Space Junk moving toward Discovery and Space Station

Yesterday NASA spotted a piece of space junk moving towards the orbiting space shuttle Discovery and International Space Station (ISS) complex.  It is however, unlikely that the debris could come too close to the combined spacecraft. The space junk, part of a 3-year-old Ariane 5 rocket, could pass within two miles (3.2 km) of the orbiting space complex tomorrow. NASA Mission control is keeping eye on the debris and said that it would not delay the upcoming spacewalk tonight.
The news did not affect the work of …

Space Shuttle Discovery Moved to Launch Pad

Space shuttle Discovery reached Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday afternoon following a slow drive on the top of the crawler-transporter from the Vehicle Assembly Building.

The 3.4-mile rollout began at 2:07 a.m. and ended with the launch platform secured in place at about 1:50 p.m. The move took longer than expected because of weather conditions, including lightning. The crawler also had to pause occasionally so mud could be removed from its treads and bearings. Technicians will quickly ready the shuttle to host the crew’s …

Space Shuttle Discovery returns home

On Saturday, Space Shuttle Discovery safely landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. With this the 13-days long STS-119 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) ended. With the Discovery crew, mission specialist Sandra Magnus, who had spent 129 days abroad the space station as flight engineer, also returned to Earth on Saturday. Magnus was replaced at the station by astronaut Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Discovery was launched on March 15 to put-up a final set of solar array panels …

Space Debris forces Discovery and ISS to reorient

On Sunday afternoon, a space junk forced Space Shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station (ISS) to reorient their path. NASA mission control ordered the astronauts to move out orbiting space complex after it found that an approaching chunk of a Chinese rocket.

The Discovery’s crew fired the thrusters to place the space shuttle in front of the space station. Discovery and the station will stay in this orientation for about three hours. Due to this, a natural drag of about a foot per second …

Astronaut Accidentally Inserts Pin Upside Down

It was not a great day for both the orbiting astronauts and the NASA mission control back on earth, as one of the spacewalking astronauts accidentally inserted a pin upside down and jammed the equipment storage platform at the International Space Station (ISS). Now a special NASA team is trying to figure out a way to loose the pin.

The incident occurred during the second spacewalk of the ongoing Discovery mission and it ate up so much time that astronauts Steven Swanson and Joseph Acaba …

Discovery finally heads towards ISS

After five changes in launch date, US Space Shuttle Discovery finally blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Sunday evening. Due to the delay in launch the STS-119 mission is now shortened by one day.

During the 13-day mission, astronauts will install the space station’s last pair of solar wings. Discovery is also carrying supplies and hardware and a new Japanese resident astronaut to the International Space Station. (ISS) Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata will replace U.S. astronaut Sandra Magnus.
Discovery’s crew …

NASA delays Discovery launch

US space agency NASA is not yet ready for the launch of space shuttle Discovery. During a thorough review of Discovery’s readiness for next flight, NASA managers decided on Friday that more data and possible testing are required before the launch of STS-119 mission to the International Space Station. So, the agency announced that it will delay the launch.

NASA engineers are worried about faulty fuel valves breaking off, which may cause sever damage to the spacecraft during launch. The space shuttle has three flow control valves that channel …