Shuttle Discovery leaves space station, heads for Earth

Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery embarked Saturday on their journey back to Earth after undocking from the International Space Station (ISS), NASA said.

The shuttle, after its delicate detachment from the outpost at 8:52 am (1252 GMT), completed an over 90-minute fly around of the station to take photos of the complex before heading on its deorbit flight path, the US space agency said on its website.

The crew will end their 14-day mission on Monday, officials said, with an expected landing at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8:51 am (1251 GMT).

It has been a landmark mission in space exploration in a number of different ways: the first shuttle trip with three female crew members, who joined four male astronauts on the flight, and when they arrived at the ISS, it was the first time four women were in orbit at the same time.

The mission also marked the first time there were two Japanese astronauts in space at once, with Discovery mission specialist Naoko Yamazaki joining Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, who arrived at the station on December 22.

Discovery and its crew delivered nearly eight tonnes of cargo, including spare bunks for the occupants of the space station, a large tank of ammonia coolant and seven racks filled with science experiments.

Among the gear hauled into space was a freezer to preserve samples of blood, urine, saliva, plants or microbes used in micro-gravity experiments for later analysis back on Earth.

The shuttle also brought up to the ISS an exercise machine designed to study the effects of weightlessness on the body's musculoskeletal system. Muscles can atrophy during long sojourns in space so astronauts have to exercise regularly.

During the shuttle's stay at the orbiting outpost, US President Barack Obama visited Kennedy Space Center to set a bold new course for the future of space travel ahead of the 30-year-shuttle fleet's retirement at the end of this year.

Among the goals set for the US space effort, Obama on Thursday announced plans to send US astronauts into the orbit of Mars within the next three decades.

He also sought to quell a storm of outrage caused by earlier administration plans, vowing before NASA staff that he was "100 percent committed" to their mission and to the future of the US space agency.

"I believe that space exploration is not a luxury, it's not an afterthought in America's quest for a brighter future. It is an essential part of that quest," he said.

Just three more space flights remain for shuttles Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour, with a launch to the ISS in September scheduled to be the last of 134 total flights for the program before the three remaining orbiters are retired. The first shuttle flew in April 1981.

After the shuttle fleet is grounded, US astronauts will be left to hitch rides on Russian spacecraft to the orbiting station until a replacement program is developed.

The ISS, which orbits 220 miles (350 kilometers) above Earth, is a 100-billion-dollar project begun in 1998 with the participation of 16 countries, financed mainly by the United States.

Celebrating The ISS And Preparing For The Future

Now that the International Space Station is fully operational, the programme partners will gather in Berlin on 19-21 April to discuss the successes and potential of this unique international cooperation.

The International Space Station (ISS) is now almost complete and capable of housing a crew of six astronauts. At times, more than 12 people can work aboard.

One of the most ambitious international projects ever and the largest spacecraft to orbit our planet is ready for at least 10 more years of productive operations.

The Station's success stories will be presented during a three-day symposium at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin beginning 19 April. International speakers will discuss their achievements, the lessons learnt and current projects. The gathering has been convened by ESA Director of Human Spaceflight, Simonetta Di Pippo, on behalf of the ISS international partners.

The speakers of the symposium will include several astronauts, high-level representatives of the participating space agencies and major players from the industry. The keynote speaker on the first day is Nobel Prize laureate Prof. Samuel Ting. Prof Ting is leader of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a cosmology experiment for capturing the cosmic ray particles for better understanding of the origins of the Universe and the biggest scientific experiment designed for the ISS. Professor Ting will speak about a subject close to his research: the value of the ISS for science.

The first expedition crew, William Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, who opened a new era in international cooperation by moving into the Station 10 years ago, will also reunite, for the first time, during the symposium.

'ISS for you: citizens first'

The slogan of the symposium reflects the importance of the International Space Station to humankind in general. It is this century's first concrete example of peaceful cooperation, uniting 14 nations.

Benefiting from uninterrupted weightlessness and a privileged vantage point on Earth, the Universe and the space environment, its research facilities cover a wide range of fundamental and applied fields, affecting our daily lives on Earth. It is also a unique testbed to prepare advanced concepts for future exploration missions.

ISS is a classroom in space, inspiring new generations. From it, we can see the fragility of our home planet and the vastness of the Universe. It is at the final frontier, inviting us to explore, learn and use.

