December 2007 - Page 7 of 8

2007-12-06

Rotating Service Structure retracted for Launch!

Over the night, the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) has been rotated away from space shuttle Atlantis to get it ready for its STS-122 mission launch.

The RSS is used for servicing the shuttle prior to launch. Tonight’s retraction was the final one in support for today’s launch to the international space station ISS. I created the animation based on public NASA webcam imaginary, which I animated later. The difference in retraction speed may either be actual small holds or just an artifact of NASA webcam updates (sometimes an update is missing). I have polled pictures once every minute. The whole retraction took roughly 50 minutes.

The retraction was originally scheduled for around 8pm ET and begun at almost that time. This, plus the absence of any bad news, makes me believe we still have a flawless processing flow for STS-122. The weather also still looks excellent, so I expect Atlantis to roar into space in about 13 and a half hours from now!

2007-12-06

STS-122: All GO!

Soon, you’ll see this again at launch pad 39A, Kennedy Space Center:

Everything is gooing very smoothly and the rotating service structure will soon be rotated away from Atlantis. Then, the space shuttle is free to launch off the ground. Sure, problems may still happen at any time, but he so-far absolutely flawless processing flow is very promising. It looks like we will have a great launch tomorrow afternoon.

GO ATLANTIS!

And here are some details from the NASA homepage:

The launch team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is continuing its steady march toward a lift off Thursday afternoon for space shuttle Atlantis. The countdown is proceeding smoothly, NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding said Wednesday.

Mission STS-122 is scheduled to launch at 4:31 p.m. EST from NASA’s Florida launch base. Atlantis will carry the European-developed Columbus laboratory and attach it to the International Space Station. Seven astronauts, including two from the European Space Agency, will fly aboard Atlantis.

Technicians and engineers at the launch pad have several steps ahead of them Wednesday. The most visible milestone will come in the evening when the Rotating Service Structure is moved to its launch position where it will be out of the way of Atlantis. The gantry encloses much of the shuttle while it is on the launch pad and gives workers access to critical areas of the shuttle and its payload.

2007-12-05

STS-122: Lauch Viewers … Get Ready ;)

If you are going to view the STS-122 launch, it finally is time to get ready. If you have Causeway tickets or go to Kennedy Space Center’s main visitor complex, you are probably all set. Just remember to come right in time, at your allocated arrival window! And be sure to plan for heavy taffic!

If you do not have any tickets, probably the best place to view the lauch is from Titusville. I have not been there for launch myself, but my friend Armando Perdomo (and others) recommends Veteran’s Memorial Park. I suggest you have a look at his launch viewing report in his blog – that should give you ample clues. If you go any other place, make sure that you find one with unobstructed view of the launch pads! Also be sure to park your car at some legal place, as police doesn’t like all those cars parking in strange places…

And one important note: sound travels faster than light. Of course, you know that. But the effect is that in Titusville, you will hear the launch roughly 60 seconds after you can see it! That means 60 seconds AFTER it has happend! So the most spectacular part of the liftoff is already over when you hear it. So make sure you look into the right direction at the right time! The launch is scheduled for 4:31pm ET and it is just a ten minute window. That means the launch can (usually, no guarantee ;)) happen between 4:26 and 4:36. I highly recommend a radio scanner, wireless Internet access for NASA TV, your friend at the phone or whatever you can do to get hold of the official countdown information.

I hope this last-minute information is useful. I wish all of you a great launch day. And if you have some time left, I’d really appreciate if you would drop me a few notes for the blog here. I promise I’ll publish all of them ;)

2007-12-05

STS-122: Weather Ready…

With almost no chance or bad weather, an on-time launch for space shuttle Discovery is very likely. The skies at Cape Canaveral are clear and there is only low humidity. So besides being excellent launch conditions, launch viewers may also experience a great, clear view. The weather conditions are stable for some days now, so there is little chance things will turn on the bad side…

2007-12-05

STS-122: ISS Ready…

The international space station ISS reports it is ready to welcome the STS-122 mission. Astronaut Daniel Tani is spending his last days at the station. He will return to earth aboard Discovery. ESA astronaut Léopold Eyharts will take his seat on the ISS. He will work in the Columbus lab module and start its scientific experiments. Eyharts is set to return with the STS-123 mission.

The ISS crew has also completed all leak checks, with the ISS in a top condition to receive the Colubus module.

Some more details from the NASA homepage:

The Expedition 16 crew members aboard the International Space Station are completing final preparations for the arrival of space shuttle Atlantis, set to launch Thursday from Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

On Wednesday, the Expedition 16 crew spent time reviewing spacewalk procedures and detailed timelines for joint operations with the STS-122 crew. Atlantis is scheduled to dock with the space station on Saturday.

During the STS-122 mission, the shuttle crew will conduct three spacewalks to install the Columbus Research module on the orbital outpost. STS-122 will also deliver a new station crew member, European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts.

Flight Engineer Dan Tani, who arrived at the station in October with STS-120, will return home aboard Atlantis.

Commander Peggy Whitson, Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko and Tani will enjoy an off-duty day Thursday.

