NASASpaceFlight.com Forum
NASA Shuttle Specific Sections => Atlantis (Post STS-135, T&R) => Topic started by: jacqmans on 09/14/2009 06:55 pm
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-175
NASA SETS MEDIA CREDENTIALS DEADLINES FOR NEXT SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHT
WASHINGTON -- NASA has set media accreditation deadlines for the next
space shuttle flight to the International Space Station. Shuttle
Atlantis and its six NASA astronauts are targeted to launch Nov. 12
to begin the STS-129 mission. Shuttle and station teams are assessing
whether the target date can be moved up to Nov. 9.
The 11-day flight will focus on staging spare components outside the
station and will include three spacewalks. Atlantis will return
station crew member Nicole Stott to Earth after nearly three months
aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Journalists must apply for credentials to attend the liftoff from
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida or cover the mission from
other NASA centers. To be accredited, reporters must work for
verifiable news-gathering organizations. Journalists may need to
submit requests for credentials at multiple NASA facilities as early
as Oct. 14
Additional time may be required to process accreditation requests by
journalists from certain designated countries. Designated countries
include those with which the United States has no diplomatic
relations, countries on the State Department's list of state sponsors
of terrorism, those under U.S. sanction or embargo, and countries
associated with proliferation concerns. Please contact the
accrediting NASA center for details. Journalists should confirm they
have been accredited before they travel.
No substitutions of credentials are allowed at any NASA facility. If
the STS-129 launch is delayed, the deadline for domestic journalists
may be extended on a day-by-day basis.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
Reporters applying for credentials at Kennedy should submit requests
via the Web at:
https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
Reporters must use work e-mail addresses, not personal accounts, when
applying. After accreditation is approved, applicants will receive
confirmation via e-mail.
Accredited media representatives with mission badges will have access
to Kennedy from launch through the end of the mission. Application
deadlines for mission badges are Oct. 15 for international reporters
and Oct. 29 for U.S. journalists.
Reporters with special logistic requests for Kennedy, such as space
for satellite trucks, trailers, electrical connections or work space,
must contact Laurel Lichtenberger at [email protected]
by Oct. 29. There is no longer free wireless Internet access provided
at Kennedy's news center.
Work space in the news center and the news center annex is provided on
a first-come basis, limited to one space per organization. To set up
temporary telephone, fax, ISDN or network lines, media
representatives must make arrangements with BellSouth at
800-213-4988. Reporters must have an assigned seat in the Kennedy
newsroom prior to setting up lines. To obtain an assigned seat,
contact Patricia Christian at [email protected].
Journalists must have a public affairs escort to all other areas of
Kennedy except the Launch Complex 39 cafeteria.
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
Reporters may obtain credentials for NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston by calling the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or by
presenting STS-129 mission credentials from Kennedy. Media
representatives planning to cover the mission only from Johnson need
to apply for credentials only at Johnson. Deadlines for submitting
Johnson accreditation requests are Oct. 19 for non-U.S. reporters,
regardless of citizenship, and Nov. 2 for U.S. reporters who are U.S.
citizens.
Journalists covering the mission from Johnson using Kennedy
credentials also must contact the Johnson newsroom by Nov. 2 to
arrange workspace, phone lines and other logistics. Johnson is
responsible for credentialing media if the shuttle lands at NASA's
White Sands Space Harbor, N.M. If a landing is imminent at White
Sands, Johnson will arrange credentials.
DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER
Notice for a space shuttle landing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research
Center on Edwards Air Force Base in California could be short.
Domestic media outlets should consider accrediting Los Angeles-based
personnel who could travel quickly to Dryden. Deadlines for
submitting Dryden accreditation requests are Oct. 14 for non-U.S.
media, regardless of citizenship, and Nov. 16 for U.S. media who are
U.S. citizens or who have permanent residency status.
For Dryden media credentials, U.S. citizens representing domestic
media outlets must provide their full name, date of birth, place of
birth, media organization, driver's license number with the name of
the issuing state, and the last six digits of their social security
number.
In addition to the above requirements, foreign media representatives,
regardless of citizenship, must provide data including their
citizenship, visa or passport number and its expiration date. Foreign
nationals representing either domestic or foreign media who have
permanent residency status must provide their alien registration
number and expiration date.
Journalists should fax requests for credentials on company letterhead
to 661-276-3566. E-mailed requests to Alan Brown at
[email protected] are acceptable for reporters who have been
accredited at Dryden within the past year. Requests must include a
phone number and business e-mail address for follow-up contact.
Journalists who previously requested credentials will not have to do
so again.
NASA PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS:
Kennedy Space Center: Allard Beutel, 321-867-2468,
[email protected]
Johnson Space Center: James Hartsfield, 281-483-5111,
[email protected]
Dryden Flight Research Center: Leslie Williams, 661-276-3893,
[email protected]
For information about the STS-129 mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
For information about the International Space Station, visit:
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-178
NASA SETS BRIEFINGS FOR NOVEMBER SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION
HOUSTON -- NASA will preview the next space shuttle mission during a
series of news briefings on Friday, Oct. 16, at NASA's Johnson Space
Center in Houston. NASA Television and the agency's Web site will
broadcast the briefings live. Reporters may ask questions from
participating NASA locations.
Shuttle Atlantis' 11-day mission, designated STS-129, is targeted to
launch Nov. 12. The flight will include three spacewalks and the
installation of two platforms to the International Space Station's
truss, or backbone. The platforms will hold spare hardware to sustain
station operations after the shuttle is retired. Atlantis also will
return NASA astronaut Nicole Stott after spending more than two
months aboard the orbiting laboratory. This is slated to be the final
time a station crew member will be returned home on a space shuttle
flight.
Charlie Hobaugh will command Atlantis. He will be joined by Pilot
Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik,
Michael Foreman and Robert Satcher. Wilmore, Bresnik and Satcher will
be making their first trips to space.
Schedule of briefings (all times CDT):
8 a.m. -- Program Overview Briefing
9:30 a.m. -- STS-129 Mission Overview Briefing
11 a.m. -- NASA TV Video File
11:30 a.m. -- STS-129 Spacewalk Briefing
1 p.m. -- STS-129 Crew News Conference
Also on Oct. 16, Atlantis' six astronauts will be available for
interviews at Johnson. Reporters must contact Gayle Frere at
281-483-8645 by Oct. 13 to reserve an interview opportunity.
U.S. reporters planning to attend the briefings in Houston must
contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 5 p.m. CDT on Oct. 13
for credentials. Journalists representing foreign media, regardless
of citizenship, must contact the Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m. on Oct.
2.
-
when should the press kit be released???
-
Usually a week or two prior to launch, it will be on the NASA website and linked here so no need to ask ahead of time.
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-193
NASA'S SHUTTLE ATLANTIS MOVES TO LAUNCH PAD, PRACTICE LIFTOFF SET
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Reporters are invited to cover space shuttle
Atlantis' move to the launch pad on Oct. 13 and the STS-129 mission
crew's dress rehearsal activities Oct. 19 to Oct. 21 at NASA's
Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Atlantis is targeted to launch to the International Space Station Nov.
12 on an 11-day cargo flight.
Atlantis was moved from its hangar on Tuesday to Kennedy's Vehicle
Assembly Building. There it will be attached to its external fuel
tank and two solid rocket boosters before its move next week to
Launch Pad 39A.
The first motion of Atlantis from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the
pad is targeted for 12:01 a.m. EDT on Oct. 13. The 3.4 mile journey
is expected to take approximately six hours. Activities include a
6:30 a.m. photo opportunity of the shuttle's move and an interview
availability with Atlantis Flow Director Angie Brewer at 7:45 a.m.
Reporters must arrive at Kennedy's news center by 6 a.m. for
transportation to the viewing area.
Live video coverage of the move will be shown on NASA Television
starting at 6:30 a.m. Video highlights of the move will air on NASA
TV's Video File.
