Tag: ISS
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STS-134 Endeavour kicks up a STORRM during final farewell to ISS
Concluding a highly successful docked mission for STS-134, Endeavour and her crew undocked at 22:55 Central on Sunday, ahead of a busy and prolonged farewell to the Station which she was heavily involved in building. It involves nearly five hours of work until Endeavour’s final separation burn, as she performed a debut manuever specific to…
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Soyuz TMA-20 captures historic photography prior to perfect landing
The Russian Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft, also known by its US designation of 25S, departed from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday after five months on-orbit. Prior to a successful landing, Soyuz TMA-20 participated in a unique and historical event to photograph the ISS while the Space Shuttle Endeavour is docked to the complex, providing…
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Exceptional Endeavour marks U.S. Assembly Complete on Station
As Endeavour works through Flight Day 4 (FD4), the historic milestone of delivering and attaching the final component for the U.S. segment of the ISS has been completed, with the installation of the premiere scientific experiment to the Station: the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2. Meanwhile, Endeavour performed above and beyond expectations during her triumphant final ascent to space…
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Endeavour in outstanding shape – Docks with ISS
In another historic milestone for Endeavour’s final flight, the fleet’s youngest orbiter chased down the International Space Station (ISS) to kick start the docked phase of the STS-134 mission. Endeavour arrived in superb shape, with the Mission Management Team (MMT) only having to review a handful of very minor issues, following an extremely clean ascent to…
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STS-134: ISSP Approves DDO – Soyuz Flyabout Returns to Mission Planning
International Space Station (ISS) program managers have approved the use of Dual Docked Operations (DDO) during the upcoming STS-134 mission, the first time such an operation has ever been cleared for use. Managers are also planning to conduct a Soyuz flyabout during the STS-134 mission, per its official return to the mission plan following previous…
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NASA managers aligning to combine final Dragon COTS test missions
NASA HQ appear to be closing in on a decision to combine the second and third of three planned Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration flights (C2 and C3) of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. Internal schedules, presentations and memos are continuing to point towards a working plan for a preliminary November 30 launch date for the…
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Progress M-10M launches on cargo run to International Space Station
Russia’s Progress M-10M spacecraft, also going by its American designation of 42P, launched on Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:05 PM GMT. Following a two day chase-down of the International Space Station (ISS), automated docking to the Nadir port of Docking Compartment-1 (DC-1) “Pirs” will occur on Friday (29th April) at 2:29…
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Four companies win big money via NASA’s CCDEV-2 awards
NASA has awarded four Space Act Agreements in the second round of the agency’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev-2), a commercial effort aimed to foster domestic crew transportation by the middle of the decade. The winners – ranging from lifting body to capsule spacecrafts – were Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada Corporation, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and…
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STS-134: Endeavour ordnance installation on tap – Mission still being tweaked
Following a relatively relaxed week at Pad 39A, Endeavour is preparing to enter Ordnance installation tasks on Monday and Tuesday, as the youngest orbiter in the fleet heads into her final week prior to the launch countdown. With the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) also set to take place on Tuesday, managers are making their final…
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STS-134: Endeavour heading towards S0007 preparations – mission extended
With a large amount of contingency in her pad flow, Endeavour’s processing pace has slowed down this week. The flow is expected to ramp up on Friday as preparations begin for S0007 (Launch Countdown) operations. While the feared government shutdown was averted, memos pre-empting the possibility revealed some insight into the latest launch window planning…