Space shuttle Endeavour fueled for launch



NASA managers cleared the shuttle Endeavour for launch Sunday after a 24-hour delay to make sure launch pad lightning strikes Friday caused no damage to critical systems. With a clean bill of health and forecasters predicting a 70 percent chance of good weather, engineers began loading the shuttle's external tank with rocket fuel at 9:48 a.m. EDT.
If all goes well, commander Mark Polansky, pilot Douglas Hurley, Canadian flight engineer Julie Payette, David Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Thomas Marshburn and space station flight engineer Timothy Kopra will begin strapping in for launch a few minutes before 4 p.m.
Liftoff is targeted for 7:13:55 p.m., roughly the moment Earth's rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the International Space Station's orbit.
The primary goals of the 16-day, five-spacewalk mission are to attach an experiment platform to the Japanese Kibo module, to replace aging solar array batteries, and to deliver critical spare parts. In addition, Kopra will replace station flight engineer Koichi Wakata, launched to the outpost last March.
Endeavour was grounded twice last month when leaks developed where a 7-inch gaseous hydrogen vent link attaches to the side of the shuttle's external tank. The leaks showed up when the hydrogen section of the tank was nearly full and the hardware was chilled to ultra-low temperatures.
After the second scrub June 17, engineers traced the problem to a slight misalignment in the vent port housing on the side of the tank. A more flexible two-part seal was installed and changes were made to the vent line mounting plate to ensure a tight fit. The repairs were tested July 1 during a fueling test and the vent line system was leak free.
NASA then reset launch for Saturday but managers ordered a 24-hour delay to assess the potential effects of multiple lightning strikes at the launch pad during a severe thunderstorm Friday. Early today, engineers concluded there were no lightning-related problems with any of the shuttle's systems and Endeavour was cleared for launch.
Forecasters are predicting showers and thunderstorms inland with just a few clouds at the launch site at 3,000 feet, a scattered deck at 25,000 feet, and winds out of the southeast at 8 knots with gusts to 12. There is a 30 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms moving within 20 nautical miles of the launch site.
While shuttle engineers are completing Endeavour's fueling, a Russian Progress supply ship will be in the final stages of a re-rendezvous with the International Space Station, approaching to within about 30 feet of the lab complex to test docking system navigation aids on the upward-facing port of the Zvezda command module.
Antennas and cabling for the navigation system were installed during a spacewalk last month and today's test is intended to demonstrate the new port can be used later this year when a new Russian module homes in for an automated docking.

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"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
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Endeavour launch postponed again
The launch of the US space shuttle Endeavour has been postponed for a fourth time, because of thunder storms in the area.
The decision was made only minutes before the shuttle was due to lift off from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
An earlier launch was called off after Nasa investigated lightning strikes around the launch pad, while two were scrapped in June over hydrogen leaks.
The launch has been rescheduled for 1851 local time (2251 GMT) on Monday.
"Looks like the team is ready but the weather is not. At this time, we are no-go," said Nasa's launch director, Pete Nickolenko.
The lift-off had been timed for 1913 local time (2313 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center, some 24 hours later than planned.
Forecasters had said there was only a 30% chance of a weather-related delay.
It came after engineers spent Saturday checking over the shuttle to ensure that there was no damage to its electrical systems. Lightning had struck 11 times near the launch pad on Friday.
Two previous launch attempts in June were also scrapped because of a potentially hazardous leak in a hydrogen vent line.

New experiments
The Endeavour crew is set to install an external platform on Japan's space station lab, Kibo.
The orbiter is taking a seven-strong crew into space, made up of six Americans and one Canadian - Julie Payette - who will operate the shuttle's robotic arm during the mission.
Their arrival will bring the total crew on the outpost to 13 - a record for the ISS.
During five spacewalks, a platform will be added to the Japanese lab complex, which can be used for experiments that require materials to be exposed to the harsh environment of space.
In addition, Endeavour will deliver a new long-stay US crew member, Tim Kopra, to the ISS and bring back Japan's Koichi Wakata, who has lived aboard the platform for more than three months.
The space station, now about the size of a four-bedroom house, has been under construction for more than a decade.
When it launches, Endeavour will make the 127th space shuttle flight, the 29th to the station, the 23rd for Endeavour and the third in 2009.
Seven further flights to the platform remain before the shuttles retire in 2010.
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Snooping through the power socket
Power sockets can be used to eavesdrop on what people type on a computer.
Security researchers found that poor shielding on some keyboard cables means useful data can be leaked about each character typed.
By analysing the information leaking onto power circuits, the researchers could see what a target was typing.
The attack has been demonstrated to work at a distance of up to 15m, but refinement may mean it could work over much longer distances.