International media accreditation for these events is closed. U.S.
reporters without permanent Kennedy credentials must apply for
accreditation online by 3 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9, at:
https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
Badges must be picked up before 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, at the
Kennedy Space Center Badging Office on State Road 405.
Atlantis' astronauts and ground crews will participate in the practice
countdown, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test. The
test provides each shuttle crew with an opportunity to participate in
various simulated countdown activities, including equipment
familiarization and emergency training.
Times for terminal countdown demonstration test activities still are
being finalized. Activities available for press coverage will
include:
- Oct. 19: STS-129 crew arrival. The astronauts will arrive in Shuttle
Training Aircraft and T-38 jets at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing
Facility. Crew arrival will be broadcast live on NASA TV.
- Oct. 20: Crew media availability. The crew will take questions from
reporters at Launch Pad 39A. The session will be carried live on NASA
TV.
- Oct. 21: Crew walkout photo opportunity. The astronauts will depart
from the Operations and Checkout Building in their flight entry suits
in preparation for the countdown demonstration test at the launch
pad. The walkout will not be broadcast live but will air on NASA TV's
Video File.
Updates with times for all events will be available by calling
321-867-2525.
For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming
video, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For more information about the STS-129 mission and crew, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M50-09
NASA SHOWS SPACE STATION CARGO AND ARES I-X PAD MODS ON OCT. 14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Kennedy Space Center will hold two media
events on Wednesday, Oct. 14, to highlight hardware that will fly to
the International Space Station on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129
mission and modifications that have been made to Launch Pad 39B for
the Ares I-X flight test.
The first event will showcase the STS-129 mission and will take place
at 11 a.m. EDT at Kennedy's Space Station Processing Facility. Media
will have the opportunity to speak with managers involved in
processing two external logistics carriers filled with spare parts
for the orbiting laboratory.
Then at 2 p.m., media are invited to view the completed changes to
Launch Pad 39B. The pad has undergone modifications for the upcoming
Ares I-X rocket flight test targeted for launch on Oct. 27. The first
major mod was the installation of three 600-foot lightning towers.
Other Ares I-X work includes the addition of access platforms and
environmental control systems, removal of shuttle unique subsystems
and installation of the vehicle stabilization system.
Accreditation for international journalists for both events is closed.
U.S. reporters without permanent Kennedy credentials should submit
their request by 12 p.m. on Oct. 13 online at:
https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
Media attending the STS-129 payload event should arrive at Kennedy's
news center by 10 a.m., for transportation to the processing
facility.
Media planning to attend the Ares I-X event must arrive at Kennedy's
news center by 1:30 p.m., for transportation to pad 39B. All
journalists for this event should RSVP to Amber Philman by 12 p.m.,
on Oct. 13.
Both events are in operational areas. All participants must be
properly dressed in full-length pants, flat shoes that entirely cover
the feet, and shirts with sleeves.
For the latest information on the STS-129 mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
To follow Ares I-X processing on Twitter, visit:
http://www.twitter.com/NASA_Ares_I_X
For more information about Ares I-X and NASA's next-generation
spacecraft, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/aresIX
-end-
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M51-09
NASA ADJUSTS SHUTTLE ATLANTIS' LAUNCH PAD MOVE TO OCT. 14
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA now is targeting Wednesday, Oct. 14, to
move space shuttle Atlantis to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space
Center in Florida.
First motion of Atlantis from Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building to
the pad is targeted for 12:01 a.m. EDT. The move is known as
"rollout." The 3.4 mile journey is expected to take approximately six
hours. Activities include a 6:30 a.m. photo opportunity of the
shuttle's move and an interview availability with Atlantis Flow
Director Angie Brewer at 7:45 a.m. Reporters must arrive at Kennedy's
news center by 6 a.m. for transportation to the viewing area.
Live video coverage of the move will be shown on NASA Television
starting at 6:30 a.m. Video highlights of the move will air on NASA
TV Video File.
Atlantis' original rollout date was Oct. 13. The shuttle was towed
Tuesday from its hangar, Orbiter Processing Facility 1, to the
Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, in preparation for its STS-129
mission to the International Space Station. However, an issue with a
crane that was being used to transfer Atlantis for attachment to its
external fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters caused a delay in
operations. That in turn caused additional workload on teams in the
VAB who also are working on preparing NASA's Ares I-X rocket for
rollout to Kennedy's Launch Pad 39B on Oct. 19. Ares I-X is targeted
to launch on its flight test on Oct. 27. Shuttle managers added a day
to Atlantis' rollout preparations to provide relief to the work
force.
The one-day change to the rollout still will allow managers to target
Atlantis' launch for Nov. 12. It also does not affect the practice
countdown, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, and
associated training for Atlantis' six astronauts and ground teams,
which is set to begin Oct. 19.
Media accreditation for Atlantis' Oct. 14 rollout now is closed.
Journalists who already have applied for badges must pick them up
before 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Kennedy Space Center Badging
Office on State Road 405.
Recorded updates for rollout will be available at 321-867-2525.
For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming
video, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For more information about the STS-129 mission and crew, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M52-09
ATLANTIS' OCT. 14 MOVE AND NASA TV COVERAGE NOW SET FOR 6 A.M.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA managers at Kennedy Space Center in
Florida now are targeting the start of space shuttle Atlantis' move
to Launch Pad 39A for 6 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
NASA Television's live video coverage also will start at 6 a.m. Video
highlights of the move will air on NASA TV Video File.
The six-hour later start to the first motion of Atlantis from
Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad will allow the team
some additional time to prepare for the move. No major issues are
being worked.
The 3.4-mile move, known as "rollout," is expected to take
approximately six hours. Activities include a 6 a.m. photo
opportunity and an interview availability with Atlantis Flow Director
Angie Brewer at 7:45 a.m. Reporters must arrive at Kennedy's news
center by 5:30 a.m. for transportation to the viewing area.
Media accreditation for Atlantis' Oct. 14 rollout is closed.
Journalists who already applied for badges must pick them up before 4
p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Kennedy Space Center Badging Office on
State Road 405.
Recorded updates for rollout also will be available at 321-867-2525.
For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming
video, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For more information about the STS-129 mission and crew, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
-
RELEASE: 09-240
NASA LAUNCHES TWEETUP FOR SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS LIFTOFF IN FLORIDA
WASHINGTON -- For the first time, NASA Twitter followers are invited
to view a space shuttle launch in person at the agency's Kennedy
Space Center in Florida. NASA is hosting this unique Tweetup on Nov.
11 and 12. Space shuttle Atlantis is targeted to launch at 4:04 p.m.
EST, Nov. 12 on its STS-129 mission to the International Space
Station.
"This will be NASA's fifth Tweetup for our Twitter community," said
Michael Cabbage, director of the News Services division at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. "Each event has provided our followers
with inside access to NASA personnel, including astronauts. The goal
of this particular Tweetup is to share the excitement of a shuttle
launch with a new audience."
NASA will accommodate the first 100 people who sign up on the Web. An
additional 50 registrants will be added to a waitlist. Registration
opens at noon EDT on Friday, Oct. 16. To sign up and for more
information about the Tweetup, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/tweetup
The two-day event will provide NASA Twitter followers with the
opportunity to take a tour of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, view the
space shuttle launch and speak with shuttle technicians, engineers,
astronauts and managers. The Tweetup will include a "meet and greet"
session to allow participants to mingle with fellow Tweeps and the
staff behind the tweets on @NASA.
To follow NASA programs on Twitter visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/collaborate
For more information about space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
-end-
-
RELEASE: 09-246
NASA UPDATES SHUTTLE ATLANTIS TARGET LAUNCH DATE, CREW REHEARSAL
WASHINGTON -- NASA is targeting Nov. 16 for the launch of space
shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission from the agency's Kennedy Space
Center in Florida.
