太空探索工程 卫星发射 剪报评论

pfg1group

http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/080429/1/y6nt.html



印度成功用一枚火箭運載10顆衛星上太空，除展示太空實力，並打破用單一火箭運送最多衛星的世界紀錄。10顆衛星中包括一顆可用作蒐集情報的遙控衛星，有輿論指出，它可能是印度第一顆國產軍用衛星。其餘9顆包括8顆重3到16公斤的迷你衛星。

印度媒體報導，一枚PSLV-C9火箭在當地時間28號早上9點23分，由印度南部發射升空。火箭在發射14分鐘後開始把衛星逐一釋入軌道。媒體形容，這次發射是印度航太史的(里程碑)。印度太空研究組織負責人說：我們甚至偵查不出發射中有任何明顯偏差，這表示任務非常完美。

PSLV是印度自行研製的運載火箭，重230噸，耗資1750萬美元興建。它這次攜帶的衛星總重量達824公斤。去年4月，俄羅斯一枚火箭搭載8顆衛星升空，總重量只有300公斤。

PSLV火箭搭載的最大衛星是690公斤的全天候遙控衛星，它附有一個高解析度相機，可拍攝地面清晰影像。

印度近年積極發展太空項目，去年成功把一枚義大利衛星送上軌道，今年籌備太空司令部，並計劃探索火星。

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印度45年箭星路 "一箭十星"航天技术再迈步
http://news.xinhuanet.com/tech/2008-04/29/content_8070863.htm

  印度２８日用一枚航天火箭把１０颗卫星送入轨道，印度空间研究组织主席Ｇ·马达范·奈尔称之为“完美”。     回望去年１月，印度用一枚火箭把４颗卫星送入轨道并完成相应重点实验之际，奈尔称之“美妙”。
    从“一箭四星”到“一箭十星”，印度着意一个“美梦”，即稳居国际卫星发射市场。
    “完美”
    “完美”一说，出自奈尔之口，除了因为“一箭十星”属于首次，还因为卫星释放后相对于预定轨道没有偏离“哪怕一点点”。
    按照奈尔在媒体记者面前的说法，“这是一个历史性时刻”。
    印度这次发射升空名为Cartosat-2A的遥感卫星，接续先前名为Cartosat-1的遥感卫星，而质量与前一颗相比增加大约１０千克，据称两者都已步入全世界最大的非军事遥感卫星之列。
    截至最新遥感卫星发射前，据《印度教徒报》记者西达尔特·斯里瓦斯塔瓦先前报道，６个印度航天飞行器正在观测地球。
    此外，另有一组处于运行状态的航天飞行器构成“印度国家卫星”群落，既为印度９０％的人口提供卫星电视广播中继，也构成远程教学网络。
    就航天运载火箭而言，印度现有４种类型国产型号：卫星运载火箭（ＳＬＶ）、加大推力运载火箭（ＡＳＬＶ）、极地卫星运载火箭（ＰＳＬＶ）和地球同步卫星运载火箭（ＧＳＬＶ）。
    “一箭十星”以及先前几次航天发射启用极地卫星运载火箭（ＰＳＬＶ），由四级火箭组成，媒体报道长度为４４.４米。
    这次发射除了搭载两颗印度卫星，还把８颗分别来自欧洲、加拿大和日本的超小型卫星送入轨道。印度空间研究组织下属的市场营销机构安特里克斯公司称，印度方面向这些超小型卫星的主人分别收取了费用。
    至于费用金额，安特里克斯公司以及印度和国际媒体未予披露。
    去年４月２３日为意大利发射一颗３５２千克卫星，是印度首次向其他国家提供商业化卫星发射服务，所收取费用大约为１１００万美元。
    今年１月，印度不顾伊朗反对，为以色列发射了一颗间谍卫星。
    因此，奈尔所言“完美”，或许不仅限于技术进步，还包括经济收益前景。
    “美妙”
    “美妙”一说，出自奈尔之口，是在印度去年１月１０日实现“一箭四星”之后。
    那次发射同样使用极地卫星运载火箭，实际搭载了包括Cartosat-1遥感卫星在内的３颗卫星和印度第一个返回式太空舱（ＳＲＥ）。
    返回式太空舱的质量为５５０千克，是那次发射的重点实验项目，在绕地球轨道上运行１１天后重返大气层并溅落在孟加拉湾海域，用以研究重返和回收技术。
    奈尔当时评价道，发射并回收返回式太空舱属于印度方面的自主“突破”，相关技术今后可以用于研制可重复使用的运载火箭，同时也“是向太空发送印度人迈出的一小步”。
    他解释说，“发射卫星相对容易，因为知道难点；但对如何收回卫星，却一无所知。卫星运行速度为每小时２.８万公里。我们必须让它‘刹车’，然后驾驭它……航行、导引、控制和返回时的热量管理都须操作正常。”
    印度有意研制可重复使用、即多次发射的运载火箭，以区别于只能使用一次的常规运载火箭。现阶段，把１千克有效载荷送入航天轨道的费用介于１.２万至１.５万美元之间。一旦采用可重复使用运载火箭，费用可望大幅度下降。
    成本低，意味着“商机”，可望吸引更多国家启用印度的卫星发射服务。
    《印度教徒报》记者斯里瓦斯塔瓦报道，印度有意２００８年至２００９年实施带有测试性质的可重复使用运载火箭计划。
    一些印度空间研究组织官员甚至号称，与同样可重复使用的美国航天飞机机群相比，印度的可重复使用运载火箭将具备“崭新安全性能”。
    不过，印度官员和媒体承认，即使极地卫星运载火箭是印度现有运载能力最大的航天运载工具，也不足以自主发射载荷更大的通信卫星，需要继续求助于欧洲的“阿丽亚娜”火箭。


