Skip to main content

Shuttle Carrying Japanese Lab to Space Station





By Brian Wagner
Miami
15 July 2009

Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, 15 July 2009
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, 15 July 2009
Space shuttle Endeavour has launched on a mission to finish construction of a new science lab at the International Space Station.

The seven astronauts aboard Endeavour began their journey Wednesday evening to deliver the third and final segment of the Japanese Kibo science laboratory. NASA commentator Mike Curie counted down to the liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"We have main engine start, and four, three, two, one. Booster ignition and liftoff of Endeavour, completing Kibo and fulfilling Japan's hope for an out-of-this-world space laboratory," he said.

The Endeavour was supposed to launch last month, but a hydrogen leak forced officials to postpone while technicians fixed the problem. A series of thunderstorms caused further delays this week.






The Endeavour crew will spend nearly two weeks at the station to install the Kibo lab and perform other maintenance tasks, such as swapping out batteries in the station. The Kibo module will expand work space on the station and allow astronauts to conduct experiments that involve exposing materials to the vacuum of space.

Astronaut Tim Copra will replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who has been living aboard the station since March.

While the shuttle is docked to the station, there will be 13 astronauts working in space at one time - the highest number in the station's history.

After Endeavour returns to Earth, only seven shuttle missions will remain before NASA plans to retire the fleet next year.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chinese

Identifying someone in Indonesia as a member of the Chinese ( orang Tionghoa ) ethnic group is not an easy matter, because physical characteristics, language, name, geographical location, and life-style of Chinese Indonesians are not always distinct from those of the rest of the population. Census figures do not record Chinese as a special group, and there are no simple racial criteria for membership in this group. There are some people who are considered Chinese by themselves and others, despite generations of intermarriage with the local population, resulting in offspring who are less than one-quarter Chinese in ancestry. On the other hand, there are some people who by ancestry could be considered halfChinese or more, but who regard themselves as fully Indonesian. Furthermore, many people who identify themselves as Chinese Indonesians cannot read or write the Chinese language. Alth...
Post a Comment
Read more

ASEAN pushes for resumption of N. Korea nuke talks

ASEAN and friends: Foreign Ministers from left, Vietnam's Pham Gia Khiem, South Korea's Kim Sung-hwan, Japan's Takeaki Matsumoto, Indonesia's Marty Natalegawa, and China's Yang Jiechi, hold hands during a group photo at the opening session of ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Thursday. (AP/Dita Alangkara) Associated Press, Nusa Dua | Thu, 07/21/2011 2:19 PM Foreign ministers from 10 Southeast Asian nations are calling for a speedy resumption of talks aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. China, the US, Japan, South Korea and Russia had been negotiating since 2003 to persuade Pyongyang to dismantle the program in exchange for aid and other concessions. The North pulled out of the talks about two years ago after being censured for launching a long-range rocket. It has indicated a willingness in recent months to return to the table. The 10-member Association of Southeast As...
Post a Comment
Read more