Managers for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate and
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate met Monday and decided to
adjust Atlantis' target launch date to optimize the agency's ability
to launch both Ares I-X and Atlantis before the end of the year. The
same launch team at Kennedy is supporting both the shuttle and the
flight test of the Ares I-X rocket, which is targeted to lift off on
Oct. 27. Ares I-X is scheduled to roll out to its launch pad at 12:01
a.m. EDT Tuesday.
Atlantis' new target launch date will give Ares I-X launch
opportunities Oct. 27, 28 and 29. NASA has yet to schedule Atlantis'
new target liftoff date on the Eastern Range.
The change to Atlantis' targeted launch will affect the launch
countdown dress rehearsal for the shuttle's six astronauts. The
astronauts arrived at Kennedy on Monday for the Terminal Countdown
Demonstration Test and related training. The simulated countdown has
been rescheduled to Nov. 3. The astronauts will practice emergency
escape and other related training while they are at Kennedy this week
and return there Nov. 2 to conclude their rehearsal work.
The agency's Flight Readiness Review meeting for STS-129 is set for
Oct. 29. NASA will schedule an official launch date for Atlantis
following that meeting.
For more information about the STS-129 mission and its crew, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-204
NASA TO HOLD NEWS CONFERENCE ABOUT NEXT SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has scheduled a news conference for
approximately 6 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 29, to discuss the status
of the next space shuttle launch. The news conference, originating
from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will begin after the
conclusion of the Flight Readiness Review. The review will assess
preparations for shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission to the
International Space Station.
The review is expected to include the selection of an official launch
date. Atlantis currently is targeted to launch at 2:28 p.m. EST on
Nov. 16.
The briefing participants are:
- Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations,
NASA Headquarters, Washington
- John Shannon, manager, Space Shuttle Program, NASA's Johnson Space
Center, Houston
- Mike Leinbach, space shuttle launch director, Kennedy
NASA Television and the agency's Web site will broadcast the briefing
live. Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations
and should contact their preferred NASA center to confirm its
participation.
-
NASA has released on their STS 129 website the STS 129 Press Kit.
They are really early and timely releasing this time!
Nice cover on the kit. Some interesting information.
-
RELEASE: 09-255
NASA GIVES GO FOR SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS LAUNCH ON NOV. 16
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's space shuttle Atlantis is targeted to
begin an 11-day flight to the International Space Station with a Nov.
16 launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is
scheduled for 2:28 p.m. EST.
Atlantis' launch date was announced Thursday at the conclusion of a
flight readiness review at Kennedy. During the meeting, senior NASA
and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the
mission and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and
procedures are ready.
The Nov. 16 target date depends on the planned Nov. 14 launch of an
Atlas V rocket from nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The
Atlas has reserved the Eastern Range on Nov. 14 and 15. If the Atlas
launch is delayed to Nov. 15, the shuttle's liftoff will move to no
earlier than 2:02 p.m. on Nov. 17.
The STS-129 mission will focus on storing spare hardware on the
exterior of the space station. The flight will include three
spacewalks and install two platforms on the station's truss, or
backbone. The platforms will hold spare parts to sustain station
operations after the shuttle fleet is retired.
Commander Charlie Hobaugh and his crew of five astronauts are
scheduled to arrive at Kennedy at approximately 5 p.m. on Thursday,
Nov. 12, for final launch preparations. Joining Archambault on
STS-129 will be Pilot Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland
Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Bobby Satcher. Nicole Stott,
an astronaut who currently resides on the station, will return home
with the Atlantis crew after living in space for more than two
months. Her return on the shuttle is slated to be the final time it
is used to rotate space station crew members.
STS-129 will be Atlantis' 31st mission and the 31st shuttle flight
dedicated to station assembly and maintenance. For more information
about STS-129, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
Mission Specialist Bobby Satcher, an orthopedic surgeon, now is
sending updates about his training to his Twitter account,
Astro_Bones. He can be followed at:
http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Bones
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-211
NASA SETS STS-129 PRELAUNCH EVENTS AND COUNTDOWN DETAILS
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - News conferences, events and operating hours
for the news center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., are set for
the upcoming launch of space shuttle Atlantis. The shuttle's STS-129
mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to lift off
at 2:28 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 16.
A NASA blog will update the countdown beginning Nov. 16 at 9:30 a.m.
Originating from Kennedy, the blog is the definitive Internet source
for information leading up to launch. During the mission, visitors to
NASA's shuttle Web site can read about the crew's progress and watch
the mission's three spacewalks live. As Atlantis' flight concludes,
the NASA blog will detail the spacecraft's return to Earth. For
NASA's launch blog and continuous mission updates, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the shuttle
launch countdown, mission and landing. To follow, visit:
http://www.twitter.com/nasa
Two STS-129 astronauts are tweeting about their pre-launch preparation
and are expected to provide updates to their Twitter accounts during
the shuttle mission. Bobby Satcher, an orthopedic surgeon, can be
followed at: http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Bones and
http://www.twitter.com/ZeroG_MD. The latter account focuses on a
discussion of medical issues for space exploration.
His crewmate Leland Melvin can be followed at:
http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Flow
Detailed lists of countdown milestones, news briefing times and
participants, and hours of operation for Kennedy's news center and
media credentialing office are available at:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news
For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
-
RELEASE: 58-09
AIRSPACE, ROAD, BRIDGE AND WATERWAY CLOSURES FOR STS-129
Launch Date: Nov. 16, 2009
Launch Vehicle: Space shuttle Atlantis
Launch Pad: 39A
Launch Window: 2:23 - 2:33 p.m. EST
Targeted Launch Time: 2:28 p.m. EST
NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER AREA AVIATION FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS
What: Cape Canaveral Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR)
When: From 7:23 a.m. until no later than 3:19 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov.
16, 2009
Where: General aviation and VFR operations are prohibited within a
30-nautical-mile radius of Launch Pad 39A from the surface to (but
not including) 18,000 feet (located on the Melbourne VOR/DME
004-degree radial at 30.6 nautical miles). Pilots should obtain NOTAM
information regarding affected airports.
Aeronautical Chart in Use: Orlando Class B terminal area and
Jacksonville sectional
Additional airspace restrictions: Within an airspace radius between 30
and 40 nautical miles of Pad 39A, a discrete transponder code must be
obtained and clearance granted from air traffic control before
entering this airspace. Continuous radio communications must be
maintained. All VFR aircraft are restricted to 180 knots or less
unless a variance is granted by air traffic control. Pilots should
obtain NOTAM information to determine the affected airports within
this radius before departure.
NOTAM Information: St. Petersburg Flight Service Station
Telephone: 1-800-992-7433; Cell phone: 1-866-295-3983
Radio frequencies: 123.6 MHz (Titusville); 122.6 MHz (Melbourne)
Radio Communications: FAA Orlando Approach Control
Titusville/Cocoa area: 134.950 MHz
Melbourne area: 132.650 MHz
South Volusia County: 125.350 MHz
Space Coast Regional Airport control tower: 118.9 MHz
PUBLIC ACCESS ROAD CLOSURES:
- The Cape Canaveral National Seashore (Playalinda Beach) will close
for launch on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. and will reopen after
launch. The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge will close on
Sunday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. and will also reopen after launch.
- Beginning on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m., State Road 406 east to
State Road 3, and State Road 3 from the Haulover Canal bridge south
to County Road 402 leading to Titusville will be open to badged
personnel only. These roads will close to all vehicle traffic on
Monday, Nov. 16, at 11:30 a.m. until after a successful launch is
confirmed.
- State Road 3 from the Gate 2 News Media Pass and Identification
Building to State Road 405 (NASA Causeway) via Space Commerce Way
will be closed for launch to unauthorized vehicles beginning at 8:30
a.m. on Monday, Nov. 16. NASA Causeway between the U.S. Astronaut
Hall of Fame and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will also
close starting at that time. The roads will reopen two hours after
launch.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER AREA BOATING RESTRICTIONS
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Beginning at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12 (L-4 days),
and continuing through launch, a general exclusion zone will be in
effect three miles offshore from the Haulover Canal, on the northern
end of Kennedy Space Center, and southward to Port Canaveral. Four
hours prior to launch, all ocean-going traffic will be restricted
from entering an area measured from nine statute miles north and
south of the launch pad and extending 64 nautical miles east into the
ocean. An additional three-mile-wide exclusion zone will be extended
eastward along the flight path of the space shuttle.
