Space Shuttle Endeavour blasts off, finally!

Space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of seven astronauts are in orbit after an on-time launch at 6:03 p.m. EDT on Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The lift-off had been delayed by more than a month due to bad weather and technical difficulties. It was NASA’s sixth attempt to launch space shuttle Endeavour

The 16-day long mission (STS-127) of Endeavour will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory. Astronauts …

LRO sends its first Lunar image

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has sent its first images of the lunar surface back to Earth. On Thursday, NASA released the first image of LRO which reveals the Mare Nubium or the Sea of Clouds region of Moon. The spacecraft’s two cameras, collectively known as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC, were activated on June 30. “Our first images were taken along the moon’s terminator — the dividing line between day and night — making us initially unsure of how they would turn out,” said …

Endeavour launch scrubbed again

Once again, hydrogen leak prevented the launch of US Space shuttle Endeavour. Today at 1:55 a.m. EDT, Endeavour’s STS-127 launch today was officially scrubbed when gaseous hydrogen leak was detected at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP. This is the same location where a similar leak resulted in a launch scrub on June 13.

“We’re going to step back and figure out what the problem is and go fix it,” said Deputy Space Shuttle Program Manager LeRoy Cain during a briefing afterward. “Once we …

Space Shuttle Endeavour cleared for June 13 launch

Space Shuttle Endeavour has been cleared for June 13 launch. On Wednesday, NASA managers have completed a review of Endeavour’s readiness for flight and selected June 13 as the official launch date for the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Commander Mark Polansky and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 7:17 a.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Mission STS-127 is the 32nd space flight dedicated to station construction, and the final of a series of three flights …

Atlantis Starts Ferry Flight Home

On Monday, US Space shuttle Atlantis begun its journey home from California to Florida. A NASA Boeing 747 carrying Atlantis on it’s back took off from Edwards Air Force Base at 8:07 a.m. PDT Monday. Space Shuttle Atlantis is expected to return home to Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as this afternoon.

After two hours of take off, the joined spaceship and jumbo jet stopped at Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, …

Bad weather forces NASA to delay Atlantis landing

Landing of space shuttle Atlantis delayed to Saturday. Bad weather conditions at Kennedy Space Center in Florida forced NASA flight controllers to call off STS-125’s two landing opportunities on Friday. According to NASA, the first landing opportunity at Kennedy will be at 9:16 a.m. EDT. As a backups landing site Edwards Air Force Base in California will be kept ready.

Space Shuttle Atlantis arrived at the Hubble Space Telescope on May 13. During the 11-daly long mission the STS-125 crew performed five spacewalks on five …

Space Shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour ready on Launch Pad

On Friday space shuttle Endeavour at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, completed its 4.2-mile trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B. With Atlantis on nearby Launch Pad 39A, this marks the final time that two shuttles will be on the launch pads at the same time, as the shuttle program will be ended next year.

The space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for liftoff May 12 at 1:31 p.m. EDT, when the crew will begin the STS-125 mission …

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 …