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新华网4月28日报道 印度通讯社（The Indian Express）28日报道说，一枚印度PSLV-C9极轨卫星运载火箭当天搭载10颗卫星升空，10颗卫星均成功进入预定轨道。

中国国防科技信息网4月28日报道据印度太空研究组织2008年4月24日报道，印度将于4月28日上午9时20分左右，使用本国的极轨卫星运载火箭(PSLV-C9)从SatishDhawan航天中心发射CARTOSAT-2A遥感卫星，一同发射的还有“印度迷你卫星”(IMS-1)和另外8颗纳卫星。这是极轨卫星运载火箭第13次发射，也是第3次采用核心节、无加挂式推进器的结构。目前卫星已与火箭集成完毕，并于4月18日运往Satish Dhawan发射台。

主要有效载荷

CARTOSAT-2A 是一颗全天候的侦察卫星，重约690千克，配有一台先进的全色照相机，可以提供特定场景的点成像，用于制图。照相机能拍摄电磁谱可见区域的黑白照片，空间分辨率约为1米，刈幅约为9.6千米。该卫星是一颗先进遥感卫星，具有高灵敏性，能独立操纵，垂直轨迹可达45度以上。

卫星上采用了若干新技术，如照相机单轴双镜，基于电光结构的碳纤维增强塑料，轻质、大尺寸镜片、JPEG如数据压缩、先进的固体记录器、高能恒星传感器。

该卫星与2007年1月发射的测绘卫星Cartosat-2相同。卫星将进入高度为630千米的太阳同步极轨轨道，重复访问周期为4天。通过适当的轨道机动可将重复访问周期提高到1天。

CARTOSAT-2A 用于规划城市和农村的发展项目，同时也可用于情报收集工作。此前报道称，尽管印度太空研究组织官员不愿对这颗遥感卫星是否为印度首枚国产军用卫星做出评论，但该组织官员已经充分暗示卫星能够用于军事用途。

“印度迷你卫星”由印度太空研究组织研制，起飞重量为83千克。该卫星使用了多种新技术，配有微小子系统。卫星携带了两个光学有效载荷：其一为多光谱照相机(MxPayload)，另一为高光谱照相机(HySIPayload)。这两个有效载荷都在电磁谱可见区域与近红外区域内运行。多光谱照相机的分辨率为37米，刈幅为151千米；高光谱照相机分辨率约为506米，刈幅为129.5千米。

其它有效载荷

另外8颗纳卫星分别由加拿大和德国等高校、研究院建造，按照与Antrix公司签署的商业协议执行发射。每颗纳米卫星的重量约为3~16千克，共50千克左右。

CanX-6 (加拿大先进纳太空实验)项目。卫星重约 6.5 千克，寿命期为6个月。旨在通过为高性能太空任务建造高成本效益的新型卫星，来促进太空研究和探索。

CanX-2 (加拿大先进纳太空实验)项目。主要任务是进行GPS无线电掩星试验，判断大气垂直特性。

Cute 1.7 + APD II，日本Cute-1卫星(2003年发射)的后继星，旨在试验新的设计技术。

AAU CUBSAT-II，丹麦aalborg 大学建造。

COMPASS 1，德国大学建造，旨在获取地面图像，验证微型卫星平台。

Delfi C3，荷兰大学建造，旨在验证星上新技术。

SEEDS 2，日本高校研发。

Rubin 8-AIS ，德国建造，将验证自动识别系统在轨信号接收器，以及经由ORBCOMM和铱星的数据传输。

[ 本帖最后由 pfg1group 于 29-4-2008 11:03 AM 编辑 ]

kl90

Shuttle payload headed to launch pad



http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=NEWS02
A 17.5-ton Japanese laboratory that will be the largest science research facility at the International Space Station will be hauled out to Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A on Tuesday -- a key milestone in NASA plans for a May 31 launch aboard shuttle Discovery.