Hotel attack
"Our goal is to show that information leaks in the most unexpected ways and can be retrieved," wrote Andrea Barisani and Daniele Bianco, of security firm Inverse Path, in a paper describing their work.
The research focused on the cables used to connect PS/2 keyboards to desktop PCs.
Usefully, said the pair, the six wires inside a PS/2 cable are typically "close to each other and poorly shielded". This means that information travelling along the data wire, when a key is pressed, leaks onto the earth (ground in the US) wire in the same cable.
The earth wire, via the PC's power unit, ultimately connects to the plug in the power socket, and from there information leaks out onto the circuit supplying electricity to a room.
Even better, said the researchers, data travels along PS/2 cables one bit at a time and uses a clock speed far lower than any other PC component. Both these qualities make it easy to pick out voltage changes caused by key presses.
A digital oscilloscope was used to gather data about voltage changes on a power line and filters were used to remove those caused by anything other than the keyboard.
"The PS/2 signal square wave is preserved with good quality... and can be decoded back to the original keystroke information," wrote the pair in a paper describing their work.
They demonstrated it working over distances of 1, 5, 10 and 15m from a target, far enough to suggest it could work in a hotel or office.
"The test performed in the laboratory represent a worst case scenario for this type of measurement, which along with acceptable results emphasizes the feasibility of the attack on normal conditions," they added.
The pair said their research was "work in progress" and expect the equipment to get more sensitive as it is refined.
The attack is due to be demonstrated at the Black Hat conference that takes place in Las Vegas from 25-30 July.

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"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
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Europe's new space truck takes shape


"It's clear from space history that often it was not the prototype that experienced the problems; it was the mission that came later. That's why specific attention has to be paid to what we do now."
Nico Dettmann is in charge of producing the European Space Agency's (Esa) next space freighter.
He knows the near-flawless maiden voyage of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) last year does not mean the second flight is guaranteed to turn out the same way. Attention to detail is everything.
The follow-up ship - dubbed Johannes Kepler - is in the process of being assembled.
Its propulsion and avionics units are being prepared in Bremen, Germany. Its pressurised module which will hold the cargo - air, water, scientific equipment, food, and clothing - to be taken to the space station is being built in Turin, Italy.
The various segments should come together in September, into a single line of assembly that will lead to a launch in November 2010.
Thereafter, ATVs will fly every year for three years. The vehicle is no longer an experimental spacecraft; it is a production spacecraft. And to emphasise the point, if you walk through the cleanroom at EADS Astrium in Bremen, you can already see ATV-3 components.
"The whole integration process, from the first day until launch, is 28 months. So if you want to launch every 12 months, obviously you have to produce in parallel," explained Esa's Mr Dettmann.



