Okay, folks. I’m headed to Florida this week to see the final launch of the 30-year long space shuttle program. Atlantis (barring any unforeseen mechanical or weather circumstances) will launch this Friday at 11:26 AM EDT from the Kennedy Space Center. I will be there, press pass in hand, to report back to you on what it’s like to attend a space shuttle launch. I’ve wanted to be an astronaut my whole life, and so far it looks like this is as close as I’m going to get – but that’s totally fine with me. I may or may not have any posts until then, so stay tuned. I’ve been saving up creativity for the article I will be writing about the launch, but if something major comes up in the worlds of science, sci-fi, etc., rest assured I will be here to report it to you. Until then, everyone!
Tag Archives: space shuttle
Space Shuttle Endeavour Launches Successfully
The space shuttle Endeavour, after weeks of delays, finally launched successfully this morning at 8:56 AM EDT from Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center. For its 25th and final mission, Endeavour will spend 16 days in space, which will include a docking at the International Space Station and the release of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), according to Space.Com.
[The AMS is] a $2 billion particle detector that will search for cosmic rays that might help unravel some of our most perplexing cosmic mysteries, such as what makes up the invisible dark matter thought to pervade the universe.
The featured image above is of Endeavours crew. My only issue? WHERE ARE THE WOMEN??? Come on, NASA – this is the second to last shuttle mission, don’t count out the girls. Oh well. At least STS-135 will include mission specialist Sandy Magnus.
Below you can see a picture of Endeavour just after liftoff (credit to collectSPACE.com/Robert Z. Pearlman). Read more about STS-134 at NASA.gov and Space.com.
UPDATE: For another really cool picture, head over to NBC’s PhotoBlog to see a picture of Endeavour from the window of a passenger airplane. The final space shuttle flight, Atlantis STS-135, will liftoff on July 8, 2011.
Final launch of Endeavour, 16 May 2011. Credit: collectSPACE.com/Robert Z. Pearlman
50 Years of Human Spaceflight
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s venture into the great unknown. Gagarin became the first human to travel to space, and the first to orbit the Earth, in a Vostok 3KA-3 on April 12, 1961. His flight lasted only 108 minutes, but in that short amount of time Gagarin ushered in a new era of exploration – one that would eventually lead us to the first moon landing, priceless information on the Earth and its history, the discovery of over 500 planets outside our solar system, and so much more. Curious about what Gagarin might have seen on that first human spaceflight? Check out First Orbit, a film jointly made by the Expedition 26/27 crew of the International Space Station (ISS) and the European Space Agency (ESA). View the video below.
Leia Shot First 