The cylindrical lab, which is 37 feet long and 14 feet in diameter, now is nestled in a payload canister that is the same shape and size of the orbiter's expansive cargo bay. Dubbed "Kibo" -- the Japanese word for "hope" -- the lab was installed in its canister last week in the Space Station Processing Facility. Then it was moved to the Vertical Integration Facility so the canister could be lifted into a vertical position and lowered onto a transporter that will carry it out to the launch pad around 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Manufactured by KAMAG Transporttechnik, GmbH, of Ulm, Germany, the transporter sports 12-bogie wheels and 24 tires. A NASA Fact Sheet says the transporter wheels are independently steerable, permitting it to move forward, backward, sideways or diagonally. The self-propelled vehicle also can turn on its own axis like a carousel.

Capable of carrying payload canisters either vertically or horizontally, the transporter is controlled from a two-seat operator cab mounted at one end. Loaded up with 527 gallons of fuel, the transporter is powered by a 340-horsepower diesel engine. Its top speed with a full load is 5 mph, but it also has a creep mode that enables operators to drive at glacial speeds between 0.25 inches per second, or 0.014 mph.

Once at the launch pad, the canister will be lifted into the Payload Changeout Room on the Rotating Service Structure. The RSS is a 104-foot-tall gantry that provides access to the shuttle as well as weather protection.

The orbiter Discovery was moved Saturday from its processing hangar to the KSC Vehicle Assembly Building, where it was hoisted atop a mobile launcher platform. Now mated to an external tank with attached solid rocket boosters, the fully assembled shuttle Discovery will join its payload at the pad early Saturday.

pfg1group

http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/080427/11/y2xy.html

去年一年，美國發射了16艘太空梭、俄羅斯22 艘，而中國，也有10艘之多。其中以去年十月發射升空、並傳回3D月球畫面的探測衛星、嫦娥一號，最受矚目。雖然中國的太空科技仍屬落後，但專家認為，中國的太空計劃未來潛力無窮，很快就會追上美國與俄羅斯。去年一月，中國從地面發射飛彈，摧毀地球軌道上的自家氣象衛星，這項高科技實力引起全球嘩然。而未來，中國也計劃在月球表面採礦，取得與核武有關的天然資源。更不用說將人類送上火星觀光了。面對新堀起的太空強權中國，美國總統參選人麥坎，認為美國應該在預算允許的範圍下，持續進行太空探索。民主黨參選人希拉蕊和歐巴馬，也都同意美國太空總署必須找出，下一個太空計劃的著力點，以免在競爭中失去優勢。民視新聞翁如玫綜合報導。

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=NEWS02
The launch pad receives the kibo laboratory


A sunset photo of the Kibo laboratory being loaded into the Payload Changeout Room on the Rotating Service Structure at Pad 39A.

The 17.5-ton Japanese laboratory, Kibo, was taken out to launch pad 39A today about 5 p.m.

Meanwhile, in the Vehicle Assembly Building, the fuel lines were attached, connecting the external tank and Discovery, which will roll out to the launch pad Saturday before dawn.

STS-124 is on schedule for a May 31 launch, NASA spokesman Candrea Thomas said. Discovery will deliver the cylindrical lab, which is 37 feet long and 14 feet in diameter, to the International Space Station.


The Kibo module was loaded in a payload canister and delivered to the launch pad.

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
NASA IG questions Orion review board members

NASA’s Inspector General is questioning the independence of six people on a committee that was created to provide outside advice on the Orion spacecraft project.

The inspector general, in a report issued this week, said that six of the 19 members of the review board have conflicts of interest under federal law. In all six cases, the review board members work for companies holding contractors on Orion, which is the spaceship NASA is developing to replace the space shuttle and carry astronauts to the moon.

“To provide an impartial opinion to NASA management, SRB members should be independent of the project,” the report said.

The inspector general recommended NASA suspend the six members whose employers work on the Orion project, and re-evaluate whether each member has a conflict of interest that would prevent them from providing independent advice. Four of the six members cited by the inspector general also are stockholders of companies with Orion contracts, according to the report.

NASA declined to do so. The space agency said it is reviewing its rules for such review boards to make sure it properly deals with conflicts of interest, but does not intend to suspend members at this time.

