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

[EarthlingX]

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

Atlantis Separation Complete

Sun, 23 May 2010 17:17:40 GMT

At 1:05 p.m. EDT, Atlantis fired its jets to complete the final separation from the International Space Station, setting it on its course for return to Earth Wednesday.

Today's mission status briefing has been moved an hour earlier to 3 p.m.

SDC : Shuttle Atlantis Bids Farewell to Space Station

By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Managing Editor
posted: 23 May 2010
11:25 am ET

This story was updated at 12:47 p.m. ET.



The space shuttle Atlantis has begun the trip home from orbit. The shuttle's six astronauts bid farewell to the International Space Station early Sunday after a week of orbital construction for their mission – one slated to be the final flight of Atlantis.

Atlantis undocked from the space station at about 11:22 a.m. EDT (1522 GMT) while both spacecraft flew 220 miles (354 km) above the Indian Ocean southwest of Australia. The 25-year-old shuttle is due to land in Florida on Wednesday and be retired later this year.

Shuttle commander Ken Ham said the two crews, which added up to 12 people on the linked Atlantis and station – had great fun working together, but it was time to head home. The two crews shared hearty hugs and handshakes before going their separate ways.

 

[MeteorWayne]

MSB underway now on NASA TV.

 

[3488]

Orbital Sunset just now from STS 132 Atlantis over the Atlantic, west of Congo, Africa.

Andrew Brown.

 

[EarthlingX]

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

Late Inspection, Landing Preparations for Atlantis' Crew

Sun, 23 May 2010 20:23:33 GMT

After a flawless undocking and flyaround of the International Space Station, the space shuttle Atlantis will undergo a late inspection of its heat shield Monday.

On Tuesday, the STS-132 crew will begin checking the shuttle's flight control surfaces and reaction control system. They also will perform cabin stowage activities in preparation for a Wednesday landing at Kennedy Space Center scheduled for 8:48 a.m. EDT.

STS-132 pilot, Tony Antonelli :
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-132/html/s132e007133.html

S132-E-007133 (15 May 2010) --- NASA astronaut Tony Antonelli, STS-132 pilot, looks through a window on the flight deck of the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Atlantis during flight day two activities.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sESFVA-2dF0[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeY4JIy_Css[/youtube]

Astro_Soichi :

Farewell, Atlantis - leaving station great achievement and beautiful memories!!!

 

[EarthlingX]

STS-132 MET = 9:10:30:00

Atlantis wake-up call.

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

Crew Conducting Shuttle Inspection Today

Mon, 24 May 2010 05:00:49 GMT

Atlantis' crew woke at 12:50 a.m. EDT, to the theme music for "Wallace & Gromit," played for Mission Specialist Steve Bowen. Bowen said, "Thank you to my family, Debbie and the boys; it's another great day in space."

At 6:10 a.m. EDT, Atlantis’ crew is scheduled to begin the late inspection of the shuttle's thermal protection system.

http://www.nasa.gov : Flight day 11 Execute Package

STS-132 MET = 9:12:53:00

STS-132 MET = 9:12:58:00

STS-132 MET = 9:13:41:00
Sensor package 1 on the tip of the boom activated, ahead of the schedule.

STS-132 MET = 9:14:29:00
Crossing Mediterranean Sea.

STS-132 MET = 9:14:42:00
Starboard wing survey.

STS-132 MET = 9:14:55:00

STS-132 MET = 9:15:38:00
Orbiter in position for nose cap inspection, coming over South America, Brazil.

STS-132 MET = 9:16:32:00
Nose cap survey complete.

STS-132 MET = 9:17:09:00
Port wing survey.

STS-132 MET = 9:17:57:00
Surveys complete, moving arm to storage position.

STS-132 MET = 9:18:04:00
About 20 min of video data, captured during loss of the signal, is scheduled for download.

