STS-130

[deja vu]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts ran into trouble Saturday while setting up the International Space Station's newest room, Tranquility: A critical insulating cover does not fit.

The fabric, multilayered cover is supposed to go between Tranquility and its observation deck, but the metal bars are not locking down properly because of interference from a hand rail or some other structure at the hatch.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35382083/ns ... nce-space/



That is a big 27 million dollar OOPS.

[deja vu]

One glitch fixed and hopefully no more will show up:


The International Space Station’s new viewport is facing the Earth now, ready to provide a panoramic view of the planet below and approaching cargo ships. Relocation of the cupola from the Tranquility node’s forward port to its new location was completed at 1:31 a.m. EST.

Space shuttle Endeavour Mission Specialist Kathryn Hire and Pilot Terry Virts moved the cupola, operating the station’s Canadarm2 from controls in the U.S. laboratory, Destiny. Station Commander Jeff Williams operated the latches and bolts that released the cupola from its launch location and then secured it to its new home.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shutt ... index.html

[pysanky]

Well, Italians proud of Galileo last year would want big $ investment observatory to work. Who in Italy taking comments on the railing in way during attachment?

[deja vu]

While flying 208 miles above the Atlantic Ocean west of Mauritania and the western Sahara, space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at 7:54 p.m. EST, nine days, 19 hours and 48 minutes after docking on Feb. 10. Shuttle pilot Terry Virts performed a fly-around of the station, enabling his crewmates to conduct a photo survey of the complex. The station now is 98 percent complete by volume, 90 percent by mass.

Weather permitting, the deorbit burn is planned for 9:13 p.m. Sunday, leading to a landing at 10:16 p.m. at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility.


http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shutt ... index.html


Time will tell if Mother Nature will cooperate.

[southernfry]

Space shuttle Endeavour aimed for a Sunday night landing back at NASA's spaceport, but rainy and cloudy weather threatened to delay the astronauts' homecoming.

Endeavour and its crew of six are returning from a bigger and certainly brighter International Space Station. They added a new room and a dome containing seven windows in a highly successful mission that won presidential praise. LeRoy Cain, chairman of the mission management team, said Saturday there's about a 50-50 chance — maybe a little better — that the weather will cooperate.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35501389/ns ... nce-space/


Mother Nature may play a role after all.

[deja vu]

They are back, safe and sound:









Space shuttle Endeavour and its six crew members wrapped up a 14-day construction mission to the International Space Station Sunday with a precision touchdown in Florida. Double-sonic booms rang through the balmy night as the spaceship dropped beneath the sound barrier for first time since its predawn blastoff from the Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 8. Minutes later, Endeavour commander George Zamka gently settled the 100-ton spaceship onto a canal-lined runway at 10:20 p.m. EST , bringing NASA’s 130th space shuttle mission to an end.


http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/ ... story.html

[alohasand]

All must be happy to have made the Florida landing-saves money and no wasted time in transit.

Italians-they must be happy to have their windows to space attached.

[pretzels]

NASA already has turned over crew transport to Russia and plans to invest $6 billion in the next five years in commercial U.S. firms, hoping to spark development of orbital passenger spaceflight services.

Does Branson's White Knight firm qualify or is the money (where will it come from--scrap metal sales?) meant for homegrown flight firms? Branson already got tax breaks from Nevada--thus his spaceport is located there.

The computer glitches--could there be a translation patch beamed up to allow computers to get along?