2007-12-05

STS-123 status update

I know we are all interested in Atlantis STS-122 mission right at this time. I’d like to add a few notes about STS-123, scheduled to fly next Februray, though. One reason is that I found some cool pictures ;)

STS-123 will deliver the Japanese Kibo module to the international space station ISS. Kibo can right now seen in its processing facility:

The external tank has also arrived on November, 30th. Actually, this was one day earlier than scheduled.

Also on November, 30th, the crew equipment interface test, a process of familiarization with payloads, hardware and the space shuttle happened. For this test, the STS-123 crew was present. Here you can see Commander Dominic Gorie inspecting the window in space shuttle Endeavour:

Even though it is early right now, it looks like things are progressing quite smoothly for Endeavour’s STS-123 mission.

But now let’s hope for a flawless STS-122 launch ;)

2007-12-05

STS-123 mission facts: launch window, time, ….

While I am at it, I noticed that I did not yet post any facts on the STS-123 misson. So here we are:

STS-123 is set to launch on February, 14th 2008. It is the 122nd space shuttle flight and the 25th heading to the international space station. It will be flown on Orbiter Endeavour and launched from pad 39A. The launch time is not yet set (rumors call for noon). The daily launch window is 10 minutes (as usual for ISS flights). It is not yet known how many days the launch window extends.

A veteran space flier, Navy Capt. Dominic L. Gorie, will command the STS-123 shuttle mission to deliver the Japanese Kibo Logistics Module and the Canadian Dextre robotics system to the International Space Station. Air Force Col. Gregory H. Johnson will serve as pilot. Mission specialists include Richard M. Linnehan, Air Force Maj. Robert L. Behnken, Navy Capt. Michael J. Foreman and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takao Doi. Johnson, Behnken and Foreman will be making their first spaceflight.

The mission will deliver NASA Astronaut Garrett Reisman to the complex and return European Space Agency astronaut Léopold Eyharts to Earth.

2007-12-05

going to view another shuttle launch…

… but this time not to Florida but to the Columbus Control Center located in Munic, Germany. The details are in my space blog for those that are curios ;) The bottom line is that I am away from my development machine from tomorrow afternoon until Friday at around noon.

Please keep your fingers crossed so that I can experience an on-time launch. This time, I can not stay any longer…

2007-12-05

update on rsyslog changes

I have been a bit lazy in posting my recent rsyslog changes. This is because there was a lot of fine-tuning as well as design work. I also fear that I probably have forgotten to log a few less important changes. Nevertheless, the log should still provide you with a good idea of what’s going on. If I do not get any more last minute nits, the 1.20.0 release can hopefully be released either tomorrow or on Friday.

Here are the changes now:

2007-11-27
– got new dev environment on Fedora 8 x64 up and running
– reviewed calls to MsgDestruct() – re-confirmed that there are no
double frees.
– moved syslog PRI code tables to msg.c as this is the only place where
they are still needed

2007-12-03
– adding sur5r’s postgres module – many thanks for providing it!
– added Bartosz Kuzma patches for better compatibility with NetBSD – many
thanks for them!
– disabled GSS-API in configure.ac, as support for it is not yet complete
(Peter Vrabec told me to hold it until a further patch)
2007-12-04
– released 1.20.0 preview (via mailing list only, waiting on feedback)
2007-12-05
– applied patch from Bartosz Kuzma and Michael Biebl to fix compilation
problem on NetBSD (it is missing the -ldl lib, even though it provides
dlopen()).

2007-12-05

Columbus – Europe’s lab at the International Space Station ISS

Columbus is Europe’s space lab at the international space station. It is ESA‘s most important European mission to the ISS to date and the cornerstone of Europe’s contribution to this international endeavour. Once Columbus is launched, assembled to the Space Station and verified, ESA will become an active partner in the operations and utilization of mankind’s only permanent outpost in space.

It will be launched on December, 6th onboard space shuttle Atlantis (STS-122 mission). Columbus will be transported into Earth orbit in the Shuttle’s cargo bay, pre equipped with five internal rack. Two of its external experiment facilities will be stowed separately in the Shuttle’s cargo bay and attached to the outside of the laboratory module structure in orbit. German ESA astronaut Hans Schlegel will play a key role in two of the three spacewalks or EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity) scheduled for the mission. During the mission’s first EVA, Schlegel will help to install and power up the laboratory.

As the first European laboratory devoted to long-term research in space, Columbus will further expand the science capabilities of the ISS. In its interior, the Columbus laboratory will provide accommodation for experiments in the field of multidisciplinary research into biology, physiology, material science, fluid physics, technology, life science and education. In addition, its external payload facility hosts experiments and applications in the field of space science, Earth observation and technology.

Columbus before launch in the ISS processing facility

Columbus waiting for its flight in the
ISS processing facility at Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Columbus is manged from its control center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany (near Munic). The center is operated by DLR under a contract with ESA. The Columbus Control Center will work together with mission control in the US and Russia and provide operational oversight, data transfer facility and all other essential services to the Columbus module.

Columbus was built by Bremen, Germany based EADS Astrium, which coordinated 41 suppliers from 14 countries. Its development cost roughly 880 Million Euros. The Columbus module is scheduled to last at least 10 years in space. It was originally scheduled to be delivered to the ISS in 2004, but delayed after the space shuttle Columbia accident.