As the end of the space shuttle program draws nearer, I think it important to watch and observe this moment in our nation’s history.
So here are a collection of links to NASA resources, which can also be found on the main website NASA.gov.
Information on NASA programs is available at the NASA Public Affairs Home Page
NASA TV information has schedules and links to streaming video.
NASA Television Schedule features key mission events and media briefings during the mission.
Status reports and timely updates on launch countdown, mission progress, and landing operations will be posted at: nasa.gov/shuttle
Information on the International Space Station is available at: nasa.gov/station
The NASA Human Space Flight Web contains an up-to-date archive of mission imagery, video and audio.
Information on safety enhancements for the 2005 Return to Flight effort.
Resources for Educators
NASA Space Shuttle Update / Saturday November 6, 2010:
Launch of space shuttle Discovery has been delayed due to a leak in the ground umbilical carrier plate (GUCP) at Launch Pad 39A, which prompted a scrub of Friday’s launch attempt.
STS-133 mission managers also will look at a crack in the external tank foam that developed as supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen were being drained from the tank, although the crack didn’t develop until after the launch attempt was called off.
Discovery’s six astronauts have left the Kennedy Space Center in their T-38 jets to return home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Discovery’s next possible launch opportunity comes up on November 30th at 4:05 a.m. EST. This will be the final voyage for the orbiter.
More space shuttle news and information at nasa.gov/
NASA Space Shuttle Update / Friday November 5, 2010:
The shuttle weather team is carefully watching a cold front moving through Florida, that could impact the final launch of space shuttle Discovery. There’s about a 50 percent chance the shuttle will lift off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, November 5th.
Friday’s tentative launch time is 3:04 p.m. EDT. The shuttle team meets at 5:00 am Friday morning to make a final assessment of the weather conditions at the cape, before giving a “go” or “no-go” decision to fill Discovery’s external fuel tank.
Photo Credit: NASA TV
If Discovery launches Friday, the shuttle’s schedule will be as follows:
Docking @ International Space Station 10:55 a.m. EST Sunday Nov. 7th
Spacewalk 1 Tuesday Nov. 9th
Spacewalk 2 Thursday Nov. 11th
Undocking @ 4:21 a.m. Sunday Nov. 14th
Earth Landing @ Kennedy Space Center @ 9:16 a.m. Tuesday Nov. 16th
More space shuttle news and information at nasa.gov
Robonaut 2 showed off for social media participants at NASA’s Tweetup for the STS-133 mission, the last flight for space shuttle Discovery.
A twin Robonaut is packed inside space shuttle Discovery to be taken to the International Space Station. The humanoid robot is the first to go into space, and will act as an assistant to the crew on the orbiting laboratory.
Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
More space shuttle news and information at nasa.gov/
