The Official Space Exploration Thread

[DSJ™]

Spacewalkers resort to banging, pry bar



Astronaut Rick Linnehan finishes work on the two-armed Dextre robot on March 16, 2008. Linnehan worked with fellow spacewalker Mike Foreman to attach Dextre's two giant, seven-jointed arms. Credit: NASA TV.



Spacewalker Rick Linnehan dangles from the end of the space station's Canadarm2 on March 16, 2008. The STS-123 mission specialist helped attach the Dextre robot's twin arms during a spacewalk that lasted more than 7 hours. Credit: NASA TV.



Endeavour mission specialists Rick Linnehan and Mike Foreman work with the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator during the second spacewalk of the STS-123 mission. Credit: NASA TV.

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Astronauts flex robot's arms, prepare for walk



A camera on the exterior of the International Space Station observes Canada's two-armed Dextre maintenance robot. Credit: NASA TV.



Expedition 16 flight engineer Garrett Reisman participated in the STS-123 mission's first scheduled spacewalk as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the seven-hour spacewalk, Reisman and fellow astronaut Rick Linnehan prepared the Japanese logistics module-pressurized section for removal from Endeavour's payload bay; opened the Centerline Berthing Camera System on top of the Harmony module; removed the Passive Common Berthing Mechanism and installed both the Orbital Replacement Unit tool change out mechanisms on the Canadian-built Dextre robotic system, the final element of the station's Mobile Servicing System.Image Credit: NASA.

A space walk is happining right now & you can see it live on NASA TV. Cool beans man. 

[DSJ™]

Robot will be attached, begin duties today



STS-123 spacewalkers Robert Behnken (bottom) and Rick Linnehan add a toolkit and camera eyes to the Dextre maintenance robot during a March 17, 2008 spacewalk outside the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV.



Endeavour astronaut Robert Behnken works on the maintenance robot Dextre at the ISS during a March 17, 2008 spacewalk high above Earth, the third of NASA's STS-123 mission. Credit: NASA TV.

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Astronauts attach robot to space station



The International Space Station's Dextre robot is shown attached to the U.S. Destiny lab via a camera on the orbiting lab's exterior. Credit: NASA TV.



Astronaut Robert Behnken, STS-123 mission specialist, participates in the mission's third spacewalk to complete construction of the Canadian Dextre robot on March 17/18, 2008. Credit: NASA.

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Astronauts testing emergency repairs



Endeavour astronaut Robert Behnken works on the maintenance robot Dextre at the ISS during a March 17, 2008 spacewalk high above Earth, the third of NASA's STS-123 mission. Credit: NASA TV.



The Spacelab Logistics Pallet (SLP) that brought the Dextre robot to the space station has a 28 year history that includes three earlier flights. From top left to bottom right: STS-51F, STS-45, STS-100 and STS-123. CREDIT: NASA.



The Canadian Space Agency's Dextre maintenance robot is pried free from a cargo pallet outside the International Space Station on March 18, 2008 during NASA's STS-123 mission. Credit: NASA TV.



Visible through a window on Endeavour's aft flight deck, astronaut Rick Linnehan participates in the mission's third scheduled spacewalk. During the 6-hour, 53-minute spacewalk, Linnehan and astronaut Robert L. Behnken installed a spare-parts platform and tool-handling assembly for Dextre, also known as the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator. Among other tasks, they also checked out and calibrated Dextre's end effector and attached critical spare parts to an external stowage platform. The new robotic system is scheduled to be activated on a power and data grapple fixture located on the Destiny laboratory on flight day nine. Image Credit: NASA.

[DSJ™]

Crew uses boom to check shuttle's skin



A low angle view of the nose and underside of the space shuttle Endeavour's crew cabin was provided by Expedition 16 crewmembers on the International Space Station (ISS) before docking on March 12, 2008. Credit: NASA.



This view shows the shuttle Endeavour docked at the International Space Station early on March 21, 2008. The shuttle's robotic arm can be seen outstretched at right. Credit: NASA TV.

Star explodes halfway across universe



GRB 080319B's optical afterglow appears in the center of this image from Pi of the Sky, a Polish group that monitors the sky for afterglows and other short-lived sources. Credit: Pi of the Sky.



The extremely luminous afterglow of GRB 080319B was imaged by Swift's X-ray Telescope (left) and Optical/Ultraviolet Telescope (right). This was by far the brightest gamma-ray burst afterglow ever seen. Credit: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler, et al.

[DSJ™]

Astronauts check off to-do list on spacewalk



This view of the shuttle Endeavour, taken by an ISS exterior camera, shows the orbiter's inspection boom outstretched on the right at the tip of its robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV.



