The space shuttle Discovery has departed the International Space Station and is preparing for a Saturday landing back at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA reports that the mission is going well.
Meanwhile, officials say that the shuttle launch caused so much damage last week that it has knocked the launch pad out of commission. WESH-TV reports that the pad was a “ticking time bomb.” Hundreds of square feet of walls were damaged, with bricks puncturing a fence one-half mile away. The CBS affiliate reports there are fears that bricks could damage the fragile shuttle during a future launch, although another report said this fear was unfounded.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that a 200-square-foot section of the flame trench wall came loose. NASA is probing the launch pad for structure weaknesses, and it hopes to have the facility repaired by October. Work has been hampered by the presence of dangerous asbestos, which can cause deadly lung diseases.
Having wrapped up a highly successful visit to the International Space Station, the space shuttle Endeavour has departed the orbiting outpost and is headed back for a Wednesday evening landing at Cape Canaveral.
The shuttle attached a Japanese module and the Canadian maintenance robot Dextre to the space station. ISS and shuttle astronauts also conducted a record-tying five spacewalks during the 12-day visit.
The shuttle dropped off Garrett Reisman for an extended stay on the outpost. It is returning with French astronaut Leopold Eyharts.
Japanese astronaut Takao Doi remarks on the opening of the the Japanese Logistics Module. Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson is at right. Credit: NASA TV
NASA PRESS RELEASE
Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi were the first to enter the Japanese Logistics Module - Pressurized Section (JLP). Marking the beginning of Japan’s scientific work aboard the station, the new module was opened module at 9:23 p.m. EDT Friday. The STS-123 and Expedition 16 crews continue transferring supplies and equipment into the JLP from space shuttle Endeavour.
The JLP is the first component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory.
Operating Canadarm2, the station’s robot arm, Mission Specialists Robert Behnken and Léopold Eyharts grabbed the shuttle’s boom sensor and handed it off to Endeavour’s robot arm in preparation for stowage on the station’s S1 truss later in the mission.
The station’s arm operators grappled the Canadian-built Dextre at 9:59 p.m. Friday. Canadarm2 successfully powered up Dextre 11 minutes later.
When Dextre was removed from Endeavour’s cargo bay after the shuttle docked to the station, ground teams ran into problems routing power to the pallet on which the robot is being assembled. The teams tried troubleshooting the problem with a software patch early Friday morning, but were not successful.
STS-123 Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and Mike Foreman will spend the night in the station’s Quest Airlock in preparation for the second spacewalk of the mission, which begins Saturday. The purpose of this “camp out” is to purge the nitrogen from their bodies before their planned exit at 8:23 p.m. Saturday. Linnehan and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman completed the mission’s first spacewalk early Friday morning.
The European Automated Transfer Vehicle Jules Verne has developed a glitch in its propulsion system. Sensors aboard the cargo vessel detected a difference in pressure between the oxidizer and the fuel systems.. The problem has shut down seven of the 28 attitude control jets and one of the vehicle’s four engines.
Engineers are assessing the problem and say they are not worried. They are confident the ATV will be able to successfully rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station, where it will delivery cargo and supplies to the crew.
The BBC has a full story, as does Spaceflight Now.
When the space shuttle Endeavour lifts off next week, it will carry the first part of a sophisticated Japanese module as well as a Canadian robot to the International Space Station.
Japanese astronaut Takao Doi will help set up the Kibo, a storage module that is the first of three components of the Japanese Hope laboratory. The 4-meter (14-foot) long Kibo is built to fit eight racks of equipment.
“It may feel a little bit small inside,” Doi said. “It’s a little bit bigger than a [small] walk-in closet.”
The seven-member crew also will deliver the Canadian Space Agency’s Dextre robot, which astronauts will use for maintenance purposes on the exterior of the space station. Astronauts inside the station or on the ground will be able to use the robot for routine tasks now done during spacewalks.
MSNBC has more information about Kibo, Dextre and the flight here and here.
Missions to the International Space Station are generating a host of astronaut profiles and interviews. Below are links to some of these stories.
ENDEAVOUR MISSION, MARCH 11
Astronauts Eager for Marathon Station Construction Flight
Space.com
Live in Houston: Endeavour crew details mission
Florida Today
Wadsworth man to go up in space
Michael Foreman
WKYC.COM
UNH Grad to fly on next shuttle mission
Rick Linnehan
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Japanese Astronaut to Help Deliver Nation’s First Station Module
Takao Doi
Space.com
CU alum joins shuttle mission
Takao Doi
Dailycamera.com
ATLANTIS MISSION, FEBRUARY 2008
Atlantis commander unlikely to ride again
Stephen Frick
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Air Force colonel back from Atlantis
Rex Walheim
InsideBayArea.com
Astronaut readjusting well after drama-filled mission
Dan Tani
Houston Chronicle
Local astronaut touches back down after mission
Alan Poindexter
Gulf Breeze News
NASA astronaut grateful for support from Lynchburg community
Leland Melvin
WDBJ7.com
OTHER MISSIONS
Nebraska astronaut down to earth
Clayton Anderson
Hastings Tribune
U.S. Senators from both sides of the aisle publicly questioned NASA’s strategy of relying on Russian transport to the International Space Station between the end of the shuttle program and the beginning of Orion and Ares, CongressDaily reports.
During a hearing last week, senators complained that President George Bush’s proposed $17.6 billion NASA budget would slow a transition that could already result in a years-long flight gap when the shuttle is retired in 2010. The concerns come amid worsening U.S.-Russian relations.
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin acknowledged that a risk exists but that this is the most reasonable strategy available. The U.S. will spend about $2 billion for Russia to provide Soyuz and Progress transportation vehicles to the station through 2012. Griffin had no estimate on how much four additional years of services might cost.
Meanwhile, there seemed to be general agreement that NASA needs a waiver from a U.S. law that would prevent it from purchasing services from Russia if the Russia government continues its support of Iran’s nuclear program.
The Indian government has appropriated an additional $200 million for development of the country’s nascent human spaceflight program, according to the Hindustan Times.
The funding provided to the Indian Space Research Organisation includes a near 24 percent increase to the Department of Space, the newspaper reported. Part of the allocation goes to the Indian Institute for Space Technology under construction near Thiruvananthapuram.
Robert Bigelow is planning to use the Atlas 5 rocket to launch tourists to his planned orbital space facility beginning in about 2011. The Las Vegas-based company is currently in negotiations with Denver-based United Launch Alliance to develop a human-rated of the Atlas rocket.
Space.com has the full story here.