INDIAN RIVER: Restrictions apply from the NASA Causeway north to
Haulover Canal and east of the Indian River's main channel.
Restrictions are in effect four days prior to launch beginning at 6
a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12.
MOSQUITO LAGOON: This area south of Haulover Canal in the Mosquito
Lagoon is off limits to all boats four days prior to launch beginning
at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12.
BANANA RIVER: Security limits begin at the Banana River Barge Canal
south of Kennedy which is located immediately above State Road 528
and extend north. The area includes KARS Park on Merritt Island. This
restriction is effective four days prior to launch beginning at 6
a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12.
All boating restrictions will be lifted approximately one hour after
launch. Boating interests should monitor U.S. Coast Guard Radio
transmitting on Marine Channel 16 from Port Canaveral.
-end-
-
RELEASE: 09-264
STUDENTS SEND MICROBE EXPERIMENT ON SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS
HOUSTON -- An experiment by college students that will study how
microbes grow in microgravity is heading to orbit aboard space
shuttle Atlantis.
Undergraduate and graduate students at Texas Southern University in
Houston developed the experiment that will fly as part of the STS-129
mission. The mission is scheduled to launch at 2:28 p.m. EST on Nov.
16 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
"I'm thrilled that giving students the chance to design and research
an experiment to fly in space is one of the tools we have at NASA to
engage them in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,"
NASA Deputy Administrator Lori B. Garver said." These young people
are our future, and providing an opportunity to inspire them is a
major part of our mission at NASA."
NASA's Office of Education selected Texas Southern University as a
2008 University Research Center. Texas Southern established a Center
for Bionanotechnology and Environmental Research. Students at the
center developed the Microbial-1 experiment to evaluate the
morphological and molecular changes in E. coli and B. subtilis
bacteria.
"The University Research Center Project is designed to enhance the
research infrastructure and capacity at minority institutions," said
Katrina Emery, NASA's University Research Center project manager at
the agency's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. "By
engaging in participatory learning opportunities like this
experiment, students can see themselves as researchers, now and in
the future."
This space shuttle flight experiment is a proof-of-concept model for
the URC project to give students hands-on experience. The experiment
provides the university students the opportunity to design, monitor
and execute the study in laboratories, as well as near real-time on
the space shuttle. Each component of the experiment is designed for
easy reproduction in the classroom, providing a valuable experience
to students.
"This is an amazing opportunity for our students, and it reflects the
growing quality of our research programs at Texas Southern," said
John M. Rudley, president of Texas Southern University. "We are
excited our students have the opportunity to participate in such
relevant research. We are also pleased that with our partnerships
with area school districts, we are able to take these projects beyond
the university to the school classrooms to encourage more students to
study science, math, and technology."
The unique experimental data will be used to develop grade-appropriate
microbiology modules for students in kindergarten through twelfth
grade. Data downloaded from NASA's Payload Operations and Control
Center will be available on the research center's Web site. In
addition, educators will receive a teacher's guidebook featuring
background information, lesson plans and student activities for
conducting this project in their classrooms. BioServe Space
Technologies at the University of Colorado is providing management
support and hardware for the experiment.
Texas Southern University is one of 13 universities to receive grant
funding from NASA's University Research Center project. The project
is designed to enhance the research capabilities of minority-serving
institutions and increase the production of underrepresented and
underserved students majoring in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics disciplines.
For information about NASA education programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/education
For information about Texas Southern University's Center for
Bionanotechnology and Environmental Research, visit:
http://www.tsu.edu/pages/3438.asp
NASA's Digital Learning Network will host a launch day webcast Nov. 16
beginning at 1:28 p.m. EST and culminating with liftoff. The webcast
will feature a discussion about the Microbial-1 experiment. Watch
online at:
http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/webcast
-
Boeing Provides and Processes Large Spare Parts for International Space Station
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., Nov. 13, 2009 --
When Space Shuttle Atlantis launches from Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 16 to begin its journey to the International Space Station (ISS), it will carry more than 14 tons of large spare parts, many of which were designed or built by The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA]. The parts, which Boeing also processed for launch, are critical to sustaining the ISS once the space shuttle fleet retires in late 2010.
Mission STS-129 will deliver 15 spare parts, known as Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs), which will equip the station with its own "home improvement store," stocked with parts for the station's electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, communications, and robotics systems. The space shuttle is the only vehicle -- now or in the near future -- equipped to carry such large parts to the ISS.
"This mission is very important to ensuring the ISS has maximum operational flexibility with a complete set of critical Orbital Replacement Units before the space shuttle fleet retires," said Joy Bryant, vice president and program manager for Boeing's International Space Station Program. "The station has exceeded our expectations from a life-cycle design standpoint. These replacement components will ensure the station can remain operational for many years to come as the U.S. national laboratory ramps up its science activities."
The ORUs being transported to the ISS include an ammonia tank assembly for the station's cooling system, two control moment gyroscopes that are used to control and steer the station, and a plasma contactor unit that disperses electrical charges which could otherwise build up and harm the station and its crew.
Fourteen of the spares are being carried to the ISS aboard Atlantis using two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers that will be permanently mounted to the outside of the ISS. The 15th spare, an S-band antenna support assembly, is mounted to an interior wall of the shuttle's payload bay for transport. It will be stored on the station's truss.
"This is a very special mission for me and the rest of the team that has been working to process the hardware," said Eve Stavros, Boeing Payload Flow manager for Mission STS-129. "I've been involved with these logistics carriers for the past five years and the payload for the past two, so it will be great to see them installed on orbit and ready to fill their intended role."
Twelve of the 15 large spares were designed, built, or provided by Boeing, and the company processed all of the hardware for this mission under its Checkout, Assembly, and Payload Processing Services (CAPPS) contract with NASA. This mission carries more spare parts than any previous mission.
http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=932
# # #
Contact:
Adam Morgan
Boeing Space Exploration
281-386-4396
[email protected]
Edmund G. Memi
Boeing Space Exploration
281-226-4029
[email protected]
-
RELEASE: 09-266
NASA'S SHUTTLE ATLANTIS HEADED FOR DELIVERY STOP AT SPACE STATION
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis and its six-member crew
began an 11-day delivery flight to the International Space Station on
Monday with a 2:28 p.m. EST launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center
in Florida. The shuttle will transport spare hardware to the outpost
and return a station crew member who spent more than two months in
space.
Atlantis is carrying about 30,000 pounds of replacement parts for
systems that provide power to the station, keep it from overheating,
and maintain a proper orientation in space. The large equipment can
best be transported using the shuttle's unique capabilities.
"We appreciate all the effort making this launch attempt possible. We
are excited to take this incredible vehicle for a ride to another
incredible vehicle, the ISS," Commander Charlie Hobaugh said shortly
before launch.
The flight will include three spacewalks and the installation of two
platforms to the station's truss, or backbone. The platforms will
store the spare parts needed to sustain station operations after
shuttle fleet is retired.
Hobaugh is joined on Atlantis' STS-129 mission by Pilot Barry E.
Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike
Foreman and Bobby Satcher. Atlantis will return with station resident
Nicole Stott, marking the final time the shuttle is expected to
rotate station crew members. Wilmore, Bresnik and Satcher are
first-time space fliers.
Atlantis' first landing opportunity at Kennedy is scheduled for
Friday, Nov. 27 at 9:43 a.m. This mission is the 129th space shuttle
flight, the 31st to the station, the 31st for Atlantis and the fifth
in 2009.
