Atlantis Docks With Space Station

[Big Booger]

The shuttle Atlantis slid gently into place at its destination, the International Space Station this morning.

At 6:48 Eastern time, Capt. Brent W. Jett, Jr. of the Navy, the mission commander, guided the shuttle at a measured 1/10 of a foot per second toward the station, delivering a 35,000-pound truss that will provide additional solar arrays for the half-built station, resuming construction of the orbiting laboratory for the first time since the loss of the shuttle Columbia and its crew in 2003.

The operation was completed 218 miles over the eastern Pacific Ocean near the coast of Chile. The last time Atlantis had visited the station was October 2002. Live video provided to the Web by NASA (www.nasa.gov/ntv) showed the shuttle nearing the station.

An hour before, Capt. Jett stopped the shuttle just 600 feet from the station and performed a delicate backflip that exposed the station's belly to the station crew. That delicate flip, known as a rotational pitch maneuver, allowed the station crew to take a detailed series of photographs that will be used to make sure that the shuttle's delicate heat shield made the trip into space without significant damage from launch debris.

But mission managers made it clear in a briefing yesterday with reporters that an initial look at the amount of debris shed from the shuttle's external tank on ascent, and preliminary looks at the shuttle's thermal protection system, gave them great confidence that the craft was in good shape.

John Shannon, the chairman of the mission management team for orbital operations, said the group had already decided that, barring new evidence, the shuttle's heat tiles and panels are not "suspect," and said, "right now, I have high confidence in the thermal protection system."

The shuttle has been racing to meet the station since launching on Saturday, the last possible day of the current launch window, following a series of delays for weather and technical glitches.

Today will be an exceptionally busy day for the shuttle crew. Along with the rendezvous, the astronauts will be removing the enormous truss that they brought up to resume station construction and passing it over from the shuttle's robotic arm to the station's, and to prepare astronauts Joseph R. Tanner and Heidemarie M. Stefanshyn-Piper for the mission's first spacewalk, which will begin the following day.

In a briefing on Sunday with reporters, Kirk Shireman, the deputy manager of the space station program, said that the complex schedule would make Monday "an extremely aggressive day," Mr. Shireman said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/11/science/11cnd-shuttle.html?hp&ex=1158033600&en=5b4e598f9b45281c&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Thank God! NASA has had the worst of luck these past few years! But if we don't come to terms with the fact that we are going to die going to space... then we'll never get off the ground. :D

I am just glad that so far their mission is a success and this one is a major mission adding components to the ISS!!!

I want WARP DRIVE BABY!

[Big Booger]

Using their ship's robotic arm, astronauts aboard space shuttle Atlantis handed over the first big addition to the international space station in more than 3 1/2 years Monday and will conduct three spacewalks to install the giant new section.

The flight marks the first time since the 2003 Columbia disaster that NASA has resumed assembly of the orbiting space lab. The newly delivered, 17 1/2-ton piece consists of a truss and electricity-generating solar panels that can rotate with the movement of the sun.

The hatch between two orbiting spacecraft was opened after Atlantis commander Brent Jett eased the space shuttle into the station's docking port at 6:48 a.m. EDT.

The rendezvous took place about 220 miles above the southeastern Pacific Ocean.

Atlantis pilot Chris Ferguson, on his first trip to space, had a wide grin as he was given a tour of the space station by its crew.

A short time later, the shuttle's robotic arm was used to grasp the 45-foot-long addition in Atlantis' cargo bay and hand it over to the space station's own robotic arm.

The crew was on schedule with all the tasks on the to-do list, said lead flight director Paul Dye.

"Isn't that beautiful?" Dye said. "It's wonderful to see it happening for real."

Early Tuesday, astronauts Joe Tanner and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper were scheduled to make a spacewalk to connect the wiring on the new addition. The task must be performed fairly quickly so the electronic components do not get cold.

Two more spacewalks are planned during the 11-day flight, which began on Saturday.

With both the shuttle and the space station moving at 17,500 mph, the rendezvous in orbit required Atlantis to make a series of jet firings that ended with Jett taking manual control of the spacecraft about 1,000 feet from the space station.

"Atlantis is headed your way with a brand new piece of space station in its trunk," Mission Control radioed.

At about 600 feet from the space station, the shuttle executed a back flip so that the station's three-man crew could photograph Atlantis' belly for signs of liftoff damage.

