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News Archive 2009: November |
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Zenit rocket launches with communications satellite
A new satellite to broadcast video and data services to Russia and the Middle East was successfully released in geosynchronous transfer orbit Monday, six hours after a middle-of-the-night blastoff from Kazakhstan aboard a Land Launch Zenit rocket.
 FULL STORY
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Space station research soaring to new heights
As the International Space Station nears completion, NASA and international agencies are ramping up scientific utilization of the outpost, particularly in fields of Earth science.
FULL STORY
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Seven astronauts bring shuttle Atlantis back home
Space shuttle Atlantis has returned from its penultimate voyage, one that delivered nearly 15 tons of spare parts and supplies meant to fortify the future of the International Space Station. The landing occurred Friday at 9:44 a.m. EST on Kennedy Space Center's Runway 33.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
MOBILE STREAMING VIDEO - for iPhones
PHOTOS: BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF LANDING
PHOTOS: SHUTTLE ROLLS TO HANGAR
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. N (.pdf download)
REMAINING SHUTTLE MISSIONS
STORE: STS-129 PATCH
STS-129 VIDEO COVERAGE
HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
 VIDEO:
SHUTTLE ATLANTIS LANDS IN FLORIDA PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
OBJECT FALLS IN INFRARED PLAY | PAST IR VIEWS
VIDEO:
POST-LANDING PRESS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO:
LANDING REPLAY: VIEW OUT THE PILOT'S WINDOW PLAY
VIDEO:
LANDING REPLAY: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL CENTER PLAY
VIDEO:
LANDING REPLAY: SOUTH END OF RUNWAY PLAY
VIDEO:
LANDING REPLAY: RUNWAY MID-FIELD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LANDING REPLAY: EAST SIDE OF RUNWAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LANDING REPLAY: WEST SIDE OF RUNWAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LANDING REPLAY: LONG-RANGE TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LANDING REPLAY: VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
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Japan launches spy satellite under veil of secrecy
In an unpublicized launch lacking fanfare, an H-2A rocket successfully boosted Japan's most advanced spy satellite to orbit on Saturday from the country's island space center.
FULL STORY
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SpaceX founder weighs in on Falcon 9 readiness
Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder and chief executive, provided an update on Falcon 9 launch preparations at Cape Canaveral Wednesday and set odds for success on the low-cost booster's maiden flight early next year.
FULL STORY
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Atlantis crew tests shuttle systems, preps for landing
The Atlantis astronauts worked through a busy Thanksgiving in space Thursday, testing the shuttle's re-entry systems and packing up for landing Friday at the Kennedy Space Center to close out a successful space station delivery mission.
AFTERNOON UPDATE
MORNING STORY
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. M (.pdf download)
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
THE FLIGHT DAY 11 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO:
PRE-LANDING MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
CREW INTERVIEWED BY ABC, LOS ANGELES AND TAMPA TV PLAY
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Meteorite surrenders new secrets of possible Mars life
Compelling new data that chemical and fossil evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars was carried to Earth in a Martian meteorite is being elevated to a higher plane by the same NASA team which made the initial discovery 13 years ago.
FULL STORY
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Shuttle undocks from International Space Station
Atlantis and the International Space Station parted company at 4:53 a.m. EST Wednesday after a week-long visit by the shuttle that delivered two large pallets of spare parts meant to keep the outpost flying for many years to come.
FULL STORY
UNDOCKING STORY
MORNING STORY
ARCHIVED MISSION STATUS CENTER
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. L (.pdf download)
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
THE FLIGHT DAY 10 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO:
UPDATE FROM MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM PLAY
VIDEO:
WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
INSPECTION BOOM UNBERTHED FOR HEAT SHIELD CHECKS PLAY
VIDEO:
VIEWS OF ATLANTIS DURING FLYAROUND MANEUVER PLAY
VIDEO:
SHUTTLE ATLANTIS UNDOCKS FROM SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO:
PREVIEW OF ACTIVITIES ON FLIGHT DAY 10 PLAY
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Wind sensor failure ends long-lived satellite mission
A spinning antenna on NASA's QuikSCAT satellite has failed after more than a decade of operations, leaving weather forecasters without a critical tool to measure winds inside distant hurricanes and adding fuel to a political firestorm on a potential replacement.
