Space Station Solution at Hand: Political Courage Required

Surprise, surprise, folks. President Obama's "tear it down and rip it up" approach to our aerospace and science programs led to the downing of America's successful space shuttle program without a new program on the horizon.

Instead, Obama's government decided, let's abandon the proven NASA value of "redundancy" --having at least one backup for any component or requirement--and let's put all our eggs, and taxpayers' money, into the Russian basket. Great idea, that, all the syncophants lined up to intone as they genuflected.

Not a great idea, as the August 24 loss of the Soyuz rocket promptly proved. In the wake of the loss of the space station Progress resupply ship, Russia's launch calendar for manned space station flights is on the skids.

Now NASA officials are talking about the possibility that the space station will have to be abandoned. After continuous occupation since 2000, the space station, begun in 1988, might become a ghost facility, managed from the ground.

And that, my friends, is ridiculous. The International Space Station is the towering achievement of our space era, and it, as well as taxpayers, deserves more than a rolling over to Russian problems.

However, we've long since lost any command of our own space destiny. Why did we accept that? Future historians will, no doubt, have a field day discussing how and why the world's most successful space-faring nation folded its cards and slipped away from the manned space exploration table.

There is a short-term solution to save the space station as a viable, operational facility. Just stop deactivating one of the shuttles--all of which are now museum-bound--and reactivate it.

Then put a commander and pilot onboard; fly to the space station. Plan to leave those folks onboard until they can hitch a ride home via a Russian vehicle.

NASA has assured us there's adequate supplies up there until sometime in 2012. There's room up there for two more astronauts.

Give the Russians a chance to get flying again. In the meantime, there'll be another option to get the astronauts and cosmonauts home: the old, reliable space shuttle.

Should flights via the Russian vehicles resume, NASA could leave the shuttle parked at the space station in case of emergency. If needed, there's a ride home waiting right outside the door.

It would be much better to leave a shuttle at the ready at the space station than just plonk its dead body into a museum. It would provide safety redundancy for crews at the station, and, logically, would make sense.

President Obama, why not? Show some political courage, and some support for America's space achievements, and provide the direction to put one shuttle back into flight status.

Space Shuttle Discovery Lifts Off; Headed for Space Station with

UPDATE: Blue skies and clear sailing marked the successful launch of Space Shuttle Discovery and her seven-member crew from historic Launch Pad 39-A at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. A flawless countdown preceded liftoff, which marked the 35th flight of Discovery and the 123rd Space Shuttle mission. (The numbers don't always match in sequence because flight manifests often shuttle missions around.)

Original story follows.

The crew of Space Shuttle Discovery is strapped into their vehicle as the countdown toward a 5:02 p.m. EDT launch proceeds smoothly at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The STS-124 is the second of three flights that will ferry and install  components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory on the International Space Station.

They're also taking components to help with fixes of the Russian-provided toilet. The crew's primary mission is to  Kibo’s large Japanese Pressurized Module, or JPM, and its remote manipulator system, or RMS.

The RMS consists of two roboticarms that support operations outside of Kibo. The lab's logistics module, or JLM,which was installed in a temporary location during STS-123 in March, will be attachedto the new lab.

Discovery's 14-day flight carries the largest payload ever delivered  to the station and will include three spacewalks. The shuttle also will deliver Astronaut Gregory E. Chamitoff , a Mission Specialist, to a duty tour aboard the station.

He will take Astronaut Garrett E.
Reisman's place as ; Expedition 17 flight engineer.; Reisman will come home with the STS-124 crew in two weeks. Chamitoff will fly home aboard Endeavour on the STS-126 mission in November.

The rest of the STS-124 crew includes Michael E. Fossum,; mission specialist; Kenneth T. Ham, pilot; Mark E. Kelly, commander; Karen L. Nyberg, Ronald J. Garan and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Akihiko Hoshide, all mission specialists.

Countdown to Launch: NASA's STS-123 & Crew Ready to Fly

Florida's space coast got an early sunrise as the Space Shuttle Endeavour soared aloft, bearing the new Canadian Dextre robot arm and the first section of a Japanese science module. Flying on wings of brilliant fire sparkling against the black night sky, Endeavour and her seven-member crew headed to the International Space Station. .