As the symposium will show, the Station is benefiting us all.

Third STS-131 Spacewalk Completed

Image comment: STS-131 astronauts are seen here as they were trying to affix an old ammonia tank to the payload bay of space shuttle Discovery

Image credits: NASA TV

Earlier today, two STS-131 mission specialists stepped out of the International Space Station's (ISS) Quest airlock, to conduct the third and final spacewalk in their schedule. NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Clayton Anderson each performed the sixth extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of their careers, and they managed to successfully complete all the major chores allotted to them. They successfully replaced a large, old ammonia tank on the outer hull of the ISS with a new one and then deposited the old one back into the payload bay of space shuttle Discovery.

Their sortie began at 2:14 am (0614 GMT) and was originally programmed to last for about six and a half hours. However, the two hit an obstacle in their efforts when Mission Control announced them that one of the valves on the four hoses they had just installed appeared to be stuck. The hoses transport liquid ammonia coolant to the tank and are essential for maintaining proper temperature levels on the ISS. As experts on the ground struggled to fix the glitch on their end, Mastracchio and Anderson had their own problems with installing the old ammonia tank in the orbiter's payload.

A stubborn bolt gave them some trouble, which was nothing new. In the previous two STS-131 EVA, the astronauts encountered other instances in which bolts would not budge. They needed to use prybars and even brute force at times to get them loose. This instance was different in the sense that the small metal piece was misaligned. Therefore, the two astronauts needed to unscrew another bolt, align the entire plate properly, and then affix them all back into place. After they completed this chore, they removed some unneeded aluminum coverings from the outer hull of the orbital facility. This task was originally planned for their second EVA, but delays made them leave this job for today.

“We have two roll-over tasks that were originally planned as part of [the second spacewalk] that are going to be added to the front end. After they do that, they'll go on and essentially proceed with the remainder of [the third spacewalk], in large part what was planned pre-flight,” explained Mike Sarafin, the Lead Shuttle Flight Director at NASA. As the astronauts were working outside, their colleagues inside the ISS continued the task of unloading some of the 17,000 pounds (7,711 kilograms) of supplies from the newly-arrived MPLM (Multi-Purpose Logistics Module) Leonardo. Completely unloading the container will take a few more days, NASA officials announce, quoted by Space.

13 astronauts celebrate 2 big space anniversaries

The nose and forward cabin of the Space Shuttle Discovery is featured in this image photographed by a spacewalker during the mission's second spacewalk, in this image from NASA taken April 11, 2010.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The astronauts aboard the orbiting shuttle-station complex celebrated two big anniversaries Monday as they geared up for the third and final spacewalk of their mission.

And the world was treated to the first recital of traditional Japanese music and poetry in space.

Monday marked the 49th anniversary of the first human spaceflight — by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961 — and the 29th anniversary of the first shuttle launch.

In honor of Russia's Cosmonauts Day, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the residents of the International Space Station to wish them well. Three are Russian, two are American and one is Japanese.

"Space is something that unites all of us. It's a global issue," Medvedev told them.

He added: "Space is our highest priority, regardless of how hard the economic situation was in the country and will be, I'm sure."

Later in the morning, the two Japanese on board — the space station'sSoichi Noguchi and visiting shuttle astronaut Naoko Yamazaki — took a call from Japanese dignitaries and schoolchildren in Tokyo.

This is the first time two Japanese astronauts have flown together in space.

Yamazaki shared a haiku — or Japanese poem — she wrote after seeing Earth for the first time from space. Then, with Noguchi accompanying her on an electric keyboard, she performed a Japanese folk music springtime piece, "Sakura Sakura," which translates as "Cherry Blossom." Noguchi opened the piece with a few notes on a traditional wooden flute.

"This is probably the first time that you are going to hear the historic performance from space," Noguchi said.

The recital took place in Japan's big science lab, Kibo, or Hope.

Yamazaki will depart the space station Saturday, along with her six U.S. shuttle colleagues.

One more spacewalk still needs to be conducted to finish installing a new ammonia tank, on Tuesday. The astronauts will place a big cargo carrier back aboard Discovery on Thursday, after it's stuffed with old equipment and trash. Then on Friday, the shuttle will be inspected for any signs of micrometeorite damage.