FULL STORY
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Shuttle astronauts bid space station fliers farewell
The Atlantis astronauts used the shuttle's maneuvering thrusters to boost the International Space Station's altitude by more than a mile early Tuesday, participated in a change-of-command ceremony aboard the lab complex and then bid their station colleagues farewell before closing hatches to set the stage for undocking Wednesday.
FULL STORY
MORNING STORY
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. L (.pdf download)
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
THE FLIGHT DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO:
TUESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
ATLANTIS ASTRONAUTS BID FAREWELL TO STATION CREW PLAY
VIDEO:
SPACE STATION EXPEDITION CHANGE OF COMMAND PLAY
VIDEO:
SHUTTLE AND STATION CREW JOINT CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO:
PREVIEW OF ACTIVITIES ON FLIGHT DAY 9 PLAY
VIDEO:
TUESDAY MORNING'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
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Another Proton rocket mission ends in success
Eleven weeks after winning the contract from a troubled competitor, an International Launch Services Proton rocket gave a powerhouse European communications satellite a successful ride to orbit Tuesday.
FULL STORY - updated!
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Air Force space plane shooting for April launch
The U.S. Air Force has released new images of its experimental new X-37B space plane as the secretive mission's launch date next April draws near. The spacecraft will test unspecified technologies before returning to a landing on a runway.
FULL STORY
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Atlas 5 launches Intelsat communications satellite
An international telecommunications satellite that will bridge the Atlantic with a broad reach to four continents was successfully hauled into orbit Monday aboard an Atlas 5 rocket that completed its last purely commercial launch for the foreseeable future.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
PHOTOS: LAUNCH PAD CAMERAS
PHOTOS: PRESS SITE VIEW OF LAUNCH
PHOTOS: READY FOR SECOND COUNTDOWN
PHOTOS: THE FIRST ATTEMPT
PHOTOS: ROLLOUT TO LAUNCH PAD
PHOTOS: NIGHTTIME SHOTS OF ROCKET
LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
GROUND TRACK MAP
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
ATLAS ROCKET LAUNCHES INTELSAT 14 PLAY
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Reliving shuttle Atlantis' beautiful afternoon ascent
Onboard rocket camera footage always dazzles and the video from shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tank and solid boosters didn't disappoint. The inspiring views of the spacecraft rocketing toward orbit are presented here for Spaceflight Now+Plus users with launch audio.
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
VIDEO:
LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO:
LEFT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY
VIDEO:
RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING UPWARD PLAY
VIDEO:
RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING INBOARD PLAY
VIDEO:
RIGHT-HAND BOOSTER CAMERA LOOKING DOWNWARD PLAY
VIDEO:
EXTERNAL TANK CAMERA FROM LIFTOFF TO SEPARATION PLAY
MORE:
STS-129 VIDEO COVERAGE
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Third and final spacewalk of the shuttle Atlantis flight
Astronauts Bobby Satcher and Randy Bresnik took a five-hour, 42-minute spacewalk Monday to install an oxygen tank on the International Space Station's Quest airlock module, set up a materials science space exposure experiment and carry out a variety of station assembly get-ahead tasks.
ARCHIVED MISSION STATUS CENTER
MORNING STORY
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. K (.pdf download)
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
THE FLIGHT DAY 8 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO:
MONDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
ENDING OF MISSION'S THIRD AND FINAL SPACEWALK PLAY
VIDEO:
SPACEWALKERS INSTALL OXYGEN TANK ONTO AIRLOCK PLAY
VIDEO:
HIGH-PRESSURE OXYGEN TANK REMOVED FROM PALLET PLAY
VIDEO:
GATHERING SCIENCE CASES FROM SHUTTLE BAY PLAY
VIDEO:
PREVIEW OF ACTIVITIES ON FLIGHT DAY 8 PLAY
VIDEO:
MONDAY MORNING'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
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Atlantis astronaut's wife delivers a baby girl
Astronaut Randy Bresnik carried out a spacewalk Saturday awaiting word of the birth of his second child. Responding to a wake-up call from Houston early Sunday, he delivered the news that his wife Rebecca had given birth, saying "good morning, Houston. Good morning, Rebecca, good morning, Wyatt, and good morning to our little girl."
