Big Space Balloon is a project to launch a high altitude research balloon carrying scientific payloads to the edge of space. Launched from the Isle of Wight, the balloon will fly to an altitude of up to 130,000ft where it will remain for several days, carrying out scientific measurements in Read more…
ESA is running a Summer of Code in Space (SOCIS) along similar lines to the annual Google Summer of Code. The Open Mission Control project (which is supporting our myPocketQub 442 UKube-1 payload) been accepted as a mentoring organisation by ESA. If you would like to apply to be a Read more…
The space shuttle Atlantis of the final space shuttle mission STS-135 is going to land at KSC (Kennedy Space Center, Florida) on Thursday, 21 July, 2011. The landing time is planned to be 05:58am EDT (09:58 GMT, 10:58 UK time).
What the STS-135 did/will do during its 4-crew, 12-day mission:
1. deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module to the ISS (supplies & spare parts to sustain the International Space Station)
2. deliver the RRM (Robotic Refueling Mission) (to demonstrate automatic refueling of satellites on orbit (even satellites not designed for this!))
3. fetch a failed ammonia pump that failed on the ISS (so engineers can understand what happened to it)
4. deliver the LMC (Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier) to accomplish tasks 2 & 3 (on the way up – to deliver the RRM, on the way down – to fetch the ammonia pump)
Source/details: NASA STS-135 Press Kit
What can you say about the last shuttle launch that hasn’t already been said? I remember watching the first launch on TV as a kid and thinking this was it, the start of the something really big. All these years later and we have taken great leaps forward in our Read more…