This survey of the shuttle wings and nose usually is conducted after undocking. But Discovery's main antenna is broken, and there would be no way to transmit all the laser 3-D images to Mission Control for analysis.NASA added a day to the shuttle's visit so the inspection could be carried out at the station and the data could be sent using station resources.

Shuttle inspections became mandatory in space following the 2003 Columbia disaster.

Columbia lifted off on the first shuttle flight on April 12, 1981.

Source:- http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Discovery astronauts complete second spacewalk

In this image provided by NASA-TV astronauts Rick Mastracchio, left, and Clay Anderson work on the International Space Station early Sunday morning April 11, 2010. Mastracchio and Anderson earlier had trouble bolting down the new ammonia tank assebly on the sprawling framework that serves as the backbone of the space station. The 215-mile-high action unfolded on the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13. (AP Photo/NASA)

Expedition 23 crew members share a meal at the galley in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station. Pictured from the left are Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov, commander; Mikhail Kornienko, flight engineer, and Alexander Skvortsov, Soyuz commander and flight engineer. Image Credit: NASA

Two astronauts from the US shuttle Discovery completed Sunday a second spacewalk as part of efforts to replace a depleted ammonia coolant tank outside the International Space Station.

Mission specialists Rick Mastracchio and Clay Anderson finished their seven-hour, 26-minute walk in open space at 8:56 am EDT (1256 GMT), after installing a new ammonia tank on a space station truss, NASA officials said.

Due to a "troublesome bolt," NASA said the walkers ran out of time and were unable to complete all their scheduled work, including retrieving two micrometeoroid debris shields that were to return to Earth.

The spacewalk -- on the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13, the famously aborted 1970 mission to the moon -- was the second of the three scheduled walks for this mission, and was the 142nd in service of the orbiting outpost's construction.

During the first spacewalk on Friday, Anderson and Mastracchio retrieved an experiment from the Japanese Kibo Laboratory on the station's porch and replaced a Rate Gyro Assembly, part of the station's navigation system.

The final spacewalk of the mission is scheduled for Tuesday.

The Discovery, which blasted off from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida on Monday, docked on Thursday with the International Space Station.

Eight tonnes of supplies, gear and racks of science experiments were transferred from the shuttle to the space station in an Italian-made module known as Leonardo.

Besides the replacement ammonia tank, the gear included a freezer to preserve samples of blood, urine, saliva, plants or microbes used in micro-gravity experiments for later analysis back on Earth.

Meanwhile, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced Saturday that Discovery's mission had been extended by an extra 24 hours for routine heat shield inspections.

Landing was now scheduled for Monday, April 19, at 1254 GMT (8:54 am local time) to cap what will be a 14-day mission.

"Since Discovery's Ku-Band communications system is not functioning correctly, the space station's Ku system will transmit the heat shield video and laser scan to Mission Control for imagery experts to analyze," NASA said in a statement.

Discovery's Ku-Band system has been down since the shuttle reached orbit April 5.

Normally the shield inspection is done before reentry but after undocking from the ISS. It is aimed at making sure heat shields have not been damaged by space debris or small meteorites.

The shuttle's heat shield is subjected to temperatures as high as 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,732 Fahrenheit) due to friction on reentry.

Workshop Highlights Advantages of Orbital Refueling

Image comment: The Canadarm2 (seen here with its Dextre maintenance robot attached) could be used for orbital refueling
Image credits: NASA

Though many people might not know this, we currently have the technology to perform in-orbit repairs on satellites, and also to refuel them as they go. The best example of this is the Hubble Space Telescope, one of the more renowned satellites in the world, which has thus far received five servicing missions, all of them conducted by NASA space shuttles. Being able to use platforms such as the International Space Station (ISS) for refueling could boost our orbital capabilities, but senior officials and government representatives need to acknowledge that this is possible, Space reports.

This is the conclusion of a new workshop that was held at the University of Maryland University College in Adelphi, between March 24-26. The event, which was sponsored by the NASA Goddard Space Flight center (GSFC), united numerous space and aeronautics experts in the same room. It also allowed the specialists to devise potential plans for seeing orbital refueling becoming a reality relatively soon. “It's pretty clear. The time for study is over. We have now got to move forward,” the GSFC Space Service Capabilities Office Deputy Associate Director, Frank Cepollina, says.

