Wow, that must have been a great lecture Tracy.
I would love to check out the Air & Space Museum, been thinking about it for years... someday.
Latest updates:
The space shuttle Discovery as it appears docked at the International Space Station (ISS) during NASA's STS-121 mission in July 2006. Credit: NASA TV.
The International Space Station transfered the Leonardo module to the Discovery shuttle's cargo bay today, July 14, 2006. Credit: NASA TV.
The STS-121 crewmembers gather for an in-flight crew photo in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. From the left (bottom) are astronauts Stephanie D. Wilson, mission specialist; Steven W. Lindsey, commander; and Lisa M. Nowak, mission specialist. From the left (top) are astronauts Piers J. Sellers, Michael E. Credit: NASA.
Glitches with the robotic arm aboard the International Space Station delayed micrometeorite impact inspections of Discovery's port wing on July 14, 2006. Credit: NASA.
This diagram depicts Discovery's auxiliary power unit (APU) system, with two areas currently under study highlighted. Credit: NASA.
HOUSTON – NASA officials are confident that a potential fuel leak in a power unit aboard the space shuttle Discovery, if unchanged, will not hinder the spacecraft’s Monday landing, a top mission manager said Friday.
John Shannon, NASA’s deputy shuttle program manager, said that in worst case scenario – in which fuel is leaking and not harmless nitrogen, something that is not yet certain – one of Discovery’s three auxiliary power units (APUs) may be leaking a total of about six drops an hour, or about 100,000 times below the fire hazard limit.
In other space news:
HOUSTON – A trio of astronauts and one entrepreneur are counting the days remaining before they rocket towards the International Space Station (ISS).
The three-astronaut crew of ISS Expedition 14 and Japanese businessman Daisuke Enomoto are set to launch toward the space station in the upcoming months, some riding a Russian Soyuz into orbit in September while one NASA spaceflyer waits for a December shuttle launch.
And for thre record books:
Fournier pictured with the small pressurised spacecraft that will protect him against UV rays and the tremendous cold. Totally controlled from earth, it contains the necessary oxygen, instruments of measurement and control, as well as flight data recording instruments including sound and image recording. Image Credit: Big Jump.
Frenchman Michel Fournier is readying himself and equipment to attempt a record-setting free fall from the stratosphere.
Dubbed "The Big Jump", Fournier is eyeing next month for his supersonic free fall from about 130,000 feet (40 kilometers)—roughly 25 miles above the Earth. The dive from a balloon-carried gondola is slated to take place above the plains of Saskatchewan, Canada.
The Jump equipment is principally composed of a huge Russian-supplied stratospheric balloon and the specially crafted gondola. To ascend to jump height will take some 3 hours. The gondola shelters Fournier during ascent. It also is loaded with flight instruments: navigation equipment, oxygen bottles, radio gear, video recorders and Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite tracking device.
If successful, Fournier will beat four world parachutist’s records from the border of space:
Altitude record for freefall.
Altitude record for human balloon flight.
Time record for longest freefall.
Speed record for fastest freefall—breaking the sound barrier in the process.
Now that freefall would be something to see!
