Who wants to meet me near Edwards AFB? The base is not going to be opening to the public for viewing...but there are places to watch nearby.
Posted on 07/25/2005 4:24:13 PM PDT by OXENinFLA
SpaceflightNow.com:
The first tasks of the day center on preparation of the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) for its berthing back into Discovery's cargo bay. That module was removed from Discovery on Flight Day 4, mated to the Station and unloaded. Discovery and the MPLM are now loaded with 7,055 lbs. of unneeded equipment and trash for return to Earth.
Pilot Jim Kelly and Lawrence will operate the Station robotic arm later in the day to move Raffaello from the Station and gently place it back into Discovery's cargo bay at 7:34 a.m. EDT. Then, joined by Mission Specialists Charlie Camarda and Andy Thomas, the four will use the Shuttle arm to return the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to its secured position on the sill of the payload bay for the ride back to Earth.
Throughout the day, the on-orbit team will continue with stowing equipment on Discovery's middeck and configurations for undocking, including Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson and Thomas making final configurations and stowage of the spacesuits.
SpaceflightNow.com:
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2005
0948 GMT (5:48 a.m. EDT)
Discovery is 18,000 feet away from the station and continuing to separate. Aboard the shuttle, the astronauts have just berthed the 50-foot robot arm for the remainder of the mission. The crew will be enjoying some off-duty time starting in the next hour or so.
Who wants to meet me near Edwards AFB? The base is not going to be opening to the public for viewing...but there are places to watch nearby.
Odds for an Edwards landing are appreciable.
Yes...I remember watching the Enterprise test, and the first Columbia landing there as a child...The nostalgia part of me wants to go....plus there may never be another shuttle landing there...but if its only 90 minutes notice, that would be tough to do...since its about 80 minutes there.
Serious rocket-watchers come up empty a lot of times, but those times they get to see something make up for it in the long run.
The second two will come at Edwards Air Force Base at 8:12 a.m. and 9:47 a.m.
Sounds like the odds are good at this point.
SpaceflightNow.com:
MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2005
NASA's two-and-a-half ton Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, an instrument-laden spacecraft designed to capture an unprecedented level of detail about the Red Planet and help guide future missions, is awaiting launch Wednesday morning from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Liftoff of the Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket is slated for 7:54 a.m. EDT (1154 GMT) from Complex 41. A continuous window lasting an hour and 45 minutes -- until 9:39 a.m. EDT (1339 GMT) -- will be available for the launch to occur or else the mission must wait until Thursday.
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