 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Shuttle Flyaround Makes For Good Eyecandy
Washington (AFP) Feb 19, 2001 The shuttle Atlantis undocked Friday from the International Space Station and headed back to Earth after successfully completing the assembly of a US-built space laboratory. At 1406 GMT, as the space station overflew New Guinea, co-pilot Mark Polansky gently eased Atlantis some 150 metres (450 feet) away from the station before carrying out a semi-circular 40-minute fly around to take photographs and video footage. "Physical separation" had taken place with "rookie" pilot Polansky at the controls, said Kyle Herring, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spokesman at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. With the addition of the Destiny lab, the space station is now the largest man-made object in space, orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 400 kilometers (244 miles). It weights 112 tonnes and measures 51 meters (168.3 feet) in length and 72 meters (237.6 feet) in width with a height of 27 meters (89.1 feet). The 1.4 billion dollar laboratory will be the station's main US research facility, and one of six space labs in which astronauts from the 16 countries involved in the space station project will conduct research. The lab will also be used as a command and control center for the station and adds 41 percent to the station's living quarters. The shuttle Atlantis, docked to the station for nearly a week, is due to return to Earth at 1752 GMT Sunday, landing at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. "This mission represents a huge step up in terms of new capability on the station. In fact it is the largest step up we will have through the assembly sequence," said Andy Algate, the space center's flight director. Astronauts carried out three space walks to complete the complex task of assembling and installing the 9.2-meter-long (30.2-foot) 15-tonne module with a diameter of 4.3 meters (12.9 feet) manufactured by Boeing Corporation. "From a station program perspective, this has been an outstanding and great mission. Sometimes I am fearful that it sometimes looks too easy as we do this," said Bill Gerstenmaier, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) deputy station program manager. Two hours prior to undocking the five shuttle astronauts and the three residents of the space station -- American William Shepherd and Russians Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev -- bade farewell and closed the hatches linking the two craft. The space station residents, who arrived there on November 2, are due to return to Earth at the end of March. Shepherd, Gidzenko and Krikalev are installing equipment and carrying out flight-test duties on the space station and will be relieved by three colleagues in March. They will continue work on the station which is expected to be completed in 2006 at cost estimates of between 60 to 96 billion dollars. A further 39 missions by the shuttle program and Russian rockets are planned before the completion date. All rights reserved. � 2001 Agence France-Presse. All information displayed on this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. CommunityEmail This Article Comment On This Article Related Links More Flyarounds at Spaceflight.NASA SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
NASA Refines Design For Crew Exploration Vehicle
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 12, 2006NASA's Constellation Program is making progress toward selecting a prime contractor to design, develop and build the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), America's first new human spacecraft in 30 years. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
