Thu, Jan 28, 2010
13 Day Mission Is First Of The Final Five
Space shuttle Endeavour is set to begin a 13-day flight to the
International Space Station with a February 7 launch from NASA's
Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is planned for 0439 EST,
making this the final scheduled space shuttle night launch.
Endeavour's launch date was announced Wednesday at the
conclusion of a flight readiness review at Kennedy. During the
meeting, senior NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks
associated with the mission and determined the shuttle's equipment,
support systems and procedures are ready. Endeavour's flight will
begin the final year of space shuttle operations. Five shuttle
missions are planned in 2010, with the last flight currently
targeted for launch in September.
Endeavour's mission will include three spacewalks and the
delivery of the Tranquility node, the final module of the U.S.
portion of the space station. Tranquility will provide additional
room for crew members and many of the space station's life support
and environmental control systems. Attached to the node is a
cupola, which houses a robotic control station and has seven
windows to provide a panoramic view of Earth, celestial objects and
visiting spacecraft. After the node and cupola are added, the
orbiting laboratory will be about 90 percent complete.
Commander George Zamka and his crew of five astronauts are
scheduled to arrive at Kennedy at approximately 10 p.m. on Tuesday,
Feb. 2, for final launch preparations. Joining Zamka on STS-130 are
Pilot Terry Virts and Mission Specialists Kathryn Hire, Stephen
Robinson, Nicholas Patrick and Robert Behnken. Virts will be making
his first trip to space. Patrick, who holds a doctorate in
mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, is sending updates about his training to his Twitter
account. He plans to tweet from orbit during the mission.
STS-130 will be Endeavour's 24th mission and the 33rd shuttle
flight dedicated to station assembly and maintenance.
FMI: www.nasa.gov/shuttle
More News
Airbus Racer Demonstrator Makes Inaugural Flight Airbus Helicopters' ambitious Racer demonstrator has achieved its inaugural flight as part of the Clean Sky 2 initiative, a corners>[...]
A little Bit Quieter, Said Testers, But in the End it's Still a DA40 Diamond Aircraft recently completed a little pilot project with Lufthansa Aviation Training, putting a pair of >[...]
Line Up And Wait (LUAW) Used by ATC to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. It is used when takeoff clearance >[...]
Contributing To The Accident Was The Pilot’s Use Of Methamphetamine... Analysis: The pilot departed on a local flight to perform low-altitude maneuvers in a nearby desert val>[...]
From 2015 (YouTube Version): Overcoming Obstacles To Achieve Their Dreams… At EAA AirVenture 2015, FedEx arrived with one of their Airbus freight-hauling aircraft and placed>[...]
Airbus Racer Helicopter Demonstrator First Flight Part of Clean Sky 2 Initiative
See All