STS-132 MET = 9:18:09:00

 

[EarthlingX]

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

Inspection Complete

Mon, 24 May 2010 12:25:56 GMT

Space shuttle Atlantis' crew completed today's inspection of the shuttle's thermal protection system at 8:17 a.m. EDT. The crew began the inspection early. They used the 50-foot-long Orbiter Boom Sensor System to conduct a high fidelity, three-dimensional scan of areas of the shuttle that experience the highest heating during entry - the wing leading edges and nose cap. Managers and engineers in Mission Control will review the data today and tomorrow to validate the heat shield's integrity. The crew is maneuvering the arm for stowage in Atlantis' payload bay.

Today's mission status briefing is scheduled for 10 a.m.

STS-MET = 9:18:24:00

STS-MET = 9:18:36:00
Boom extension latched.

STS-MET = 9:18:36:00
Moving arm to storage position.

STS-MET = 9:18:46:00
Arm in the cradle position above it's storage location, approaching coast of Central America.

STS-MET = 9:18:52:00

STS-MET = 9:18:55:00

STS-MET = 9:18:56:00
Transmitting survey video.

view from ISS, ISS crew has a day off :

Survey video :

STS-MET = 9:19:14:00

STS-MET = 9:19:41:00
Mission Status Briefing

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiElFC1HKdM[/youtube]

STS-MET = 9:20:01:00
Finished.

STS-MET = 9:20:27:00

STS-MET = 9:20:36:00
Passing over Florida, Canada, on the way to Europe
( Couldn't help it, sorry, if it's overkill )

STS-MET = 9:20:43:00

STS-MET = 9:20:51:00 (Ireland, then UK, some of the rest in the coming crew highlights)

STS-MET = 9:21:42:00
Mission Management Team Briefing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwoYGl1CKUY[/youtube]

STS-MET = 9:21:53:00
Finished.

( with great effort i refrained from another image flood, but they are on the disk )

STS-MET = 10:00:17:00

 

[MeteorWayne]

Hi EarthlingX, sorry to bring this up again, but look at your post at STS-132 MET = 9:12:53:00.

There are 4 nearly identical pictures of the CanadaArm. Then two nearly identical images over the Meditteranian. Then 2 nearly identical images of the starboard wing survey.

Your posts would have more value if you made less duplicates. Your multiple nearly identical images make it harder for users to navigate the thread. Unique images are good. 4 of basically the same clog things up.

This is becoming a moderation issue. Please think quality, not quantity.
At this point, just friendly advice, but that could change.

wayne

 

[EarthlingX]

Hi EarthlingX, sorry to bring this up again, but look at your post at STS-132 MET = 9:12:53:00.

There are 4 nearly identical pictures of the CanadaArm. Then two nearly identical images over the Meditteranian. Then 2 nearly identical images of the starboard wing survey.

Your posts would have more value if you made less duplicates. Your multiple nearly identical images make it harder for users to navigate the thread. Unique images are good. 4 of basically the same clog things up.

This is becoming a moderation issue. Please think quality, not quantity.
At this point, just friendly advice, but that could change.

wayne

Those are very different images, there's a couple of hundred kilometres, up to couple of thousand km between them. They are also the best of about a 100 taken over that period, (5 min) in that they show a bit of the ground, which i recognize, and you would too, if you would look and not count.
I use this tool for zooming in the images : https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1067

First one shows where Shuttle is, to help with orientation :

2010-05-24-07h18m18s62 :

2010-05-24-07h18m31s

2010-05-24-07h22m37

2010-05-24-07h23m45

Images are timed in GMT, there's about 26 sec lag all together, if you want exact numbers, but they can tell you how far they are separated, since you know the speed, and where they are taken.

Atlantis crew had a time off yesterday, and guess what they were most likely doing : taking photos. You are blaming me for the same sin, and i look forward to burn. You can also show me where it is written, that this is something wrong, like in guidelines, or where-ever.
I have 3027 images from the FlightDay 11, so there is a bit of selection.