What NASA plans to do is essentially demonstrate that refueling processes can be conducted in orbit autonomously, without too much human intervention. For example, at the workshop, many said that satellites might benefit from the aid of the Canadarm2, one of the robotic arms aboard the orbital facility that was constructed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Experts say that existing spacecraft may benefit from the refueling system as well, and not only those built specifically for this purpose. At this point, the feasibility and potential costs of in-orbit satellite servicing are being assessed in a new scientific study, whose results will be presented to the Congress in September.

“We are trying to develop the dexterity of robots to fix spacecraft so they can continue to do their jobs. You would never buy a car that was not repairable, why should we buy a satellite that's not?” Cepollina, who has been the lead engineer for the repair missions destined for Hubble, adds. The challenge is to include spacecraft that revolve around the planet in geosynchronous orbits in the new plan. These machines travel some 14,000 kilometers above the surface of the planet, whereas the ISS orbits at much lower altitudes.

First Discovery Spacewalk Ends in Success

Image comment: Spacewalker Rick Mastracchi, an STS-131 mission specialist, is seen exiting the Quest airlock on the ISS, before beginning the first EVA of the mission

Image credits: NASA TV

After more than 6 and a half hours of working outside of the International Space Station (ISS), two NASA astronauts managed to successfully complete the chores they were entrusted with. Now, back inside the orbital facility, shuttle mission specialists Rick Mastracchio and Clayton Anderson boast having moved a new, massive ammonia tank from Discovery's payload bay to a new location on the international lab. The tank will remain there provisionally, as the old one is removed, Space reports.

The extra-vehicular activity (EVA) was not without issues, NASA Mission Control experts say. At one point, the bulky tank got stuck inside the payload bay, and the two astronauts had to use a pry bar to get it to move. After this obstacle was cleared, everything went on smoothly, and that cargo was secured to its provisional docking site. During the next two EVA planned as part of the STS-131 mission, the same two spacewalkers will remove one of the old ammonia tanks from the station, and will place it in the orbiter's bay. Afterwards, the new piece of equipment will be secured at its permanent location.

These tanks are of vital importance for the ISS' thermal control system. They are very large containers, weighing about 1,700 pounds, or 771 kilograms, and are filled with the toxic chemical. In the particular conditions on the orbital facility, the substance acts as a coolant, helping maintain a constant temperature aboard. Once the old, depleted tank is returned to NASA, engineers at the agency will start refurbishing the component, and will then fill it back again, in case it is needed back on the station. Also during the first EVA, the two astronauts removed a Japanese science experiment from the outer hull of the ISS, and replaced a damaged sensor.

“Outside the station, the first spacewalk is going on. Inside the station, we moved four racks from MPLM [the Multi Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo] to ISS. Big moving day!” twittered JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who is a member of the Expedition 23 crew aboard the outpost. After today's work, the 13 astronauts currently in orbit will rest for a bit, ahead of Sunday's second planned EVA, also featuring Mastracchio and Anderson. The two have just performed their fourth spacewalk. Once the current mission is over, they will have performed six each.

Astronauts take 1st spacewalk of shuttle mission

In this image made from video and released by NASA, astronauts Rick Mastracchio, center, is seen preparing the external stowage platform on the International Space Station for the new ammonia tank during the first spacewalk on the International Space Station, Friday April 9, 2010. It will take three spacewalks to complete the job. (AP Photo/NASA)

Two astronauts from the shuttle Discovery began a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk Friday, working on an ammonia tank on the outside of the International Space Station, NASA said.

Mission specialists Clayton Anderson and Rick Mastracchio left the shuttle's airlock at 0531 GMT for the first of three space walks during the 13-day mission to resupply the space station.

Mastracchio, the lead spacewalker, was seen in images beamed to Earth working on an ammonia tank on the outside of the space station, which will be replaced with a new tank. The ammonia is used in the space station's cooling system.

They will also retrieve a science experiment from a Japanese laboratory facility on the station's porch.

The Discovery, which blasted off from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida on Monday, docked on Thursday with the International Space Station.

Eight tons of supplies, gear and racks of science experiments were transferred from the shuttle to the space station in an Italian-made module known as Leonardo.

Besides the replacement ammonia tank, the gear included a freezer to preserve samples of blood, urine, saliva, plants or microbes used in micro-gravity experiments for later analysis back on Earth.

earlier related report
Discovery unloads supplies for space station
Washington (AFP) April 7, 2010 - The Discovery crew began to deliver supplies to the International Space Station on Thursday and prepared for the mission's first spacewalk a day after the US space shuttle docked with the orbiting station.