Earlier, the astronauts performed the traditional walk-out from the O&C Building at Kennedy Space Center enroute to the launch pad.





All seven astronauts are onboard Space Shuttle Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A. The mission, set to launch at 2:28 a.m. EDT, will take the Japanese Kibo Logistics Module and the Canadian Dextre robotics system to the International Space Station..

They're also ferrying up NASA Astronaut Garrett Reisman, who'll replace European Space Agency astronaut Léopold Eyharts, who'll hitch a ride on Endeavour back home. A veteran space flier, Navy Capt. Dominic L. Gorie, commands the STS-123 mission, with Air Force Col. Gregory H. Johnson as pilot. Mission specialists include Richard M. Linnehan, Air Force Maj. Robert L. Behnken, Navy Capt. Michael J. Foreman and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takao Doi. Johnson, Behnken and Foreman will be making their first spaceflight.

The 16-day mission will include five space walks. The astronauts will use the Canada robotic arm to continue work on the ISS. The new Dextre equipment essentially is a pair of extended electronic hands intended to assist with crucial repair and construction tasks.

There's a rhythm to a launch. After someone has worked a few, the sounds and the paced flow become a song, a part of self that transcends mere technical achievement. Humans and machines, working together, to again fly to not only the heavens, but to an orbiting, manned space station.

Those of us who remember the days before space flight was common, and when each flight was literally a life-or-death experiment, know the awesome, awful truth: we dare the skies, but at a price. So far, we've lost one vehicle and crew on the pad (Apollo 1) and two Space Shuttles with full crews (Challenger and Columbia).

Although not in the business may think that the losses are far too high, in reality, given the complexities and dangers of the missions, they're very low. One of the frustrating things for space workers is that when an aircraft falls out of the sky, killing 300 or so people, no one demands that all passenger air flight cease immediately.

The benefits of space flight are many to those on planet Earth. The spin-off technology from advances made to support spaceflight have ranged from medical advances to Earth sciences. Many people don't realize that the weather forecasts we take for granted use the satellite surveillance of Earth that we now take for granted.

On a clear, cold, starry night oh, a few years back, I stood outside on a small rise in New York state with my grandfather and parents. Like many others, we were waiting. Unbelievably, there it was: the tiny moving dot of light that was Sputnik.

And so it began: Dadelus inspired.

Countdown to Landing: Atlantis Crew Headed Home

The distinctive twin sonic booms as Space Shuttle Atlantis streaked across the Florida sky told residents that the STS-122 crew was close to home. The textbook landing ended a 5.3 million mile expedition, the ferrying of a replacement astronaut, and the delivery of the Columbus module to the International Space Station.

With a successful mission completed, the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis is checking off the timelines and tasks before a scheduled 9:07 a.m. EST landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The team, including NASA astronaut Dan Tani, returning after an extended stay at the International Space Station, is scooting home before the U.S. attempts to shoot down a failing satellite. The first attempt could occur tonight off Hawaii, where a designated "no-fly" zone has already been declared. NASA officials wanted to clear space before that attempt and signalled the shuttle home today.

The shuttle has four landing opportunities in Florida and at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Here's the schedule for all four.

06:34:54 AM...Commander/pilot don entry suits
06:51:54 AM...Inertial measurement unit alignment
06:59:54 AM...Commander/pilot strap in; others don suits
07:16:54 AM...Shuttle steering check
07:19:54 AM...Hydraulic power system prestart
07:26:54 AM...Toilet deactivation
07:34:54 AM...Payload bay vent doors closed for entry
07:39:54 AM...MIssion control 'go' for deorbit burn
07:45:54 AM...Mission specialists seat ingress
07:54:54 AM...Single hydraulic power unit start

07:59:54 AM...Deorbit ignition (dV: 197.7 mph; dT: 02:39)
08:02:33 AM...Deorbit burn complete (altitude: 211.6 sm)

