Discovery set for final mission

CAPE CANAVERAL - After a four-month delay, space shuttle Discovery is just hours away from blasting off on its final mission ever.

NASA's most experienced orbiter – and the most-flown spacecraft ever – is set for launch at 4:50 p.m. on a resupply mission to the international space station. Among the crew of six is Clearwater's Nicole Stott, making her second spaceflight.

Discovery was supposed to make this flight last October, but a fuel leak forced a delay during which cracks in the shuttle's giant fuel tank were found. An extensive analysis led to a series of repairs that wrapped around the entire circumference of the tank.

With beefed-up supports on the tank, Discovery rolled back out to the seaside launch pad last month and has enjoyed a smooth countdown so far.

Forecasters expect this week's good weather to continue. There is now a 90-percent chance of acceptable conditions for launch, with low clouds and a stray shower being the only real concern.

But even if the weather is perfect, Discovery's launch will still hinge on the successful docking of a European cargo carrier that launched last week. The unmanned freighter is scheduled to link up with the station just six hours before the shuttle's launch; should anything go wrong, Discovery may have to stand down.

Source:http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/scitech/space/discovery-set-for-final-mission-022411

NASA astronaut hopes to stage ‘out of this world’ concert

London, Feb 11: A NASA astronaut is hoping to stage a concert that is literally out of this world, and plans on doing it with the help of Irish band The Chieftains and British band Jethro Tull.

Astronaut Catherine Coleman said she prefers to create music with other people, but unfortunately she is the only flautist among the six aboard the International Space Station.

Coleman, who said she enjoyed creating her “own little world” with music, has now decided to put flute music on in the background, and play along before she returns to Earth in May.

She blasted off Kazakhstan in December for a six-month period orbiting the earth, and she took along a priceless Irish concert flute, given to her by a man who is considered to be a star himself by traditional music lovers.

Chieftains’ flute-player Matt Molloy met the NASA astronaut, nicknamed Cady, more than 10 years ago after playing at a concert in Houston, Texas, and after the gig, they took part as usual in a session with local musicians.

“It transpired that Cady played the flute, and we have been friends ever since,” the BBC quoted him as saying.

About Alien's life?

At least not at the planetary level. But whether there are intelligent beings on other planets remains one of humanity’s great unanswered questions.

The issue of life elsewhere in the cosmos captured new attention when NASA revealed some of the latest findings from its Kepler telescope. Launched in 2009, Kepler’s focus has been to seek out planetary systems elsewhere in the galaxy.

And it has been remarkably successful, more so than many astronomers ever expected. NASA announced recently that more than 1,200 possible planets have been discovered to date — 54 of which are at a distance from their suns that make them candidates for hosting life.

Eventually, and probably soon, scientists expect to identify specific Earth-sized planets. But that’s just a first step. Determining whether such planets host life will be a more difficult matter to resolve.

And if intelligent life is found elsewhere, then what? From a practical standpoint, communications between planets is improbable, because of the years it would take for even basic messages to transmit. Actual travel to these planets is even less feasible.

GM and NASA’s R2 humanoid robot to debut on Super Bowl Sunday

On Sunday, millions of viewers across the globe will be able to watch the television debut of GM's and NASA's dexterous humanoid robot called Robonaut 2 or R2 during the Super Bowl pre-game show on Fox network.

R2 has been developed by NASA and General Motors via a Space Act Agreement using the latest technology after its predecessor Robonaut 1. Due to edge control, sensor and vision technologies installed, these futuristic humanoid robots are capable of working side-by-side with people, helping astronauts during hazardous space missions and helping GM build safer cars and plants.

The new robot has significant technical developments over its predecessor with around 4 times faster speed range. The advanced technology spanning the model includes optimized overlapping dual arm dexterous workspace, extended finger and thumb travel, redundant force sensing, series elastic joint technology, miniaturized 6-axis load cells, ultra-high speed joint controllers, extreme neck travel, and high resolution camera and IR systems.

Both GM and NASA have developed the current iteration of Robonaut taking the help of engineers from Oceaneering Space Systems of Houston. R2 will initially be operated inside the Destiny laboratory for operational testing, but over time its applications are likely to expand.

Shuttle Discovery returns to launch pad after tank repairs

 With repairs to its external tank complete, engineers began hauling the shuttle Discovery back to launch pad 39A Monday evening for work to ready the ship for blastoff Feb. 24 on a flight to deliver critical spare parts, supplies and a final U.S. module to the International Space Station.

Carried by a powerful crawler-transporter, Discovery and its mobile launch platform began slowly rolling out of NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building at 7:58 p.m. EST, witnessed by scores of Kennedy Space Center workers who gathered nearby to watch what is expected to be Discovery's final trip to the pad. The shuttle reached the launch complex and was secured at 2:53 a.m. Tuesday.