NASA is providing continuous television and Internet coverage of
Atlantis' mission. NASA Television features live mission events,
daily mission status news conferences and 24-hour commentary. For
NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
NASA's Web coverage of STS-129 includes mission information,
interactive features, news conference images, graphics and videos.
Mission coverage, including the latest NASA TV schedule, is available
on the main space shuttle Web site at:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
Melvin, Satcher and Stott are providing mission updates on Twitter.
For their Twitter feeds and other NASA social media Web sites, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/connect
Live updates to the NASA News Twitter feed will be added throughout
the shuttle mission and landing. To access the NASA News Twitter
feed, visit:
http://www.twitter.com/nasa
Daily news conferences with STS-129 mission managers will take place
at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. During normal business
hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday, reporters may
ask questions from participating NASA locations. Please contact your
preferred NASA facility before its daily close of business to confirm
its availability before each event.
Johnson will operate a telephone bridge for media briefings that occur
outside of normal business hours. To be eligible to use this service,
reporters must possess valid media credentials issued by a NASA
center or specifically for the STS-129 mission.
Media representatives planning to use the service must contact the
Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 15 minutes prior to
the start of a briefing in which they wish to participate. Newsroom
personnel will verify their credentials and transfer them to the
phone bridge. The capacity of the phone bridge is limited and will be
available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
-end-
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #01
2 p.m. CST Monday, Nov. 16, 2009
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
HOUSTON - Space shuttle Atlantis launched at 1:28 p.m. CST on its way to store supplies onboard the International Space Station.
Commander Charles Hobaugh, Pilot Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Mike Foreman, Robert Satcher, Jr., Randy Bresnik and Leland Melvin reached orbit eight and a half minutes later as the space station flew 220 miles over the South Pacific Ocean.
Aboard the station watching Atlantis' launch on a live feed from Mission Control were Commander Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency and Flight Engineers Jeffrey Williams, Nicole Stott, Roman Romanenko, Maxim Suraev and Robert Thirsk of the Canadian Space Agency.
Following Atlantis' docking and hatch opening Wednesday, Stott officially becomes a shuttle crew member to return home aboard Atlantis after nearly three months aboard the station.
Shortly after reaching orbit, Atlantis' crew began procedures to ensure the spaceship is healthy for on-orbit operations and is scheduled to open the payload bay doors at about 2:53 p.m.
The crew's launch day ends with a thorough checkout of the robotic arm and survey of the payload bay before heading to bed about 7:28 p.m.
Following wakeup at 3:28 a.m. Tuesday, the crew will spend the majority of the day assessing the health of Atlantis wing leading edge panels and nosecap using the boom/sensor extension and checking out the spacesuits to be worn during three planned spacewalks later in the mission. The crew also will test rendezvous tools and prepare the docking system ahead of arrival at the station.
Atlantis' mission is the 129th in shuttle program history and the 31st dedicated to station assembly, resupply and maintenance. The mission is focused on storing supplies on the exterior of the station to sustain operations after the space shuttle is retired.
The next shuttle status report will be issued after crew wakeup or earlier if warranted.
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #02
HOUSTON – With a picture-perfect launch day under their belts, Atlantis’ crew members will spend their first full day in space taking pictures of what they hope will be a perfect heat shield.
Today’s STS-129 wakeup call came at 3:28 a.m. in the form of MercyMe’s “I Can Only Imagine.” The song was played for Pilot Barry E. Wilmore, who will spend his day at the controls of the shuttle’s robotic arm. Wilmore, along with Commander Charles O. Hobaugh and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin and Randy Bresnik, will be using the 50-foot-long arm and its 50-foot-long orbiter boom sensor system to get an up close look at the tiles of Atlantis’ wing leading edges and nose cap.
The inspection will make use of a suite of cameras and lasers on the end of the boom and give experts on the ground 3-D views of shuttle’s heat shield. Those photos, as well as others taken during various points in the mission, will be used to ensure that the shuttle did not sustain any damage during its launch on Monday.
This inspection will begin just before 7:15 a.m. and will take about five hours. While it’s going on, the crew’s spacewalkers – Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr., with help from Bresnik when he’s not working on the inspection – will perform a checkout of the two spacesuits to be worn on the first of the mission’s three spacewalks and prepare the suits for transfer to the International Space Station.
In preparation for docking with the station on Wednesday, the crew will also set up the centerline camera, extend the Orbiter Docking System ring and check out other equipment that will be used during the rendezvous.
Aboard the station, Expedition 21 Commander Frank De Winne and Flight Engineers Jeffrey Williams, Nicole Stott, Maxim Suraev, Roman Romanenko and Robert Thirsk will prepare for the shuttle’s arrival by reviewing photography procedures for their part in documenting the condition of the shuttle’s heat shield as it completes a rendezvous pitch maneuver during its approach to the station. Williams will also get a jump start on one of the STS-129 tasks, the preparation of the Harmony node for the arrival of the Tranquility node next year.
Atlantis’ crew will go to bed just before 7:30 p.m.
The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s workday or earlier if events warrant.
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #03
HOUSTON – Atlantis astronauts Tuesday inspected the space shuttle’s thermal protection system, checked out spacesuits and prepared to dock with the International Space Station.
Much of the day for Commander Charles Hobaugh, Pilot Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Robert Satcher Jr. was devoted to inspection of the shuttle’s heat-resistant tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon surfaces on the wing leading edges and the nose.
Hobaugh, Wilmore and Melvin used the shuttle’s arm and its Orbital Boom Sensor System extension to survey Atlantis’ right wing. Bresnik, Foreman and Satcher checked out spacesuits.
After the right wing scan Bresnik replaced Hobaugh on the survey team for detailed looks at the nose cap, the left wing and other areas while Foreman and Satcher kept working with the space-suits.
After the inspections were complete and the boom was berthed, Melvin and Bresnik grappled the Express Logistics Carrier 1 in Atlantis’ cargo bay with the shuttle’s robotic arm to get ready for the ELC’s transfer to the station.
Toward the end of their day, crew members extended the Orbital Docking System Ring and checked out rendezvous tools. Atlantis is scheduled to dock with the station a little before 11 a.m. CST on Wednesday.
The Atlantis crew is scheduled to begin its sleep period at 7:28 p.m. Its docking day wakeup call is scheduled for 3:28 a.m.
On the station the Expedition 21 crew, Commander Frank De Winne and Flight Engineers Jeffrey Williams, Nicole Stott, Maxim Suraev, Roman Romanenko and Robert Thirsk, was getting ready for Atlantis’ arrival. They will photograph the shuttle’s heat shield during its back flip on its approach. Stott will return to Earth aboard Atlantis.
The next shuttle status report will be issued after Atlantis crew wakeup or earlier if warranted.
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #04
HOUSTON – The International Space Station is just a few hours away from receiving a shipment of spares that should help keep it going well into the future.
Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to dock to the station at 10:53 a.m. and deliver two pallets carrying more than 20,000 pounds worth of spare equipment too large to be launched into space aboard any other vehicle.
Atlantis’ six-man crew received their wake-up call at 3:28 a.m. Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” was played for Mission Specialist Robert Satcher as the day’s wake-up song.
The morning will focus on preparations for the rendezvous and docking to the station. Commander Charles Hobaugh and Pilot Barry Wilmore will perform a few final corrective jet firings to refine the orbiter’s path to the station and position the vehicle for its rendezvous pitch maneuver 600 feet beneath the station at 9:52 a.m. While Hobaugh performs the “backflip” Expedition 21 Flight Engineers Jeffrey Williams and Nicole Stott will take photos from the station. Their photos will be sent to the ground for review by experts to ensure that the shuttle’s heat shield did not sustain any damage during Monday’s launch.
Once the maneuver is complete, Hobaugh will fly Atlantis ahead of the space station and slowly back it in for the docking to the station’s Harmony node. After a series of leak checks that should take about two hours, the hatches between the two vehicles will be opened and the two crews will start their joint operations.
