November 2008

STS-126 is on the way to the ISS. Damsel snapped these from the TV before and after engine ignition.

This is the NASA account the launch thus far:

Go for Launch!
Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:46:20 PM PST

NASA’s mission managers have announced a “go” for launch! The countdown for the STS-126 mission has entered its final moments. Automatic systems at the launch pad will remove the remaining equipment out of the way of space shuttle Endeavour so it can make its climb into space.

Endeavour Soars Into the Night Sky!
Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:07:21 PM PST

Space shuttle Endeavour roared off Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on a spectacular tower of smoke and flames. The STS-126 mission is an extremely ambitious undertaking, highlighting four spacewalks and delivering the heaviest payload in shuttle history.

External Tank and Boosters Away!
Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:09:23 PM PST

The giant orange tank that provided fuel for Endeavour’s climb into space is now empty and is jettisoning from the shuttle. As the tank falls away and descends toward Earth, the tank’s on-board cameras record the process. About two minutes into flight, the solid rocket boosters propelling Endeavour higher into space have successfully separated and gracefully fallen away. Each booster has a parachute packed in its frustum that will automatically deploy after entering Earth’s atmosphere to slow the descent into the ocean. Endeavour has safely attained orbit and NASA mission managers have given the command to proceed with main engine cutoff, also known as MECO. Less than 10 minutes after launch, Endeavour was orbiting around Earth. Within 24 hours, Endeavour will meet up and dock with the International Space Station.

After nearly a half-year, Mars lander and science robot Phoenix goes silent. I posted about this interesting project in ‘Flight of the Phoenix’ Parts I, II, and III. This is the finale, although there is a very remote chance the robot could ‘phone home’ one last time.

Watch the video to see the Phoenix Mars approach and landing animation (courtesy NASA).

From NASA:

Mars Phoenix Lander Finishes Successful Work on Red Planet

WASHINGTON — NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has ceased communications after operating for more than five months. As anticipated, seasonal decline in sunshine at the robot’s arctic landing site is not providing enough sunlight for the solar arrays to collect the power necessary to charge batteries that operate the lander’s instruments.

Mission engineers last received a signal from the lander on Nov. 2. Phoenix, in addition to shorter daylight, has encountered a dustier sky, more clouds and colder temperatures as the northern Mars summer approaches autumn. The mission exceeded its planned operational life of three months to conduct and return science data.

The project team will be listening carefully during the next few weeks to hear if Phoenix revives and phones home. However, engineers now believe that is unlikely because of the worsening weather conditions on Mars. While the spacecraft’s work has ended, the analysis of data from the instruments is in its earliest stages.

Read the rest here.