"I have full confidence we've done everything we need to do on that tank," Stephanie Stilson, the engineer in charge of Discovery's ground processing, told CBS News. "Seeing those guys work and knowing how hard they worked to do the modifications, I have confidence in the way the shuttle program works and the fact that they're always investigating and asking more questions, more so than I've ever heard in the past."

Shuttle program managers plan to conduct a flight readiness review Feb. 10, followed by an executive-level review by senior NASA managers Feb. 18. Assuming no additional problems develop, the agency hopes to restart Discovery's countdown at 3 p.m. Feb. 21, setting the stage for launch Feb. 24 at 4:50:19 p.m.

NASA originally hoped to launch Discovery on its 39th and final flight Nov. 1, but the mission was repeatedly delayed, first by relatively minor technical problems that pushed launch to Nov. 5 and then by a gaseous hydrogen leak in a vent arm attached to the external tank.

The hydrogen leak was quickly resolved, but engineers also discovered cracks in structural rib-like "stringers" in the shuttle's external tank that triggered what turned into a nearly four-month delay.

The stringers are used in the ribbed "intertank" compartment of the external tank that separates the liquid oxygen and hydrogen sections. Engineers initially found four stress-relief fractures in two adjacent stringers on the side of the tank facing the shuttle that apparently were the result of exposure to the extreme low temperature -- minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit -- of liquid oxygen.

Engineers repaired those cracks at the pad by splicing in pristine stringer segments and attaching "doublers" to provide additional strength.

After an instrumented fueling test Dec. 18, Discovery was hauled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for X-ray inspections of the backside of the tank, which engineers could not carry out at the pad. Additional cracks were found in three stringers, prompting NASA managers to order installation of "radius-block" doublers on most of the remaining intertank stringers.

A detailed analysis of the cracks found to that point indicated manufacturing tolerance issues and problems with a specific batch of aluminum-lithium alloy used in most of the 108 intertank stringers that left them more brittle than usual and more susceptible to stress-relief fractures.

Testing showed the radius-block modifications would provide the required margin of safety, easing concerns about the tank's structural integrity and the possible loss of foam insulation during the climb out of the dense lower atmosphere that could pose a threat to the shuttle's fragile heat shield.

When all was said and done, the five cracked stringers were repaired using a combination of doublers and radius blocks and 94 were modified with radius blocks alone. Nine stringers were not modified, one because of access issues and eight others because they were made from a different lot of aluminum-lithium alloy.

As if the crack problem wasn't enough of a headache for NASA, one of Discovery's crew members -- flight engineer Timothy Kopra -- was injured in a bicycle mishap in Houston Jan. 15. He was replaced by veteran astronaut Stephen Bowen, who will take Kopra's place in two planned space walks.

Bowen and his crewmates -- commander Steven Lindsey, pilot Eric Boe, Nicole Stott, Michael Barratt and spacewalker Alvin Drew -- plan to fly to the Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 20 for the start of their countdown to launch.

First Ever Whole Sun View-Coming Soon....from STEREO

“For the first time in the history of humankind we will be able to see the front and the far side of the sun … Simultaneously,” Madhulika Guhathakurta told Universe Today. Guhathakurta is the STEREO Program Scientist at NASA HQ.

Courtesy of NASA’s solar duo of STEREO spacecraft. And the noteworthy event is timed to coincide just perfectly with ‘Super Bowl SUNday’ – Exactly one week from today on Feb. 6 during Super Bowl XLV !

“This will be the first time we can see the entire Sun at one time,” said Dean Pesnell, NASA Solar Astrophysicist in an interview for Universe Today. Pesnell is the Project Scientist for NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory at the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, MD.

This remarkable milestone will be achieved when NASA’s two STEREO spacecraft reach position 180 degrees separate on opposite sides of the Sun on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011 and can observe the entire 360 degrees of the Sun.

“We are going to celebrate by having a football game that night!” Pesnell added in jest.

The nearly identical STEREO spacecraft – dubbed STEREO Ahead and STEREO Behind – are orbiting the sun in opposite directions and providing a more complete picture of the Suns environment with each passing day. One probe follows Earth around the sun; the other one leads us.

STEREO is the acronym for Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory. Their mission is to provide the very first, 3-D “stereo” images of the sun to study the nature of coronal mass ejections.The nearly identical STEREO spacecraft – dubbed STEREO Ahead and STEREO Behind – are orbiting the sun in opposite directions and providing a more complete picture of the Suns environment with each passing day. One probe follows Earth around the sun; the other one leads us.

STEREO is the acronym for Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory. Their mission is to provide the very first, 3-D “stereo” images of the sun to study the nature of coronal mass ejections.

Today, (Jan 30) the twin STEREO spacecraft are 179.1 degrees apart and about 90 degrees from Earth, and thus virtually at the midpoint to the back of the sun. See the orbital location graphics above and below.