08:35:59 AM...Atmospheric entry (altitude: 75.6 sm)
08:40:59 AM...1st roll command to left
08:52:05 AM...1st left-to-right roll reversal
08:54:00 AM...C-band radar acquisition
09:01:06 AM...Velocity less than mach 2.5 (altitude: 84,200 feet)
09:03:18 AM...Velocity less than mach 1 (altitude: 50,700 feet)
09:03:42 AM...Shuttle banks 301 degrees to line up on runway 33
09:07:39 AM...Landing

SECOND FLORIDA OPPORTUNITY: Rev. 203 Deorbit to Kennedy

09:15:20 AM...Mission control 'go' for deorbit burn
09:21:20 AM...MS seat ingress
09:30:20 AM...Single APU start

09:35:20 AM...Deorbit ignition (dV: 195.7 mph; dT: 02:38)
09:37:58 AM...Deorbit burn complete (altitude: 214.5 sm)

10:11:00 AM...Entry interface (altitude: 75.6 sm)
10:15:57 AM...1st roll command to right
10:27:46 AM...1st right-to-left roll reversal
10:36:05 AM...Velocity less than mach 2.5 (altitude: 84,700 feet)
10:38:18 AM...Velocity less than mach 1 (altitude: 50,200 feet)
10:38:55 AM...Shuttle banks 269 degrees to line up on runway 33
10:42:35 AM...Landing

FIRST CALIFORNIA OPPORTUNITY: Rev. 204 Deorbit to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

10:45:15 AM...MCC 'go' for deorbit burn
10:51:15 AM...MS seat ingress
11:00:15 AM...Single APU start

11:05:15 AM...Deorbit ignition (dV: 195.7 mph; dT: 2:38
11:07:53 AM...Deorbit burn complete (altitude: 213.4 sm)

11:41:01 AM...Entry interface (altitude: 75.6 sm)
11:46:00 AM...1st roll command to left
11:55:55 AM...1st left-to-right roll reversal
12:06:06 PM...Velocity less than mach 2.5 (altitude: 81,800 feet)
12:08:19 PM...Velocity less than mach 1 (altitude: 49,400 feet)
12:09:24 PM...Shuttle banks 205 degrees to line up on runway 22
12:12:31 PM...Landing

SECOND CALIFORNIA OPPORTUNITY: Rev. 205 Deorbit to Edwards

12:21:25 PM...MCC 'go' for deorbit burn
12:27:25 PM...MS seat ingress
12:36:25 PM...Single APU start

12:41:25 PM...Deorbit ignition (dV: 195.7 mph; dT: 02:38)
12:44:03 PM...Deorbit burn complete (altitude: 216.9 sm)

01:16:09 PM...Entry interface (altitude: 75.6 sm)
01:21:06 PM...1st roll command to right
01:32:39 PM...1st right-to-left roll reversal
01:41:10 PM...Velocity less than mach 2.5 (altitude: 82,700 feet)
01:43:25 PM...Velocity less than mach 1 (altitude: 48,800 feet)
01:44:34 PM...Shuttle banks 189 degrees to line up on runway 22
01:47:34 PM...Landing

Space Shuttle Atlantis Homeward Bound to KSC, Landing Ahead of Falling Satellite Shootdown

After a highly successful mission to the International Space station, the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis is heading home to Kennedy Space Center. NASA is staffing both the KSC Shuttle Landing Strip and Mojave Desert facilities at Edwards Air Force Base in California in a bid to get Atlantis home before the U.S. Navy attempts to shoot down a crippled spy satellite.

Engineers are monitoring, but are not concerned about, a circuit failure that dropped heat to four after venier thrusters. Those thrusters power the Reaction Control System (RCS), which maneuvers the orbiter during small in-flight corrections.

The temperature on one of the thrusters dropped to 40 degrees, causing concern about possible freezing of lines or systems in that area. Even if one or two of the thrusters should totally fail--highly unlikely--the system has built-in redundancy because the crew can employ the thrusters in a variety of combinations.