If there would be just a line of text per day, or in many cases not even that, navigating would be even easier, and your reaction leads me to assume that you would prefer that. Please don't make this a personal issue, or PM me in such case.
Why would this threads need to be short ? Why exactly this threads, because i don't remember any other time when anyone complained about the length of a thread ?
There are also images, which you will not see in any post-mission recording, and i usually select them from among 10-30 that i have for that period. Each image requires about a min of processing to get here, on average, and they come in with at most a couple of min lag.
I will make still-shot videos for those days that i have covered, there are on average 1000-3000 images per flightday, but since i will need to do about 20 sec processing on each, it will take some time.

I you insist, i can move to some other site with this flood.

 

[EarthlingX]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXqPcC8AchY[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpM1svEbJy0[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r995gxrNu9A[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

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

Atlantis Crew Preparing for Wednesday Landing

Tue, 25 May 2010 04:32:19 GMT

Atlantis' crew woke at 12:20 a.m. EDT to "Empire State of Mind" by Jay Z, featuring Alicia Keys, played for Mission Specialist Garrett Reisman. His hometown is Parsippany, N.J. Reisman said a special good morning to "my favorite Earthling, Simone," and to all his friends and family in the New York and New Jersey region.

At 3:40 a.m., Atlantis' flight control system will be checked out, and its maneuvering jets will be tested at 4:50 a.m.

At 8:10 a.m., crew members will participate in interviews with the Colbert Report, ABC Radio, and Cleveland's WEWS-TV.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts132/news/execute_packages.html

FlightDay 12 Execute Package

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts132/news/landing.html

Deorbit to Kennedy on Orbit 186


Deorbit to Kennedy on Orbit 187


Weather, Kennedy Space Center, Florida :

http://www.wunderground.com/US/FL/Kennedy_Space_Center/KTTS.html



Direct link to this post, without loading previous posts and images :
http://www.space.com/common/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24266&start=84

You can use this for fast reload, or at least that's what i do.

 

[nhoss2]

Hi everyone,
been following this thread and the mission quite closely, and I heard that guy on NASA tv talk about the moon rise and decided to take a screenshot and contribute to this thread except EarthlingX beat me to it...
here is my cooler and bigger photoshopped version:

 

[EarthlingX]

Nice shot

I have a full series of them, didn't do the count yet, but i'm considering making a video, actually, i'm trying all fd-12 morning to make it, but i keep being distracted
I can put everything on-line, after the mission is finished, in one big package, if there's interest.

Oh, and please, don't let that stop you to post more, if you feel like that
Well, at least as far as i'm concerned .. :roll:

Anyway, nothing serious to report, they are ahead of the schedule, as has become almost a trademark for this mission, and it gives me time to prepare for tomorrow. Weather is not the best, but we have seen that before, and if not tomorrow, they will have most likely nice weather on Thursday, which will just give them more time for photo safari I might post an image or, perhaps three .. yea, ok .. well .. :roll:

First video, orbit 107, from about STS-132 MET = 10:10:11:05:00, pass over Africa, and then to Asia, is almost finished, there are still some silly details, like checking it, and uploading, but expect it in a couple of hours, at most.

btw, there are 2773 images on my disk, from today, as i write this (10:09 GMT)

They are downloading mission highlights :

Live ISS video

STS-132 MET = 10:17:50:00
PAO Event.

STS-132 MET = 10:18:10:00
Finished.

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
( Direct link to this post )

Crew Prepares for Landing, Talks to Media

Tue, 25 May 2010 12:35:13 GMT

At 3:40 a.m. EDT, space shuttle Atlantis' flight control system was checked out, and its maneuvering jets were tested at 4:50 a.m.

At 8:10 a.m., crew members participated in interviews with the Colbert Report, ABC Radio, and Cleveland's WEWS-TV.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-132/html/s132e009947.html

S132-E-009947 (22 May 2010) --- NASA astronaut Piers Sellers, STS-132 mission specialist, works with Group Activation Packs (GAP) on the middeck of space shuttle Atlantis while docked with the International Space Station.

My still-shot video, third attempt :
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qdEzEJ_PCU[/youtube]

STS-132 MET = 10:19:11:00
Rotating Atlantis for the waste dump.