“When you’re building a spaceship, there are only so many people on the planet who know how to do that, and chances are those expert people are going to have some kind of history with NASA,” said David Steitz, a spokesman at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. Steitz added that NASA works hard to be aware of the potential conflicts, and to consider those potential conflicts when weighing their advice.

The inspector general’s report noted NASA’s challenge, agreeing it is hard to find people who can provide expert advice but have no past connection with space projects. That said, the inspector general also noted that federal law specifically requires advisory boards to have members who are free of potential conflicts. The inspector general said that NASA set up the Orion review board without consulting agency lawyers.

[ 本帖最后由 kl90 于 1-5-2008 11:08 PM 编辑 ]

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
NASA: Hubble mission slips four to five weeks



The late August launch of NASA's fifth and final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission will be pushed back four to five weeks due to shuttle external tank production delays, a NASA official said today.

Atlantis and seven astronauts had been scheduled to blast off Aug. 28 from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A, setting sail on a high-profile mission to equip NASA's flagship observatory with powerful new science instruments and new batteries and gyroscopes that will enable the telescope to operate until at least 2013.

"We really cannot make that date with the external tank processing schedule," NASA shuttle program manager John Shannon said during preflight briefings for the planned May 31 launch of Discovery and seven astronauts on a mission to deliver the Japanese Kibo science laboratory module to the International Space Station.

NASA now is aiming to launch the mission in late September or early October, Shannon said.

The external tank for the Hubble mission is the second being built from scratch with all post-Columbia safety modifications rather than being retrofitted. Production is typically taking about four to five weeks longer, so the tank for the Hubble mission cannot be delivered to KSC in time to support an Aug. 28 launch date.

Shannon also noted that two tanks are required to launch the Hubble mission. A fully assembled shuttle Endeavour will be perched on launch pad 39B, ready to fly a rescue mission if Atlantis is seriously damaged during flight.

The Hubble telescope is in an entirely different orbit than the International Space Station, so the telescope servicing crew will be unable to seek safe haven on the outpost if Atlantis is seriously damaged. NASA committed to have a second shuttle ready for a rescue mission as a result.

The slow-down in tank production also will delay by four to five weeks the planned Oct. 16 launch of Endeavour on a mission to ferry supplies up to the International Space Station, Shannon said. In addition, the Dec. 4 launch of Discovery with a station truss segment will be delayed until early 2009, he said.

The May 31 Discovery launch will start NASA's 10th post-Columbia mission, and after that, NASA still will have 10 more shuttle missions to fly before the September 2010 retirement of the orbiter fleet. Shannon said NASA still is confident the agency can finish the job.

"I'd say we're still on track to finish the program in June or the summer of 2010 with some margin," Shannon said.

[ 本帖最后由 kl90 于 1-5-2008 11:07 PM 编辑 ]

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
Discovery rolls toward launch pad


Less than a month from launch, Discovery has left the protection of the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Discovery will arrive at launch pad 39A about 6 a.m., after a 3.4-mile trip atop the crawler transporter.

Work has gone so well that crews now have seven contingency days in the schedule. They started with no schedule padding after bad weather delayed the arrival of the external tank and the launch about a week.

Next week, the 32,500-pound Kibo Laboratory will be installed in the orbiter. The 37-foot module will be added to the International Space Station during a 13-day mission that begins with a planned May 31 launch at 5:02 p.m. EDT.

STS-124 will be Discovery's 35th flight.

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
Whitson recounts "interesting ride" back to Earth



An off-course landing in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft last month was like a "car crash" and the steep trajectory the ship took during atmospheric reentry made for "an interesting ride," an American astronaut said Friday.

But Peggy Whitson, the first woman to command the International Space Station, said she wasn’t frightened during a second consecutive "ballistic reentry" for the spacecraft that serve as emergency lifeboats at the outpost.

"I never specifically feared for my life. I mean, every crew member who gets onboard a vehicle for launch or landing or anything knows we’re taking a risk. But I didn’t specifically fear that this was going to kill me," she said.

Whitson, 48, returned to Earth on April 19 with Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Yi So-yeon, the first South Korean to fly in space.

Their Soyuz spacecraft slipped out of its intended flight path and onto a steep trajectory that subjected the crew to 8 Gs – or forces eight times normal gravity -- for about a minute. In comparison, U.S. shuttle crews are subjected to 3 Gs for a short time during launch.

The stressful load on the Soyuz tapered off to 4 Gs before the craft hit the ground almost 300 miles from its expected landing site.

