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Current Shuttle Mission
With a rocket's red glare, Space Shuttle Discovery lifted
off from Kennedy Space Center in a spectacular display
of sound and light befitting of Independence Day.
As Discovery raced into the bright blue sky, cheers
and applause erupted across Kennedy and along the nearby
beaches of Florida's Space Coast. Today's successful
launch came on the third try after the first two attempts
to launch were dashed by poor weather.
Now under way, Discovery and its crew set their sights on a mission to deliver equipment, supplies and an additional crewmember to the station. While docked, the STS-121 crew will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as make repairs to the station.
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The Space Shuttle is literally the most complex machine that the
human race has ever built.
- The
Space Shuttle Challenger STS 51-L Just after liftoff at
.678 seconds into the flight, photographic data show a strong
puff of gray smoke was spurting from the vicinity of the aft field
joint on the right Solid Rocket Booster. Computer graphic analysis
of film from pad cameras indicated the initial smoke came from
the 270 to 310-degree sector of the circumference of the aft field
joint of the right Solid Rocket Booster. This area of the solid
booster faces the External Tank. The vaporized material streaming
from the joint indicated there was not complete sealing action
within the joint.
- The
First 100 missions of the Space Shuttle Detailed information
about the first 100 Shuttle missions including Mission logs and
details about what each Mission did. A must resource for information
on the Shuttle Program.
- The
Space Shuttle Coordinate System The space shuttle coordinate
reference system is a means of locating specific points on the
shuttle. The system is measured in inches and decimal places;
Xo designates the longitudinal (forward and aft) axis, Yo the
lateral (inboard and outboard) axis and Z o the vertical (up and
down) axis. The subscript ''o'' indicates orbiter; similar reference
systems are used for the external tank (T), solid rocket booster
(B), and overall space shuttle system (S).
- The
Space Shuttle Reference Manual The Space Shuttle is developed
by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA coordinates
and manages the Space Transportation System (NASA's name for the
overall Shuttle program), including intergovernmental agency requirements
and international and joint projects. NASA also oversees the launch
and space flight requirements for civilian and commercial use.
- The
Fleet or Orbiter Vehicles America's fleet of Space Shuttle
orbiters are named after pioneering sea vessels which established
new frontiers in research and exploration. NASA delved through
the history books to find ships which achieved historical significance
through discoveries about the world's oceans or the Earth itself.
Another important criterion in the selection process was consideration
for the international nature of the Space Shuttle program. The
name of NASA's newest orbiter, Endeavour was selected from names
submitted by school children around the world.
- The
Brazilian Space Shuttle Project Back in the last
years of the eighties, the Brazilian government started to think
very seriously about getting into space. The Air Force then started
secret negotiations with the russians about technical cooperation
on building a shuttle using the Buran concept, that is, a rocket
launcher very similar to the Energia and an orbiter without main
engines, just RCS pods. (fictional)
| Seven heroes were lost on February
1st.
We will all remember the heroic
crew of STS107:
Rick Husband,
William McCool, Michael Anderson,
Kalpana Chawla,
David Brown, Laurel Clark, Ilan Ramon |
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