STS-132 MET = 10:19:21:00
Ready for waste dump.


STS-132 MET = 10:19:40:00
Mission Status Briefing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUh5LIKoFJk[/youtube]

STS-132 MET = 10:19:57:00
Waste dump complete.

STS-132 MET = 10:21:30:00
Thermal protection cleared for entry by the ground team, after inspection of downloaded videos.
Atlantis crew will stow the Ku-Band antenna - no more live video.

STS-132 MET = 10:22:46:00
Over Atlantic, after North America pass (on disk).

 

[EarthlingX]

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

STS-132 Crew Prepares for Landing

Tue, 25 May 2010 19:47:07 GMT

Tuesday the space shuttle crew participated in interviews and prepared for its return to Earth. The first landing opportunity for Atlantis is Wednesday at 8:48 a.m. EDT at Kennedy Space Center.

Wednesday weather forecasts for Kennedy Space Center were generally favorable, though there was a chance of showers within 30 miles of the runway.

SDC : Space Shuttle Atlantis Primed for Last Trip Home

By Robert Z. Pearlman
SPACE.com Contributor
posted: 25 May 2010
06:39 am ET

This story was updated at 2:20 p.m. EDT.



The six astronauts flying aboard space shuttle Atlantis worked Tuesday to prepare their spacecraft for its final planned return to Earth.

STS-132 mission commander Ken Ham, pilot Dominic "Tony" Antonelli and mission specialists Garrett Reisman, Piers Sellers, Stephen Bowen and Michael Good spent the day packing supplies, stowing equipment and testing Atlantis' flight control systems, all in an effort to bring the shuttle to a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Wednesday.

Their first opportunity to land, weather permitting, is targeted for 8:48 a.m. EDT (1248 GMT).

A chance of showers within about 30 miles of Atlantis' landing strip poses the only concern, entry flight director Tony Ceccacci said. NASA is still hopeful despite Florida's reputation for rainy summer weather, he added.

SDC : Stephen Colbert Makes Out-Of-This-World Jokes With Atlantis Shuttle Crew

By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Managing Editor
posted: 25 May 2010
09:35 am ET



Comedian Stephen Colbert is training to be an astronaut and tossed some tough questions to the crew of space shuttle Atlantis Tuesday to find out what it's like to fly on a 25-year-old spaceship.

"Greetings spacemen, heroes all!" said Colbert during a lighthearted televised interview with the astronauts for his Comedy Central program "The Colbert Report."

Colbert said he's been visiting NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to learn how to be an astronaut and asked for any tips from the six Atlantis spaceflyers. He's already got going to the bathroom in space down pat, he said.

"I'm already practicing peeing in a tube. I'm very good at that," Colbert said.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr-WUy6geKs[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKPqomW5kDI[/youtube]

 

[EarthlingX]

STS-132 MET = 11:10:00:00
(Direct link to this post)

Atlantis crew wake-up call. (Orbit 3 team on duty)

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

Atlantis Crew Preparing for Landing Today

Wed, 26 May 2010 04:29:47 AM GMT

Atlantis' crew woke at 12:20 a.m. EDT to "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse, played for Commander Ken Ham.

At 3:40 a.m., the astronauts will begin deorbit preparations for landing, and Atlantis' payload bay doors are scheduled to be closed at 5:01 a.m.

Mission Control Entry Flight Director Toni Ceccacci and his team are overseeing Atlantis' systems and monitoring weather conditions at Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility. Astronaut Lee Archambault will fly weather reconnaissance and report the results to Mission Control. Ceccacci and his team are expected to make a “go/no go” decision for the deorbit burn at 7:21 a.m. The burn would occur at 7:41 a.m. followed by a landing at Kennedy’s runway 33 at 8:48 a.m.

Entry Execute Package

STS-132 MET = 11:11:14:00

Just before crossing equator, somewhere above Kiribati (i'm not sure). Entry team on the console.

