does it the first time we shown two Shuttles on the pad on same time?
Even before 2003 they were having issues with thermal protection, They've dodged a couple bullets, Atlantis in particular, had an extremely close call.
STS-27 was the one I was referring to although there have been more less serious.STS-27 had some severe tile damage due to the tip of the right side SRB. It broke off during ascent and damaged 700 (!) black tiles.
are those the new Ares lighting towers?
Hay guys, I just found out something interesting about commander Scott Altman, He was a one time stunt pilot for Tom Cruise when they were filming the 1986 film Top Gun. He use to be a Navy pilot flying an F-14 Tomcat at NAS (Naval Air Station) Miramar.
professional or not.. catching a shot of an event lasting only 0.8 seconds when your camera give you "only" 4FPS. that is a challenge :)
I guess he started the sequence two seconds before the crossing and held it for an extra 2 seconds.. question is how to sync yourself on the correct time.
Any reason why the solar panels are white covers?,don't remember noting about thatThese are not covers. It's just the backside of the solar panels. The surface with the photovoltaic cells is on the other side, facing to the Shuttle's aft. (The panels can be rotated around one axis.)
Ahh I thought they were the same on both sides..thanksAny reason why the solar panels are white covers?,don't remember noting about thatThese are not covers. It's just the backside of the solar panels. The surface with the photovoltaic cells is on the other side, facing to the Shuttle's aft. (The panels can be rotated around one axis.)
So we could see an Edwards landing?......
The first landing attempt for today has been waved off.
Ya, I am in the Tampa area and the weather is the same. She be lucky if they can get her down this weekend in Florida. It has been raining for like 10 days!spaceboy7441,
Ya I thought that was really great that we got this rain because we needed it badly. I just think it will be ashamed if this so far perfect mission (pretty much) had to and at Edwards. I was also hoping for a Florida landing because I will be at Disney for hockey so it would be coo to hear the boom. :)spaceboy7441,
22May09
The shuttle is now planned to return to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:16 am on Saturday. The crew has a second opportunity top land at 10:54 am. Alternatives are 10:46 am and 12:24 pm at Edwards Air Force Base in California, which NASA usually tries to avoid as the cost of transporting the shuttle back to Florida can approach $2 million.
If Saturday does not work out, NASA is already thinking about additional landing schedules at Kennedy, Edwards, or White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on Sunday.
24May09 - 0055hrs
Atlantis astronauts will try to land today at Kennedy Space Center or at a backup landing site in California after stormy weather in Central Florida prompted NASA to keep the crew in orbit Saturday.
NASA will have two chances to bring the shuttle down to KSC: at 10:09 a.m. and 11:48 a.m. But forecasters expect showers, thunderstorms, lightning and low cloud decks -- conditions similar to those that forced landing postponements Friday and Saturday. The weather at Edwards Air Force Base north of Los Angeles is expected to be nearly pristine. Landing opportunities there will come at 11:38 a.m. and 1:17 p.m.
NASA prefers to land at KSC because it costs $1.8 million to ferry an Shuttle from California to Florida.
Atlantis has enough electrical power to remain in space only until Monday, so NASA expects to send the shuttle and its crew to one site or the other today. A decision to keep the Shuttle in space another day would happen only if a major systems problem occurred today.
no those are the ISS guys.24May09 - 0055hrs
Atlantis astronauts will try to land today at Kennedy Space Center or at a backup landing site in California after stormy weather in Central Florida prompted NASA to keep the crew in orbit Saturday.
NASA will have two chances to bring the shuttle down to KSC: at 10:09 a.m. and 11:48 a.m. But forecasters expect showers, thunderstorms, lightning and low cloud decks -- conditions similar to those that forced landing postponements Friday and Saturday. The weather at Edwards Air Force Base north of Los Angeles is expected to be nearly pristine. Landing opportunities there will come at 11:38 a.m. and 1:17 p.m.
NASA prefers to land at KSC because it costs $1.8 million to ferry an Shuttle from California to Florida.
Atlantis has enough electrical power to remain in space only until Monday, so NASA expects to send the shuttle and its crew to one site or the other today. A decision to keep the Shuttle in space another day would happen only if a major systems problem occurred today.
I keep thinking about drinking that recycled urine for two more days...
/Admin
I just noticed something, well actually a couple of days ago, I keep hearing MC say "Heading Alignment Circle" (HAC) and in the manual it's called "Heading Alignment Cone" -- is the manual incorrect?Actually both are used indifferently : it's a cone if you look at it in 3D, but if you look at it on a ground track basis, it's a circle. You'll find both in different manuals.
Honestly, my best guess will be an Edwards landing... the weather at KSC has been too unstable because of the severe low pressure we've had for the last 5 days... Nut let's keep our fingers crossed.
As I understand the situation, they only have enough "reserves" (oxygen, etc) to last them till tomorrow and will have to deorbit regardless.
I strongly encourage everyone to checkout this amazing video. It is even better than their last!
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=17237.msg412128;boardseen#new