March 7, 2011
Jim Reeves
geek, News
Discovery, Endeavor, international space station, last flight of Discovery, NASA, Space Shuttle
Discovery departs from ISS. Photo Credit: NASA
Space Shuttle OV-103, Discovery, pulls away from the International Space Station on Monday, March 7, 2011. This is the final voyage of Discovery, after 39 missions in 27 years. NASA is retiring the Shuttle fleet this year, due to concerns regarding the stresses on the vehicles from repeated launching and landings. While designed, built, and maintained for multiple missions, the Shuttles are, like any heavily used machine, subject to wear and tear, and at some point become a safety risk above and beyond the dangers inherent in space flight. Endeavor, OV-105, is being prepped for it’s final mission in the VAB at Kennedy Space Center.
February 28, 2011
Jim Reeves
geek, Pictures
Cassini, Dione, JPL, NASA, Rhea, Saturn
From the space probe Cassini, in orbit around Saturn:
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Bad Astronomer Phil Plait says:
The moon at the top is Rhea, which is about 1500 km (950 miles) across. We’re looking past its south pole here. The moon farther away is Dione, which is 1100 km (700 miles) in size. And since Cassini was very nearly in the plane of Saturn’s equator, the rings are nearly edge-on. Note that Dione is on the other side of the rings as seen by Cassini, so the bottom of the moon is obscured by the rings. We can’t see Saturn itself, but it’s off to the left in this shot.
Rhea is only a little bigger than Dione, but is a lot closer in this shot: 61,000 km versus 924,000 for Dione! That’s why Dione looks so much smaller. As seen by Cassini in this shot, it’s actually more than twice as far as our Moon is from the Earth. Both moons are composed of mostly water ice, with some rock. Both have been heavily battered by impacts, as you can see.
February 3, 2011
Jim Reeves
geek, News, Pictures
dawn on the pad, NASA, on the pad, Space Shuttle Discovery
Shuttle Discovery on the pad at dawn, 2/3/11 Photo: NASA
September 28, 2010
Jim Reeves
geek, Pictures
last flight of the space shuttle, NASA, shuttle fuel tank, STS-134
The last Space Shuttle External Tank heads for the VAB. This tank will be used for STS-134, the last flight of the shuttle program. After STS-134, NASA will not have a manned spacecraft for years. Until then, we hitch a ride with the Russians.
September 22, 2010
Jim Reeves
geek
geek, international space station, last flight of the Discovery, NASA, Shuttle Discovery
Picture by Larry Tanner KSC
Discovery’s final roll out. November’s launch to the International Space Station will be the last flight for this historic vehicle. The third orbiter in the Shuttle fleet, Discovery’s first launch was on August 30, 1984. In April 1990, it launched the Hubble Space Telescope from it’s cargo bay. In it’s career, Discovery has flown over 30 missions. For more information, check out NASA’s Discovery pages, here and here.
September 13, 2010
Jim Reeves
geek
Curiosity, JPL, Mars, Mars rover, NASA, NASA Geek, Rover
NASA’s latest Mars rover, Curiosity, passed an agility test by successfully navigating a set of ramps. Each wheel can maneuver independently, allowing for the flexibility needed to traverse the rocky Martian surface autonomously. Set for launch in late November 2011, the car sized mobile science machine will study Mars for two years or more.
For NASA’s latest article, check out this JPL site.
More pics after the jump.
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September 9, 2010
Jim Reeves
commentary, geek
Discovery, international space station, NASA, Space Shuttle, sts 133
The Space Shuttle Discovery is moved into the Vertical Assembly Building today, in preparation for the next Shuttle mission to the International Space Station. This may well be the last flight of Discovery. STS 133 While there is a new system on the drawing boards, it will be years before the United States has a manned spacecraft after the shuttles are retired. In the meantime, we will rent space on Russian rockets to get our astronauts into space.
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Shuttle Geek – Discovery Rolls Out For Final Mission
September 9, 2010
Jim Reeves commentary, geek Discovery, international space station, NASA, Space Shuttle, sts 133 1 Comment
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