Endeavour shuttle astronaut Robert Behnken participates in the third of five spacewalks of NASA's STS-123 mission to the ISS on MArch 17, 2008. Credit: NASA.



An astronaut exits the U.S. Quest airlock beginning the fifth spacewalk of the STS-123 mission. Credit: NASA TV.

[DSJ™]

Shuttle crew packs up for trip home




STS-123 astronaut Mike Foreman examines a damaged Solar Alpha Rotary Joint outside the ISS during a March 22, 2008 spacewalk, the fifth for the Endeavour shuttle crew. Credit: NASA TV.



The shuttle Endeavour is backdropped by a blue Earth in this view from the spacesuit helmet camera of STS-123 astronaut Mike Foreman during a March 22, 2008 spacewalk. Credit: NASA TV.



STS-123 astronauts on the flight deck of the shuttle Endeavour recorded this view as the orbiter's inspection boom was attached to the ISS exterior in a March 22, 2008 spacewalk. Credit: NASA TV.

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Endeavour heads home after fond farewells



The shadow of NASA's space shuttle Endeavour is projected on solar arrays outside the International Space Station on March 23, 2008 during the STS-123 mission. Credit: NASA TV.



A camera aboard NASA's shuttle Endeavour captured this view of the International Space Station after a March 24, 2008 undocking over the west coast of Australia. Japan's new Kibo storage module appears as the small cylinder jutting upwards at the center. Credit: NASA TV.

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Mixed signals from NASA about fate of Mars rover



NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit finds a patch of bright-toned soil so rich in silica that scientists propose water must have been involved in concentrating it. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell.

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Shuttle crew prepares for landing



NASA's shuttle Endeavour backs away from the International Space Station after undocking on March 24, 2008 during the STS-123 mission. Credit: NASA TV.

NASA reverses budget cuts that threatened Mars rovers

[jedipurge]

All that money pours into the Space program, and NASA can't get a camera that consistantly takes pics in focus 

[DSJ™]

That is because some of the pics were taken from the live NASA TV feed hence the NASA logo on the pics.   

Shuttle ready to land after 'two-week adventure'

Astronauts Begin Fluid Loading for Landing
26 March 2008 4:53 p.m. EDT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Mission Control has given the crew of the shuttle Endeavour the go ahead to begin consuming massive amounts of liquid to better prepare their bodies for the return to Earth’s gravity.

Known as fluid loading, the activity is a promising sign that entry flight director Richard Jones intends to attempt the first of two landing opportunities today.

Mission Control is watching a broken deck of clouds southeast of Endeavour’s runway here at the Kennedy Space Center to decide whether they pose a threat to today’s planned landing today at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT).

NASA astronaut Brent Jett, chief of flight operations, is flying a shuttle training aircraft to recon the clouds. Flight controllers want to know how thick they are and whether they hold any moisture. NASA shuttle cannot fly through rain or storm cloud remnants since they can damage an orbiter’s tile-covered belly or trigger lightning.

You can watch the landing of the Endeavour live on the NASA TV channel.



Astronaut Robert L. Behnken used a digital camera to take this self-protrait during a spacewalk. Also visible in the visor's reflections are components of the station, the docked space shuttle Endeavour and a blue and white portion of Earth.



Backdropped by Earth's horizon and the blackness of space, the International Space Station is seen from space shuttle Endeavour as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation on March 24, 2008 during NASA's STS-123 mission. Japan's new Kibo storage module appears as the squat cylinder atop the central module in this view. Credit: NASA.



NASA's shuttle Endeavour is photographed by ISS astronauts during the STS-123 mission in March 2008. Credit: NASA.



Dextre, also known as the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (SPDM), is seen in the grasp of the International Space Station's robotic arm while Space Shuttle Endeavour is docked with the station. Credit: NASA.

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The shuttle Endeavour is back home. 

Shuttle makes night landing after 'two-week adventure'

Some screen grabs I took off the NASA live feed.

   

 

 

This one is from the NASA site. 



A view of space shuttle Endeavour landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Credit: NASA TV.

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Shuttle Endeavour eased onto the runway at Kennedy Space Center March 26 at about 8:39 p.m. EDT (0039 March 27 GMT). Credit AP Images/Paul Kizzle.



Space shuttle Endeavour lands at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, capping the STS-123 mission. Credit: NASA/Tom Joseph.



In the 16th night landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Endeavour touches down on Runway 15 to end the STS-123 mission's nearly 16-day flight to the International Space Station.

Pliers From Apollo Mission Fetch $30,000

Cyberspace bid for astronaut checklist is out of this world