Actual rocket firing to drop Atlantis into its come-home orbital path is done by the larger Orbital Maneuvering Systems ((OMS) pods. The thruster problem on the smaller rocket system does not impact the operation of the larger OMS engines.

Early this morning, mission controllers in Houston asked Mission Commander Steve Frick to swing the orbiter around so that its tail faced the sun. This common maneuver in effect put the RCS thrusters out for warming by the sun.

The primary Shuttle landing trajectory for 9:07 a.m. landing Wednesday at KSC's Runway 33 takes the Shuttle over Central America and the Gulf of Mexico before flying across Florida to Kennedy Space Center. That course will treat area residents to the double sonic boom that for decades has signalled the space shuttle coming home to the nation's spaceport.


STS-122 long-range landing track


STS-122 mid-range landing track



There are four landing opportunities Wednesday at KSC and Edwards, as follows with timelines including orbit numbers and de-orbit OMS engine firings (burns):

202...1st KSC OPPORTUNITY DEORBIT BURN........12/17:16...08:01 AM...13:01
203...1st KSC OPPORTUNITY LANDING.............12/18:22...09:07 AM...14:07


203...2nd KSC OPPORTUNITY DEORBIT BURN........12/18:52...09:37 AM...14:37
204...2nd KSC OPPORTUNITY LANDING.............12/19:57...10:42 AM...15:42

204...1st EDW AFB OPPORTUNITY DEORBIT BURN....12/20:22...11:07 AM...16:07
205...1st EDW AFB OPPORTUNITY LANDING.........12/21:27...12:12 PM...17:12

205...2ND EDW AFB OPPORTUNITY DEORBIT BURN....12/21:58...12:43 PM...17:43
206...2ND EDW AFB OPPORTUNITY LANDING.........12/23:02...01:47 PM...18:47

The Atlantis crew delivered the European Space Agency module to the ISS. Commander Steve Frick, pilot Alan Poindexter, Leland Melvin, Stan Love, Rex Walheim, Hans Schlegel also ferried European Space Agency astronaut Léopold Eyharts to the space station.




On the homeward bound trip they'll taxi NASA astronaut Dan Tani, who joined Space Station Commander Peggy Whitson and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko last October.

Tani, who flew to the ISS aboard Discovery, was due back on Earth in December. However, Atlantis' mission was delayed by by problems with fuel sensors. During his extended stay, Tani got the bad news that his 90-year-old mother had been tragically killed in a car wreck Dec. 19. It's the first time that an astronaut in space has had to be notified of a family member's death.

While in orbit, astronauts Love, Walheim and Schlegel, in varying teams, completed three arduous space walks. Schlegel had to miss his first space walk due to an unspecified illness, most likely a form of the dreaded space sickness--a former of super nausea much like car sickness, many times multiplied. In the space version, the inner ear loses the ability to stabilize the astronaut during adjustment to living in micro-gravity.

The crippled NROL-21 satellite will pass over an area west of Hawaii at about 10:30 p.m. EST Wednesday. Pilots have been notified to stay clear of that area, declared restricted. It's not yet known if the Navy will attempt the first-ever rocket shootdown of a decaying satellite, which will otherwise impact Earth sometime in March.

The satellite's location can be checked at Heavens Above.Its orbital designation is USA 193.



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Live NASA Launch Video: Atlantis Liftoff Set for 2:45 PM EST

To watch the live streaming Atlantis launch countdown and liftoff click here.


Image above: STS-122 crew members, attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits, pose for a crew photo prior to a training session in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at Johnson Space Center. From the left are European Space Agency (ESA) astronauts Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts; astronauts Stanley G. Love, all mission specialists; Stephen N. Frick, commander; Alan G. Poindexter, pilot; Leland D. Melvin and Rex J. Walheim, both mission specialists. Image credit: NASA



Space Shuttle Mission STS-122

Orbiter: Atlantis
Mission: STS-122/1E
Primary Payload: Columbus
Launch Date: Feb. 7, 2008
Launch Time: 2:45 p.m. EST
Launch Pad: 39A
Landing Date: Feb. 18
Landing Time: 9:57 a.m.
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center
Inclination/Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles