December 2006 - Sarex (INACTIVE)

NASA's Shuttle Discovery Begins Mission to the Space Station
by Arthur Rowe 10 Dec '06

10 Dec '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 > Dec. 9, 2006 > > Jessica Rye/Katherine Trinidad > Kennedy Space Center, Fla. > 321-867-2468 > > NASA'S SHUTTLE DISCOVERY BEGINS MISSION TO THE SPACE STATION > CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The space shuttle Discovery and its > seven-member crew lifted off Saturday from NASA's Kennedy Space > Center at 8:47 p.m. EST on one of the most complex missions ever to > the International Space Station. > > Shortly before launch, Discovery's Commander Mark Polansky said he and > his crew were excited to continue assembly of the station, "We look > forward to lighting up the night sky and rewiring ISS." > > After hearing of the successful liftoff, Expedition 14 Commander > Michael Lopez-Alegria told Mission Control in Houston "We'll leave > the light on," in anticipation of the space shuttle crew's arrival, > now scheduled for Monday. > > Low clouds delayed Discovery's launch on Thursday night. After > standing down on Friday, weather was much better for Saturday's > launch. > > During the 12-day mission, designated STS-116, a new structural > component will be added to the station. Shuttle and station crews > will work with ground teams to install the P5 truss. This latest > addition to the station's backbone weighs 4,000 pounds and will > extend the left side of the truss to allow future solar panels to > rotate. > > The mission also includes extensive work to reconfigure the station's > electrical and cooling systems from temporary to permanent mode. > During the mission, ground control will shut down and reroute the > station's power in stages so that the astronauts can reconfigure the > power system and make the P4 solar arrays delivered during the last > mission fully operational. This complex operation has never been done > before. Part of an existing solar panel will be retracted to allow > the P4 arrays to track the sun for a full 360 degrees and provide > power to the rest of the station. > > As part of these operations, the station's temporary cooling system > will be deactivated and a permanent system will become operational. > > The station's newest resident will also be traveling aboard Discovery. > Astronaut Sunita Williams joins the Expedition 14 crew. Thomas > Reiter, a European Space Agency astronaut who has been aboard the > station since July, will return to Earth with the Discovery crew. > Williams is scheduled to spend six months on the station. > > Discovery's crew is Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and mission > specialists Bob Curbeam, Joan Higginbotham, Nicholas Patrick, > Williams and Christer Fuglesang, a European Space Agency astronaut. > > For the latest information about the STS-116 mission and its crew, > visit: > > http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle > > > -end- > > > > >

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LAST LAUNCH COVERAGE - STS-116 DISCOVERY
by Arthur Rowe 10 Dec '06

10 Dec '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 9:00 p.m. - After years in training and two launch countdowns, the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery has reached orbit and can get down to the business of completing the most challenging and complex International Space Station mission to date. Thank you for joining our coverage tonight. For the latest on this and future missions, visit NASA's Space Shuttle Web site <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html>. 8:56 p.m. - Main engine cut-off! Commander Mark Polansky confirms a good separation. "Discovery, Houston, we saw a nominal MECO," Houston Flight told Polansky. "You've got a lot of smiling faces up here," Polanksy responded. 8:55 p.m. - Discovery's speed 14,000 miles per hour. The vehicle is downrange 643 miles from the launch site. 8:54 p.m. - Discovery could now reach Istres, France on one main engine at this point in the ascent. Discovery's speed is 11,000 miles per hour. 8:52 p.m. - The "Press to ATO" order has been given. Discovery now could land on two engines if necessary. The vehicle is now 290 miles downrange from the Kennedy Space Center with three good engines, three good auxiliary power units and three good fuel cells. So far all is going well and Discovery will roll into a heads-up orientation shortly. 8:50 p.m. - Five minutes remaining until Main Engine Cutoff. Discovery is downrange 110 miles from Kennedy Space Center as it climbs to orbit after lighting up the Central Florida sky. 8:47 p.m. - Ten... nine... eight... we have a go for main engine start... five... four... three... two... one... booster ignition and liftoff of the Space Shuttle Discovery, lighting up the night-time sky as we continue building the International Space Station.

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LAUNCH COVERAGE ,NASA's - Mission STS-116
by Arthur Rowe 10 Dec '06

10 Dec '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 LAUNCH COVERAGE NASA's Launch Blog - Mission STS-116 *NASA's launch blog was activated on Dec. 9, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. EST* *+ View All Launch Day Videos <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/launch/lau…>* *+ View First Launch Attempt Blog <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/launch/lau…>* ** 8:38 p.m. - T-9 minutes and counting. Nine minutes until the first nighttime launch of a space shuttle in four years. 8:34 p.m. - Launch Director Mike Leinbach polled his team and launch is "go" all the way. He told Commander Polansky that 48 hours makes all the difference and he wishes them good luck and Godspeed. "We're looking forward to lighting up the night sky and rewiring the ISS," replied Polansky. Standing by to release the hold. 8:33 p.m. - NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding <http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/biographies/spaulding.html> has polled the Launch Team <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/launch/lau…> and the team is "go." 8:32 p.m. - The Mission Management Team has been polled and all members have given a "go" for launch. 8:29 p.m. - Houston has contacted Discovery to advise the crew that all three transatlantic abort landing sites are go, but they will go with Moron, Spain as the preferred site. 8:18 p.m. - The countdown clock is holding at T-9 minutes, and there are about 20 minutes left in this last built-in hold. The final prelaunch polls by Mission Management Team Chairman LeRoy Cain, NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding and Launch Director Mike Leinbach should be taking place shortly. 8:03 p.m. - Launch Director Mike Leinbach has announced that we will aim for our preferred launch time in the middle of tonight's window. Again, 8:47:35 p.m. is the preferred launch time. 8:00 p.m. - We are inside the T-9 minute built-in hold. Everything continues to go well with the countdown tonight.

