* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: STS-118

Blobrana · L

Shuttle lands safely despite damage

Blobrana · L

RE: STS-118

Blobrana · L

The Endeavour astronauts departed the international space station today and entered the homestretch of their hurricane-shortened mission.
The shuttle crew will aim for a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 11:32 a.m. CDT Tuesday, 24 hours earlier than planned. Florida's weather outlook was favourable, though there was a slight chance of rain.

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NASA TV footage of Hurricane Dean viewed from Shuttle Endeavour.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=tMsa_gk27Ac]

Blobrana · L

Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at 7:56 a.m. EDT today, ending an almost nine-day stay at the orbital outpost. The STS-118 crew is now conducting the post-undocking heat shield inspection.

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-- Edited by Blobrana at 23:04, 2007-08-19

Blobrana · L

After six days of deliberation, NASA decided tonight that the shuttle Endeavour will make its high-speed descent to Earth without repairs to a gouge in its heat shield below the right wing.
The ship's seven astronauts are scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday, following a two-week assembly mission to the international space station.

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Blobrana · L

Shuttle Endeavour Commander Scott Kelly witnessed a micro-meteorite debris strike on one of Endeavour's windows this morning.

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Blobrana · L

Nasa is optimistic that the space shuttle Endeavour will not need repairs to a gouge on its underside before it makes the return journey to Earth.
Agency officials said it was unlikely they would have to send astronauts outside to repair the 9cm gash.

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Blobrana · L

When space shuttle Endeavour rocketed into space yesterday, it took along a common microorganism normally found in the upper respiratory tract of approximately 40 percent of the healthy human population.
The experiment, Streptococcus pneumoniae Expression of Genes in Space (SPEGIS), part of the STS-118 space shuttle mission launched Aug. 8, 2007, will investigate the effects of the space environment on the common microorganism Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae). Scientists believe that sending this bacterium into space may lead to a better understanding of S. pneumoniae, an opportunistic human pathogen, which causes infections in individuals with reduced immune function. This bacterial pathogen is the most common cause of pneumonia, middle ear infections and bacterial meningitis.

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Blobrana · L

Astronauts inspect shuttle damage