05/06/08: STS-124 Crew Arrives for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test.

The STS-124 crew members arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this afternoon for the terminal countdown demonstration test. Flying in T-38 training jets, the astronauts touched down on the Shuttle Landing Facility on a warm, clear Central Florida afternoon. During this three-day prelaunch training event, [...]

05/06/08: XMM-Newton Finds Part of the Universe’s Missing Matter.

ESA’s orbiting X-ray observatory XMM-Newton has been used by a team of international astronomers to uncover part of the missing matter in the Universe. 10 years ago, scientists predicted that about half of the missing ‘ordinary’ or normal matter made of atoms exists in the form of [...]

04/27/08: Russian Easter in Space for Expedition 17.

At ~09:23 UT, Expedition 17 Commander Sergei Volkov and Flight Engineer 1 Oleg Kononenko conducted a teleconference via VHF with Patriarch Alexis II of the Russian Orthodox Church, who extended best wishes on the occasion of today’s Easter celebration. – NASA

04/26/08: STS-124: Discovery Rolls Over to Vehicle Assembly [...]

04/20/08: International Space Station On-Orbit Status Report.

Crew wake/sleep cycle has normalized, Today’s wakeup – 2:00am, sleeptime – 5:30pm EDT. The crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program. All three crewmembers had their weekly PFC’ss (Private Family Conferences). A single-burn reboost test of the ATV Jules Verne is scheduled for tonight at 12:10am-1:52am. ISS attitude [...]

04/19/08: Expedition 16 and Yi Land in Kazakhstan.

Expedition 16 has landed safely in the steppes of Kazakhstan. Expedition 16’s Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station at 05:06 UT today, saying goodbye to the station after 190 days aboard. With the crew members was Korean spaceflight participant So-yeon Yi, who launched to the [...]

04/15/08: Giant Flare from Milky Way Black Hole 300 Years Ago.

A team of Japanese astronomers using ESA’s XMM-Newton, along with NASA and Japanese X-ray satellites, has discovered that our Galaxy’s central black hole let loose a powerful flare three centuries ago. The finding helps resolve a long-standing mystery: why is the Milky Way’s black hole [...]

03/24/08: STS-123: Space Shuttle Undocks from ISS.

The space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at 00:25 UT, completing 11 days, 20 hours and 36 minutes of docked operations. After saying their goodbyes, the two crews closed hatches between the two vehicles at 21:49 UT. Undocking was delayed about 30 minutes, due to a [...]

03/19/08: STS-123: Dextre Successfully Moved to Destiny.

The crews of Endeavour and the International Space Station today moved Dextre, the station’s new robotic attachment, to its home on top of the station’s U.S. Destiny Laboratory and worked to move the Spacelab pallet back into Endeavour’s cargo bay. Mission Specialist Leopold Eyharts and Pilot Greg Johnson used [...]

03/16/08: STS-123: Linnehan and Foreman Install Dextre.

Astronauts Rick Linnehan and Mike Foreman spent more than seven hours outside the International Space Station today, attaching the two arms of the Canadian Space Agency’s Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator, or Dextre. Dextre’s arms, each 11 feet long, provide the robot with the ability to work outside the station [...]

03/13/08: STS-123: Endeavour Docks With ISS.

Space shuttle Endeavour docked successfully to the International Space Station at 11:49 p.m. EDT.
About an hour before docking, STS-123 Commander Dominic Gorie and Pilot Gregory H. Johnson guided the shuttle through a back-flip maneuver, giving the Expedition 16 crew the opportunity to take pictures of the orbiter’s protective heat-resistant tiles. [...]