STS-132 (ULF4) Post Launch Mission Discussion (Atlantis)

[MeteorWayne]

As we have done in the past, we will open a new thread for the post launch phase of the Mission. It will be locked until launch, and the pre launch thread will be locked shortly after MECO.

Wayne

 

[EarthlingX]

Old thread :

STS-132 Pre Launch Discussion (Target date May 14)

I'm watching press conference, interesting.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Rats, thanx earthingx. I posted the link, but I guess my ISP ate it.

 

[EarthlingX]

No problem, but you can edit your post too, might even make sense, since it's the first post in this thread.

Very, very lovely

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqoBx6haUc[/youtube]

 

[mattblack]

May the Angels ride with you - from Liftoff all the way to Wheels stop.

*****************************************************

Godspeed the crew of Atlantis. Rise Up, show the world that there is still power, glory and majesty in Human Achievement. Show the naysayers - whom I hear regularly saying, even in this 21st Century; 'It's all a waste of money' blah, blah blah.

Rise up, on your pillars of man-made fire and astonish the ignorant. Inspire the children who lately; have had their bright and shining future in the sky pushed further and further forward into Time...

Rise Up. Show them ALL what it means to be Astronauts, what it means to be a SPACESHIP.

RISE UP!!

And show the Human Race that the Future is lit by Rocket Light....

 

[EarthlingX]

STS-132 MET=0:12:32:00 (2010 May 15, 06:52 UTC )

Wiki :

• STS-132 (huge amount of info, updated)
• Expedition 23

http://www.nasa.gov : STS-132 Begins On-Orbit Operations

Sat, 14 May 2010 23:26:15 UTC

After a successful launch Friday at 2:20 p.m. EDT, the STS-132 crew of space shuttle Atlantis began on-orbit operations. Saturday, the six astronauts will survey the shuttle's heat shield, checkout the spacesuits for the upcoming spacewalks and prepare for docking to the International Space Station on Sunday.

After reaching orbit the crew also was told that a preliminary debris assessment looks good. The assessment looks at debris that can shake loose and hit the shuttle’s heat shield during its ascent to space.


Image above: Liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis on its STS-132 mission. Launch was on time at 2:20 p.m. EDT. Image credit: NASA

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5pWUCQKtvU[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oM862gQY00[/youtube]

(Russian)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-3UgelRsmk[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAjfLAd3yl8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT6cDLTAvaY[/youtube]

NASA YouTube channel :
http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAtelevision

STS-132 launch image gallery :
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/s.../sts132/multimedia/gallery/gallery-index.html

Ready to Board

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Atlantis' STS-132 crew, dressed in their orange launch-and-entry suits, pause for a group portrait in front of the Astrovan that will transport them to Launch Pad 39A.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
May 14, 2010

NASA TV live video stream

ISS live video stream

Current location :
http://www.heavens-above.com/

from http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/space-shuttle-atlantis-launches-final-flight-100514.html

I beat the Traffic, an shot STS-132 from Orlando,FL

 

[EarthlingX]

STS-132 MET = 0:14:00:50

Atlantis crew wake up.

STS-132 MET = 0:14:05:00

First Full Day in Space for STS-132 Crew

Sat, 15 May 2010 08:25:18 UTC

Space shuttle Atlantis’ crew of six are awake and ready to embark on their first full day in space for the mission. Today, the crew will focus on a routine inspection of the orbiter and preparations for their docking to the International Space Station. The crew awoke at 4:20 a.m. EDT to “You’re My Home” performed by Billy Joel. The song was played for Commander Ken Ham, who is on his second spaceflight.

http://www.heavens-above.com : STS-132, Orbit Data

http://www.heavens-above.com : ISS Orbit Data

 

[EarthlingX]

SDC : Atlantis Crew Inspects Space Shuttle Heat Shield for Damage

By Clara Moskowitz
SPACE.com Senior Writer
posted: 15 May 2010
07:29 am ET

This story was updated at 8:55 a.m. EDT.



Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Atlantis have begun to scour their spacecraft's heat shield today to hunt for any signs of damage as they chase the International Space Station.

The shuttle's six-man crew wants to make sure Atlantis is in good health for its mission to the space station, where the astronauts plan to deliver a new Russian research module and loads of spare parts and supplies, including a set of solar array batteries and a space-to-ground antenna. Docking is set for Sunday morning.