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NASA's Launch - Mission STS-116
by Arthur Rowe 10 Dec '06

10 Dec '06

Arthur Rowe wrote: > SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 > > NASA's Launch Blog - Mission STS-116 > > > *NASA's launch blog was activated on Dec. 9, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. EST* > > *+ View All Launch Day Videos > <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/launch/lau…>* > > > *+ View First Launch Attempt Blog > <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/launch/lau…>* > > ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN STANDARD TIMES > > > > 7:48 p.m. - The weather officer continues to report that we are > "green" on all constraints, meaning the weather is still acceptable > for liftoff. The countdown is proceeding as expected and we are on > target for launch at 8:47:35 p.m. > > 7:47 p.m. - Exactly one hour to go. > > 7:44 p.m. - T-18 minutes and counting. Commander Mark Polanksy has > reported that the transitioning of the back-up computer is complete. > > 7:42 p.m. - T-20 minutes and counting. There is only one hold > remaining, at the T-9 minute mark. > > 7:38 p.m. - The NASA Test Director is giving the launch team his final > instructions for the remainder of tonight's countdown. There are four > minutes remaining in the T-20 minute built-in hold. > > 7:32 p.m. - T-20 minutes and holding. This is a built-in hold lasting > 10 minutes. The countdown will resume at 7:42 p.m. > > 7:30 p.m. - The crew has been informed that their prime transatlantic > abort landing site for tonight's launch will be Moron, Spain. > > 7:25 p.m. - The crew is receiving some instructions to update their > flight checklists for launch. >

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LAUNCH COVERAGE- Mission STS-116
by Arthur Rowe 09 Dec '06

09 Dec '06

> SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 > > LAUNCH COVERAGE > NASA's Launch Blog - Mission STS-116 > > > *NASA's launch blog was activated on Dec. 9, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. EST* > > *+ View All Launch Day Videos > <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/launch/lau…>* > > > *+ View First Launch Attempt Blog > <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/launch/lau…>* > > > *NOTE:* Refresh/Reload your browser every few minutes to view launch > control center updates. All times are in EST unless otherwise stated. > > > 6:41 p.m. - Welcome news from Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters: > With the crosswinds improving and other weather issues having cleared > up, the revised forecast calls for only a 30 percent chance of weather > prohibiting launch tonight. This is a dramatic improvement over > previous forecasts, which indicated a 60-70 percent chance of the > shuttle being grounded due to weather. > > 6:35 p.m. - The only weather issue we're still following is the > crosswinds problem, and it is trending towards positive. The launch > team is extremely hopeful that the winds will die down enough to allow > launch tonight. > > 6:34 p.m. - The Closeout Crew has reported that the crew module is > closed, latched and pressurized, and cabin leak checks have verified > the integrity of the cabin door seal. With a little more than two > hours remaining before liftoff, the astronaut crew is safely sealed > inside Space Shuttle Discovery, awaiting liftoff at 8:47 p.m. > > 6:28 p.m. - In addition to the bright lights at the launch pad, a > bright orange flame can sometimes be seen inside the pad perimeter. > This is actually a safety feature: The flame burns away excess > hydrogen in the area so it doesn't become a toxic hazard. > > 6:21 p.m. - With the entire STS-116 crew safely aboard Discovery, the > Closeout Crew is finishing up in the crew module. Once the Closeout > Crew members have completed those last procedures, they will close and > latch the crew module and depart the launch pad. > > >

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-12-09 16:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 09 Dec '06

09 Dec '06

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-12-09 16:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Erweiterte Realschule, Weiskirchen D-66709, Germany, direct via DN1ERW (***) Failed Fri 2006-12-08 21:50 UTC (***) ARISS will assess what happened. (***) During Expedition 14, ARISS expects to have one ARISS school contact per month rather than approximately one per week. It is also anticipated that there many not be many general contacts. STS-116 12A.1 Launch (Polansky, Oefelein, Curbeam, Higginbotham, Patrick KD5PKY, Christer Fuglesang KE5CGR, Suni Williams KD5PLB up) Launch 2006-12-10 01:47 UTC (***) Total number of ARISS school contacts is 258. QSL information may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/arissfaq.html http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm#QSL's ISS callsigns: DP0ISS, NA1SS, RS0ISS ***************************************************************************** The schedule page has been updated as of 2006-12-09 16:00 UTC. Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2006-11-20 22:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correctio… tf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf ***************************************************************************** There has been a rumor that the ISS was having direct contacts on the 40 meter band. There is no HF radio equipment on board and available yet. The HF antenna is mounted. Sometimes WA3NAN will retransmit shuttle audio. ***************************************************************************** Expedition 13/14 on orbit: Thomas Reiter DF4TR Expedition 14 on orbit: Michael Lopez-Alegria KE5GTK Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT Expedition 14 future: Sunita Williams, KD5PLB ***************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Space Shuttle Mission STS-116
by Arthur Rowe 09 Dec '06