MORNING STORY
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. I (.pdf download)
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
THE FLIGHT DAY 7 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO:
PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH RANDY AND REBECCA PLAY
VIDEO:
BIRTH OF BABY BRESNIK ANNOUNCED FROM ORBIT PLAY
VIDEO:
EDUCATIONAL EVENT WITH TENNESSEE TECH UNIVERSITY PLAY
VIDEO:
WASHINGTON, TAMPA AND CHICAGO MEDIA INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO:
SUNDAY MORNING'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO:
THE FLIGHT DAY 6 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
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Astronauts perform mission's second spacewalk
Space shuttle Atlantis crew members Mike Foreman and Randy Bresnik completed a six-hour spacewalk Saturday that installed an experimental communications antenna package and wireless video relay, moved a measurement probe, deployed two external payload attachment fixtures for future use, plus a few other odds and ends. One final EVA of the mission is planned for Monday.
FULL STORY
MORNING STORY
ARCHIVED MISSION STATUS CENTER
CREWS AWAKENED A SECOND NIGHT
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
SATURDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
SPACEWALKERS INSTALL WIRELESS VIDEO ANTENNA PLAY
VIDEO:
MEASUREMENT PROBE RELOCATED ON STATION TRUSSES PLAY
VIDEO:
EXPERIMENTAL COMMUNICATION PACKAGE INSTALLED PLAY
VIDEO:
SECOND SPARE PARTS PALLET MOVED TO STATION PLAY
VIDEO:
STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 2 PLAY
VIDEO:
PREVIEW OF ACTIVITIES ON FLIGHT DAY 6 PLAY
VIDEO:
SATURDAY MORNING'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO:
THE FLIGHT DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
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Manager encouraged by attempts to move Spirit
The first two attempts to dislodge the stuck Spirit rover from a calamitous Martian sand pit yielded little progress, but the mission's project manager said he is encouraged the wheeled robot even moved at all.
FULL STORY
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Improved station gyros delivered on Atlantis
Among the most critical spares being transferred from the shuttle to the International Space Station on STS-129 are two 600-pound control moment gyros built by Boeing and L3 Communications.
FULL STORY
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NASA assumes ownership of next station module
The European Space Agency formally handed over ownership of the Tranquility module to NASA on Friday, two-and-a-half months before the connecting node's February launch on shuttle Endeavour.
FULL STORY
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Rocket barons share thoughts on launch industry
Managers of the top commercial launch providers, including bankrupt Sea Launch, disagree on the outlook of the industry as satellite operators clamor for more participants in the launch market.
FULL STORY
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OTHER HEADLINES Additional stories today
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Soyuz rocket launches military payload -- Russia launched a military spy satellite into space Friday on a Soyuz rocket from the country's Plesetsk Cosmodrome, according to the defense ministry. Liftoff was at 1044 GMT on Friday.
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Crews work inside station; Bresnik awaits birth news
The Atlantis astronauts worked through another day in space Friday, transferring equipment from the shuttle to the International Space Station and making preparations for a second spacewalk Saturday. Shuttle flight engineer Randolph Bresnik, meanwhile, awaited word from Earth on the birth of his second child, a girl, scheduled for delivery Friday two weeks ahead of his wife's December due date.
