Atlantis Moves to Kennedy Space Center Display

Space Shuttle Atlantis stands in Exploration Park Image Credit: NASA / Kim Shiflett The Space Shuttle Atlantis has been moved to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The museum where the shuttle will be housed is scheduled to open in July 2013. Atlantis completed 33 successful missions. Key events in the history of Atlantis include: Maiden Voyage in October 1985 Launch of the Magellan spacecraft to map Venus in 1989 Launch of the Galileo probe to Jupiter in 1989 Supply and Docking with the Russian Space Station Mir in 1995 Fireworks mark the arrival of space shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Image Credit: NASA

Air Force X-37B Returns

The video shows the landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in infrared and visible light of the Air Force X-37B spaceplane. The Orbital Test Vehicle-2 (OTV-2) touched down at 5:48 AM Phoenix time Saturday (12:48 UTC). The mystery mission spacecraft was launched on 5 March 2011, and spent 469 days in orbit, exceeding its design mission time of 270 days by 199 days. The first X-37B was launched on 22 April 2010 and spent 220 days in orbit before returning on 3 December 2010. Marshall Space Flight Center Image of On-orbit Functions for the X-37 Space Plane Image Credit: NASA / MSFC

Space Shuttle Enterprise Hoisted Aboard Intrepid in New York

The Space Shuttle Is Hoisted Aboard the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise Image Credit: collectSPACE / Ben Cooper / Robert Z. Pearlman The Space Shuttle Enterprise was hoisted aboard the aircraft carrier Intrepid in New York City Wednesday. It will be on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. With Enterprise now sitting on its flight deck, the Intrepid will begin work raising a climate-controlled, steel and fabric shelter over the shuttle, to protect it while its on display. The Intrepid’s new “Space Shuttle Pavilion” is set to open to the public on July 19, kicking off a 3-day “SpaceFest” at the museum.

Space Shuttle Enterprise on Barge Trip to the USS Intrepid

The Space Shuttle Enterprise Sails up the Hudson River past the new World Trade Center Tower Image Credit: New York Post The Space Shuttle Enterprise is on a barge trip up the Hudson River toward its new home on the USS Intrepid. The Intrepid is a World War II aircraft carrier that is home to an air and space museum. Driving up the West Side Highway, you can see an RX-71 Blackbird perched on the edge of the carrier deck, along with a dozen or more other aircraft. The Enterprise is schedule to take up residence there this week, after its stop in New Jersey at Weeks Marine. Installation is scheduled for 6 June.

Space Shuttle Discovery To Air and Space Museum

Space Shuttle Mounted on 747 Carrier Aircraft Image Credit: NASA NASA RSS Feed: On Tuesday, April 17, between 10 and 11 a.m. EDT, space shuttle Discovery, mounted on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), will fly from Kennedy Space Center to its new home at the National Air and Space Museum, Udvar-Hazy Center. Individuals in the Washington metropolitan area will have the opportunity to see Discovery before it lands at Dulles International Airport. Though the exact route and timing of the flight depend on weather and operational constraints, the SCA is expected to fly at approximately 1,500 feet near a variety of landmarks in the area, including the National Mall, Reagan National Airport, National Harbor and the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center. Some publicly accessible locations from which you may be able to “Spot the Shuttle” are listed below. If you take pictures, feel free to post them on the Space Shuttle Discovery Flickr Group and if you’re on Twitter, you can tweet them using the hashtag #spottheshuttle.

Atlantis – And Then There Were None

Atlantis Reentry as seen from the International Space Station Image Credit: NASA

Atlantis Cockpit View of Kennedy Space Center Image Credit: NASA TV

Atlantis Approach to the Runway Image Credit: NASA TV

Atlantis Touchdown at Kennedy Space Center Image Credit: NASA TV

Atlantis, Astronaut Crew, and Ground Crew. Image Credit: NASA

Official landing times:

Mission Elapsed Times (MET):

Main Gear Touchdown: MET 12/18:27:56 – 9:57:00 am UTC
Nose Gear Touchdown: MET 12/18:28:16 – 9:57:20 am UTC
Wheel Stop: MET 12/18:28:50 – 9:57:54 am UTC

High resolution images of Atlantis are now on nasa.gov.

Atlantis – 8 July 2011 First Launch Attempt

STS-135 two hours before launch Image Credit: KSC TV Feed

At 6:44 AM Phoenix time (1344 UTC) launch is about 2 hours away. At the moment we are ‘no go’ due to cloud density over the launch site. NASA-TV is here, and the Kennedy Space Center video feeds can be found here for weather and pad cameras.
Weather 90 Minutes Before Launch Image Credit: KSC TV Feed
The countdown is at T-minus 20 minutes and holding, with a ten minute built in hold. At 7:21 AM Phoenix (1321 UTC) the count has resumed and will go down to T-minus 9 minutes for the next built in hold.

Ops Commit Criteria 60 minutes before launch. Image Credit: KSC Video

Weather is now a ‘go’. The Ops Commit Criteria are all green. The launch is now at T-minus 9 minutes, with a 41 minute built in hold. This will set up the launch, with the window opening at 15:22:13 UTC. The launch is expected at 15:26 UTC. The countdown will resume at 15:17:46 UTC Poling of the main systems is complete, and everything is go.

T-minus 4 minutes. Steering check of the three main engines. Solid rockets are armed. The auxiliary power units have been started. T-minus 2 minutes. T-minus 60 seconds. T-minus 31 seconds and a failure at the moment of hand-off to the internal computer. Retraction of the event arm confirmed. The count has resumed. And launch.

Launch
Image Credit: NASA TV

Seven minutes into the flight, all systems are go.

At eight minutes we have main engine cutoff and external tank separation.

All three APU systems and all three fuel cells are operating normally.

Atlantis will now begin chasing the International Space Station, anticipating docking two days from now.