Soyuz crews train in a centrifuge for ballistic reentries "so it wasn’t completely unexpected," Whitson said. "It was just I think a lot tougher to do after having lived in space for six months under zero G. The 8 Gs felt pretty heavy."

Whitson and Malenchenko launched in the same Soyuz spacecraft back in October and spent 192 days in space – a time that spanned the delivery of the U.S. Harmony module, the European Columbus laboratory and the first part of the Japanese Kibo science research facility.

The ballistic reentry was the second in a row for Soyuz spacecraft, and the Russian Federal Space Agency is investigating the matter. The planned relocation of the Soyuz now serving as a lifeboat at the station has been postponed until engineers can figure out the problem.

Whitson said her Soyuz reentered later than expected – a sign that the spacecraft’s thimble-shaped descent module did not separate properly from the rest of the ship.

Spacecraft thrusters fired and the vehicle began an expected 17-degree spin before flight computers automatically switched the ship’s course to a "ballistic trajectory" – the safest mode of reentry under the circumstances.

The latter parts of the reentry went as expected. The crew felt a "yank and a jerk" when the spacecraft’s parachutes deployed. "Folks had told me to expect that," Whitson said.

Ultimately, retrorockets fired to ease the Soyuz toward the ground and shock absorbers beneath customer-craft seats took up some of the impact as the spacecraft bounced and rolled to a stop, apparently setting off a grass fire on the central steppes of Kazakhstan.

"Landing was pretty much the car crash that everybody described to me…I had no sensation of the bounce part of it, but I definitely had the senation of a lot of rolling going on after that first hit," Whitson said. "But anyway, it was quite an interesting ride, for sure."

The station stint was the second for Whitson, who served as a flight engineer on the outpost for six months during 2002.

Raised on a hog and soybean farm in rural Iowa, Whitson now holds the American record – 377 days – for most time spent in orbit, and the women’s world record for most spacewalking time tallied: 39 hours and 46 minutes during six career excursions.

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
Soyuz re-entry danger still not understood



The last two Soyuz spacecraft have made emegency re-entries.

Space station director Mike Suffredini said he can't yet estimate how much danger the crew experienced during last Soyuz re-entry, which was hundreds of miles off course and caused a grass fire that burned up the capsule's parachute after landing.

"It was a bumpy ride. That's a fact," said Suffredini. "That is not a measure of the safety of the re-entry."

U.S. space station Commander Peggy Whitson, cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and a South Korean spaceflight participant rode the capsule to earth on April 19. The crew experienced about eight times the force of gravity, nearly twice normal.

Like the previous Soyuz return in October, the capsule made an emergency re-entry, caused by an unknown malfunction. Additionally, on both flights, it appears an explosive bolt failed, causing part of the spacecraft to remain attached until burned away by the heat of re-entry.

"It appears to be a similar event," said Suffredini. "It was believed they were nose forward for some time."

Being nose forward could have damaged the parachute, causing a catastrophic crash landing.

As a precaution, space station managers have postponed a planned relocation of the Soyuz now docked at the station. The suspect capsule could still be used in an emergency evacuation, said Suffredini, who expressed confidence that the Russians would find and fix the problem that caused the last two bumpy Soyuz re-entries.

The Russians must download and study information from flight recorders.

"We're going to have to give them some time to work through the data," said Suffredini.

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
Tank problems delay Hubble servicing mission


An external fuel tank for the Discovery mission rests inside theVehicle Assembly Building in March after its journey from New Orleans.A delay in delivering a tank for the August launch of Atlantis willpush back the Hubble servicing mission by four or five weeks. (NASA)

CAPE CANAVERAL -- The late August launch of NASA's fifth and final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission will be pushed back four to five weeks because of shuttle external tank production delays.

NASA officials have said for several weeks that external tank production at a New Orleans factory would likely delay the mission. However, a NASA official Thursday confirmed the length of the postponement on as part of an overview of the shuttle program's status and schedule for the rest of this year.

Atlantis and seven astronauts were scheduled to blast off Aug. 28 from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A on a mission to equip NASA's flagship observatory with powerful new science instruments and new batteries and gyroscopes that will enable the telescope to operate until at least 2013.

Two external tanks were needed to provide a backup for a potential rescue mission.

"We really cannot make that date with the external tank processing schedule," NASA shuttle program manager John Shannon said during preflight briefings for the scheduled May 31 launch of Discovery and seven astronauts on a mission to deliver the Japanese Kibo science laboratory module to the International Space Station. The preparations for the May 31 mission remain on track for an on-time liftoff.

NASA now is aiming to launch the mission in late September or early October, Shannon said. The impact on future shuttle launch dates is to be determined. No launch dates have been finalized.