That inspection, like another one performed Sunday using a 50-foot boom with sensors at the end, was added after the Columbia accident that killed seven astronauts in 2003. Foam debris from Columbia's external fuel tank broke off during liftoff and struck a wing, allowing fiery gases to penetrate when the shuttle returned to Earth.


http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/09/11/space.shuttle.ap/index.html


Looks like it went well.

[Big Booger]

Spacewalking astronauts worried they may have gummed up a successful job connecting an addition to the international space station Tuesday when a bolt, spring and washer floated free.

Astronaut Joe Tanner was working with the bolt when it sprang loose, floated over the head of Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and skittered across the 17 1/2-ton box-like truss that they were hooking up.

While the washer went out into space safely, Tanner worried the bolt and spring could get into the truss's wiring and tubing and causing problems.

"Not a good thing," Tanner said. "Let's hope it doesn't end up somewhere in the mechanism.

"I don't see it anywhere."

NASA managers were examining whether the lost bolt would be a problem. Space debris can be dangerous if it punctures space station walls or spacesuits and can jam crucial mechanisms. However, spacewalkers have a long history of losing material in space. In July, Discovery spacewalkers lost a 14-inch-long spatula that floated away.

The free-flying bolt marred an otherwise successful and speedy six-hour, 26-minute spacewalk Tuesday morning. Two other spacewalks are planned for later this week.

"You did a phenomenal job and set the bar very high for the rest of the assembly," Pam Melroy radioed from Mission Control when the spacewalk ended late Tuesday morning.

Tanner and Piper zipped through a jam-packed list of arduous but mundane construction tasks, putting NASA ahead of schedule in connecting the addition. With extra time, Mission Control assigned them half a dozen extra jobs of bolt removing and cover unlatching that would have been part of a Thursday spacewalk.

That's when the bolt got lost.

Atlantis astronauts Dan Burbank and Steve MacLean will head into space on Thursday.

The spacewalk was a first for rookie astronaut Piper, who joined an elite club of female spacewalkers.

Only six other women have participated in 159 U.S. spacewalks, and only one has gone on any of the 118 Russian spacewalks. A major reason for the lack of female spacewalkers is the spacesuit, which isn't designed for small sizes, said Piper, who is 5-foot-10. "If you fit in a suit then the easier it is to work," she said.

Before they started, astronauts MacLean and Jeff Williams, from inside the space lab, used the robotic arm to install the 45-foot addition on the left side of the space station's truss system. Two solar arrays will be unfurled from the truss on Thursday.

The spacewalk started a short time later at 5:17 a.m. EDT. Tanner was first to enter the void of space tethered to the space station, followed by Piper.

"Welcome to the world of EVAs," Tanner told Piper, using the NASA term for spacewalks -- extra vehicular activities.

"Aaah. Wonderful," Piper responded.

Tanner and Piper then started connecting wiring and cables to the $372 million truss segment that was moved Monday from space shuttle Atlantis' cargo bay to the space station's robotic arm. Wearing bulky suits and gloves, the spacewalking electricians also installed and disconnected bolts, connected tubes and activated latches -- tasks that had to be performed quickly so the electronic components do not get cold.

The team worked briskly, at one point putting themselves so far ahead of the schedule that Mission Control reminded them to take a break.

"The team is working hard to keep up with you guys," Mission Control said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/09/12/space.shuttle.ap/index.html

In 6 hours, if all they lost is a bolt and a spring, then I call that a complete success! I saw this live on a streaming feed from NASA and it was spectacular! What a job.. working on a space station over 200 miles in the sky, and traveling at 17,000 mph. Amazing!

[bionicblond]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/11/science/11cnd-shuttle.html?hp&ex=1158033600&en=5b4e598f9b45281c&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Thank God! NASA has had the worst of luck these past few years! But if we don't come to terms with the fact that we are going to die going to space... then we'll never get off the ground. :D

I am just glad that so far their mission is a success and this one is a major mission adding components to the ISS!!!

I want WARP DRIVE BABY!

This is good. I am interested in being able to inhabit another planet, eventhough they have been deemed uninhabitable. You just never know. I guess to get to the inhabitable planet we must have warp drive!

[phishhead]

In 6 hours, if all they lost is a bolt and a spring, then I call that a complete success!.....

Thats great news. I mean my feet are firmly planted on the ground and I have extra parts when I'm working on my car all the time. :D

[Big Booger]

And you don't have the pressure of working on a 300+ million dollar object... I'd be sh!tting my pants. :D