love, who replaces Hans Schlegel.

The official crew rotation of ESA Astronaut Leopold Eyharts and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Dan Tani, originally scheduled for Sunday, was completed at 6:20 p.m. Eyharts now is a member of Expedition 16 and Tani is an STS-122 mission specialist.

STS-122 landing is now planned for 10:14 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

[JonathanBelles]

NASA examines shuttle; illness prompts spacewalk delay

From Kate Tobin
CNN

(CNN) -- NASA engineers are assessing two small areas on the space shuttle Atlantis that may have received some damage during Thursday's launch and ascent, officials said Saturday.

In addition, a spacewalk scheduled for Sunday has been postponed until Monday, with one of the two astronauts scheduled to take it -- Germany's Hans Schlegel -- to be replaced.

The switch was being made because of a "medical issue," said John Shannon, deputy shuttle program manager, at a briefing Saturday night.

NASA sources earlier had told CNN Schlegel was ill.

It's not uncommon for astronauts to experience some nausea and sickness after being launched into space.

The issue is "not going to impact the objectives of this mission," Shannon said.

Because of privacy regulations, he could not confirm if Schlegel was the ill astronaut, but said the condition was "not life-threatening."

Schlegel, 56, is a European Space Agency astronaut on his second trip to space. He initially was scheduled for two spacewalks during the current mission.

Astronaut Stan Love will replace Schlegel, officials said.

The purpose for the spacewalk is to install the Columbus module -- a European laboratory -- on the international space station, a primary purpose of the shuttle mission. Video Watch the view of Earth from Atlantis

On the potential damage, there appears to be a small rip on a thermal blanket on the right orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod, according to NASA documents and Shuttle Lead Flight Director Mike Sarafin.

At first blush, this appears similar to the ripped blanket on the left OMS pod that happened during an Atlantis flight in June.

On that occasion, NASA managers sent astronaut Danny Olivas out on a spacewalk to put the blanket back into place using a surgical stapler -- although they thought Atlantis probably would have been able to re-enter the atmosphere without the fix.

Later Saturday or in the coming days, officials will find out more about how the current ripped blanket compares to that one, and whether they feel the need to repair it.

In addition, there is some potential damage to a tile near the right-side forward reaction control system, which is near the shuttle's nose cap and helps provide the thrust for rotational maneuvers and small velocity changes, officials said.

The potential damage is being assessed. Tile damage occurs on every shuttle flight, however, and the shuttle usually is cleared to return to Earth as-is.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/0 ... index.html

[JonathanBelles]

update from today

The crew of space shuttle Atlantis began preparing Thursday for the third and final spacewalk of the mission. As part of the preparation, Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Stanley Love are spending Thursday night in the International Space Station’s Quest airlock. The purpose of the “camp out” is to purge the nitrogen from their bodies before their planned exit at 8:40 a.m. EST Friday.

During the spacewalk, Walheim and Love will install two payloads on Columbus’ exterior: SOLAR, an observatory to monitor the sun; and the European Technology Exposure Facility that will carry nine experiments requiring exposure to the space environment.

The STS-122 and Expedition 16 crews also spent time Thursday outfitting racks and systems inside the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory, preparing the module for the scientific work ahead of it.

Thursday morning, STS-122 Commander Steve Frick, Mission Specialists Hans Schlegel and Daniel Tani, station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Leopold Eyharts spoke with Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany. Schlegel, a European Space Agency astronaut, is from Germany.

Also participating were ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and former astronaut Thomas Reiter of the German Space Agency.

Atlantis is slated to land at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Wednesday.

[JonathanBelles]

Today's Update:


The space shuttle Atlantis and International Space Station crews are busy today transferring supplies and equipment into the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Columbus laboratory.

This morning, the station got a reboost, a routine procedure to adjust its orbit. The purpose of the reboost was to place the orbital outpost in better position to receive future visitors, including the Expedition 17 crew, who are slated to arrive in April.

Also, the STS-122 and Expedition 16 crews participated in a joint crew news conference.

In addition to delivering the Columbus laboratory to the orbital outpost, Atlantis’ astronauts performed three spacewalks to prepare the module for its scientific work and replaced an expended nitrogen tank on the station. Atlantis also transported ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts to the station to take the place of Daniel Tani as Expedition 16 flight engineer. Tani is returning to Earth aboard the shuttle.

Atlantis and the STS-122 crew are scheduled to leave the space station on Monday, with undocking slated for 4:26 a.m. that day.

[MGC]

Just witnessed the Shuttle and ISS fly over. Shuttle was ahead of the ISS by about 15 seconds. Beautiful sight......MGC

[JonathanBelles]

The crew members of space shuttle Atlantis spent Tuesday getting ready for their return home and the end of the STS-122 mission.

The STS-122 astronauts set up the recumbent seat for Mission Specialist Daniel Tani, who joined the crew of Atlantis on the International Space Station. The recumbent seat is a special seat designed to reduce the stress of gravity on those who have spent long periods of time in the weightless environment of space.

Tani served as Expedition 16 flight engineer for almost four months. He was replaced on the station crew by European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Leopold Eyharts.

As part of the preparations, the astronauts also performed a test Tuesday morning of the steering jets – or thrusters – that will be used to position the orbiter for re-entry. They did not test the four aft orbiter maneuvering system vernier thrusters. These share a common heater, which failed overnight, making them inoperative during the test. These four steering jets are not needed for deorbit or landing and will not have an impact on the remainder of the mission.

The crew members also successfully tested the control surfaces to be used during Atlantis' flight through the atmosphere.

STS-122 arrived at the station Feb. 9, delivering ESA’s Columbus laboratory to the station. The crews installed Columbus Feb. 11 and conducted three spacewalks to prepare Columbus for its scientific work. They also replaced an expended nitrogen tank on the station’s P1 truss.

The orbiter is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Wednesday. Atlantis’ first landing opportunity is at 9:07 a.m. EST.