Both probes were flung into space some four years ago and have been hurtling towards this history making date and location ever since. The wedge of unseen solar territory has been declining.

As the STEREO probes continue flying around to the back side of the sun, the wedge of unseen solar territory on the near side will be increasing and the SDO solar probe will play a vital gap filling role.

“SDO provides the front side view of the sun with exquisite details and very fast time resolution,” Gutharka told me. For the next 8 years, when combined with SDO data, the full solar sphere will still be visible.

2012 Beginning of the End to the world!

Remember the Y2K scare? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know. It will, however, be another winter solstice.

Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline. Below, NASA Scientists answer several questions that we're frequently asked regarding 2012.

Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012.
Answer (A): Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.

Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012?
A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012. Then these two fables were linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.

Q: Does the Mayan calendar end in December 2012?
A: Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then -- just as your calendar begins again on January 1 -- another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar.

Q: Could a phenomena occur where planets align in a way that impacts Earth?
A: There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades, Earth will not cross the galactic plane in 2012, and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence.

Shuttle Discovery Prepares Final Launch in February 2011

Space shuttle Discovery’s team are preparing for an upcoming launch. The space shuttle’s planned move to the launch pad 39A from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) will take place on Monday, Jan. 31. The Discovery’s International Space Station final flight, the STS-133 mission, is scheduled for February 24, 2011, before it enters retirement.

NASA engineers at the VAB completed replacement of shuttle’s mechanical parts and fuel tank modifications. Operations are underway to transport it to Launch Pad 39A as scheduled.

The distance from the VAB to the launch pad is approximately 3.4 miles. A giant crawler will transport the shuttle. Scientists anticipate the three-mile journey to continue the span of about six hours.

The final mission for the Discovery will last roughly 11 days, delivering and installing the Permanent Multipurpose Module and other spare critical modules for the space station. At some stage in the mission, the Discovery will also deliver components to the Express Logistics Carrier 4, which is the exterior platform where the larger equipment is stored. One of the final stages of the mission involves the Discovery delivering the Robonaut 2, commonly referred to as R2. The R2 will become the first multiple intelligence type robot to permanently reside at the International Space Station.

In November, the first attempt to launch the Discovery was cancelled due to a gaseous hydrogen leak. The shuttle was returned to the VAB for x rays and repairs, readying it for the scheduled launch in February.

Upon completion of this mission, the Space Shuttle Discovery will have made 39 flights during its active time in the space program.

NASA has authorized live coverage and plans to air highlights of the first movement on the agency’s television video file.

NASA Ends 30 Years of Shuttle Flights

 The Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to launch from Cape Kennedy in February to begin its final journey into space. The mission, the 133rd of the Shuttle fleet, is one of only three remaining flights in a program that has spanned three decades and sent over 300 humans into space. Since 1981, five Space Shuttle Orbiters have carried communications, defense and scientific satellites into space, acted as orbiting laboratories for scientific, medical and technological research and have been posts for observing Earth weather patterns as well as climate and ecological changes. Space shuttles have brought the Hubble telescope to orbit, built the International Space Station (ISS) and helped humans learn to live and work in the harshest and most unforgiving environment they have ever faced.

A presidential mandate in 2004, following the disintegration of Columbia, instructed NASA to retire the Shuttle by 2010 and begin work on a program to send humans back to the moon. NASA developed Project Constellation and successfully test-launched the new Ares rocket in October 2009. Unfortunately, President George W. Bush failed to provide the funding needed to reach the goals he had set. When President Obama and the Augustine Commission reviewed the Bush plans, they considered them unfeasible under the current NASA budget. Rather than providing the funding necessary, however, Obama canceled Constellation and sent NASA in a "New Direction" wherein private companies would begin developing the next generation earth-orbit launch vehicle, allowing NASA to focus on designing more advanced spacecraft to reach deep space.

The Obama plan faced much criticism because of its vague and distant goals and reliance on foreign nations to send humans to the ISS. Many NASA employees, past and present, expressed concerns that the private sector is not advanced enough to conduct spaceflight operations yet. Some astronauts who have come out in support of the plan — most notably Buzz Aldrin, who, along with Neil Armstrong, became one of the first men to land on the moon in 1969 — have emphasized its importance to the private sector as a driving force for American business and ingenuity.

Recent attempts in Congress to alter the "New Direction" plan, combined with the results of the 2010-midterm elections, leave the future of American spaceflight very much in question. Recent successes in the private spaceflight sector show some hope for this plan, but without any specific goals and far too much reliance on a new industry, NASA is on thin ice. For the first time in American history, we will be ending a manned space program without having one to take its place. At this crucial turning point, it is important to look back at the Shuttle and the programs before it, to honor their contributions to this nation and the world and to emphasize the importance of scientific discovery, research and exploration to humanity. All this is best expressed through the words of the select few who have traveled beyond our planet.