Discovery astronauts opened the hatch to unload the Italian-made Leonardo Multi Purpose Logistics Module to start the transfer some eight tonnes of science racks and other supplies into the space station, a job that will take several days, NASA said.

Discovery's Clayton Anderson and Soichi Noguchi opened the hatch to the "moving van" at around 1200 GMT.

American Stephanie Wilson and Japanese Naoko Yamazaki operated the ISS robot arm to extract the Leonardo and attach it to the Harmony node around 0430 GMT.

Discovery had carried the scientific equipment along with extra sleeping quarters to the ISS.

Other gear hauled into space included a freezer to preserve samples of blood, urine, saliva, plants or microbes used in micro-gravity experiments for later analysis back on Earth.

Discovery is also carrying an exercise machine designed to study the effects of weightlessness on the body's musculoskeletal system. Muscles can atrophy during long sojourns in space so astronauts have to exercise regularly.

The astronauts bunked down later and prepared for the mission's first spacewalk at 0541 GMT Friday.

The Discovery crew was welcomed with hugs and handshakes Wednesday aboard the International Space Station after a successful docking high over the Caribbean.

It marked the first time ever that four women were in orbit together, as well as the first time two Japanese astronauts were in space at the same time.

Discovery blasted off Monday from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida in a launch marred only by the failure of an antenna used to transmit television pictures back to Earth that also is part of its radar docking system.

The 13-day mission is one of the last before the US shuttle fleet is retired at the end of this year after 30 years of service.

The International Space Station, a 100-billion-dollar project begun in 1998 with the participation of 16 countries, is financed mainly by the United States.

Once the shuttle program ends, the United States will depend on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to ferry their astronauts to the station until a new US launch vehicle is ready to take over around 2015.

Studying Coronal Mass Ejections in More Depth

Image comment: Image extracted from a CME eruption simulation, run at the University of California in Berkeley
Image credits: NRL / UCB

As our Sun is beginning to wake up from its prolonged period of solar minimum, researchers are again starting to take interest in the possible effects that this awakening may have on our planet. Earth itself is at no risk from these outbursts of hot, ionized gas from the star, but everything that operates with electricity is. Understanding the nature of coronal mass ejections (CME), and also that of the other phenomena associated with it, might help scientists devise better methods of taking care of Earth's satellites and power grids.

In addition, astrophysicists may learn more about the intricate phenomena going on inside the Sun, just under its surface. These mechanisms are the ones that promote the formation of these CME, which can have numerous “side-effects.” Some of these associated events include solar flares, eruptive prominences, coronal waves and post-eruptive arcades. Most of these phenomena in turn trigger the release of various forms of radiation, which are then spread throughout the solar system. Naturally, some of them also hit our planet, PhysOrg reports.

Fortunately, Earth is surrounded by a protective shield of sorts, a layer of the atmosphere called the magnetosphere. Its main role is to deflect incoming solar radiation, but the problem is that it does not protect our satellites, and the International Space Station (ISS). Given how much we rely on satellite communications, transmissions, and that six astronauts permanently inhabit the ISS, it stands to reason that losing our orbital capabilities would have far-reaching consequences. This is why predicting space weather has become so important over the past few years.

A new CME study is currently being carried out by a team of physicists at the US Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Space Science Division. The group wants to learn more about potential spacecraft anomalies and communication interruptions that events associated with CME might trigger. Establishing the composition of the ejections is one of the most important steps. Physicists say that this knowledge could help us determine how the events occur, and also how they propagate through interplanetary space.

Astronauts hoist cargo carrier onto space station

This image provided by NASA shows a front-on, 800mm view of the top part of Discovery's cabin as a shuttle crew member waves, top right, provided by one of the Expedition 23 crew members onboard the International Space Station Wednesday April 7, 2010. The shuttle was in the midst of a back-flip, performed to enable the station's cameras to survey it for possible damage.

The International Space Station has a new walk-in closet.

Space shuttle Discovery's astronauts lifted the 13-ton cargo carrier from the payload bay late Wednesday and attached it to the space station early Thursday. About half of that mass represents science experiments and supplies, as well as a new bedroom and freezer. NASA says the sleeping compartment may be turned into a powder room, where space station residents can take sponge baths and clean up.

