NASA Makes a 360: Atlantis to Retire in 2008

I reported last month that NASA had decided that instead of originally retiring the space shuttle Atlantis in 2008, they changed their decision so it would retire in 2010 to ease the hectic burden off of Endeavour and Discovery. But NASA has made a complete U-Turn and in a recent manifest, have said that Atlantis will now retire in 2008.

Atlantis's last two mission will be STS-122, to add the Columbus Laboratory to the ISS and STS-125 will be a servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Rumors (let me stress rumors) suggest that this early retirement was so that NASA doesn't have to pay the workers of the United Space Alliance who help to maintain the shuttle and many other tasks. The money saved by the reduced labor costs would most likely be put forth for the Constellation Space Program. This rumor is suggest by many sources because there is a lack of a better reason for this early retirement.

Because Atlantis will be retired two years before its counterparts, Discovery and Endeavour, Atlantis will most likely stripped down for spare parts.

Image Credit: NASA

Date of Last Hubble Misison Set

September 10, 2008 will be the date for the last servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. The last service mission to Hubble, STS-125, will be performed by a seven person crew aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis during an 11-day mission. This servicing mission will repair and improve Hubble's abilities through 2013.

This date was finally set because NASA managers did not want to interfere shuttle launches with their plans to complete the International Space Station by 2010; the same time the space shuttle fleet is due to retire.NASA is deciding how to spread out the next few shuttle missions, because they want to complete the ISS, service Hubble for the last time, and accomplish as much as they can before the shuttles are sent into retirement.

"Image Above: The astronauts selected for the final shuttle mission to perform work on the Hubble Space Telescope pose for a group photo. From left to right are astronauts Megan McArthur, Michael Good, Gregory C. Johnson, Scott Altman, John Grunsfeld, Michael Massimino and Andrew Feustel. Image credit: NASA" -- NASA

ESA Considers Building a Shuttle of their Own

The European Space Agency (ESA) has held meetings a few meetings, with more to come this month, discussing possible plans to build a possible 'Space Shuttle' of their own. The ESA does not want to be fully dependant on NASA's Orion shuttle in the future. They want to be able to have a way to reach space; to deliver experiments, cargo, and conduct research on their own. And if any of NASA's vehicles fails, then the ESA wants to have a backup of their own so they don't face any delays.

ESA's future space vehicle might be an advanced version of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, or it might be a completely new model and concept.

Russia's Soyuz might be enhanced or
a new concept might be undertaken

The ESA has given about $24 million dollars (U.S) for the study, which is lead by Russia, but if plans for the space vehicle are approved in the future; the agency will have to shell out hundreds of millions more.

Original Article: BBC

It's Important to Land Space Shuttles in Florida

By: Astroversity

Last Friday, Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully landed at Edward’s Air Force Base in California. It was a textbook landing. The Shuttle was originally scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center a day earlier (Thursday), but due to bad weather, the landing was postponed. Then on Friday, the Space Shuttle had several chances to land, two at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the other opportunities at Edward’s Air Force base in California. As the shuttle orbited the Earth, bad weather persisted at the Kennedy Center and the Shuttle was unable to land there. Eventually, the Shuttle landed on a picture perfect day at Edward’s Air Force Base.

During Friday, the weather at Edward’s Air Force Base was perfect: no clouds, calm winds, and open for a landing at any time. The conditions at the Base were perfect for landing, so why didn’t the shuttle land there in the first place? The answer to that question is money.

The home and launch site for all of the shuttles is at the Kennedy Space Center. Therefore, when shuttles land at Edward’s Air Force Base in California, they eventually have to go back to the Space Center in Florida. At the Space Center, they are continually inspected, tested, refurbished, and are stored.

This ride back home does not come cheap. At $1.7 million, the shuttle has to be taken atop a modified jumbo jet, and flown back. Workers have to be paid, fuel has to be bought, and the major problem is time. Everything has to be organized and prepared. So much effort has to be put in to send the shuttle back to Florida – $1.7 million dollars worth of effort.

If the shuttle lands in Florida, then both time and money is saved. If the shuttle lands in Florida, then NASA will save $1.7 million dollars and can spend that saved money on things such as research, shuttle repairs, labor costs, and mission expenses. The cost to launch a Space Shuttle comes at the huge price of $450 million dollars per mission and NASA wants to save every penny to put ahead for future costs.

The Kennedy Space Center is where the shuttles are stored, processed, and launched. It is always best that they land there. As the old saying goes, there is no place like home.

Space Shuttle Atlantis to Retire in 2010

After completing a successful landing and completing mission STS-117, the Space Shuttle Atlantis has been announced to be retired in 2010.It was previously announced that Atlantis would be retired in September or October of 2008, but NASA managers have now decided to postpone that retirement date to 2010 so it can serve a couple of extra missions. Atlantis and its counterparts the Space Shuttle Discover and Endeavour, will all now be retired in 2010; with the closing of the Space Shuttle Program.

Image Credit: NASA Spaceflight
Original Source: NASA Spaceflight

Space Shuttle Atlantis Has Landed: Mission Summary

By: Astroversity

After landing successfully, the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis have faced problems, but at the same time, they have achieved many success during the STS-117 mission.

First, a small part of the shuttle's thermal blanket was discovered to have peeled off, but it was then repaired by a sewing kit with stainless steel wire by the astronauts. Then, Russian computers crashed aboard the International Space Station. These computers controlled the oxygen supply and the orientation of the ISS. These computers were then fixed by Russian Astronaut who used a cable to bypass a circuit board.

Image Credit: MSNBC

This mission also accomplished a lot. The Atlantis crew installed a new truss on the ISS, unfurled a new pair of solar arrays, and activated a rotating joint that would point the solar arrays toward the Sun.

When time came for landing on June 21 (Thursday) bad weather prevented landing, and today (Friday, June 22) the shuttle had five chances to land - two at Kennedy Space Center and 3 chances at Edward's Air Force Base in California.

Bad weather still continued to delay landing at the Kennedy Space Center, while conditions at Edwards Air Force Base are good for the shuttle to land. Flight managers finally decided that because bad weather continued at the Kennedy Space Center, they would take the first opportunity to land at Edward's Air Force Base. They then successfully landed at Edward's Air Force Base. Now STS-117 comes to an end.