Hatch opening will mark the end of Flight Engineer Nicole Stott’s two-and-a-half-month stint with the space station’s crew. She’ll officially become a member of the STS-129 crew, and the station will be manned by a five-person crew until Dec. 1, when Commander Franke De Winne and Flight Engineers Roman Romanenko and Robert Thirsk will depart the station in their Soyuz vehicle. Williams and Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev will be left behind to man the station alone until the rest of the Expedition 22 crew arrives on Dec. 23.
Atlantis’ crew is scheduled to go to sleep just before 7:30 p.m. The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s workday or earlier if events warrant.
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #05
HOUSTON – The space shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station at 10:51 a.m. CST to deliver 14 tons of cargo that is essential for the continued operations of the orbiting laboratory.
Atlantis Commander Charles Hobaugh guided the orbiter to a docking with a pressurized mating adaptor located on the station’s Harmony node as the two spacecraft were flying 220 miles above Earth between Australia and Tasmania.
Prior to docking, when the orbiter reached a range of 600 feet from the station, Atlantis performed the nine minute Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver, or “backflip.” Hobaugh rotated the orbiter backwards, enabling space station astronauts Jeffrey Williams and Nicole Stott to take high resolution pictures of the shuttle heat shield. The images will be analyzed by experts and managers on the ground to assess the health of Atlantis’ thermal protection system tiles.
The shuttle and station crews opened hatches and the Atlantis crew was welcomed onboard the space station at 12:28 p.m. The hatch opening signifies the end of Stott’s tenure as an Expedition 21 flight engineer. Now an STS-129 mission specialist, Stott will have spent a total of 91 days in space if Atlantis lands, as planned, on Nov. 27. She is the last station crew member to return to Earth on the space shuttle. Russian Soyuz spacecraft will be used for future station crew launches and landings.
At 1:52 p.m. shuttle Mission Specialists Leland Melvin and Randy Bresnik removed the Express Logistics Carrier 1 from Atlantis’ payload bay and at 2:25 p.m. handed it off from the shuttle robotic arm to the station robotic arm controlled by shuttle Pilot Barry Wilmore and station Flight Engineer Jeff Williams. They installed the carrier on the station’s Port 3 truss at 3:27 p.m.
Before the shuttle crew’s scheduled sleep at 7:28 p.m., transfer of shuttle middeck supplies to the station will begin along with relocation of spacesuits that will be used for the three planned spacewalks. The crews will review the plan for tomorrow’s spacewalk, scheduled to be completed by Mission Specialists Mike Foreman and Robert Satcher.
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #06
HOUSTON – After a night spent camping out in the Quest airlock, Mission Specialists Mike Foreman and Robert Satcher are awake and into the final preparations for the first spacewalk of the STS-129 mission.
Foreman, Satcher and the rest of Atlantis’ crew were awakened at 3:28 a.m. to the sound of The Newsboys’ song “In Wonder.” It was played for Mission Specialist Randy Bresnik, who will be choreographing today’s spacewalk from inside the station.
The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 8:18 a.m. and last 6.5 hours. During that time, Foreman and Satcher will be installing a spare S-band antenna structural assembly brought up in Atlantis’ cargo bay. The equipment will be stored on the Z1 segment of the station’s truss system, and to get it there Satcher will be riding the station’s robotic arm, driven by Mission Specialist Leland Melvin, Commander Charles Hobaugh and Pilot Barry Wilmore.
Other tasks on the spacewalkers’ agenda include the installation of a set of cables for a future space-to-ground antenna on the Destiny laboratory and the replacement of a handrail on the Unity node with a bracket that will be used to route an ammonia cable required for the Tranquility node when it is delivered next year. Foreman and Satcher will also reposition a cable connector on the Unity node, troubleshoot a cable connection and lubricate two latching end effectors – one on the Japanese robotic arm and one on the mobile base that allows the station’s main robotic arm to travel to different worksites.
Meanwhile, inside the station, further work will be going on to prepare the station for the arrival of the Tranquility node. While Satcher and Foreman are making adjustments on the exterior of the station, station Commander Frank De Winne and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams will be working at the port hatch of the Harmony node to rewire data, power and cooling lines and air flow connections that will be connected to Tranquility. Their task is also scheduled to take about 6.5 hours today, however that won’t be the end of it; De Winne and Williams will continue working on the project over several days during the STS-129 mission.
The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s workday or earlier if events warrant.
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-219
SPACE SHUTTLE PILOT SET TO TALK WITH TENNESSEE STUDENTS FROM ORBIT
WASHINGTON -- Congressman Bart Gordon and Tennessee Technological
University in Cookeville will host a live conversation between more
than 120 students and NASA astronaut Barry E. Wilmore on Sunday, Nov.
22. Wilmore is the pilot of space shuttle Atlantis, which launched
Nov. 16 on an 11-day mission to the International Space Station.
Members of Wilmore's family also will attend the event.
The live call from orbit will take place between 11:08 a.m. and 11:28
a.m. CST. Twenty students, ranging from kindergarten to college age,
will ask questions of Wilmore and fellow astronauts Nicole Stott and
Leland Melvin. Stott has served as a flight engineer and member of
the Expedition 21 crew living aboard the International Space Station
for more than two months. She will return to Earth aboard Atlantis.
Melvin is a mission specialist and crewmate of Wilmore's aboard
Atlantis.
Reporters interested in attending the event should contact Monica
Greppin at 931-372-3214.
Gordon is the chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee.
Wilmore was born and raised in Gordon's district in Tennessee and
earned bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from
Tennessee Technological University.
The downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the
U.S. and abroad to improve teaching and learning in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics. It is an integral component
of NASAs Teaching From Space office. The office promotes learning
opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community
using the unique environment of human spaceflight.
Tennessee Tech University and WCTE, the local PBS affiliate, will
carry a live feed of the event at:
http://www.tntech.edu
and
http://www.wcte.org
For more information about Wilmore, visit:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/wilmore-be.html
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-220
SPACE STATION, SPACE SHUTTLE JOINT CREW NEWS CONFERENCE TUESDAY
HOUSTON -- The 12 crew members aboard space shuttle Atlantis and the
International Space Station will hold a news conference at 7:13 a.m.
CST on Tuesday, Nov. 24.
Reporters can ask questions from NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston, Kennedy Space Center in Florida and headquarters in
Washington. Journalists from Canada, Europe and Russia also will
participate in the news conference. U.S. journalists must RSVP by
calling the public affairs office at a participating NASA location by
noon Nov. 23.
NASA Television will provide live coverage of the 40-minute news
conference. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video
information, visit:
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #07
HOUSTON – Spacewalking Atlantis astronauts completed their planned work ahead of schedule Thursday and did a major additional task.
Mission Specialists Mike Foreman and Robert Satcher wound up the six-hour, 37-minute spacewalk at 3:01 p.m. CST. It was the first of three spacewalks scheduled for Atlantis’ mission to the International Space Station, a flight devoted largely to bringing sizeable spare parts to the station to be attached to its exterior.
The focus of other Atlantis crew members, Commander Charles Hobaugh, Pilot Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin and Randy Bresnik, was mostly on supporting the spacewalk or related activities.
Bresnik served as the intravehicular officer for the spacewalk, choreographing activities of his crewmates outside, while Melvin and Wilmore operated the station’s robotic arm. Hobaugh helped provide photo and television coverage of the spacewalk.
The spacewalk officially began at 8:24 a.m. when Foreman and Satcher switched their suits to internal power. Their first task was to install a spare S-band antenna structural assembly on the station’s Z1 truss. That was completed about an hour ahead of schedule.
The spacewalkers then separated. Foreman installed cables for a space-to-ground antenna on the Destiny laboratory and replaced a handrail on the Unity node with one having a bracket to route an ammonia cable for the Tranquility Node to be delivered next year. He also successfully connected a cable on the Unity Node, which in September had defied efforts by STS-128 astronauts.