The Italian-built cargo carrier - named Leonardo after Signor da Vinci - will return to Earth filled with trash and old equipment. Then it will be beefed up and flown back up in September as a permanent storage unit for the space station. That will be the last shuttle flight.

NASA Is Creating a New Breed of Robots

Image comment: NASA also collaborates with the private sector for its robots. Seen here is Robonaut2, a project the agency developed in cooperation with General Motors

Image credits: NASA

Although Project Constellation, the American space agency's approach to returning human astronauts to the Moon, appears to have failed, NASA says that space exploration will not only continue, but also accelerate in the near future. For this very purpose, engineers are currently working hard on developing a new class of explorations robots that may replace fragile instruments such as existing rovers and orbiters. The mechanical explorers of the future will have multiple abilities, and will endure for longer, despite the harsh conditions they are expected to find at their respective destinations, Space reports.

The new plan NASA has for space exploration, while sacking the “manned” portion, is more daring than ever. The agency plans to send robots to the Moon and Mars, the stated goals of the US space program, but also to a host of near-Earth objects (NEO). All of this will be done in the near future, with the express purpose of paving the way for human explorers to come. The 2011 budget proposal US President Barack Obama set forth this year features funding for two such missions.

One of those missions will begin next year, and will focus on giving experts in Earth-based control centers, or on the International Space Station (ISS), the ability to control robotic expeditions on the Moon. While they're at it, experts hope to test groundbreaking new technologies on our planet's natural satellite, such as mining water-ice. This resource could allow for the production of, well, water, oxygen for artificial air, hydrogen fuel for rockets and so on. All of this could be done automatically, so that incoming astronauts would find an already-established based when they arrive.

“Trying to do mining operations autonomously in a remote location and under extremely difficult conditions represents a huge challenge. But we're up to the task,” says NASA In-Situ Resource Utilization Project manager, Gerald Sanders. “The area where NASA could perhaps lead – an area which could affect society greatly – is robotics. NASA is doing amazing things in both robotics and human exploration assisted by all kinds of autonomous systems,” adds the new technology guru at NASA, Robert Braun. He is a robotics expert and an aerospace engineer, who over the years provided valuable insight for the teams constructing Mars-bound landers and rovers.

STS-131: Discovery closing in on ISS docking

Discovery is continuing to close the gap between herself and the International Space Station (ISS) for a Flight Day 3 rendezvous that will result in docking at 02:44am Central time. Bar the Ku band failure, Discovery is in great shape, and enjoyed a nominal ascent on Monday morning, according to opening MMT (Mission Management Team) reviews – which included one early debris event, relating to a potential tile liberation from the Rudder Speed Brake (RSB).

STS-131 Status:

Despite the loss of the Ku band Forward and Return links, Flight Day 2’s opening inspections of Discovery’s Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) and Thermal Protection System (TPS), were completed within a nominal timeline.

Engineers on the ground followed the process via still images sent down on the S-Band link, while the Damage Assessment Team (DAT) will start their review once around six tapes – each containing several gigabytes of converted video footage – is downlinked to the ground via the ISS’ Ku assets.

Other tasks completed included EMU checkouts for the three EVAs of the mission, the Orbiter Docking System (ODS) centerline camera installation, NC-3 rendezvous OMS engine firing, and the ODS (Orbiter Docking System) extension and rendezvous tools checkout – prior to crew sleep, which began at 11:21 Central on Tuesday morning.

Flight Day 3 begins with crew wakeup scheduled for 19:21 Central, followed by several burns – including the TI burn scheduled for 00:08 Central time. Discovery and her crew will arrive below the ISS for the initiation of the R-bar Pitch Maneuver (RPM) at around 01:42 Central.

The RPM – Rbar denoting along the radius vector of the ISS, downward – allows the ISS crew to perform a high resolution photo survey of the lower surface TPS tiles to screen for ascent debris damage.

The nine minute maneuver – which involves the orbiter being commanded through a 360 degree back-flip – was debuted on STS-114’s Return To Flight mission, following months of planning by shuttle experts at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and has been hailed as one of the major steps forward in ensuring the health of an orbiter prior to clearance being given for re-entry.