MORNING STORY
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. F (.pdf download)
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
FRIDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
ESPN, BET AND RICHMOND TV INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO:
MELVIN AND SATCHER ON MORNING RADIO SHOW PLAY
VIDEO:
CBS, NASHVILLE TV AND FOX RADIO INTERVIEWS PLAY
VIDEO:
THE FLIGHT DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
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Spacewalk No. 1 a success; Atlantis' heat shield cleared
Astronauts Mike Foreman and Bobby Satcher completed a six-hour, 37-minute spacewalk Thursday to install a spare S-band antenna assembly on the International Space Station, lubricate robotic snares used to grip payloads and equipment and work on cable runs and connections. The tasks were finished with two hours to spare, allowing the crew to deploy an external payload attachment fixture as a bonus task.
CREWS AWAKENED BY FALSE ALARMS
FULL STORY
MORNING STORY
ARCHIVED MISSION STATUS CENTER
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. D (.pdf download)
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
THURSDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
SPAEWALKERS HAMMER STUCK BRACE ON TRUSS PLAY
VIDEO:
MAINTENANCE WORK ON JAPANESE ROBOT ARM PLAY
VIDEO:
ENJOYING THE VIEW OF SHUTTLE AND STATION PLAY
VIDEO:
REFURBISHED S-BAND ANTENNA INSTALLED PLAY
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS MOVE ANTENNA FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO:
SPACEWALK NO. 1 GETS UNDERWAY PLAY
VIDEO:
STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY OF SPACEWALK NO. 1 PLAY
VIDEO:
PREVIEW OF ACTIVITIES ON FLIGHT DAY 4 PLAY
VIDEO:
THURSDAY MORNING'S FLIGHT DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PLAY
VIDEO:
THE FLIGHT DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
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New hope for plucky Japanese asteroid mission
Japanese engineers have devised a plan to combine parts from two partially-failed ion engines to resume the Hayabusa asteroid probe's journey back to Earth.
FULL STORY
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Atlantis streaks to successful station linkup
Space shuttle Atlantis arrived at the International Space Station with a smooth docking at 11:51 a.m. EST. A few hours later, the astronauts successfully removed the first of two pallet-like carriers from the payload bay and installed it onto the station, giving the outpost a new stockpile of spare parts for the future.
DOCKING STORY
MORNING STORY
ARCHIVED MISSION STATUS CENTER
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. C (.pdf download)
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
AERIAL LAUNCH AND SRB SPLASHDOWN FOOTAGE PLAY
VIDEO:
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON'S MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO:
SPARE PARTS CARRIER INSTALLED ONTO STATION PLAY
VIDEO:
SHUTTLE ARM HANDS PALLET TO STATION'S ARM PLAY
VIDEO:
LOGISTICS CARRIER 1 UNBERTHED FROM SHUTTLE PLAY
VIDEO:
WEDNESDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
SHUTTLE CREW FLOATS INTO STATION PLAY
VIDEO:
ATLANTIS DOCKS TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY
VIDEO:
SPACE SHUTTLE PERFORMS 360-DEGREE BACKFLIP PLAY
VIDEO:
BEAUTIFUL VIEWS OF ATLANTIS APPROACHING PLAY
VIDEO:
SUMMARY OF THE SPARE PARTS PALLETS PLAY
VIDEO:
PREVIEW OF PALLET NO. 1 DELIVERY ON FLIGHT DAY 3 PLAY
VIDEO:
NARRATED PREVIEW OF RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING PLAY
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Beijing summit lands agreement for space talks
President Barack Obama and Chinese president Hu Jintao have agreed to expand and formalize U.S.-Chinese discussions on new cooperative space efforts, including initial talks on robotic planetary exploration and human space options.
FULL STORY
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U.S. and China tackle mounting debris hazards
Quick-thinking Chinese ground controllers were able to maneuver a high-value Chinese spacecraft out of the path of space debris marking the first such save by China, demonstrating the country's maturing space tracking and command and control systems.
FULL STORY
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Astronauts give Atlantis full post-launch inspection
A preliminary assessment of ascent imagery and data beamed down during an inspection of the shuttle Atlantis' nose cap and wing leading edge panels shows no signs of any significant heat shield damage, the chairman of NASA's Mission Management Team said Tuesday.