The inspection is expected to last about six hours.

 

[Wiener]

Just became a member of this site. Great place! What path did Atlantis take after liftoff? Did it go north east? I think I saw Atlantis over Jacksonville (actually probably over Jacksonville Beach). I was driving north on US 1 near Avenues Mall (for those of you familiar with Jacksonville) and listenting to the launch on the radio. I pulled into a parking lot and looked skyward about 2:30 pm and there up in the sky (way up) it looked like the two trails from the reuseable rockets and I think I saw the glimmer of the engine still burning. I followed it as long as I could see it. Great view.
Sad to think no more space exploration and we have to ask the Russians for a lift into space. A sad end to JFK's vision into space.

Wiener

 

[EarthlingX]

I don't know what exact direction she took, but i expect over the water, so somewhere due east, probably NE, following the ISS orbit.

You should probably do some reading before your next post :
List of Multiple Threads on the Same Topic

Keep FUD off this thread.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Just became a member of this site. Great place! What path did Atlantis take after liftoff? Did it go north east? I think I saw Atlantis over Jacksonville (actually probably over Jacksonville Beach). I was driving north on US 1 near Avenues Mall (for those of you familiar with Jacksonville) and listenting to the launch on the radio. I pulled into a parking lot and looked skyward about 2:30 pm and there up in the sky (way up) it looked like the two trails from the reuseable rockets and I think I saw the glimmer of the engine still burning. I followed it as long as I could see it. Great view.
Sad to think no more space exploration and we have to ask the Russians for a lift into space. A sad end to JFK's vision into space.

Wiener

All Shuttle launches to the ISS (which is all that are left) head northeast up the Atlantic coast.

Welcome to Space.com!

Meteor Wayne

 

[EarthlingX]

Mission briefing currently on NASA TV.

SDC : Sensor Glitch Slows Down Space Shuttle Heat Shield Inspection

By Clara Moskowitz
SPACE.com Senior Writer
posted: 15 May 2010
07:29 am ET

This story was updated at 1:05 p.m. EDT.

A glitch on the space shuttle Atlantis' scanning sensor system has slowed down the inspection of the orbiter's sensitive heat shield.

The inspection is a normally scheduled check to hunt for any signs of damage on the shuttle's insulation tiling that could pose a risk when it re-enters Earth's atmosphere. But a balky system called the pan-and-tilt unit that controls the sensor's motion has stalled the six-hour scan. After hours of troubleshooting, the shuttle astronauts determined that a cable leading to the unit was being pinched by another piece of hardware on Atlantis, restricting how far the sensor can tilt.

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.universetoday.com : Atlantis Launch Gallery

May 15th, 2010

Written by Nancy Atkinson


Birds take flight along with Atlantis. Image credit: Alan Walters for Universe Today.

Another view of the launch from KSC. Credit: NASA

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.space.com/spaceshuttle/index.html

Space Station Debris Dodge Not Necessary
15 May 2010 5:50 p.m. EDT

After studying a piece of space junk that appeared to be headed on a possible collision path with the International Space Station, NASA has determined that the debris does not pose a risk to the orbiting laboratory. Mission managers had contemplated a possible move of the station to a higher orbit to avoid the space junk, but have decided not to make the maneuver since the space station appears to be safe.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cerl9GxYnQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxz8U_NZi5Q[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZYYE8E8Ye8[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

STS-132 MET = 1:13:00:00

Atlantis crew wake up.

I know this song Sweet home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

STS-132 MET = 1:13:08:00

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Docking Day for Atlantis Crew

Sun, 16 May 2010 07:28:07 GMT

The STS-132 crew, Commander Ken Ham, Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman, Michael Good, Steve Bowen and Piers Sellers woke at 3:20 a.m. EDT. "Sweet Home Alabama" performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd, was the wake up song played for Antonelli.

Today is docking day in space. The terminal initiation burn at 7:40 a.m. will put the shuttle on the final course to link up with the International Space Station at about 10:27 a.m. (EDT)

Commander Ken Ham and pilot Antonelli will fly Atlantis on its approach for docking to the station. After a series of jet firings to fine-tune the shuttle’s path to the complex, Atlantis will arrive at a point about 600 feet directly below the station about an hour before docking. At that time, Ham will execute the rendezvous pitch maneuver, a one-degree-per-second rotational “backflip” to enable station crew members to snap hundreds of detailed photos of the shuttle’s heat shield and other areas of potential interest – another data point for imagery analysts to pore over in determining the health of the shuttle’s thermal protection system.

