The Official Space Exploration Thread

[Darth_Anton]

Another New Planet was found. It's the largest so far.

[DSJ™]

Endeavour docks with space station



Cameras mounted to the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) returned this view of the shuttle Endeavour during the orbiter's backflip to allow photgraphy of its belly-mounted tiles. Credit: NASA TV.



This view, taken by a exterior camera aboard the International Space Station, shows the space shuttle Endeavour docked at the tip of the U.S. Destiny module on Aug. 10, 2007. Credit: NASA TV.

3-inch gouge found on space shuttle's belly

[DSJ™]

Astronauts add beam to space station, complete spacewalk



Image above: Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio participates in the first spacewalk of the STS-118 mission. Image: NASA TV.

Space Hotel Slated to Open in 2012

[DSJ™]

Fuel tank foam damaged shuttle heat shield, NASA says.

HOUSTON -- A chunk of foam insulation, not ice, damaged the protective belly-mounted tiles of NASA's space shuttle Endeavour during its launch earlier this week, mission managers said late Saturday.

Video recorded by cameras on Endeavour's twin solid rocket boosters during its Aug. 8 launch caught a grapefruit-sized piece of fuel tank foam as it gouged a 3-inch square (19 square centimeter) gash into heat-resistant tiles on the orbiter's undercarriage, said John Shannon, chair of NASA's shuttle mission management team.

"We feel like we have the culprit," Shannon said in a mission briefing here at NASA's Johnson Space Center. "I think we have conclusively shown where the piece of foam came from."

The foam piece fell from a lower bracket attaching a 17-inch (43-centimeter) liquid oxygen feed line to Endeavour's fuel tank about 58 seconds after liftoff, then bounced off a metal strut to bite into two of the black ceramic tiles near the shuttle's rear right landing gear door. In addition to the gouge, the foam debris caused a series of other scuffs aft of the initial impact, Shannon said.

"It was bad luck because we got a bad bounce off this [external tank] strut," he added.

Because the debris appears to be primarily made up of foam, and not denser ice as originally thought, mission managers are more confident that the damage inflicted is not be severe enough to require a spacewalk repair. But Shannon said Endeavour's astronaut crew will conduct an in-depth inspection of the tile damage Sunday to be sure.



A view of damage to heat-resistant tiles on the underside of the space shuttle Endeavour, 4 feet (1.2 meters) from the starboard landing gear door. Credit: NASA.



A view of the area where a grapefruit-sized chunk of foam that damaged space shuttle Endeavour's heat-resistant underbelly is believed to have originated. Credit: NASA.



This image depicts tile damage to the space shuttle Endeavour during its Aug. 8, 2007 launch, as well as its location near the starboard landing gear door. Credit: NASA.



This is one of a series of images of different areas of Space Shuttle Endeavour as it approached the International Space Station and performed a back-flip to accommodate close scrutiny. This image shows Endeavour's nose cone and surrounding area. Image credit: NASA.

[Darth_Anton]

Amazing stuff. You know, now that they're factoring in tile repair on flights, for some reason I just image Astronauts sitting up there with a tile cutter, cutting tiles to size for replacement.

[Smartypants1635]

So who watched the shower last night, I saw a bit of it, but it wasn't very active, maybe one every 4-5 minutes The Weather guy on the news said it will be more active tonight in our area though.

[DSJ™]

I only saw a few late last night, they were about 5 min apart. Hopefully tonght which is the peak will produce more but up here we will have clouds so very unlikely I will see any. 

NASA gives shuttle's underside a close look



The shuttle Endeavour's robotic arm is moved into position for an Aug. 12, 2007 focused inspection of heat-resistant tile damage during NASA's STS-118 mission. Credit: NASA TV.



This image taken from NASA TV shows the largest area of tile damage, a 3.5-inch by 2-inch gouge, in tiles inspected on the underbelly of the shuttle Endeavour on Aug. 12, 2007 during the STS-118 mission. Credit: NASA TV.

[Smartypants1635]

So DSJ, The shower on the 1st. Is it friday night the 31st to the 1st in the early morning, or is it the night of the 1st early morning of the second?

[DSJ™]

The Aurigid shower, will be mainly visible just before dawn and only here on the west coast and in Hawaii. This is a very concentrated meteor shower with a predicted peak on Saturday morning September first at 4:37 am PDT. These meteors also will stream in from the northeast and the Aurigids are most noted for their long yellow trails. Unfortunately this year the moon will be up, so the sky will not be quite dark. There are some predictions that this year, at the peak of the shower (between 4 and 5 am PDT), there could be a burst of Aurigid meteors.

Strange Lights: The 2007 Aurigid Meteor Shower

Perseids Provide Practice for September Shower

Best Perseid rates for U.S. observers are in the early morning hours of Sunday. That night, we will deploy on a privately owned Gulfstream GV aircraft to observe the Perseid shower from altitude, to practise observing for the Aurigid shower later that month. Twelve scientists are participating in the test flight, with a range of cameras and video camcorders. Each camera uniquely suited to measure the rate of the meteors, their colors, how they break during impact, and how deep they penetrate in the atmosphere.

The Aurigid shower will last only an hour and a half, with a bright Moon in the sky.

Looks like no meteor show for me tonight, it's cloudy right now & me thinks it going to stay like that. 

Guess that next shot for me will be in Sept, I hope the weather is good in the mountains. The stars are awesome in that darkness. 

[Smartypants1635]

When they say west coast they mean west coast west coast, none of the rockies?? Or do we still have a chance to see part of it.

[DSJ™]

The outburst is best seen from the western United States, including California, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii. The figure below shows the moment of civil twilight for two different times, at the onset of the shower and towards the end. In San Francisco, the peak out the outburst is at 4:36 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, while the beginning of civil twilight is at 6:13 a.m. PDT.



The shower will be visible by the naked eye from the western United States, especially in California, Hawaii, Alaska, other western states and from Mexico and the western provinces of Canada.

[Smartypants1635]

Ok, So I'm guessing thats a yes.

[DSJ™]

Yup. 

[DSJ™]

Spacewalkers repair station gyroscope



STS-118 spacewalker Dave Williams prepares a new gyroscope for installation at the International Space Station during an Aug. 13, 2007 spacewalk. Credit: NASA TV.



STS-118 spacewalker Dave Williams, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, carries a new ISS gyroscope out of the shuttle Endeavour's payload bay during an Aug. 13, 2007 spacewalk. Credit: NASA TV.



A broken gyroscope sits perched on a bracket (right) while STS-118 spacewalkers prepare to install a new one at the International Space Station during an Aug. 13, 2007 excursion. Credit: NASA TV.



This image of the gouge to heat shield tiles on the space shuttle Endeavour was taken Aug. 12, 2007 using a camera on an extension boom during a focused inspection by the orbiter's crew. Credit: NASA.

China reveals astronaut's brush with death

Did anyone catch any meteors last night, way too cloudy up here last night for me. 

[DSJ™]

Astronaut teacher wows students from space



Clockwise from left are STS-118 mission specialists Dave Williams, Barbara Morgan and Alvin Drew and Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Clay Anderson. The astronauts participated in an educational event with students asking questions from the Discovery Center in Boise, Idaho. Credit: NASA.

NASA inks deal for Shuttle replacements



Ares V (left) and Ares I rockets.