http://www.nss.org/missions/ Commentary from National Space Society leaders and members on ongoing space missions en-us 2010-02-22T19:57:43-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2010/02/sts130_home.html I joined the large crowd at Ellington this afternoon to welcome the STS-130 crew home to Houston. Commander George Zamka, a.k.a. "Zombo" said, "It is great to be talking to people in the day time!" The crew worked nights for... STS-115 m_dyson 2010-02-22T19:57:43-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2010/02/sts130_on_the_m.html After a one-day delay, the Shuttle Endeavour thundered to orbit before sunrise on Monday morning. The ship will rendezvous with the space station just after midnight Houston time Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Once the shuttle docks with the station, the real... STS-115 m_dyson 2010-02-08T23:43:58-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2010/02/last_shuttle_ni.html The last night launch of a Space Shuttle is planned for 4:39 a.m. Eastern time Sunday. The five-man, one-woman crew of STS-130 are: Commander George Zamka, Pilot Terry Virt, Mission Specialist (MS)and primary Shuttle arm operator, Kay Hire, MS and... STS-115 m_dyson 2010-02-04T15:43:05-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/11/shuttle_stories.html As the hatch closed on the STS-129 mission today, I thought about how wonderful it was that we got to virtually share in both the heart-pounding scare of the crew being awakened by depressurization and smoke alarms--twice!--and also the joy... STS-115 m_dyson 2009-11-24T18:09:24-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/11/shuttle_deliver.html The Space Shuttle Atlantis arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) today (Wednesday, Nov. 18), delivering two huge carriers packed with spares for critical station systems. The first Express Logistics Carrier (ELC-1), about the size of a small car, will... STS-115 m_dyson 2009-11-18T12:00:38-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/11/shuttle_mission.html The Space Shuttle Atlantis and its crew of six are ready for launch to the International Space Station (ISS). The weather forecast is good for liftoff at 2:28 p.m. Monday, November 16. The launch window closes on Friday. STS-129 commander... m_dyson 2009-11-14T23:19:50-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/09/sts128_welcome.html The weather in Florida did not cooperate, so Mission Control directed the crew to land the Shuttle Discovery at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 7:53 p.m. Central Time today (Friday, Sept. 11). The welcome home ceremony for the... STS-115 m_dyson 2009-09-11T16:47:30-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/09/maintaining_a_s.html As I reviewed twenty years of back issues of Ad Astra for a short article on its anniversary, I did a lot of thinking about where we (NSS members and the space movement in general) were back then, and where... STS-115 m_dyson 2009-09-05T14:30:18-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/08/sts128_mission.html Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off just before midnight (EDT) Friday, August 28, 2009 after two launch scrubs—one for weather and one for mechanical issues. Unlike the airlines, NASA has to pay for flight delays regardless of the cause. Just staffing... STS-115 m_dyson 2009-08-29T02:30:31-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/08/talking_about_s.html At the welcome home for the STS-127 crew at Ellington Field today in Houston, people were not just talking about space—they were talking about talking about space. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) announced that she and Congressman Pete Olsen (R-TX)... STS-115 m_dyson 2009-08-02T00:26:24-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/07/sts127_week_2_s.html There was a little bit of unexpected drama added to the end of today's spacewalk. Flight controllers noticed rising carbon dioxide levels in Cassidy's space suit. At first they thought it might be because he was working hard, but finally... STS-115 m_dyson 2009-07-22T17:36:56-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/07/celebrate_the_f.html I turned on NASA TV during lunch today to watch some of the STS-127 spacewalk, and instead, heard Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin recommending we use the space station to test ourselves and our equipment for challenging missions to deep... STS-115 m_dyson 2009-07-20T17:16:04-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/07/sts127_first_we.html Hurrah! Space Shuttle Endeavour is finally on its way to the International Space Station. Because the launch time shifted early each day, the Shuttle crew is out of sync with the station crew. To get in sync, the Shuttle crew,... STS-115 m_dyson 2009-07-16T01:25:38-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/07/next_launch_att.html The weather in Florida is just not playing nice. Once again, STS-127 has been delayed. NASA managers decided to skip Tuesday (with only a 40 percent chance) and try again Wednesday at 6:03 PM EDT. Unless the Russians decide to... STS-115 m_dyson 2009-07-13T19:52:22-05:00 http://www.nss.org/missions/archives/2009/07/launch_delayed_1.html Lightning around the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center caused NASA to postpone today's scheduled shuttle launch to Sunday at 7:13 PM EDT. The chance of launching STS-127 on Sunday is around 60 percent. Cross your fingers! Marianne Dyson NSS... m_dyson 2009-07-11T12:44:28-05:00