Satcher lubricated the latching end effector on the Japanese robotic arm and a similar attachment device on the station’s mobile base system. They were almost two hours ahead when the last scheduled task was completed.
The get-ahead task, completed after spacewalkers visited the airlock to pick up required tools and recharge Foreman’s oxygen, involved installation of a Payload Attach System (PAS). It was one of three such jobs planned for the second spacewalk. Installation of this PAS, on the Earth-facing side of the Starboard 3 truss, had been scheduled as a 1.5-hour job on the Saturday spacewalk.
Foreman and Bresnik are scheduled for that second spacewalk on Saturday while Satcher is to do the third spacewalk on Monday with Bresnik.
Inside the station, Commander Frank De Winne and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams started work in the Harmony Node on data, power and cooling lines and air flow connections for Tranquility. That work is expected to continue for several days.
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #08
HOUSTON – Though it began a little later than planned, the STS-129 crew is awake and starting work on the day’s activities.
Their wakeup call came at 3:28 a.m., which gave them 30 extra minutes intended to make up for sleep lost overnight when false depressurization caution alarms sounded on the International Space Station. That occurred just after 7:30 p.m., about 30 minutes after the crew began its sleep period.
Although the flight control teams on the ground were able to determine that there was no depressurization occurring, the crew was never in any danger and ventilation fans were shutoff as a precaution. That shutoff kicked up dust that resulted in a fire alarm in the European Columbus laboratory also sounding.
By 8:15 p.m., the flight control teams in Houston were working to bring the station back into its normal configuration, and Atlantis’ crew was told it could go back to sleep. The space station crew members were required to stay up a bit longer as the station’s ventilation system was reactivated. That work took a little over an hour, after which the station crew was able to resume its sleep period as well. Flight control teams are looking into the cause of the initial false alarm.
The shuttle crew started its day today with a wakeup call to the tune of Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,” which was played for Mission Specialist Leland Melvin.
The day’s tasks will be unaffected by the night’s activities. As no focused inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield was required, the crew will be focusing on preparations for Saturday’s spacewalk. These tasks include recharging batteries, switching out Mission Specialist Robert Satcher’s spacesuit for that of Mission Specialist Randy Bresnik and reviewing procedures before Bresnik and Mission Specialist Mike Foreman begin their overnight campout in the Quest Airlock.
In addition, the space shuttle’s robotic arm will be used to grab onto the second cargo pallet of spare equipment brought up by Atlantis in advance of its transfer to the space station on Saturday.
Several crew members will also be talking with reporters on the ground over the course of the day. At 5:08 a.m., Commander Charles Hobaugh and Pilot Barry Wilmore will be talking with CBS News, FOXNews Radio and Nashville’s WTVG-TV. At 6:28 a.m., Melvin and Satcher will be interviewed by the Tom Joyner Morning Show. And at 3:33 p.m., Hobaugh, Melvin and Satcher will talk with ESPN’s SportCenter, Black Entertainment Television News and WRIC-TV in Richmond, Va.
The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s workday or earlier if events warrant. The crew is due to go to sleep just before 6:30 p.m.
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #09
HOUSTON – Preparations for the second spacewalk of Atlantis’ STS-129 visit to the International Space Station, transfer of material between the spacecraft and talks with media representatives helped keep astronauts busy Friday.
The Atlantis crew, Commander Charles Hobaugh, Pilot Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman, Robert Satcher Jr. and Nicole Stott, also tackled various maintenance, troubleshooting and science activities.
Station Expedition 21 crew members, Commander Frank De Winne and Flight Engineers Jeffrey Williams, Maxim Suraev, Roman Romanenko and Robert Thirsk, joined in those activities.
A little after 6 a.m., the shuttle’s robotic arm grappled Express Logistics Carrier 2 in the shuttle cargo bay. It will be handed off to the station arm Saturday and attached with its load of large spare parts to the outside of the station. Its sister carrier, ELC 1, was attached to the station on Thursday.
Foreman and Bresnik, the Saturday spacewalkers, prepared spacesuits and configured tools for their excursion. Both crews spent an hour shortly before bedtime reviewing spacewalk procedures.
Among spacewalk tasks will be installation of a second Payload Attachment System, this one on the upper part of the Starboard 3 truss. It was to have been done on the third spacewalk on Monday, but was moved to Saturday. The first PAS installation, initially scheduled for Saturday, was completed as a get-ahead task by Foreman and Satcher during the mission’s first spacewalk on Thursday. Satcher will be Saturday’s intravehicular officer.
Other spacewalk jobs Saturday include installation of a Grappling Adaptor to On-Orbit Railing (GATOR) assembly, which is part of a demonstration of two ship Automatic Identification System receivers, relocation of a Floating Potential Measurement Unit and installation of a Wireless Video System transceiver.
The movement of materials between Atlantis and the station continued to go well Friday. Well over half the mission’s transfer activities have been completed.
Crew members participated in three chats with media representatives. Hobaugh and Wilmore spoke with CBS News, Fox News Radio and Nashville’s WTVG-TV shortly after 5 a.m. Melvin and Satcher were on the Tom Joyner Morning Show at about 6:30 a.m. A little after 3:30 p.m., Hobaugh, Melvin and Satcher talked with ESPN’s SportCenter, Black Entertainment Television News and WRIC-TV in Richmond, Va.
Troubleshooting continued on Atlantis’ Orbiter Communication Adapter after difficulties with transmission of high-data-rate material. On the station, change out of circuit boards in the Human Research Facility rack was completed.
The next shuttle status report will be issued after the Saturday crew wakeup call, scheduled for 2:28 a.m.
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #10
HOUSTON – An overnight interruption in their preparations will mean that Mission Specialists Mike Foreman and Randy Bresnik will head out of the station’s hatch on the second spacewalk of the STS-129 mission a little later than planned.
The International Space Station again experienced a false depressurization alarm that originated from the new Poisk Mini-Research Module overnight. The station’s automatic response resulted in a shutdown of ventilation systems, which led to two smoke detectors issuing a false alarm, as well – one in the Columbus European laboratory and one in the Quest airlock, where Foreman and Bresnik were camping out as part of the pre-breathe protocol that precedes spacewalks.
The alarm sounded at 8:53 p.m., more than two hours after Atlantis’ crew went to sleep for the night. Emergency procedures required the spacewalkers to move out of the airlock while teams on the ground verified that the alarms were false. Although flight controllers in Houston were quickly able to determine that was the case, it was decided that it would take too long to get the airlock back in its normal configuration for it to be feasible for Bresnik and Foreman to spend the night there. Instead, they were instructed to stop their pre-breathe protocol and sleep elsewhere.
In order to flush nitrogen from their blood steams – the job their campout in Quest would have accomplished – Bresnik and Foreman will instead be going through an exercise protocol, which requires them to spend 10 minutes on the station’s exercise bike while breathing pure oxygen from an air mask. They’ll spend a total of two hours and 20 minutes breathing the pure oxygen, which, when combined with the exercise, will help them avoid getting decompression sickness when they exit the station.
They are scheduled to exit the station at 8:38 a.m. With 30 extra minutes in their sleep period to make up for sleep lost due to the alarms, the crew’s wakeup call came today at 2:58 a.m. The wakeup song, “Voyage to Atlantis” by The Isley Brothers, was played for Mission Specialist Bobby Satcher.
Even though they are starting late, the spacewalkers plan to get all the scheduled tasks complete during what will now be a six-hour-long spacewalk. That is 30 minutes shorter than was originally planned, which means that they will not have extra time in the schedule for get ahead work.
Foreman and Bresnik still intend to install the Grappling Adaptor to On-Orbit Railing assembly (or GATOR) on the Columbus module, relocate a floating potential measurement unit to the P1 truss segment, set up a cargo attachment system on the zenith face of the S3 truss segment and install a wireless video system external transceiver assembly.