Opening DAT item of interest:

Even without the vast amount of imagery that would nominally be flooding down into the DAT office by now, the highly efficient team have still managed to clear several areas of the orbiter already.

“Full Coverage and Cleared Items: Starboard T0. Port OMS Black Tile Region. Starboard OMS Black Tile Region. Starboard Upper Carrier Panels 1, 5-9, 13-22. Port Upper Carrier Panels 1-13, 18-19, 21-22. Starboard Lower Carrier Panels 3, 6, 8-22. Port Lower Carrier Panels 1-6, 12-22,” noted a Tuesday DAT presentation – available on L2.

“TPS Items Missed/Partial Coverage but will be Picked up During RPM: Lower Starboard Carrier Panels 1-7. Lower Port Carrier Panels 7-11. Upper Starboard Carrier Panels 2-4, 10-12. Upper Port Carrier Panels 14-17, 20.

“TPS Items Requiring Look at Downloaded Video after Docking: Starboard Forward Fuselage. Port T0. Port Forward Fuselage.”

Ascent footage has also resulted in the first item of interest for evaluation, relating to what appears to be a liberation from the RSB, observed at 42 seconds into flight – as the vehicle was going supersonic.

“Debris event during accent at 42.229 MET (Mission Elapsed Time) from port upper RSB trailing edge. Appears to be tile loss,” added the DAT presentation which provided several slides on the RSB event.

“RPM imagery may provide some detail from aft views. Identified station assets with access to damage site. Two cameras have visibility to area.”

With RPM footage scheduled to arrive on the ground during Wednesday morning, a full evaluation of the area will be conducted by DAT.

They will also have a potential view of the liberation via the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) cameras that face aft during ascent. Footage will be available once the recording devices have been removed from the recovered boosters later this week.

“SRB Retrieval Status: Liberty Star and Freedom Star are in tow and expected at the dock Wednesday at 0800 and 1000 EDT respectively,” noted the NASA Test Director (NTD) report on L2. “Open Assessment is expected to begin on Thursday at 0700 EDT.”

It is unlikely a tile liberation on the RSB would be a problem for entry, given they are mainly used to provide ascent heating protection.

Opening Ascent Report:

The veteran orbiter’s performance during ascent was completely nominal, per the opening ascent report – one of several reports which review the propulsion systems used for the eight and a half minute ride to orbit.

“The STS-131 mission was launched at 095/10:21:24.992 GMT on April 5, 2010, on the thirty-third Space Shuttle Program (SSP) mission to the ISS, and the 38th flight of the OV-103 (Discovery) vehicle,” noted the ascent report (L2).

“SRB separation was visible. A nominal Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) assist maneuver was performed following SRB separation. Ignition occurred at 095/10:23:41.0 GMT (00/00:02:16.0 Mission Elapsed Time (MET)), and cutoff for the maneuver was 095/10:25:25.6 (00/00:04:00.6 MET). The maneuver was 104.6 sec in duration.

“MECO occurred at 095/10:29:49 GMT (00/00:08:24 MET). The ET separated from the Orbiter at 095/10:30:10 GMT (00/00:08:45 MET).”

Once on orbit, Discovery continued to perform well, bar a transducer on the Main Propulsion System (MPS) Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) inlet pressure measurement failing Off Scale Low (OSL). This issue holds no mission impact.

“A nominal OMS-2 maneuver was performed at 095/10:58:39.6 GMT (00/00:37:15.6 MET). The maneuver was a dual engine firing that was 128.4 sec in duration with a differential velocity (ΔV) of 196.9 ft/sec. The achieved orbit was 31.6 by 123.6 nmi,” the report continued.

“Just prior to Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) 3 start, the MPS LH2 inlet pressure measurement began behaving erratically at 095/10:21:15 GMT and eventually went to Off-Scale Low (OSL) (on orbit). The loss of these data remains no concern for the remainder of the flight.

“The payload bay doors were opened at 095/11:52:01 GMT (00/01:30:36 MET). The Ku-Band antenna was deployed and the self-test was performed. The approval for On-Orbit operations was given the crew at 095/11:53 GMT (00/01:32 MET).”

This article will be updated during the Flight Day, with another article outlining the specifics of the Fuel Cell 2 and Ku Band MER (Mission Evaluation Room) findings.