Once the rotation is completed, Ham will fly Atlantis in front of the station before slowly docking. Less than two hours later, at 12:30 p.m., hatches will be opened between the two spacecraft, and a combined crew of 12 will begin six days of work as they operate the station’s robotic arm to relocate the Integrated Cargo Carrier from Atlantis’ payload bay to the station’s Mobile Base System in preparation for the next day’s first spacewalk of the mission.

 

[EarthlingX]

STS-132 MET = 1:17:20:00
Terminal initiation burn

STS-132 MET = 1:17:28:00
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Atlantis on Track for Docking

Sun, 16 May 2010 11:48:08 GMT

Commander Ken Ham and the crew of Atlantis performed the Terminal Initiation burn at 7:40 a.m. EDT, firing the left Orbital Maneuvering System engine for nine seconds to place the shuttle on the final path for its 10:27 a.m. docking to the International Space Station. When Atlantis is about 600 feet from the station, Ham will maneuver Atlantis through a backflip rotation to expose the heat shield to station crew members who will use digital cameras to photograph Atlantis’ upper and lower surfaces through windows of the Zvezda Service Module. Oleg Kotov will use a 400mm lens, and T.J. Creamer, Soichi Noguchi and Tracy Caldwell Dyson all will use 800mm lenses. The photos will be transmitted to Mission Control for evaluation by imagery experts and mission managers to determine whether the heat shield sustained any damaged during launch.

Image above: STS-132 Mission Specialist Piers Sellers is seen on the aft flight deck of the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Atlantis. Image credit: NASA

Venus and Moon from ISS :

STS-132 MET = 1:18:17:00
Mid-course correction burn on the way.

STS-132 MET = 1:18:35:00

STS-132 MET = 1:18:38:00

STS-132 MET = 1:18:41:00

STS-132 MET = 1:18:45:00
Final mid-course correction burn complete.

STS-132 MET = 1:18:46:00
'Go' for RPM.

STS-132 MET = 1:18:51:00
About 14 min to RPM.

STS-132 MET = 1:18:59:00

STS-132 MET = 1:19:02:00

 

[EarthlingX]

STS-132 MET = 1:19:07:00
RPM over Portugal.

STS-132 MET = 1:19:11:00
Starting photos.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Atlantis Performs Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver
Sun, 16 May 2010 13:33:49 GMT

At 9:27 a.m. EDT, space shuttle Atlantis began the nine-minute rendezvous pitch maneuver, or “backflip.” With Commander Ken Ham at the controls, Atlantis is rotating 360 degrees backward to enable International Space Station crew members Oleg Kotov, T.J. Creamer, Soichi Noguchi and Tracy Caldwell Dyson to take high resolution pictures of the shuttle’s heat shield.

STS-132 MET = 1:19:15:00
RPM complete.

STS-132 MET = 1:19:32:00

STS-132 MET = 1:19:35:00
'Go' for docking.

STS-132 MET = 1:19:42:00

STS-132 MET = 1:19:50:00
About 130 feet away, over Australia.

STS-132 MET = 1:19:56:00

STS-132 MET = 1:19:59:00

STS-132 MET = 1:20:04:00
Final approach to docking

STS-132 MET = 1:20:08:00
Standing by for contact and capture. Capture confirmed.

STS-132 MET = 1:20:10:00

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shutt ... index.html

Atlantis docks with International Space Station

Sun, 16 May 2010 14:34:20 GMT

At 10:28 a.m. EDT, Commander Ken Ham backed space shuttle Atlantis into pressurized mating adapter #2 on the International Space Station’s Harmony node. The two spacecraft were flying about 220 miles up over the South Pacific at the time they docked.

The shuttle and station crews will open hatches and hold the traditional welcome ceremony at about 12:30 p.m. Atlantis’ crew will be working with Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov and Russian Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko, Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and NASA's T.J. Creamer and Tracy Caldwell Dyson.

About an hour after hatches are open, Caldwell Dyson and Mission Specialist Piers Sellers will use the station’s robotic arm to move the Integrated Cargo Carrier from the payload bay to the station’s mobile transporter. This will enable the carrier and its attached hardware to be prepositioned for use throughout the mission.

Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman, Michael Good and Steve Bowen will transfer the spacesuits and spacewalk equipment over to the station’s Quest airlock and begin setting up for the first spacewalk.

STS-132 MET = 1:20:22:00
All 12 docking latches sealed.

STS-132 MET = 1:20:26:00

STS-132 MET = 1:21:47:00

STS-132 MET = 1:21:49:00
Station side hatch open.

STS-132 MET = 1:21:55:00
Pressure equalization completed.

STS-132 MET = 1:21:58:00
Hatches open.

STS-132 MET = 1:22:07:00

STS-132 MET = 1:22:10:00

STS-132 MET = 1:22:12:00

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Hatches Open, Crews Begin Joint Operations

Sun, 16 May 2010 16:28:33 GMT

Hatches between space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station were opened at 12:18 p.m. EDT.

About an hour after hatches are open, crew members will use the station’s robotic arm to move the Integrated Cargo Carrier from the payload bay to the station’s mobile transporter. This will enable the carrier and its attached hardware to be prepositioned for use throughout the mission.

Crew members also will transfer the spacesuits and spacewalk equipment over to the station’s Quest airlock and begin setting up for the first spacewalk.

SDC : Shuttle Atlantis Docks at Space Station

By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Managing Editor
posted: 16 May 2010
10:28 am ET

This story was updated at 12:53 p.m. EDT.



The space shuttle Atlantis linked up with the International Space Station Sunday after a two-day chase to deliver a new Russian chamber for the orbiting laboratory.

Atlantis docked with the space station at about 10:28 a.m. EDT (1428 GMT) as both spaceships flew more than 220 miles (354 km) over the South Pacific Ocean. The six-man crew on Atlantis doubled the station's population to 12 people at the orbiting lab.

"Yee-haw! It's good to hear your voice," station astronaut Soichi Noguchi, representing Japan, told the shuttle crew.

Atlantis commander Ken Ham said the space station was "brilliantly glowing" outside the shuttle's windows.

 

[shuttle_guy]

3488 (Andrew Brown) made it to the launch. He went with me, m brother and other friends. We were at the VAB viewing site just 3 miles from the pad. They really enjoyed the launch, as usual I was a bit too tense to enjoy it too much. That is what happens when you know everything that can go wrong.

 

[EarthlingX]

Glad to hear some report about Andrew

You had a beautiful launch.

Mission briefing coming up, media call KSC ..

STS-132 MET = 1:23:35:00
Over Mexico, coming over Florida.

STS-132 MET = 1:23:41:00
Crew ready for robotic operations.

STS-132 MET = 1:23:43:00

 

[MeteorWayne]

I spoke to Andrew yesterday (for the first time ever!). He was thrilled. Thanx for showing him a great time. Even his Mum was awed.

 

[EarthlingX]

Just came on-line :

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjob5B7nLe8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr6px1r41Nc[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h9u2QfIf3M[/youtube]

STS-132 MET = 2:00:28:00
Arm is moving

STS-132 MET = 2:00:32:00

STS-132 MET = 2:00:49:00

STS-132 MET = 2:00:53:00

STS-132 MET = 2:01:08:00

STS-132 MET = 2:01:20:00
Briefing in 20 min.

STS-132 MET = 2:01:27:00

 

[MeteorWayne]

Great ISS/Atlantis pass tonight at sunset!

Right around sunset, the ISS has what I call a "neckbreaker", a close to overhead pass here in NJ. It will rise to the right of Venus and the moon around 8:25 PM. It's even cooler from Massachusetts, since the path will pass very close to, and in order Venus, the crescent Moon, Mars and Saturn.

It will pass almost directly overhead across central Long Island, and for Yonkers through Rochester New York into Ontario, though the sun will not quite have set further west.

Check out the Heavens-Above site for info on your location, please be sure to select the location from the database.

http://heavens-above.com/

MW

 

[Testing]

I caught a good but short ISS pass last night. Good to hear SG was able to hook up with 3488. Did you share Ale? I hope to stand next to him for the final STS launch.