FULL STORY
MORNING STORY
ARCHIVED MISSION STATUS CENTER
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. B (.pdf download)
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
THE FLIGHT DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO:
TUESDAY AFTERNOON'S MANAGEMENT TEAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO:
ROBOT ARM GRAPPLES LOGISTICS CARRIER 1 PLAY
VIDEO:
TUESDAY AFTERNOON'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
PREVIEW OF ACTIVITIES ON FLIGHT DAY 2 PLAY
VIDEO:
NARRATED TOUR OF THE PAYLOAD BAY PLAY
VIDEO:
THE FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL ROOM PLAY
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: EXTERNAL TANK CAMERA PLAY
VIDEO:
POST-LAUNCH PRESS CONFERENCE PLAY
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Atlantis safely ascends on station supply mission
The space shuttle Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center precisely on-time Monday at 2:28 p.m. EST (1928 GMT) on a mission to deliver critical spare parts to the International Space Station. Visit our Mission Status Center for play-by-play updates and live streaming video of the voyage.
FULL STORY
ARCHIVED MISSION STATUS CENTER
PHOTOS: LIFTOFF FROM PAD CAMERAS
PHOTOS: THE MEDIA'S VIEW OF LAUNCH
PHOTOS: ATLANTIS AT NIGHTFALL
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. A (.pdf download)
LAUNCH WINDOWS CHART
ASCENT EVENTS TIMELINE
STS-129 FLIGHT PLAN
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
CREW FINISHES GETTING SUITED UP PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS LEAVE CREW QUARTERS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LIFTOFF OF SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS! PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PRESS SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD PERIMETER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: BEACH TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD CAEMRA 070 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD CAEMRA 071 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: WEST TOWER SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PLAYALINDA BEACH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: PAD FRONT CAMERA PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAY: VAB ROOF PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
NARRATED REVIEW OF SHUTTLE'S PREPARATIONS HI-DEF
VIDEO:
NARRATED REVIEW OF PAYLOADS' PREPARATIONS HI-DEF
VIDEO:
STUNNING SUNSET ROLLBACK OF PAD GANTRY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
A LOOK AT SPACE STATION SCIENCE RESEARCH PLAY
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Atlantis mission to fortify future of the space station
With the shuttle program entering its final year of operation, engineers are readying Atlantis for launch Monday on a three-spacewalk mission to deliver 15 tons of spare parts and equipment to the International Space Station as a hedge against failures when the shuttle is no longer available for service calls.
PREVIEW STORY
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. 0 (.pdf download)
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
SUNDAY MORNING'S STATUS CHECK PLAY
VIDEO:
THE STS-129 PRE-LAUNCH PRESS CONFERENCE PLAY
VIDEO:
COUNTDOWN PREVIEW AND WEATHER BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE FOR LAUNCH PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
NARRATED MISSION OVERVIEW MOVIE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
MEET SHUTTLE ATLANTIS' ASTRONAUTS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ASTRONAUTS TOUR PAD'S CLEANROOM PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
SHUTTLE EVACUATION PRACTICE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
CREW BOARDS SHUTTLE FOR TEST PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
THE LAUNCH DAY SIMULATION BEGINS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
CREW ARRIVES FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
CREW BRIEFED ON EMERGENCY PROCEDURES PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
TEST-DRIVING EMERGENCY ARMORED TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
PAYLOADS DELIVERED TO PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
PLACING PAYLOADS INTO TRANSPORTER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM UPDATE PLAY
VIDEO:
THE STS-129 MISSION OVERVIEW BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO:
PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO:
THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY
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Rosetta comet probe beams back views of home planet
Europe's Rosetta spacecraft flew by Earth last week, receiving a gravity assist and capturing rare images of the planet's dynamic atmosphere and city lights across North America.
SEE THE PHOTOS
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Spirit's roving chances bleak, NASA fears
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Monday will begin commanding the Mars rover Spirit to start backing out of the sand pit in the same tracks it left going into the scientifically rich location where it became stuck in April.
