SPACE STATION'S SOLAR WINGS UNFURLED - The huge solar wings on the International Space Station (ISS) were successfully unfurled Friday, paving the way for the orbiting laboratory to power up to its full capacity for the first time. NASA said "no difficulties were encountered" in deploying the wings after astronauts Steve Swanson and Richard Arnold Thursday bolted an S6 truss to the space station to hold panels forming the fourth and last solar antenna. The payload is one of the last major tasks of the more than decade-long effort by 16 countries to build the 100-billion-dollar outpost in space. More (Source: AFP - Mar 21)
SHUTTLE ASTRONAUTS COMPLETE 6-HOUR SPACEWALK - A pair of astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery safely completed a six-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Thursday, installing a set of solar panels that will help the station handle twice as many crew members. Astronauts Richard Arnold and Steve Swanson bolted into place solar arrays that will be the last piece of the station's expanded power system. More (Source: CNN.com - Mar 20)
GRAVITY SATELLITE LEADS NEW WAVE - The European Space Agency has launched its Goce gravity mapping satellite. Goce left Earth at 1421 GMT on a modified intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in north-west Russia. The mission will give scientists new insights into how the interior of the planet is structured and provide key information on how the oceans move. The satellite is part of an armada of European spacecraft being sent up to study the planet. More (Source: BBC News - Mar 19)
DISCOVERY DOCKS TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - At 5:19:53: p.m. EDT, Space shuttle Discovery docked to the Pressurized Mating Adaptor on the front of the International Space Station's Harmony module. Docking occurred over Lake Wells, western Australia. During the next eight days, the combined crews of Discovery and the station will install the S6 truss, complete three spacewalks and transfer hundreds of items between the two craft. Hatches between Discovery and the station will be opened at about 7 p.m., followed by the traditional welcoming ceremony. More (Source: NASA - Mar 17)
DISCOVERY CLOSING IN ON STATION - Space shuttle Discovery's astronauts entered the rendezvous timeline at 11:49 a.m. EDT, kicking off the final lap in their chase of the International Space Station. Discovery is about 1310 miles behind the station, closing at a rate of almost 600 miles per 90-minute orbit. A series of maneuvers and engine burns will lead to a planned docking at 5:12:46 p.m. More (Source: NASA - Mar 17)
SPACE STATION SAFE FROM SPACE JUNK - Commander Mike Fincke and his colleagues on the International Space Station got good news from Mission Control this evening: There is no need to dash into the Soyuz or move the space station. The floating junk that threatened the orbiting outpost won't come near enough to cause a problem. More (Source: ABC News - Mar 17)
LAUNCH POSTPONED FOR EUROPEAN GRAVITY PROBE - A modified Russian ballistic missile was scheduled for launch today with a $450 million European probe that will measure the tug of Earth's gravity with finer detail than ever before. But the launch was scrubbed due to problems retracting the pad gantry. Liftoff could be attempted again Tuesday. Engineers were prepping a modified Russian ballistic missile for launch Monday with a $450 million European probe that will measure the tug of Earth's gravity with finer detail than ever before. More (Source: Space.com - Mar 17)
SATELLITE DEBRIS EXPECTED WITHIN HALF A MILE OF SPACE STATION - A piece of an old Soviet-era satellite spinning through space could threaten the International Space Station overnight, NASA said Monday. On its current course, the piece of the Russian Kosmos 1275 will arrive about a half a mile (.79 kilometers) from the space station at 2:14 a.m. CDT Tuesday, said Bill Jeffs, a spokesman at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas More (Source: CNN - Mar 16)
SHUTTLE DISCOVERY LIFTS OFF FOR SPACE STATION - After a month of delays, the space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven had a spectacularly uneventful liftoff on Sunday evening, rising into a cool, clear Florida twilight en route to the International Space Station. The Discovery is carrying a last set of solar arrays for the space station and a replacement part for a water recycling system, needed to transform urine into drinkable water. NASA would like the recycling system fully functional before the station crew is expanded to six members from three, a move planned for late May. More (Source: New York TImes - Mar 16)
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