Godlike Productions - News: Shuttle Endeavour undocks from ISS

04:13 PM

News

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Breaking News Back

Shuttle Endeavour undocks from ISS

World News

2008-03-26

25th March 2008, 10:18 WST

Shuttle Endeavour has pulled away from the international space station and is heading for home after a farewell between the two crews.

The departure culminated 12 days of shared work, the longest mission ever of its kind.

The 10 space travellers performed a record-tying five spacewalks, put together a space station robot and provided a new Japanese compartment - and resident - for the orbiting complex.

Before the hatches were closed in the late afternoon, a few hours before the shuttle's undocking, astronaut Garrett Reisman pretended he was going to float into Endeavour.

Space station commander Peggy Whitson grabbed him around the waist and pulled him back.

"I already feel the nostalgia coming on about the (shuttle) crew," Reisman said.

Reisman flew up aboard Endeavour to replace French astronaut Leopold Eyharts, who was going home on the shuttle. They embraced and patted each others' backs as they parted company; the other astronauts did the same.

Endeavour, Eyharts and six others are due back on Earth on Wednesday evening. It will wind up a 16-day trip for the shuttle.

The three astronauts left behind on the space station, meanwhile, won't have time to get bored.

Europe's new cargo carrier, Jules Verne, will dock April 3; it blasted into orbit this month. One week later, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft will arrive, carrying a fresh space station crew.

NASA's next visit will be in late May. That's when Discovery is due to arrive with the Japanese lab, Kibo, which means hope. Endeavour delivered the first section of the lab, a storage compartment.

But the Hubble Space Telescope mission, at the end of August, might wind up being postponed because of a slowdown in shuttle fuel-tank production.

Only now, five years after the Columbia accident, are fuel tanks and their insulating foam skin being built from scratch, Cain noted. The fuel tank used to propel Endeavour into orbit on March 11 was the last one that was already in production when Columbia was destroyed, and so it was easier to make the post-accident safety changes.

These changes, most if not all of them involving foam, took time to refine. NASA also became bogged down by a recurring fuel-gauge problem that finally was resolved a few months ago.

"We're on a learning curve here," Cain said.

Email Article

Discuss in the Forum

Back

Disclaimer:
This website exists for entertainment purposes only. The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events. Moderators on this forum make every effort to review the material posted on this site however, it is not realistically possible for our small staff to manually review each and every one of the more than 5000 posts GodlikeProductions gets on a daily basis. The content of posts
on this site, including but not limited to links to other web sites, are the expressed opinion of the original poster and are in no way representative of or endorsed by the owners or administration of this website. The posts on this website are the opinion of the specific author and are not statements of advice, opinion, or factual information on behalf of the owner or administration of GodlikeProductions. This site may contain adult content and if you feel you might be offended by such content, you should log off immediately.

Not all posts on this website are intended as truthful or factual assertion by their authors. Some users of this website are participating in internet role playing, with or without the use of an avatar. NO post on this website should be considered factual information on face value alone. Users are encouraged to USE DISCERNMENT and do their own follow up research while reading and posting on this website. Godlikeproductions.com reserves the right to make changes to, corrections and/or remove entirely at any time posts made on this website without notice. In addition, Godlikeproductions.com disclaims any and all liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of a post on this website.

This site is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. You should not assume that this site is error-free or that it will be suitable for the particular purpose which you have in mind when using it. In no event shall Godlikeproductions.com be liable for any special, incidental, indirect or consequential damages of any kind, or any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of damage, and on any theory of liability, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of this site or other documents which are referenced by or linked to this site.

Some events depicted in certain posting and threads on this website may be fictitious and any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental. Some other articles may be based on actual events but which in certain cases incidents, characters and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes. Certain characters may be composites, or entirely fictitious.

We do not discriminate against the mentally ill!

Fair Use Notice:
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Users may make such material available in an effort to advance awareness and understanding of issues relating to civil rights, economics, individual rights, international affairs, liberty, science & technology, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C.Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
For more information please visit:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

This Disclaimer is subject to change at anytime.

Mail Webmaster with questions or comments about this site.

Page generated in 0.001s (1 queries)