FULL STORY
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Scientists confirm abundant water in lunar crater
The Centaur rocket stage NASA dispatched on a suicidal plunge into the moon last month uncovered buckets of water inside a frigidly-cold, permanently-dark crater at the lunar south pole, scientists announced Friday.
FULL STORY
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Rosetta swings by Earth for critical gravity boost
The Rosetta comet-chasing probe passed another waypoint on its circuitous route to destiny Friday, making a final visit home before being thrown into deep space to meet the mission's icy target.
PREVIEW STORY
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Countdown begins ticking for Monday's shuttle launch
Aiming for a Monday afternoon launch toward the International Space Station, the six astronauts to fly aboard shuttle Atlantis traveled to the Kennedy Space Center on Thursday. The launch team gathered in the Firing Room 4 and started the countdown at 1 p.m. EST Friday.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
LAUNCH WINDOWS CHART
COUNTDOWN TIMELINE
STS-129 FLIGHT PLAN
NASA TV SCHEDULE REV. 0 (.pdf download)
STORE: STS-129 PATCH
STS-129 VIDEO COVERAGE
HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO
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Poisk module adds room to International Space Station
Two days after launching from Kazakhstan, a new Russian module arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday to give the complex another docking port and a platform for spacewalks and science experiments.
FULL STORY
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
POISK MODULE DOCKS TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY
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OTHER HEADLINES Additional stories today
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China launches research satellite -- China sent a Shijian research satellite into orbit Thursday, less than 24 hours after announcing the launch through state-run media outlets. Liftoff was at 0245 GMT from the Jiuquan space center.
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Two solar sailing trials readied for launch next year
Next year promises to be a banner year for solar sailing, with at least two experimental missions due for launch to demonstrate the novel use of light pressure from the sun for propulsion in space.
FULL STORY
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Poisk launches to add new room for space station
A Soyuz rocket blasted off from the plains of Kazakhstan Tuesday with the International Space Station's newest addition, a module doubling as a docking port for visiting spacecraft and an airlock for spacewalking astronauts.
FULL STORY
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Troubled asteroid mission stumbles on road home
Hopes are fading for the return of the Hayabusa space probe after another of its ion thrusters failed last week, leaving just one already-damaged engine to guide the hard-luck spacecraft back to Earth, potentially with the first precious samples of an asteroid.
FULL STORY
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Russian rocket rolls to pad with space station module
A Soyuz rocket topped with the new Poisk module for the International Space Station took a train ride to historic Launch Pad No. 1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sunday morning, two days before the new component begins its trek to the orbiting complex.
FULL STORY
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Ground teams struggle to save Mars orbiter from itself
Although engineers are still weeks from uplinking new command logic to eliminate an unlikely, but potentially fatal, scenario jeopardizing the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the mission's project manager said Friday he is confident the $720 million mission will resume soon.
FULL STORY
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Space markets post growth, defy economic crisis
Markets for commercial communications satellites, Earth observation spacecraft and their launchers, all remarkably unaffected by the global economic crisis, continue to soar toward yearly double digit growth, generating billions in annual revenues.
FULL STORY
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Mission control says no threat from orbital debris
Ongoing analysis of the trajectory of a piece of space junk that was believed to pose a possible threat to the International Space Station shows the debris will not pass close enough to the lab complex to force the crew to seek refuge in their Soyuz lifeboats, a NASA official said late Friday.
FULL STORY
EARLIER STORY
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
MISSION CONTROL ON SPACE DEBRIS THREAT PLAY
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Foreign land awaits Soyuz rockets leaving Russia
The first two Soyuz rockets scheduled to lift off from the Guiana Space Center next year will take their first step toward space Saturday, beginning a transatlantic ocean voyage to a jungle spaceport instead of heading for the familiar steppes of Kazakhstan.
FULL STORY
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Small European satellites look to hitch ride to space
Future light European institutional missions are slated to shift from using Russian launchers to the Vega rocket when it begins flying late next year, but officials with Russian launch providers say they are not giving up on the market just yet.
