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SATELLITE AND SPACE SHUTTLE NEWS
ATLANTIS DOCKS TO STATION - Space shuttle Atlantis docked to the station at 11:51 a.m. EST. The shuttle is delivering two pallets carrying more than 20,000 pounds worth of spare equipment too large to be launched into space aboard any other vehicle.
The morning focused on preparations for the rendezvous and docking to the station. Commander Charles Hobaugh and Pilot Barry Wilmore performed a few final corrective jet firings to refine the orbiter’s path to the station and position the vehicle for its rendezvous pitch maneuver 600 feet beneath the station.
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(Source: NASA)
COMMANDER PERFORMS TERMINAL INITIATION BURN - Commander Charles Hobaugh and the crew of Atlantis performed the Terminal Initiation burn at 9:05 a.m. EST, firing the left Orbital Maneuvering System engine for 12 seconds to place the shuttle on the final path for its 11:53 a.m. docking to the International Space Station. When Atlantis is about 600 feet from the station, Hobaugh will maneuver Atlantis through a backflip rotation to expose the heat shield to station Flight Engineers and photographers Jeffrey Williams and Nicole Stott. The photos will be transmitted to Mission Control for evaluation by imagery experts and mission managers to determine whether the heat shield sustained any damaged during launch.
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(Source: NASA)
WISE INFRARED SATELLITE READY FOR LAUNCH - NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer is ready roll to its launch pad -- its last stop before going into space to survey the sky in infrared light.
The satellite, known as WISE, is to be moved to its Vandenberg Air Force Base launch pad Friday, in preparation for liftoff Dec. 9 at 9:09 a.m. EST.
NASA scientists said WISE will circle Earth over the poles, scanning the entire sky during nine months to uncover hidden cosmic objects, including the coolest stars, dark asteroids and the most luminous galaxies.
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(Source: United Press International)
ASTRONAUTS INSPECT SPACE SHUTTLE IN CASE OF DAMAGE - Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts scoured their ship Tuesday for any signs of launch damage while pursuing the International Space Station.
The early word was that the shuttle appeared to be in good shape. "No issues so far," said LeRoy Cain, chairman of the mission management team.
Atlantis and its crew of six will hook up with the space station Wednesday.
The shuttle gradually was gaining on the station, and the two craft were on opposite sides of Earth at midday Tuesday, not quite 24 hours into the chase.
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(Source: The Associated Press)
BUSY SECOND DAY IN SPACE FOR STS-129 CREW - The six crew members aboard space shuttle Atlantis began the second day of their mission Tuesday at 4:28 a.m. EST. Activities for the STS-129 crew include surveying the shuttle's thermal protection system, checking out spacesuits and grappling the Express Logistics Carrier 1. The crew also will install the centerline camera, extend the Orbiter Docking System ring and checkout rendezvous tools in preparation for docking to the International Space Station on Wednesday.
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(Source: NASA)
SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS LIFTS OFF ON SUPPLY MISSION - Space shuttle Atlantis rocketed into orbit Monday with six astronauts and a full load of spare parts for the International Space Station.
The supply run should keep the space station humming for years to come, and the shuttle astronauts in space through Thanksgiving.
Atlantis shot into a partly cloudy afternoon sky, to the delight of about 100 Twittering space enthusiasts who won front-row seats. It was NASA's first launch "tweetup," and the invitees splashed news — mostly tweeting "wow" about the liftoff — over countless cell phones and computers.
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(Source: The Associated Press)
ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH - NASA cleared the space shuttle Atlantis to launch toward the International Space Station on Monday on a delivery mission.
Atlantis is set to lift off at 2:28 p.m. ET on Monday from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to carry six astronauts and two cases of large spare parts to the station.
The weather outlook is optimistic for Monday, with a 90 percent chance of clear skies predicted. More
(Source: MSNBC)
ATLAS V LAUNCH OF COMMERCIAL TV SATELLITE SCRUBBED - The scrub of this morning’s Atlas V launch was caused by “a temporary power interruption in an electronics component used to control flight events on the Atlas booster,” according to a statement by United Launch Alliance.
The statement said that the rocket has been emptied of fuel and will be returned to its assembly facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station so engineers can remove the suspect electronics box for further investigation. More
(Source: Orlando Santinel)
ATLANTIS SHUTTLE ASTRONAUTS PREPARE FOR NOV. 16 LAUNCH - The six astronauts preparing to blast off on the space shuttle Atlantis Monday have arrived at NASA's Florida spaceport to prepare for launch.
The crewmembers flew to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 12:35 p.m. Thursday on a modified from a Gulfstream jet with just four days remaining before their planned launch into space.
"It's a real honor and pleasure to be here," commander Charlie Hobaugh said just after disembarking. "This has been obviously the culmination of at least nine months of us being together as a crew."
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(Source: Space.com)
CHINA LAUNCHES RESEARCH SATELLITE - China successfully launched a scientific research satellite named "Shijian XI-01" into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province at 10:45 am on November 12, as reported by China Central Television (CCTV).
The satellite "Shijian XI-01" is carried by a China-developed Long March 2C rocket. China's Shijian, or "Practice", series of satellites are designed for scientific research and technological experiments. This is the 119th satellite flight in this series.
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(Source: Global Times)
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