The other major task on the crew’s agenda today is the transfer of the second cargo pallet delivered by Atlantis to the space station – EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 2, or ELC2. That work is scheduled to get underway just before 6:45 a.m. The pallet contains 9,900 pounds of spare equipment for the station, including a control moment gyroscope, a nitrogen tank assembly, a pump module, a high pressure gas tank, a cargo transport container that holds 10 remote power control modules and a reel assembly for the station’s mobile transporter.
ELC2 will be installed on the S3 segment of the station’s truss by the space station’s robotic arm, which will be driven by Mission Specialists Leland Melvin and Nicole Stott.
The next shuttle status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s workday or earlier if events warrant. The crew is due to go to sleep just before 6 p.m.
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #11
HOUSTON – It’s two down and one to go for Atlantis’ spacewalkers.
Mike Foreman and Randy Bresnik wound up a successful 6-hour, 8-minute outing after completing their scheduled tasks ahead of schedule and get-ahead jobs. The official end of the spacewalk was at 2:39 p.m. CST. It was the second of the three scheduled during Atlantis’ visit to the International Space Station.
The start was a little later than planned, about 8:30 a.m., because a false depressurization alarm had sounded on the station at 8:53 p.m. Friday, interrupting the crews’ sleep and the spacewalkers’ campout in the Quest airlock. The spacewalkers completed the process of reducing the nitrogen in their blood by doing exercise while breathing oxygen.
The first job was installing an antenna assembly called GATOR on a Columbus module handrail. The assembly includes an antenna for a ship identification system and another for ham radio. With support from intravehicular officer Robert Satcher Jr., they completed that task about 40 minutes ahead of schedule.
Then they relocated the station’s floating potential measurement unit to the Port 1 Truss. The device, which measures electrical potential of the station, was moved to make way for an alpha magnetic spectrometer to be delivered next year.
Next, after a trip back to the airlock to recharge the spacesuits’ oxygen, was deployment of a payload attachment system on the upper part of the Starboard 3 (S3) Truss. The first PAS was deployed ahead of schedule during the Thursday spacewalk, so installation of the second, which had been scheduled for Monday’s spacewalk, was moved up to today.
The PAS is a stowage system for spare parts. To set it up, the spacewalkers had to remove two braces, swing out the PAS from the truss on which it was launched, and then reattach the braces to support it in its new position.
The final scheduled task of the spacewalk was installation of a wireless video system on S3. The system transmits video from the cameras on spacewalkers’ helmets. They finished that chore more than an hour ahead of schedule.
Flight controllers added get-head tasks. The major one was deployment of a third PAS, this one on the Earth-facing side of S3. Most recently that job had been added to the third spacewalk, but the crew was so far ahead, they were told to do it Saturday. The task was accomplished smoothly and quickly.
The crew also disconnected, examined, photographed and reconnected the troublesome antenna cable Discovery astronauts on STS-128 had been unable to hook up. Thursday spacewalkers had succeeded in mating the cable, but instrument readings were not as expected.
Finally, the spacewalkers moved a tool stanchion on Pressurized Mating Adaptor 1, which links the U.S. and Russian segments of the station, and relocated an articulated portable foot restraint.
Just before the beginning of the Saturday spacewalk, Express Logistics Carrier 2 was installed on S3 by the station’s robotic arm, operated by Mission Specialists Leland Melvin and Nicole Stott. It holds almost 10,000 pounds of large spares for the station, including an attitude-control gyroscope, a high-pressure oxygen tank and a pump module.
A sister cargo carrier, ELC 1, also came to the station on Atlantis and was installed at about the time the first spacewalk began on Thursday.
-
STS-129 MCC Status Report #12
HOUSTON – The six-member crew of Atlantis will have a half day to relax before getting ready for Monday’s third and final spacewalk.
The crew was awakened this morning with the song “Butterfly Kisses,” by Bob Carlisle at 1:58 a.m. CST. It was selected for Mission Specialist Randy Bresnik.
Later in the morning, Pilot Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Robert Satcher Jr. and Nicole Stott will answer reporters’ questions in interviews with WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C., Bay News 9 in Tampa, Fla. and WBBM Radio in Chicago, Ill.
Also planned is an opportunity for some Tennessee students to interact with Wilmore, Melvin and Stott. The educational question and answer session is being held at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville. Wilmore is an alumnus of Tennessee Tech.
In the early afternoon, Satcher and Bresnik will prepare spacesuits and tools and review the updated procedures for that third spacewalk. The spacewalk was replanned overnight after Bresnik and Foreman were able to get ahead on tasks during Saturday's spacewalk, including deploying a third payload attach system.
Tonight Satcher and Bresnik will spend the night in the Quest airlock to prepare for Monday’s spacewalk. The crew is scheduled to begin its sleep period about 5:30 p.m.
The next mission status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s day or earlier if warranted.
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-002
NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE CREW IN WASHINGTON, AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS
WASHINGTON -- NASA Headquarters in Washington will welcome space
shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 astronauts for a visit on Monday, Jan. 11,
through Thursday, Jan. 14. The crew wrapped up an 11-day journey in
space of nearly 4.5 million miles on Nov. 27.
Commander Charlie Hobaugh, Pilot Barry Wilmore, Mission Specialists
Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Bobby Satcher will
share mission highlights with NASA employees, school children,
college students and the general public while in the nation's
capital. Reporters interested in covering the events or interviewing
a crew member should contact NASA Public Affairs at 202-358-1100.
To kick off their visit, the crew will give a postflight presentation
to NASA employees, their families and reporters at 10 a.m. EST,
Monday, at NASA Headquarters' James E. Webb Auditorium, 300 E.
Street, S.W. The crew's presentation will air live on NASA
Television's education channel.
On Tuesday, Melvin and Satcher will present mission highlights from
9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Howard University School of Science and
Mathematics on campus. For more information, please contact 2nd Lt.
Janay Wilson at 202-806-6789.
The crew also will attend the Washington Wizards game against the
Detroit Pistons on Tuesday at the Verizon Center. They will
participate in pregame activities and view the game, which is
scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The astronauts will bring with them an
NBA jersey that was flown on their shuttle flight. The jersey is
expected to be returned to the NBA during the All-Star game in
Dallas.
Wilmore, Foreman, Bresnik and Melvin will give a public presentation
about their spaceflight from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Thursday at the
National Air and Space Museum's new "Moving Beyond Earth" exhibit.
The audience will consist of 250 students (grades 6th through 12th),
visitors, employees and invited guests.
The STS-129 shuttle mission included three spacewalks and the
installation of two platforms to the International Space Station's
truss, or backbone. The platforms hold large spare parts to sustain
station operations after the shuttles are retired. The shuttle crew
delivered about 30,000 pounds of replacement parts for systems that
provide power to the station, keep it from overheating, and maintain
a proper orientation in space.
-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-013
NASA ASTRONAUTS PRESENTING SPECIAL 'SPACE VETERAN' SUPER BOWL COIN
WASHINGTON -- The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission
will deliver a specially minted silver medallion to National Football
League officials at 10 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at the Pro
Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The medallion will be used for
the official coin toss prior to the kickoff of Super Bowl XLIV on
Sunday, Feb. 7.
Shuttle commander Charlie Hobaugh, a graduate of North Ridgeville High
School near Cleveland, Pilot Barry Wilmore, Mission Specialists
Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Bobby Satcher and Mike Foreman, from
Wadsworth, Ohio, returned from their 11-day space mission to the
International Space Station on Nov. 27.
The crew will present Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys jerseys and a
football, inscribed with the name of every member of the Hall of
Fame, which also accompanied the crew on their 4.5 million mile space
journey last fall. The astronauts will share mission highlights with
attendees, which will include local students and community partners.
The STS-129 shuttle mission included three spacewalks and the
installation of two platforms to the station's truss, or backbone.
The platforms hold large spare parts to sustain operations after the
shuttles are retired. The crew delivered approximately 30,000 pounds
of replacement parts for systems that provide power to the station,
keep it from overheating, and maintain a proper orientation in space.
For information about the STS-129 mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle