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Shuttle engine tested
One of the three liquid-fueled main engines that will power Discovery into orbit during the space shuttle return-to-flight mission is test-fired at Stennis Space Center. (2min 57sec file)
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Delta 4-Heavy preview
Preview what a Boeing Delta 4 rocket launch will be like with this animation package of a "Heavy" configuration vehicle. (1min 41sec file)
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Rover's stuck RAT
A problem with the Opportunity rover's Rock Abrasion Tool is explained in detailed by JPL mission manager Chris Salvo. (4min 14sec file)
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New water clues
Spirit's examination of rock outcropping at Gusev Crater has yielded new clues about the history of water there, as explained by Doug Ming, a rover science team member from Johnson Space Center. (5min 59sec file)
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Spirit on a hill
A stunning new picture from the Mars rover Spirit taken from the hillside shows the sweeping plains of Gusev and the crater's rim on the distant horizon. Expert narration is provided by Steve Squyres, the rover lead scientist. (1min 22sec file)
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Update on Opportunity
Steve Squyres, the rover lead scientist, descibes Opportunity's ongoing work inside Endurance Crater and narrates new pictures that includes clouds moving across the Martian sky. (5min 50sec file)
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Latest Mars briefing
Scientists and mission officials explain the latest findings and exploration by the Spirit and Opportunity rovers during this news conference on August 18. (49min 40sec file)
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Ship docks to station
The Russian Progress 15P resupply ship makes a fully automated rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station. An external camera on the craft provides this view of the final approach to the aft port of the Zvezda service module. (3min 49sec file)
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Final engine test-fired for shuttle return to flight
NASA NEWS RELEASE
Posted: August 20, 2004

Engineers at NASA's Stennis Space Center (SSC) in Mississippi have successfully tested what's expected to be the last of three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) that will carry the next shuttle into orbit.

The engine tested Thursday will be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., for installation on Space Shuttle Discovery for its Return to Flight mission, designated STS- 114. NASA plans to launch Discovery to the International Space Station no earlier than March 2005.

The test began at about 9:10 p.m. EDT August 19. It ran for 520 seconds, the length of time it takes a Space Shuttle to reach orbit. Initial indications are all test objectives were successfully met.

"Piece by piece, milestone by milestone, we're getting closer to flying the Shuttle again," said Michael Kostelnik, deputy associate administrator for International Space Station and Space Shuttle Programs. "Today's engine test is another important step to make sure we give the STS-114 crew a safe ride to and from the Space Station."

"Our NASA and contractor team has continued to work hard over the past year and a half to make sure the Shuttle's main engine -- this incredible piece of machinery -- maintains its safety record," said Miguel Rodriguez, director of the Propulsion Test Directorate at SSC. "All the effort will pay off when we see Discovery lift off next year."

Engineers conduct rigorous testing to verify that an engine is ready to fly. Developed in the 1970s, the Space Shuttle Main Engine is the most advanced liquid-fueled rocket engine ever built and the first reusable one.

Temperatures inside the engines reach 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit -- hot enough to melt iron -- and the pressure mounts to as high as 6,000 pounds per square inch. During the eight-and-a-half minutes the Shuttle's three Main Engines burn, they produce energy equivalent to 23 Hoover Dams -- about 37 million horsepower. Each engine is 14 feet long, weighs about 7,000 pounds and is seven-and-a-half feet in diameter at the end of its nozzle. It generates almost 400,000 pounds of thrust.

"The successful completion of this test is another milestone in our efforts to return the Space Shuttle safely to flight," said Gene Goldman, manager of the Space Shuttle Main Engine Project Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "There has been a tremendous effort by the team at Stennis, both civil servant and contractor, to ready the engines for flight. Their diligent attention to detail is critical to the safe and reliable performance of the engines."

The Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power division of The Boeing Co. of Canoga Park, Calif., manufactures the Shuttle's Main Engines. Pratt and Whitney, a United Technologies Company of West Palm Beach, Fla., builds the high-pressure turbopumps. NASA's Space Shuttle Main Engine Project Office administers the main engine program. SSC conducts engine tests.

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