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Weather Force Managers to Wave Off Wednesday Landing
by Arthur Rowe 19 Sep '06

19 Sep '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 *Object Investigation, Weather Force Managers to Wave Off Wednesday Landing* The Mission Control Center in Houston informed the STS-115 crew about 10:45 a.m. EDT that Wednesday’s landing attempts have been waved off due to an unfavorable weather forecast, coupled with the possibility of additional inspections of Space Shuttle Atlantis. An object was observed by flight controllers using a TV camera on the shuttle in close proximity to the spacecraft. It was observed following standard tests of Atlantis’ reaction control system about 2:45 a.m. today. Flight controllers continue to analyze the situation and are concerned the item may be something that came off of Atlantis. *09/19/2006 Post-MMT Briefing Video of Object* + View video (Real) <http://mfile.akamai.com/18565/rm/etouchsyst2.download.akamai.com/18355/real…> + View video (Windows) <http://mfile.akamai.com/18565/asf/etouchsyst2.download.akamai.com/18355/wm.…> Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale said engineers and flight controllers are developing a plan for inspections that may be performed on Wednesday to ensure that Atlantis is safe for re-entry. Atlantis has equipment aboard that can be used to thoroughly inspect the heat shield and other areas. During the post-Mission Management Team briefing at 12 p.m., the STS-115 crew informed Mission Control that one of the crew members spotted a small object near the shuttle. The crew captured imagery of it and will downlink it to MCC for analysis. At about 12:46 p.m., MCC instructed the crew to power up the Atlantis’ robot arm so that its elbow camera can be used to survey the orbiter. Landing opportunities for Atlantis on Thursday begin with a potential 6:22 a.m. touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Atlantis’ mission has resumed the construction of the International Space Station. Atlantis delivered the P3/P4 integrated truss to the station on Sept. 11. The STS-115 and Expedition 13 crews used the shuttle and station robotic arms to attach the truss to the orbital outpost. Then STS-115 astronauts conducted three spacewalks in four days to prepare the truss and its solar arrays for operation. The weather forecast at Kennedy Space Center calls for better weather at the Shuttle Landing Facility on Thursday. Forecasters will continue to monitor the situation. The weather forecast for Wednesday had called for unacceptable thunderstorms and strong winds at the potential landing time.

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Atlantis Set to Land on Thursday
by Arthur Rowe 19 Sep '06

19 Sep '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 *Atlantis Set to Land on Thursday* Atlantis will glide in for landing, guided by Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Chris Ferguson, as the ship makes its steep descent from space into the pre-dawn darkness. Pulled back to Earth by gravity alone, Atlantis' approach to the coastal Florida runway is at a prescribed steep, nose-down dive. The spacecraft flares to a shallow nose-up, tail-down position for landing -- similar to a commercial jet aircraft -- about a mile before reaching the Shuttle Landing Facility's runway. The orbiter's main landing gear touches down at a speed of about 215 mph, followed seconds later by nose gear touchdown. As the drag chute deploys, the orbiter coasts to a stop after rolling over a mile down the runway. The orbiter landing convoy is then sent to "safe" the vehicle before the six crew member take their first steps back on Earth as they exit Atlantis through the Crew Hatch Access Vehicle. After receiving a quick check by doctors, the entire crew can do a walk-around visual inspection of the vehicle. The return of the six-member crew will conclude the successful mission to resume construction of the International Space Station by installing the P3/P4 integrated truss and solar arrays.

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STS-115 MCC Status Report #20
by Arthur Rowe 19 Sep '06

19 Sep '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 NASA NEWS 2:30 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Sept. 19. 2006 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas 09.19.06 STATUS REPORT: STS-115-20 STS-115 MCC Status Report #20 A space-age conference call linked three orbiting crews early Tuesday. Three people aboard the Soyuz TMA 9 talked with the six Atlantis astronauts and the three-man Expedition 13 crew aboard the International Space Station. The linkup was managed through Houston's Mission Control Center. The 12 people on the three very different space vehicles began their chat about 2 a.m. CDT. "It's a little crowded in the sky today," said Jeff Williams from the station. "We look forward to having you guys on board," he told the Soyuz crew. "We'll see you back on Earth sometime soon," Atlantis Commander Brent Jett told Expedition 13. The Expedition 13 crew, Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineers Williams and Thomas Reiter, is awaiting the arrival of Expedition 14, Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. With them is spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari. They are scheduled to dock with the station at 12:24 a.m. Wednesday. Atlantis' crew, Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialists Joe Tanner, Dan Burbank, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve MacLean, is getting ready to come home, with a landing scheduled for Kennedy Space Center at 4:59 a.m. CDT Wednesday. They were awakened at 9:15 p.m. Monday with “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi” (Don’t Leave Without Me) for MacLean, performed by fellow Canadian Celine Dion. They checked out Atlantis' flight control surfaces and later tested reaction control system thrusters. Today they'll continue stowage activities and other preparations for their landing. The unpiloted Progress 21 cargo spacecraft with its load of station discards undocked from the orbiting laboratory at about 7:30 p.m. Monday. It re-entered the atmosphere and was incinerated over the Pacific Ocean about 11 p.m. The next STS-115 mission status report will be issued Tuesday afternoon, or earlier if events warrant.