FULL STORY
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NASA juggles manifest for future Ares test flights
One week after the first major flight test of the agency's new Ares 1 rocket, NASA is closer to cancelling a demonstration launch called Ares 1-Y, potentially replacing it with a new, still undefined test flight in 2012 or 2013.
FULL STORY
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Orbiter camera sees ice-covered Phoenix lander
A sharp-eyed camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the Phoenix lander encased in dry ice in the depths of winter on the northern polar plains of Mars.
FULL STORY
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Cassini tastes icy material from Saturn moon geyser
The Cassini spacecraft touring Saturn is beaming back data and stunning imagery from Monday's flyby of Enceladus, an enigmatic ice-covered moon with geysers of material spewing from fissures on the surface.
FULL STORY
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More secrets of Mercury unveiled in September flyby
The flyby of Mercury made by a small NASA probe in late September was scientifically rewarding, despite a glitch that squandered half of the planned observations at the innermost planet, scientists said Tuesday.
FULL STORY
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Aerial video provides view of Ares 1-X chute trouble
NASA released spectacular footage Monday from an aircraft stationed near the landing site of the Ares 1-X first stage booster, showing remarkable views of liftoff, the botched parachute deployment and splashdown. Spaceflight Now Plus subscribers can watch the video here.
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MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO:
SPECTACULAR AERIAL FOOTAGE OF ARES 1-X LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO:
FRIDAY'S UPDATE WITH ARES 1-X MISSION MANAGER PLAY
VIDEO:
THE FIRST STAGE ROCKET IS TOWED INTO PORT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ARES 1-X LAUNCHES ON FLIGHT TEST PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
ONBOARD VIDEO CAMERA 1 PLAY
VIDEO:
ONBOARD VIDEO CAMERA 2 PLAY
VIDEO:
NARRATED OVERVIEW OF ARES 1-X FLIGHT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
INSIGHTS INTO THE PARACHUTE SYSTEM PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: PAD PERIMETER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: BEACH TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: PRESS SITE CAMERA 1 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: PRESS SITE CAMERA 2 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: POWERFUL UCS-23 TRACKER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: FROM ATLAS 5'S COMPLEX 41 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: CAMERA IN FRONT OF PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: FROM PAD 39A WITH ATLANTIS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
LAUNCH REPLAYS: VIP SITE AT BANANA CREEK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
NARRATED REVIEW OF LAUNCH CAMPAIGN PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF THE FIRST COUNT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
WORKERS STRUGGLE TO REMOVE PROBE COVER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO:
INTERVIEW WITH ATK BOSS PLAY | HI-DEF
MORE:
ARES 1-X VIDEO COVERAGE
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HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO COVERAGE
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Atlantis crew finishes mock countdown on launch pad
With just under two weeks left to go until their scheduled blastoff, the six Atlantis astronauts climbed aboard the space shuttle Tuesday for a dress rehearsal at launch pad 39A. Atlantis is scheduled to lift off Nov. 16 on a space station resupply mission.
ARCHIVED MISSION STATUS CENTER
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GPS satellite beset by permanent signal problem
A Global Positioning System satellite launched in March is suffering from permanent signal distortions and will miss its target to enter operational service this year, Air Force officials said.
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OTHER HEADLINES Additional stories today
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Father of China's space program dies -- The father of China's space and strategic rocket program Tsien Hsue-shen, who worked initially on U.S. rocket development, helped bring Werner Von Braun to the U.S. then was wrongly deported back to China in the 1950s for alleged ties with communist China, died in Beijing Oct. 31 at age 98.
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Earth-watching satellite launched on watery mission
A modified Russian ballistic missile successfully launched a $464 million European science satellite Monday to investigate Earth's water cycle by measuring moisture levels in soil and salt concentrations in the world's oceans.
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PREVIEW STORY
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History-making Japanese space mission completed
Packed with garbage from the International Space Station, the first HTV cargo freighter met a fiery demise over the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, punctuating an historic chapter in the Japanese space program.
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Read our earlier news archive page.
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