Also Thursday, space station program manager Mike Suffredini said he can't yet estimate how much danger another space crew experienced during the last Soyuz re-entry. The spacecraft landed hundreds of miles off course and caused a grass fire that burned up the capsule's parachute after touching down.

"It was a bumpy ride. That's a fact," said Suffredini. "That is not a measure of the safety of the re-entry."

American space station Commander Peggy Whitson, cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and a South Korean spaceflight participant rode the capsule to Earth on April 19. The crew experienced about eight times the force of gravity, nearly twice normal.

Like the previous Soyuz return in October, the capsule made an emergency re-entry, caused by an unknown malfunction. Additionally, on both flights, it appears an explosive bolt failed, causing part of the spacecraft to remain attached until burned away by the heat of re-entry.

"It appears to be a similar event," said Suffredini. "It was believed they were nose forward for some time."

Being nose forward could have damaged the parachute, causing a catastrophic crash landing.

[ 本帖最后由 kl90 于 3-5-2008 01:08 PM 编辑 ]

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
Discovery reaches the launch pad



Less than a month from launch, Discovery reached the launch pad at 6:06 a.m. EDT today, after a nearly six-hour trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building.

After the 3.4-mile trip atop the crawler transporter to Pad 39A, the orbiter will receive its payload on Monday. The 32,500-pound Japanese Kibo laboratory will be loaded in the payload bay. The 37-foot module, as big as a bus, will be added to the International Space Station during a 13-day mission.

The launch is scheduled for 5:02 a.m. on May 31. Work in the VAB went so well that crews now have seven contingency days in the schedule. They started with no schedule padding after bad weather delayed the arrival of the external tank and the launch about a week.

The contingency days were possible because the external tanks required minimal processing and because technicians have honed processing techniques since Discovery's Return to Flight in 2005, said NASA flow director Stephanie Stilson. Shuttle work crews will be able to have Memorial Day off.

STS-124 will be Discovery's 35th flight, the most of any orbiter.

The massive crawler transporter leaves the pad this morning after delivering Discovery. Photo by Michael R. Brown.
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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

May 3
Space shuttle Discovery made the long, slow trek out to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The 3.4-mile trek is one of the last major milestones leading up to the launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. Launch is targeted for May 31.

Carried by the slow-moving crawler-transporter, the shuttle assembly and mobile launcher platform began rolling out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at 11:47 p.m. EDT Friday night and was secured at the pad at 6:06 a.m. on Saturday.

The canister carrying the STS-124 payloads arrived at the launch pad April 29. Primary payloads are the tour-bus-sized Japanese Experiment Module-Pressurized Module and the lab's robotic arm system. The components will soon be installed in the orbiter's payload bay.

The STS-124 crew members, commanded by astronaut Mark Kelly, are set to arrive at Kennedy on May 6 for the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The three-day event concludes May 9 with a full dress rehearsal of the launch countdown.

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
Kibo installation completed by 3 p.m.


The Kibo module was transferred into Discovery's payload bay today.

By 3 p.m. technicians had installed the 32,500-pound Japanese Kibo laboratory in Discovery's payload bay. Work began at 8 a.m. today. The 37-foot module, as big as a bus, will be added to the International Space Station during a 13-day mission in early June.

Discovery rolled out to the launch pad on Saturday, headed for a 5:02 a.m. liftoff on May 31.

Work crews now have seven contingency days in the schedule, which will allow shuttle workers to take off on Memorial Day.

STS-124 will be Discovery's 35th flight, the most of any orbiter.




The Rotating Service Structure now surrounds the shuttle.

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
Crew arrives for countdown test



The crew of Discovery will spend four days training for launch at KSC.

Flying four T-38 training jets, Discovery's astronauts flew around the orbiter on the launch pad as they arrived at Kennedy Space Center, shortly after 4 p.m. today.

"We went over the launch pad to take a quick look," said Commander Mark Kelly, who will lead the six members of his crew through a four-day Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test that ends Friday.

Kelly's entourage included his identical twin brother, Scott, who planned to return to Houston after flying mission specialist Mike Fossum to KSC. Both Kelly brothers are space shuttle commanders.

"I'm flying back to Houston," said Scott Kelly. "I have training."

STS-124 is on schedule to launch May 31 on a 13-day mission to deliver the 37-foot Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station. Three spacewalks are scheduled.

Mark Kelly will command the mission. Ken Ham will be the pilot. Mission specialists are Karen Nyberg, Ron Garan, Mike Fossum, Greg Chamitoff and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.

Chamitoff will remain on the station as a resident crew member, replacing station flight engineer Garrett Reisman, who will return to earth on Discovery. STS-124 is the 123rd shuttle flight, the 35th flight for Discovery and the 26th flight to the station.