STS-132 MET = 11:11:30:00

 

[trailrider]

The videos of the launch of Atlantis are ABSOLUTELY AWSOME! Especially with the musical background! For those of us who were privileged to have worked on part of the Shuttle program, especially recovery of the SRB's, seeing the separation and deployment of the main chutes is very interesting and rewarding.

While things change, and we can't dwell on the past forever, it is truly sad that we are (maybe) two launches away from the end of an era!

Godspeed and fair skies to the crew of Atlantis. Godspeed to the crews of the next flights.

Ad LEO! Ad Luna! Ad Ares! Ad Astra!

 

[EarthlingX]

Yes, those videos rock

About the end of Shuttle programme: enjoy it, while you can

I have a couple G of stuff to post, after the mission.

 

[EarthlingX]

STS-132 MET = 11:12:00:00
(direct link to this post)
Over Atlantic, coming over coast of Africa

STS-132 MET = 11:12:08:00
Weather looking good, though there are possible surprises.

STS-132 MET = 11:12:20:00

 

[Zipi]

Here is a link to KSC video feed page: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/

There is for example always up to date weather image:

(it switches between map and numeric data)

 

[EarthlingX]

Nice

Direct link to Zipi's post, for refresh

More weather links :

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClic...047&textField2=-80.605&e=0&FcstType=graphical



http://www.wunderground.com/US/FL/Kennedy_Space_Center.html


Atlantis position, updated :



STS-132 Landing Ground Tracks

 

[EarthlingX]

STS-132 MET = 11:13:10:00
Atlantis crew updated with the weather situation. T-38 aircraft getting ready to inspect weather.
STS-132 crew getting ship ready for landing.

STS-132 MET = 11:13:14:00

 

[nhoss2]

I just looked at the 'New looks at Atlantis launch' video, and found some of those videos taken of the actual launch (when the engine starts) quite amazing as I have never seen the launch from that perspective. Are those videos available to the public?

 

[EarthlingX]

You mean something more than that ? All videos posted in this thread are publicly available, and same goes for all NASA on-line material, unless stated differently, AFAIK.
Or perhaps you mean NASA video library, the whole works, raw videos and all ? I don't think so, but wouldn't mind

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

Entry team :

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-132/html/jsc2010e080454.html

JSC2010-E-080454 (14 May 2010) --- Flight director Tony Ceccacci is pictured at his console in the space shuttle flight control room in the Mission Control Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center during launch countdown activities a few hundred miles away in Florida, site of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-132 launch. Liftoff was on time at 2:20 p.m. (EDT) on May 14, 2010 from launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-132/html/jsc2010e080411.html

JSC2010-E-080411 (14 May 2010) --- Astronaut Charles Hobaugh, spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) for the STS-132 mission, is pictured in the space shuttle flight control room in the Johnson Space Center's Mission Control Center during launch countdown activities a few hundred miles away in Florida, site of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-132 launch. Liftoff was on time at 2:20 p.m. (EDT) on May 14, 2010 from launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-132/html/jsc2010e080436.html

JSC2010-E-080436 (14 May 2010) --- Kyle Herring (left) and Joshua Byerly, both Public Affairs Office (PAO) commentators, are pictured at their console in the space shuttle flight control room in the Mission Control Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center during launch countdown activities a few hundred miles away in Florida, site of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-132 launch. Liftoff was on time at 2:20 p.m. (EDT) on May 14, 2010 from launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

 

[nhoss2]

What I wanted to ask was, can I download the videos taken by each individual camera from launchpad 39A. Does nasa actually bother to upload the separate videos from each individual camera?

EDIT: yes, the raw video stuff.. Yeah I thought they didn't.

 

[Zipi]

I just looked at the 'New looks at Atlantis launch' video, and found some of those videos taken of the actual launch (when the engine starts) quite amazing as I have never seen the launch from that perspective. Are those videos available to the public?

HD quality launch videos from NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/index.html

Plenty of other space related stuff as well... Even more official NASA videos with "normal" quality:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html