09 Dec '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 *Space Shuttle Mission STS-116* *Orbiter*: Discovery <http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/discovery-in…> *Mission*: Space Station Assembly Building 12A.1 <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/mission_ov…> *Payload*: P5 Integrated Truss Segment <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/its.html> *Launch Date*: Dec. 9, 2006 *Launch Time*: 8:47 p.m. EST *Launch Pad*: 39B <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch-complex39-toc.html> *Landing Date*: To Be Determined *Landing Time*: To Be Determined *Mission Duration*: 12 days

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NASA SETS BRIEFING WITH NEXT STATION CREW
by Arthur Rowe 08 Dec '06

08 Dec '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - A/C #31468 Dec. 8, 2006 Allard Beutel Headquarters, Washington 202-358-4769 James Hartsfield Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 NASA SETS BRIEFING WITH NEXT STATION CREW, SPACEFLIGHT PARTICIPANT HOUSTON - NASA will hold a media briefing at 10:15 a.m. CST Dec. 13 with members of the next International Space Station crew, Expedition 15, and a U.S. businessman who will visit the complex in spring 2007. The briefing will originate from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, and broadcast live on NASA Television. Media may ask questions from participating NASA locations. The briefing will include: - Expedition 15 Commander and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin - Expedition 15 Flight Engineer, Soyuz Commander and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov - Expedition 15 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Clay Anderson - Expedition 15 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Dan Tani - Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi, who will fly to the station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. On Dec. 14, Yurchikhin, Kotov, Anderson and Tani also will be available for individual round-robin interviews in person at Johnson or by phone. To participate in those interviews, media should contact the Johnson newsroom, 281-483-5111, no later than 3 p.m. Dec. 13. Yurchikhin, Kotov and Simonyi will travel to the station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. Eleven days later, Simonyi will return to Earth aboard a Soyuz with two members of the Expedition 14 crew. Space shuttles will transport Anderson and Tani to the station later in the year. Anderson has a seat on shuttle Endeavour's STS-118 mission, targeted for launch next June. Tani will replace Anderson a few months later when he arrives aboard shuttle Atlantis on its STS-120 mission. For more information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about the International Space Station and its crews, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov -end-

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ISS STATUS REPORT- DECEMBER 8TH,2006
by Arthur Rowe 08 Dec '06

08 Dec '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 LATEST NEWS Poor Weather Delays Shuttle Launch Until Saturday ISS014-E-08320 : Expedition 14 crew dining Image above: Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria (right) and Flight Engineers Thomas Reiter and Mikhail Tyurin share a meal at the galley in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TO VIEW PICTURE GO TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.htm The arrival of Space Shuttle Discovery and the STS-116 crew has been delayed two days. An unfavorable weather forecast at Kennedy Space Center in Florida forced mission managers to pass on Thursday’s launch attempt. Discovery is now slated to lift off at 8:47 p.m. EST Saturday and dock with the orbital outpost on Monday. The STS-116 crew will deliver the P5 truss segment and conduct three spacewalks to install it and reconfigure and redistribute the power generated by the station’s U.S. solar arrays. The STS-116 crew’s weeklong stay will also feature the first station crew rotation during a shuttle mission in four years. NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams will join the Expedition 14 crew and European Space Agency Astronaut Thomas Reiter will return to Earth on Discovery. For the latest news and information on STS-116, visit the main shuttle page. + Read more + Read more about Expedition 14 + View crew's daily timelines NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency have named two astronauts and two cosmonauts to the next International Space Station crew, known as Expedition 15. Astronauts Clayton Anderson and Daniel Tani will travel to the station next year and work as flight engineers. Cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Dr. Oleg Kotov will spend six months aboard the orbiting laboratory. + Read more about Expedition 15

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SHUTTLE LATEST STATUS
by Arthur Rowe 08 Dec '06

08 Dec '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C 31468 LATEST NEWS Uncooperative Weather Forces Launch Postponement to Saturday Space Shuttle Discovery awaits launch. The launch of Space Shuttle Discovery was scrubbed Thursday after poor weather conditions spoiled the attempt at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Earlier in the day a cold front moved in over the spaceport, bringing clouds and winds into the area. The cloud ceiling proved to be too low for a safe launch, prompting NASA to postpone Discovery's flight. NASA officials have set the next launch attempt for 8:47 p.m. EST on Dec. 9. The STS-116 mission is the 33rd for Discovery and the 117th space shuttle flight. During the 12-day mission, the crew will continue construction on the International Space Station, rewiring the orbiting laboratory and adding a segment to its integrated truss structure

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