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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts on the shuttle Columbia were trying to regain control of their craft before it broke apart in 2003, but there was no chance of surviving the accident, a NASA report said on Tuesday. From the crew's perspective, the shift from what appeared to be a normal descent on Feb. 1, 2003, into tragedy happened so fast that the astronauts did not even have time to close the visors on their helmets. Columbia broke apart about 20 kilometres over Texas as it headed for landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The cause of the...

Seat restraints, pressure suits and helmets of the doomed crew of the space shuttle Columbia didn't work well, leading to "lethal trauma" as the out-of-control ship lost pressure and broke apart, killing all seven astronauts, a new NASA report says. At least one crew member was alive and pushing buttons for half a minute after a first loud alarm sounded, as he futilely tried to right Columbia during that disastrous day Feb. 1, 2003. In fact, by that time, there was nothing anyone could have done to survive as the fatally damaged shuttle streaked across Texas to a landing in...

Obama Planning to Scrap Shuttle Replacement, Says NASA Michael Asher (Blog) - December 22, 2008 10:13 AM President-elect's transition team planning to use decades-old military rockets instead, say insiders. President-Elect Obama's transition team is planning to scrap NASA's Ares program, the successor to the Space Shuttle, say NASA advisors. The transition team is demanding deep cuts from the agency, and is investigating whether old military rockets such as the Delta IV and Atlas V could be used in place of Ares. NASA plans a permanent moon base by 2020, followed by a manned mission to Mars; plans which the agency...

More than 150 readers have contacted us to say they heard the twin sonic boom produced by the space shuttle Endeavour moments before it made a perfect landing at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert. We’re hearing from people everywhere from Rancho Santa Margarita to Irvine to Fullerton to Chino to Panorama City, Palmdale, Burbank and Ventura.

STS-126 to Press Ahead With a Landing in California Flight controllers have elected to press ahead with space shuttle Endeavour's landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 1:25 p.m. - 4:25 p.m. EST today. The deorbit burn is scheduled for 3:19 p.m.

This is the official live thread of the Space Shuttle Endeavour... To get up to date information go to the following sites: www.nasa.govwww.nasaspaceflight.com

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Seven NASA astronauts and the space shuttle Endeavour are poised to launch Friday evening on what they've called an extreme home-improvement job at the International Space Station. Endeavour is set to blast off at 7:55 p.m. EST (0055 Nov. 15 GMT) from a seaside launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center hauling a cargo pod packed with new life-support gear, including a $250 million recycling system that turns astronaut urine into drinkable water. "This mission is all about home improvement," said Endeavour commander Chris Ferguson. "Home improvement both inside and outside the space station."

I was out smoking a cigarette and an astronaut just happened to be walking by (I work at KSC). She stopped and we introduced ourselves, she is one of the latest graduates of astronaut candidate training, clas of 2004. We started chatting about what we do and I asked her if she'd like to take a quick tour of our facility (we make the heat tiles for the shuttle). I got to give her a short tour and show her what I do, she seemed very interested. It was so cool, her name is Dottie Metcalf-Lindenbuger. She hasn't flown yet...

11/13/2008 - MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) -- An Air Force colonel who is a senior member of the Civil Air Patrol is scheduled to pilot the Space Shuttle Endeavour for mission STS-126 when it takes off Nov. 14 at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Col. Eric Boe, a NASA astronaut, will fly the shuttle in his first voyage into space as Endeavour supports the International Space Station. Endeavor will dock with the space station and deliver supplies to support its expanding needs, including a multipurpose logistics module. "I'm very excited to go into space and get the opportunity to...

<p>After you open the link be sure and hit the F11 button, makes the pictures high def.!</p>

CAPE CANAVERAL (AFP) - The US space shuttle Discovery left orbit Saturday and began its descent towards Florida, NASA said.Earlier, mission control gave the shuttle, which is bringing seven astronauts back to Earth, the green light to land at the Kennedy Space Center at 1515 GMT.

It was a good mission and I'm glad to see the ISS is taking shape. As for the object, not a big deal. My advice for everyone here, before going crazy over something minor or if something goes wrong, listen to NASA, not the media.

Mission controllers at NASA are discussing a possible problem with space shuttle Discovery on Friday. Astronauts said they noticed a shiny, rectangular-shaped object trailing the shuttle after a rocket was fired. NASA officials said they're analyzing video and photos to determine if the part came from the shuttle or cargo bay. They're hoping to determine if it could pose a problem for the crew during the re-entry and landing on Saturday morning.

I saw the ISS/Space Shuttle combo pass over Illinois tonight.

ISS = International Space Station To see if the pair will in fact pass and be visible over your particular location, schedules and other important information are available from the website just below (heavens-above.com):http://www.heavens-above.com/ NASA-International Space Station (official website):http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/ Important note for first time Space Station observers: Unless the Station is scheduled to pass 20 or more (depending on your viewing location--obstructions, etc) degrees above the horizon, you may not see it at all. But if the pass IS high enough above your local horizon, it will 'look' like a very bright white star, w/ no blinking or colored lights...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- Space shuttle Discovery performed a slow back flip and then docked at the international space station Monday, delivering a mammoth lab and two new occupants: a NASA astronaut and Buzz Lightyear. Commander Mark Kelly pulled up to the space station and parked as the two spacecraft soared 210 miles above the South Pacific. Discovery carried Japan's prized Kibo lab, a 37-foot-long, 16-ton scientific workshop. The seven shuttle astronauts and three station residents will combine forces to install the bus-size lab on Tuesday. The shuttle crew also brought a spare toilet pump for the orbiting outpost....

HOUSTON (AP) — Space shuttle Discovery's seven-member crew completed an inspection of the spacecraft's wings Sunday afternoon, looking for any signs of damage after launching a day earlier.Discovery, making its way to the international space station, is carrying the orbiting outpost's biggest room by far — Japan's $1 billion lab. The shuttle is also delivering a spare pump for the space station's malfunctioning toilet.But the inspection of the shuttle was not as thorough as it normally is because the school-bus-size lab, named Kibo — Japanese for hope — takes up almost the entire payload bay.That left no room for a...

This will be the official thread for the launching of the Space Shuttle Discovery..

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - After being rushed in from Russia, a toilet pump was loaded into space shuttle Discovery on Thursday just in time for this weekend's liftoff to the international space station, where the lone commode is acting up. A NASA employee based in Moscow hand-carried the pump on a commercial flight that touched down Wednesday night. Within hours, the pump and related equipment were packed away aboard Discovery. Discovery is scheduled to blast off Saturday on a 14-day mission. The main delivery item is a 37-foot-long Japanese lab; it will be the biggest room once installed at the...

Using data recovered from a damaged computer hard-drive that was aboard the ill-fated Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, scientists have recently learned more about why the act of shaking a material can quickly transform it into something completely different. One of the best examples of this phenomenon is ordinary ketchup. Shake the bottle and the semi-solid paste becomes a runny liquid. Food scientists do the shaking in a controlled way by putting ketchup (and other processed foods) into a rheometer (rheo, meaning "flow") to see how its viscosity -- the scientific word for stickiness -- decreases when shaken. Robert Berg...