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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html


May 6
The STS-124 crew members arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida this afternoon for the terminal countdown demonstration test. Flying in T-38 training jets, the astronauts touched down on the Shuttle Landing Facility on a warm, clear Central Florida afternoon. During this three-day prelaunch training event, crew members will try on for their orange launch and entry suits, practice an emergency escape from the launch pad, and complete a fully suited dress rehearsal of their upcoming launch aboard space shuttle Discovery.

"We went over the launch pad to take a quick look. It's great to see the vehicle at the pad," said Commander Mark Kelly.

Discovery rolled out to Launch Pad 39A on May 3. Carried by the slow-moving crawler-transporter, the shuttle assembly atop the mobile launcher platform began rolling out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at 11:47 p.m. EDT the night before and was secured at the pad at 6:06 a.m.

The canister carrying the STS-124 payloads arrived at the launch pad April 29. Primary payloads are the tour-bus-sized Japanese Experiment Module-Pressurized Module and the lab's robotic arm system. With Discovery in place at the launch pad, the payload components have been installed in the orbiter's payload bay.

Launch is targeted for May 31.

[ 本帖最后由 kl90 于 7-5-2008 03:16 PM 编辑 ]

kl90

John Glenn: Keep the shuttles flying

Keep flying the shuttles! Mercury and shuttle astronaut John Glenn says NASA should continue flying the current fleet beyond its planned retirement in 2010.


“The shuttles may be old, but they’re still the most complex vehicles ever put together by people, and they’re still working very well,” he said today after a Capitol Hill ceremony marking NASA’s 50th anniversary.

Glenn acknowledged that adding more launches to the current schedule would be expensive.

“But it’s also going to be expensive to contract with the Russians to put our people up in space in Russian vehicles to our space station and bring us back. Is that the kind of economy the American people want? I hardly think so,” he said.

Glenn also is pushing for the United States to continue working on the space station beyond 2015, when the nation plans to pull the plug on its involvement.

“That’s the most  capable, most unusual, most unique scientific laboratory ever devised by people. And we’re the ones that put it together,” he said.

The Capitol Hill ceremony featured clips from 100 hours of archived NASA footage _ featuring Gemini, Mercury and Apollo missions _ recently transferred to high definition by the Discovery Channel.

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
Nelson pushes for NASA funding



Florida Sen. Bill Nelson brought together a group of prominent space experts Wednesday to continue the push for more funding for NASA.
Nelson, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee on space, invited representatives of companies that contract with NASA and universities that do research through the agency to testify about the future of NASA.

"NASA is in trouble," said Nelson (pictured above during his flight aboard shuttle Columbia in 1986). "This little agency has been asked to do too much with too little."

Nelson and other Florida legislators failed in attempts to snag an additional $1 billion in funding for NASA in this year's budget. Now, Nelson is hoping to get an additional $1 billion in each of the next two fiscal years.

Frederick Tarantino, chief executive officer and president of Universities Space Research Association, which represents 102 universities, said the agency needs more money to provide research opportunities to science students.

Gene Kranz, former NASA flight director, said additional money is needed to close the expected five-year gap in manned space flight from the end of the shuttle program to the beginning of the Constellation program. And Joan Johnson-Freese of the U.S. Naval War College said extra funding is needed to ensure the U.S. role as world leader. "America needs to be seen as a leader into the future, and no venture, no journey, no undertaking represents the future more than human spaceflight," she said.

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
Crew practices escape; checks equipment



The Discovery crew begins a second day of training.

A ride in an armored personnel carrier, testing the fit of launch and re-entry suits and landing practice will fill the second day of the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test for Discovery's crew today.

The crew will ride an M-113 armored vehicle in a simulated aborted launch and check the fit of bright orange launch and re-entry suits. Commander Mark Kelly and pilot Ken Ham this evening will practice shuttle landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft, a commercial jet outfitted to fly like the shuttle.

STS-124 is on schedule to launch May 31 on a 13-day mission to deliver the 37-foot, 32,500-pound Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station. Due to the weight of the module, NASA managers will try to launch at the beginning of the launch window that opens at 5:02 p.m. EDT. Three spacewalks are scheduled.

In addition to Kelly and Ham, mission specialists are Karen Nyberg, Ron Garan, Mike Fossum, Greg Chamitoff and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.

The practice concludes Friday with a simulated launch.


NASA's Shuttle Training Aircraft flies near the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC. Commander Mark Kelly and pilot Ken Ham practiced landing the aircraft Tuesday evening. The STA simulates an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. The gliding space shuttle must be landed on the first attempt. NASA photo by Kim Shiflett.