The space freighter has huge significance for Europe.
On one level, it is the "subscription" Europe must pay to be part of the International Space Station "club". If Europe can deliver about six tonnes of supplies a year to the platform, it is guaranteed six-month residencies at the ISS for its astronauts.
But ATV has also been a test of European competency. It is the biggest, most sophisticated vehicle the bloc has ever flown in space. Its automatic rendezvous and docking technology allows it to find its own way to the station and attach itself without any human intervention.
The European Space Agency believes the vehicle's capabilities will feed into many other exploration activities, at the Moon, Mars and other Solar System destinations. Esa is even looking into the possibility of upgrading the robotic truck so that it can carry people - an independent European crew transportation system.
Astrium Bremen is in sole charge of manufacturing Johannes Kepler. The company's Les Mureaux plant in France had a bigger role on the previous vehicle (known as Jules Verne) but with the switch to routine production, it was felt the lines of responsibility should be simplified.
"In the past, we had one organisation dedicated to development and one to production. At the end of Jules Verne, it was decided to have just one organisation in order to have maximum consistency going forward," said Astrium's ATV project manager, Olivier de la Bourdonnaye.
"All of what we did on the Jules Verne adventure belonged to the development of ATV; and it finished a couple of months ago with the post flight analysis."
Germany carries about 50% of the production effort; and all the sub-contractors - including Europe's other major space concern, Thales Alenia Space - are reporting direct to the German centre.
Very little is having to be changed on ATV-2, such was the success of Jules Verne.
There were only two significant hardware issues.
One, early in the flight, saw the vehicle's propulsion system switch to a back-up chain when anomalous pressures were detected in the complex network of pipes and valves that feed the engines. The other saw a segment of thermal blanket on the exterior of the craft lift away from its Velcro fittings.
Neither event affected the mission and should be easily remedied on Johannes Kepler.



Perhaps more significant was the slight mismatch that occurred in the advanced GPS systems used on ATV and the Russian Zvezda module on the ISS to align the vehicles prior to docking. Had the discrepancy been more serious, Jules Verne could have been triggered into aborting its approach to the platform.
It wasn't - and a software correction on the Russian side should fix this issue before Johannes Kepler arrives in 2010.
The ship will be heavier this time - by some 600kg. This will take it over 20 tonnes, making its launch the heaviest payload in the history of Esa missions.
The supplies ATV-2 carries will be gratefully received: with six permanent residents now living on the platform, Europe's logistics effort is paramount (the US shuttle should be close to retirement by November 2010).
Its role in boosting the ISS will be significant, also. With no shuttle visiting the station, the ATV's power will be needed to lift the platform higher into the sky to avoid the drag from residual air molecules at the top of the atmosphere.
"We're supposed to lift the station significantly because after the shuttle retirement the ISS will raise its average altitude from 330-350km to almost 400km to produce less drag," said Mr Dettmann.
"Today the ISS altitude is linked - let's say - to low shuttle performance. After shuttle is gone, ISS can fly higher but ATV will have to deliver a major part of that altitude increase."

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"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
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Endeavour astronauts on spacewalk
Astronauts have carried out the first of five spacewalks to be performed by the crew of the shuttle Endeavour at the International Space Station (ISS).
American astronauts Tim Kopra and Dave Wolf spent nearly six hours outside the ISS, attaching a large platform - the final piece of Japan's space lab, Kibo.
The section will be used in experiments requiring materials to be exposed to the harsh environment of space.
Endeavour docked on Friday, uniting a record 13 astronauts at the ISS.
Saturday's spacewalk, the 127th involved in the construction of the ISS, finished after five hours and 32 minutes, about an hour less than scheduled.
The astronauts carried out work to attach the 1.9-tonne platform to Kibo's two pressurised modules that were delivered to the space station last year.
Once in place, the crew on the ISS used the robotic arms on the station to manoeuvre the section into place.
The work fell behind schedule so the spacewalkers were not able to compete work to set up a payload attachment system on the station's exterior.
Their communication with their colleagues on the ISS was hampered by heavy static from the microphones in their helmets.
But Nasa said the communication problems did not pose a safety risk and they hoped to resolve the problems by the next spacewalk, scheduled to take place on Monday.
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"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
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Here is a link to track both. Enjoy!

Have fun tracking your favorite space object/s.

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Pluto will always be a planet to me.

Seti Ambassador
Not to late to order an Anni Shirt

Here is a link to track both. Enjoy!

Have fun tracking your favorite space object/s.

Thanks for that link Uli. Great site.

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Flying high with Team Sicituradastra.

Here is a link to track both. Enjoy!

Have fun tracking your favorite space object/s.

It's cool =)

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N = R x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L

Here is a link to track both. Enjoy!

Have fun tracking your favorite space object/s.

It's cool =)

Agreed. Love it. Thanks Uli! :)

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Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.

Albert Einstein