International Space Station

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Endeavour Returns Home
Endeavour Returns Home

Endeavour Returns Home

Shuttle touches down a day early to beat Hurricane Dean

(Newser) - Endeavour landed safely in Florida this afternoon, a day earlier than planned. Damage sustained during launch didn't affect the space shuttle's return from its 13-day mission, and neither did Hurricane Dean, CNN reports. "Welcome back. You give new meaning to the term 'higher education,' " Mission Control told...

Endeavour Heads Home, Dodging Dean
Endeavour Heads Home, Dodging Dean

Endeavour Heads Home, Dodging Dean

Hurricane threat to Mission Control lessens, but shuttle leaves early

(Newser) - To a chorus of ringing bells, space shuttle Endeavour undocked today from the international space station, skipping out a day early because of fears Hurricane Dean could disrupt its landing operations. Even though revised predictions show the storm poses almost no threat to Houston and Mission Control, the AP reports,...

Storm Forces Shuttle Home Early
Storm Forces Shuttle Home Early

Storm Forces Shuttle Home Early

Astronauts wrap up early to reach Houston before Hurricane Dean

(Newser) - NASA managers worried about the wrath of Hurricane Dean have ordered shuttle Endeavour home a day earlier than planned, the AP reports. Astronauts wrapped up a space walk today and prepared for a trip that would leave tomorrow and land in Houston on Tuesday. One astronaut clearly saw the hurricane’...

Endeavour May Not Need Repair
Endeavour May Not Need Repair

Endeavour May Not Need Repair

Shuttle should be able to return to Earth safely

(Newser) - Repairs to the damaged heat shield on the space shuttle Endeavor may not be needed before the shuttle's return to Earth, NASA says, based on the first set of tests, completed yesterday. Program managers say they are "cautiously optimistic" that business-card-sized gash in Endeavour's thermal tiles shouldn't pose a...

Astronauts Look at Endeavour's Tummy Trouble

NASA examines gouge as flying foam invokes memories of Columbia

(Newser) - Endeavor’s crew gave NASA a better look at a wound on the space shuttle’s belly today, CNN reports. Astronauts used a robotic arm to photograph the three-inch gouge on the shuttle’s heat shield, a ding caused by a flying piece of foam during liftoff. NASA hopes the...

NASA Eyes Endeavor Damage
NASA Eyes Endeavor Damage

NASA Eyes Endeavor Damage

Engineers say ice chunk hit shuttle's underbelly, could endanger re-entry

(Newser) - Endeavour's astronauts finished their first spacewalk today by installing a 2-ton beam on the back of the international space station, the AP reports. Meanwhile NASA engineers inspected troubling images of a gash in shuttle Endeavour’s heat shield caused, they believe, by an ice chunk that flew off the fuel...

Shuttle Docks With Space Station
Shuttle Docks With Space Station

Shuttle Docks With Space Station

Endeavour checked for foam damage, mission control not worried

(Newser) - Shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station today after executing an orbital flip to allow the exterior of the craft to be photographed and examined for any damage sustained during liftoff. Three foam chunks detached from the shuttle during launch, and although some damage remains possible, mission managers say...

Shuttle to Dock With Station
Shuttle to Dock With Station

Shuttle to Dock With Station

First, the station's camera will inspect Endeavour for damage

(Newser) - The crew of the Endeavour spent most of yesterday checking their vessel for damage from insulation that broke off the fuel tank during the launch; today they will dock the shuttle with the International Space Station. First, the shuttle will flip around in front of the ISS so that the...

First Teacher Rockets to Space
First Teacher Rockets to Space

First Teacher Rockets to Space

Endeavour launches without a hitch 21 years after McAuliffe tragedy

(Newser) - Former schoolteacher Barbara Morgan safely reached space last night when the shuttle Endeavour rocketed through a problem-free launch. Ten minutes after its evening blastoff, the shuttle was orbiting 140 miles above the Earth in preparation for docking with the International Space Station tomorrow. Morgan is the first astronaut teacher since...

US Teacher Headed for Space
US Teacher Headed
for Space

US Teacher Headed for Space

NASA readies educator 21 years after Challenger disaster

(Newser) - NASA is sending another schoolteacher into space, 21 years after the Challenger disaster killed educator Christa McAuliffe. Barbara Morgan, a former Idaho schoolteacher and now a fully trained astronaut, will spend most of the trip transferring cargo to the International Space Station and about six hours on educational pursuits. When...

NASA Admits Sabotage, Drunk Astronauts

Agency says hard stuff not right stuff, vows to launch action

(Newser) - NASA promised immediate action today on embarrassing reports of an intentionally damaged computer and inebriated astronauts. An administrator said an internal safety review, staff briefing on new policy, and official 12-hour pre-flight ban on alcohol would follow an independent panel’s finding of “heavy” alcohol use by astronauts before...

Astronaut Takes Out the Trash, Into Space

Discarded equipment expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere

(Newser) - A NASA astronaut hurled two large pieces of space junk—a 1,400-pound reservoir filled with ammonia and a 212-pound piece of video equipment—off the International Space Station and into the Earth's orbit today. NASA does not approve of space littering, Reuters reports, but the agency had no other...

Atlantis Hitches Ride to Florida
Atlantis Hitches Ride to Florida

Atlantis Hitches Ride to Florida

Shuttle leaves California for home, mounted on a 747

(Newser) - The space shuttle Atlantis set off to return to Florida from its emergency landing site in California today—strapped to a jumbo jet. The Boeing 747 carrying Atlantis departed from the Mojave Desert Air Base and will stop to refuel along its trip at undisclosed locations. It's expected to arrive...

Atlantis Detours, Lands in Calif.
Atlantis Detours, Lands in Calif.

Atlantis Detours, Lands in Calif.

Space shuttle, 7 astronauts return after Fla. weather forces change of plans

(Newser) - The Atlantis space shuttle landed in California this afternoon, touching down at Edwards Air Force Base after weather forced a 1-day delay and a detour from Florida. The craft's signature twin sonic booms reverberated from San Diego to Los Angeles before the shuttle glided to a stop in the Mojave...

Atlantis Heads Home
Atlantis Heads Home

Atlantis Heads Home

13-day mission concludes; rain may delay landing in Florida

(Newser) - Space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station today and set out on the final leg of its 13-day mission. The seven astronauts' final preparations for landing included making sure the craft's heat shield was ready to re-enter the atmosphere before landing Thursday—or later if the weather doesn't...

Space Station Computers Fail, Air Supply Threatened

Crew not in immediate danger; shuttle may have to head home early

(Newser) - The Russian computers that control the international space station's air supply, water and orientation are down, the AP reports. The unprecedented failure could lengthen the current shuttle mission, or, at worst, force the crew to come home early, but there is no immediate danger. "We have plenty of resources,...

Shuttle Docks at Space Station
Shuttle Docks at Space Station

Shuttle Docks at Space Station

(Newser) - The Atlantis docked with the international space station today, bringing with it a segment to be added to the station and the newest member of its crew. The arrival was marred by concern about a piece of thermal blanket on the shuttle that peeled back during launch;  ground control...

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