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http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/080508/5/yryv.html

（中央社記者何宏儒台北八日電）行政院國家科學委員會主任委員陳建仁今天表示，若衛星本體重量能繼續降低，至2012年時，國家太空中心有機會首度在台灣發射「微衛星」，地點將在屏東九鵬。另外，太空中心主任苗君易表示，下一顆光學酬載衛星預計2016年生產完成，可望成為台灣第1顆完全自主生產的衛星。

立法院教育及文化委員會今天審查行政院國家科學委員會97年度中央政府總預算案凍結項目，陳建仁到委員會專案報告。

陳建仁接受立委賴士葆（國民黨）質詢時表示，若衛星本體的重量持續降低，則至2012年時，太空中心有機會首度在台發射「微衛星」，地點將在屏東九鵬。

苗君易指出，預計2012年發射的這顆「微衛星」屬50公斤等級，未來將以提供學校科學實驗為主要用途。

另外，立委江義雄（國民黨）質詢台灣發展遙測衛星計畫，何時可達完全自主？苗君易表示，下一顆光學酬載衛星預計2016年生產完成，可望成為台灣第1顆完全自主生產的衛星。

由於今天委員會多位立委質疑太空中心儘管許多中程發展計畫仍在規劃中，卻已負面輿論滿天飛，令民眾極不放心；陳建仁不諱言，過去太空中心內部問題確曾招致困擾，惟現任主任苗君易為國際知名學者，且夙具良好學術、行政專長，必可適才適所，領導太空中心團隊完成任務。

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
Launch practice ends; crew flies back to Houston


Photo Above: The STS-124 crew stands for a photo on the 205-foot level of the fixed service structure. From left are mission specialists Ron Garan, Karen Nyberg, Akihiko Hoshide and Mike Fossum, Commander Mark Kelly, pilot Ken Ham and mission specialist Greg Chamitoff. Behind them can be seen the orange external tank and top of a solid rocket booster.


After a countdown rehearsal, astronauts practiced an emergency escape.




Discovery's crew returned to Houston Friday after four days of practicing the steps they will make before their May 31 launch.
"It went great," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said.


Concludingthe Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, astronauts and launchmanagers practiced emergency procedures and a countdown dress rehearsalat 11 a.m. today. By 2:15 p.m., the astronauts were winging their wayhomeward in T-38 training jets, said Beutel.

In three weeks,Discovery will launch at 5:02 p.m. EDT on a trip to deliver the32,500-pound Kibo laboratory module to the International Space Station.Three spacewalks are scheduled during the 14-day mission, which helpsexpand the station so it can double its crew to six next year.


Mechanicalengineer Karen Nyberg will become the 50th woman in space and the firstperson to operate three robot arms during a mission. Japanese astronautAkihiki Hoshide will open the module built by his countrymen.


Discoverywill be flown by Commander Mark Kelly and pilot Ken Ham, a pair ofnaval aviators. Spacewalkers are Mike Fossum and Ron Garan. Flightengineer Greg Chamitoff will remain at the station, and Garrett Reismanwill return to Earth on the shuttle.


Discoveryhas had few mechanical issues as it moves toward launch. Only 40interim problem reports have been issued, an historic low. Technicianshave added seven days of padding to the schedule, which will allow mostworkers to have Memorial Day off.





[ 本帖最后由 kl90 于 10-5-2008 12:22 PM 编辑 ]

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
glast launch date set; not firm



Photo above: The Delta 2 rocket that will fly GLAST waits at pad 17-B of CCAFS.

NASA's GLAST (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope) will launch from pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station no sooner than June 3, with the launch window extending from 11:45 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. EDT

A delay in the May 31 launch of Discovery is the factor most likely to delay the GLAST mission.

The launch initially was delayed from May 16 to make repairs to equipment damaged when trying to mount the second stage.

A cryogenic test of the Delta II first stage was conducted May 7. Thursday a simulated flight test was performed. At Astrotech in Titusville, fueling the spacecraft is scheduled for this weekend.

[ 本帖最后由 kl90 于 10-5-2008 12:22 PM 编辑 ]

kl90

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=news02
crew heads out for countdown drill





Leaving the Operations and Checkout building about 7:45 a.m., the Discovery crew stops to wave before entering the Astrovan and heading to the launch pad for a dress rehearsal of countdown. STS-124 is scheduled to launch May 31 at 5:02 p.m. EDT. Photos by Michael R. Brown.

[ 本帖最后由 kl90 于 10-5-2008 12:23 PM 编辑 ]