Source:- http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/04/sts-131-discovery-iss-rsb-liberation-during-ascent/

Flying Through an Aurora at More Than 17,000 MPH

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi has always served up amazing images via his Twitter account, but his latest is worth special note. The International Space Station resident took a long-exposure shot of an aurora in the Earth's atmosphere.

Auroras are natural light shows that result from solar wind particles flowing down toward the planet's poles. The Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, takes place in the northern hemisphere.

"Fly through Aurora at 28,000kmh. Happy 1,000 tweets :-)" Noguchi tweeted today.

Noguchi has gained even more photo opportunities with the addition of an observation deck to the space station back in February. But when he's not roaming around with camera in hand, he has also proved one skillful sushi chef in microgravity.

NASA Sets Discovery's Launch Date for April 5

A few days ago, as engineers at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Cape Canaveral, Florida, were conducting tests on space shuttle Discovery, they noticed some problems with a number of valves, which appeared unable to close when commanded to do so. Manual overrides did the job, and so the team set out to investigate the cause of the malfunction. But mission managers had no way of knowing how long this was going to take, and so the orbiter's launch date was doubtful. A meeting that took place yesterday cleared the last remaining concerns, Space reports.

According to officials at NASA, the space shuttle is fit to fly on its originally-planned date of April 5, after engineers gave the go-ahead. The new flight, STS-131, will be the first of the final series of space flights the aging shuttle fleet is scheduled to perform. Only five missions to the International Space Station (ISS) were scheduled for 2010, and Endeavor already completed one earlier this year, when it delivered the Tranquility module and the seven-windowed Cupola observations dome to the facility.

“After looking at all the testing on it, we're very confident that the system will work as designed,” told reporters on Friday John Shannon, who is the shuttle program manager at NASA. The glitch that threatened Discovery's launch date was discovered in one of the shuttle's helium valves. The device is located at the back of the spacecraft, and it plays a crucial role in pressurizing the aft-mounted thrusters. The valve remained opened at all times, despite shutdown commands sent to it from the KSC control center. After inspecting the lines closely, engineers say they are confident that Discovery will be ready for its flight in time.

The orbiter is scheduled to begin its penultimate flight at 6:21 am EDT (10:21 GMT) on April 5. Once docked to the orbital facility, it will deliver new supplies and equipment, as well as the last Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), Leonardo. Three extra-vehicular activities (EVA) will be performed during this mission, in which astronauts will use the Station's robotic arm (SSRMS) to maneuver a new ammonia tank assembly (ATA) into its position on the ISS. At the same time, they will collect the old tank, and place it into their shuttle's cargo bay, for a safe trip back home.

Astronauts return to Earth on Russian spacecraft

A Russian cosmonaut and a US astronaut returned to Earth on Thursday from the International Space Station (ISS) after 169 days in space, mission control in Moscow said.

"The crew of the Souyz TMA-16 craft is on Earth," it said in a statement, after Jeffrey Williams of the United States and Russia's Maxim Surayev touched down after five-and-a-half months together on the ISS.

At 1125 GMT, the spacecraft "made a safe landing in the designated area northeast of the town of Arkalyk" in the steppes of Kazakhstan, the mission control said.

"The cosmonauts are feeling well," it added.

"Working in frigid temperatures, Russian recovery teams were on hand at the landing site to help the crew exit the Soyuz vehicle and readjust to gravity," the US space agency NASA said in a statement.

NASA said that as members of the Expedition 21 and 22 crews, the two presided over the completion of the US segment of the space station.

The Russian-US duo had been high above Earth for 169 days, blasting off into space on September 30, 2009 and docking with the ISS on October 2, according Russia's mission control.

Until December 1, Surayev and Williams had worked as flight engineers in a crew that also included Belgian Frank De Winne, Canadian Robert Thirsk and Russian Roman Romanenko.

After Winne, Thirsk and Romanenko left, Williams assumed command of the ISS, which had been manned by just two people until three more crew members arrived on December 23.

The three current inhabitants -- Russia's Oleg Kotov, Soichi Noguchi of Japan and US astronaut Timothy Creamer -- will man the ISS until the arrival of a new spacecraft, the Soyuz TMA-18, whose launch is planned for April 2.

The ISS, which orbits 350 kilometres (220 miles) above Earth, is a sophisticated platform for scientific experiments, helping test the effects of long-term space travel on humans, a must for any trip to distant Mars.