America.gov-Space: Space Shuttle

Shuttle Returns After Expanding Space Station Size, Capability

Cheryl Pellerin — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:53:58 GMT

Space shuttle Discovery and its crew touch down June 14 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, completing the STS-124 mission to install and outfit the largest component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory. Separately, NASA awards a contract to develop a spacesuit for the next phase of space exploration.

Discovery Launches with Japan’s Kibo, Private-Sector Experiment

Cheryl Pellerin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:50:54 GMT

Space shuttle Discovery roars into orbit May 31, carrying hardware that included the heart of Japan’s new laboratory, spare parts for the Russian toilet and an experiment that could help find a vaccine for the food-borne illness salmonella.

NASA Constellation Program on Track to Return People to Moon

Cheryl Pellerin — Mon, 19 May 2008 08:13:26 GMT

NASA engineers report progress on the Constellation program, whose Ares I rocket and Orion spacecraft will transport human explorers back to the moon by 2020 and then on to Mars and other destinations in the solar system. The effort is unparalleled in U.S. space flight since the shuttle program formally began in 1972.

Discovery to Deliver Heart of Japanese Lab to Space Station

Cheryl Pellerin — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:10:55 GMT

When Discovery launches May 31, the STS-124 mission to the space station will carry the centerpiece of Japan’s laboratory complex and reach a milestone in NASA’s restructuring of its space shuttle program after the 2003 loss of Columbia. Ten flights remain until the shuttle is retired in the summer of 2010.

Shuttle Returns After Delivering Canadian, Japanese Equipment

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:06:34 GMT

Space shuttle Endeavour returns to Earth after completing 250 orbits during a 16-day, 10.4 million-kilometer mission to the International Space Station that delivered the first segment of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency’s two-armed robot named Dextre.

Spectacular Night Launch Sends Japan, Canada Devices to Station

Cheryl Pellerin — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:59:27 GMT

Two space-faring vessels now are taking equipment and astronauts to the International Space Station. Endeavour left Florida in a spectacular night launch on March 11. On March 9, the Jules Verne, the first of the European Space Agency’s automated transfer vehicles, launched from Europe’s Guiana Space Centre.

Equipment from Japan, Canada To Launch with Shuttle on March 11

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:25:13 GMT

Space shuttle Endeavour’s March 11 mission will represent contributions of all five space station partners -- the United States, Japan, Canada, Russia and the European Space Agency. “Since … the day we launched the first piece of the International Space Station, our partnership has been looking forward to this flight,” a NASA official says.

Atlantis Home as Shuttle Endeavour Prepares for March 11 Launch

Cheryl Pellerin — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:19:43 GMT

Space shuttle Atlantis punches through high clouds and touches down on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center after a 12-day mission that delivered to the international space station and installed the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory, and set the stage for the next series of launches in the United States and Europe.

Shuttle Launches To Deliver European Space Agency Lab to Station

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:38:47 GMT

Atlantis launches through cloud-swept skies carrying the Columbus lab, the European Space Agency’s most important contribution to the International Space Station. “We will be getting science back from the Columbus laboratory within a week or 10 days of its launching,” says Alan Thirkettle, ESA International Space Station program manager.

NASA Targets February 7 for Atlantis Launch to Space Station

Cheryl Pellerin — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:41:50 GMT

After two launch delays in December 2007 and weeks of testing and modifying an element of the external tank’s fuel sensor system, NASA has targeted February 7 for the launch of space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station. Atlantis and its crew will deliver to the station the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory.

Shuttle Atlantis Begins 11-Day Mission to Space Station

Cheryl Pellerin — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 17:42:00 GMT

After a nearly three-month delay caused by hail damage and repairs to the external fuel tank, space shuttle Atlantis roared into a deep-blue Florida sky June 8 on the program’s 21st mission to the International Space Station. “Three, two, one,” capsule communicator Tony Antonelli announced from mission control, “and liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis, to assemble the framework for the science laboratories of tomorrow!”

Next Shuttle Mission To Ready Space Station for Lab Modules

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 17:46:58 GMT

The scheduled March 15 launch of space shuttle Atlantis (STS-117) and its mission – to install a new truss segment, unfurl new solar arrays and fold up an old solar array – will prepare the International Space Station for two remaining scientific modules from Europe and Japan. The launch will be the first of five scheduled for 2007 – an “extremely ambitious” schedule that space shuttle program manager Wayne Hale says will be accomplished safely and professionally. He adds that even though the program “is beginning to wind down in some ways,” more shuttle missions remain to be flown than were flown in the entire Apollo program.