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STS-115 MCC Status Report #19
by Arthur Rowe 18 Sep '06

18 Sep '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 NASA NEWS 1 p.m. CDT Monday, Sept. 18, 2006 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas 09.18.06 STATUS REPORT: STS-115-19 STS-115 MCC Status Report #19 The crew of the International Space Station worked through an emergency procedure this morning after an oxygen generation unit apparently overheated. The overheating is believed to have melted a rubber seal, causing a small amount of smoke, a strong odor and possibly releasing a small amount of a chemical irritant. Aboard the station are Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov, Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency. At the time of the problem, Vinogradov was working with the Russian Elektron oxygen generator, a device that recycles wastewater on the station into oxygen for the cabin air. The Elektron had been shut off for nine days as planned during the joint operations by the station and the Space Shuttle Atlantis. At the request of Russian flight controllers, Vinogradov attempted to restart the unit at about 2 a.m. CDT. The Elektron operated only briefly before shutting down. Several subsequent attempts were made to restart the device in various modes. Just before 6 a.m. CDT, Vinogradov restarted the unit again after it had shut down. A few minutes later, as the station was out of communications with the ground, Vinogradov noted the Elektron overheating, light smoke and a bad odor. When the station moved into communications, at about 6:16 a.m. CDT, Mission Control asked the crew to manually initiate a fire alarm onboard to allow software to automatically shut down ventilation fans between the station modules. Flight controllers also checked for contaminants in the cabin air and found only low levels that posed no danger to the crew. However, the crew was asked to briefly don surgical masks, goggles and gloves to protect against possible irritation by a chemical used in the Elektron, potassium hydroxide, that may have leaked. Vinogradov reported that a small amount of clear liquid had leaked from an apparently damaged seal on the Elektron and cleaned it up, sealing it in airtight bags. Within an hour, the crew had powered back on all station ventilation equipment and had returned to working on normal activities. The incident will not affect plans to undock a Progress cargo craft from the station tonight and the docking of the next station crew with the complex, set for 12:24 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, Sept. 20. Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin and Spaceflight Participant Anousheh Ansari lifted off at 11:09 p.m. CDT Sunday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan bound for the station. Their Soyuz spacecraft is in excellent condition. Meanwhile, the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis -- Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialists Joe Tanner, Dan Burbank, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve MacLean -- are continuing preparations for a return to Earth. The crew completed a late inspection of the heat shielding on the nose and wings of the shuttle today using a laser scanning system. They are scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center at 4:59 a.m. CDT Wednesday. They began a sleep period at 1:15 p.m. CDT and awaken at 9:15 p.m. CDT for what is planned to be their final full day in orbit. The next STS-115 mission status report will be issued as the shuttle crew awakens, or earlier if events warrant.

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-09-18 14:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 18 Sep '06

18 Sep '06

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-09-18 14:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Crete-Monee Intermediate Center and Middle School, Crete, IL, direct via AJ9N Fri 2006-09-22 18:23 UTC 32 deg (***) Watch for internet and IRLP coverage. (***) Total number of ARISS school contacts is 252. 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 2006-08-29 02:00 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 2006-08-29 02:00 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 on orbit Pavel Vinogradov RV3BS Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Expedition 13/14 Thomas Reiter DF4TR Expedition 14 crew: Michael Lopez-Alegria KE5GTK Sunita Williams, KD5PLB Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT ***************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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STS-115 MCC Status Report #18
by Arthur Rowe 18 Sep '06

18 Sep '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAR A/C #31468 2 a.m. CDT Monday, Sept. 18, 2006 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas STS-115 MCC Status Report #18 The International Space Station is a busy place these days. Sunday saw the departure of the space shuttle visitors who had been working from the orbiting complex the past six days with a 7:50 a.m. CDT undocking of Atlantis. Hours later, three more explorers launched toward the station in a Soyuz spacecraft. Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin and spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari lifted off at 11:09 p.m. CDT Sunday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They are expected to arrive at the station early Wednesday. They will begin nearly nine days of handover activity as Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin prepare for their own six-month stay. Ansari, visiting the station as part of a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency, will return to Earth with Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams. European Space Agency Astronaut Thomas Reiter will remain onboard as part of Expedition 14. Traveling about 50 miles behind the station, the Atlantis crew -- Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialists Dan Burbank, Joe Tanner, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve MacLean -- woke at 10:15 p.m. to “Rocky Mountain High.” It was played for Tanner. The crew will focus today on the final inspection of the shuttle’s reinforced-carbon-carbon surfaces on the wing leading edges and nose cap. Ferguson, Burbank and MacLean will use the shuttle’s robotic arm to get a final look at those areas, ensuring no critical damage may have occurred since their arrival in space. Aside from a few other minor tasks it will be a light-duty day. Atlantis is prepared for its landing Wednesday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The next STS-115 mission status report will be issued Monday afternoon, or earlier if events warrant.

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ISS
by Norm, VK2XCI 18 Sep '06

18 Sep '06

WOW... Just watched ISS followed by Atlantis cross the sky. ISS was by far the brightest object in the sky,and at one stage I thought it was actually an aircraft... -- Norm, VK2XCI, Mildura, The Wintersun City QF15bt Victoria, Australia. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.12.4/449 - Release Date: 15/09/2006

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ISS SIGHTING?
by Doug Kuitula 18 Sep '06

18 Sep '06

Hi all, I realize that it's only been a short time since the solar panels have been installed on the ISS. But has anyone noticed if it is any brighter or easier to see since they've been put on. It's going to be a week or so until I get some pre-dawn passes and get a chance to view the station. 73 de Doug KA8QCU

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Crew to Conduct Inspections
by Arthur Rowe 17 Sep '06

17 Sep '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 *Atlantis Undocks From Space Station; Crew to Conduct Inspections* Space Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station at 8:50 a.m. EDT Sunday, ending STS-115’s successful stay and setting the stage for future assembly missions. Now, the STS-115 crew members will turn their attention to returning to Earth. Atlantis delivered the P3/P4 integrated truss to the station on Sept. 11. The STS-115 and Expedition 13 crews used the shuttle and station robotic arms to attach the truss to the orbital outpost. Then, STS-115 astronauts conducted three spacewalks in four days to prepare the truss and its solar arrays for operation. After Atlantis undocked, Pilot Chris Ferguson performed a 360-degree fly-around of the station to allow his crewmates to collect imagery of the newly-expanded station. On Monday, the crew will use the robotic arm and boom sensor system to conduct an inspection of Atlantis’ heat shield. The purpose of the post-docking inspection is to look for damage from space junk and micrometeoroids. Atlantis is scheduled to touch down at 5:57 a.m. (1057 UTC).Wednesday at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. For the latest information on space station activities, please visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

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STS-115 MCC Status Report #17
by Arthur Rowe 17 Sep '06

17 Sep '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 NASA NEWS 12:30 p.m. CDT Sunday, Sept. 17, 2006 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas 09.17.06 STATUS REPORT: STS-115-17 STS-115 MCC Status Report #17 The Space Shuttle Atlantis left a space station today markedly different than the one to which it docked less than a week ago. Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station at 7:50 a.m. CDT, completing six days, two hours and two minutes of joint operations with the station crew. As the shuttle departs, a new station crew is preparing to launch to the complex tonight from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Atlantis left the station with a new, second pair of 240-foot solar wings, attached to a new 17.5-ton section of truss with batteries, electronics and a giant rotating joint. The new solar arrays eventually will double the station's onboard power when their electrical systems are brought online during the next shuttle flight, planned for launch in December. Atlantis is now aiming for a 4:57 a.m. CDT Wednesday landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Meanwhile, the station's Expedition 14 crew -- Commander and NASA Science Officer Michael Lopez-Alegria, Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin and spaceflight participant Anoushheh Ansari -- are set to launch in their Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft from Baikonur at 11:09 p.m. CDT. Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin will begin a six-month stay aboard the station when they dock to the complex on Wednesday. Ansari is visiting the station for eight days under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. NASA TV coverage of the Expedition 14 launch begins at 10:30 p.m. CDT. After undocking, Atlantis' crew -- Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialists Dan Burbank, Joe Tanner, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steve MacLean -- got a breath-taking view of the station as the shuttle circled the complex. During their stay at the station, the shuttle crew conducted three spacewalks in four days to prepare the new components for operation. As Atlantis performed a full fly-around of the station, the shuttle crew took photographs and video of the complex's new T-shaped solar array configuration. The station's truss now stretches 179 feet. In addition to the new truss section and its arrays, the astronauts transferred 800 pounds of hardware and 1,043 pounds of water to the station in exchange for 1,084 pounds of returning hardware. They also placed about 200 pounds of launch locks, restraints and other unneeded hardware on ISS Progress 21 for disposal. The shuttle astronauts spent five days, 21 hours and 57 minutes with hatches open to the station working with the station's Expedition 13 crew -- Commander Pavel Vinogradov, and Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter. The hatches were shut for Atlantis' undoccking at 5:27 a.m. CDT. Vinogradov, Williams and Ansari will land in a Soyuz spacecraft in Kazakhstan Sept. 29. Vinogradov and Williams have been in orbit since March. On Monday, the shuttle crew will use the ship’s robotic arm to grapple the boom sensor system once more to conduct a final inspection of the heat shielding on Atlantis’ wings and nose cap. The additional late inspecting ensures the areas still are in good shape for entry into the atmosphere and landing. Atlantis' crew begins their sleep period at 2:15 p.m. CDT and will awaken at 10:15 p.m. CDT. The next STS-115 mission status report will be issued following crew wakeup, or earlier if events warrant.

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