Discovery, STS-128 (Yep, it's that time again)

Stargate

Kevster wrote: »

Why's that? - The accent of the people here!?

I just saw the landing... ...it seemed to go without a hitch. Imagine the relief when that front wheel touches down. I mean, I feel relieved when the front feckin wheel of the Airbus toucvhes down on the tarmac at Dublin or Manchester, but these guys are going literally out of this world, not hopping between the UK and Ireland!

So very true , these people are exceptional in every sense of the word , must be such a thrill for them to be back home too , no doubt they miss their families etc , dangerous stuff ....space !! SO WELCOME HOME STS-128 , very well done !! Great mission and home safe

Nice to see you still here Kevster even tho your over there , hope you`ve settled in ok !! Do you live in a dark site or are you in York itself ?

Regards
Stargate

Beeker

A great landing. Sorry I could not interact on the Forum, I had to work late but did get to watch it on NASA TV in the background.

Nightwish

Stayed up to watch the landing. A lot of people in LA reporting they heard the 2 sonic booms as the shuttle came into land. It must have been so cool to see!

Beeker

Nightwish wrote: »

Stayed up to watch the landing. A lot of people in LA reporting they heard the 2 sonic booms as the shuttle came into land. It must have been so cool to see!

Yeah would love to catch a landing, not as exciting as a launch but worth seeing I,m sure.

Kevster

Stargate wrote: »

So very true , these people are exceptional in every sense of the word , must be such a thrill for them to be back home too , no doubt they miss their families etc , dangerous stuff ....space !! SO WELCOME HOME STS-128 , very well done !! Great mission and home safe

Nice to see you still here Kevster even tho your over there , hope you`ve settled in ok !! Do you live in a dark site or are you in York itself ?

Regards
Stargate

Im in a pretty nice area, and can see York Minster from my window! Everything is just cheaper over here and it's easier to get by. The Pennine mountains down the backbone of England block most of the nasty rain clouds coming over from Ireland too!; so the weather here is generally good.

When is the next mission?

Nightwish

I think Atlantis is going up sometime in early November. Nicole Stott will be returning to Earth on the return journey.

ynotdu

Kevster wrote: »

Im in a pretty nice area, and can see York Minster from my window! Everything is just cheaper over here and it's easier to get by. The Pennine mountains down the backbone of England block most of the nasty rain clouds coming over from Ireland too!; so the weather here is generally good.

When is the next mission?

Glad its working out for ya Kevster:)

November the 12th is the target date but NASA managers have said that they are also looking at Nov 9th and at the moment say it is feasible.

Lord Lucan wherever he,s lurking:) is hoping to be at the Launch.

Dont forget to start the STS129 thread!it,s your job!:)

Beeker

ynotdu wrote: »

Glad its working out for ya Kevster:)

November the 12th is the target date but NASA managers have said that they are also looking at Nov 9th and at the moment say it is feasible.

Lord Lucan wherever he,s lurking:) is hoping to be at the Launch.

Dont forget to start the STS129 thread!it,s your job!:)

November it is for Atlantis, this is due to be the second last flight for Atlantis:(

Kevster

Well, not if they get that extra money to extend the STS programme. I doubt that they'll get it though. Space exploration just isn't the 'in' thing today. I can't imagine the US public being too happy about it either. To be honest, if I was unemployed I'd have to question an extra few buillion for the space programme too... ...unfortunately.

China and India should keep us on our toes though over the next few decades.

ynotdu

All good things must come to an end Beeker eh:(

be interesting to see what the full report on the future of NASA will be,due to be made public by sept 30th.

dont know if you saw the launch of the Japanese H11TV,its a really neat resupply vehicle for the iss,even so it can only carry 4 10ths of a resupply load a shuttle can(puts it in perspective:))

it will take the HTV,s,ATV,s,and progress just to equal what a shuttle could manage.

the HTV will be docked by the Astronauts unlike the ATV or progress,great for safety!its well worth a read about it,its a great craft and with the shuttle coming to an end we will have to do with whatever crumbs we can get:)

oh and Kevster they only have one spare tank and production has stopped and the workers laid off.they are saying they want that for a Launch on need flight?

Beeker

ynotdu wrote: »

All good things must come to an end Beeker eh:(

be interesting to see what the full report on the future of NASA will be,due to be made public by sept 30th.

dont know if you saw the launch of the Japanese H11TV,its a really neat resupply vehicle for the iss,even so it can only carry 4 10ths of a resupply load a shuttle can(puts it in perspective:))

it will take the HTV,s,ATV,s,and progress just to equal what a shuttle could manage.

the HTV will be docked by the Astronauts unlike the ATV or progress,great for safety!its well worth a read about it,its a great craft and with the shuttle coming to an end we will have to do with whatever crumbs we can get:)

oh and Kevster they only have one spare tank and production has stopped and the workers laid off.they are saying they want that for a Launch on need flight?

Yeah saw the launch, it is a great little craft but no replacement for the orbiters. We should know in a few weeks what the future holds for NASA {and for nerds like us who follow it:D}

Beeker

Kevster wrote: »

Well, not if they get that extra money to extend the STS programme. I doubt that they'll get it though. Space exploration just isn't the 'in' thing today. I can't imagine the US public being too happy about it either. To be honest, if I was unemployed I'd have to question an extra few buillion for the space programme too... ...unfortunately.

China and India should keep us on our toes though over the next few decades.

Times are tough but hopefully the US can keep its eye on the future and not let short term problems destroy long term goals.

rameire

just wondering, when they retire the shuttles.
could they maybe retire one in orbit, docked to the ISS.
and have it there for future space missions if it is required.

Beeker

rameire wrote: »

just wondering, when they retire the shuttles.
could they maybe retire one in orbit, docked to the ISS.
and have it there for future space missions if it is required.

No not possible, The orbiters are limited by their fuel cells and these would need to be topped up every two or three weeks in orbit. Without these fuel cells the orbiters systems electrical and mechanical would quickly freeze and not be usable again. Also you would have to maintain a lot of ground equipment and expertise just in case. Nice idea but a non runner.

ynotdu

rameire wrote: »

just wondering, when they retire the shuttles.
could they maybe retire one in orbit, docked to the ISS.
and have it there for future space missions if it is required.

unfortunatly no:(,they were not designed for long time exposure in space.Their absolute stay could only be 30 days and that would be with just about everything powered off.

I hear they intend to sell them off!(things are really bad:))

Stargate

Just managed to see the ISS , it was bright to the west , but when she passed due south she got brighter , funny but i can always make out more detail when she is going away from me , ie going away from the sun , better reflection

Next pass 21:44pm

Dave!

Stargate wrote: »

Next pass 21:44pm

Tonight? What direction please?

Been a while since I've been able to see anything

Ciaran500

Dave! wrote: »

Tonight? What direction please?

Been a while since I've been able to see anything

http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=53.29149&lng=-6.37379&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=GMT

Stargate

Dave! wrote: »

Tonight? What direction please?

Been a while since I've been able to see anything

Hiya Dave , how are things?

From the west Dave , always from the west , this pass will pass almost overhead , but i fear it maybe in shadow , might be lucky to see the start of the pass , ie when its in the west travelling towards us , didnt get a chance to check visibility prediction yet sorry

Dave!

Cheers lads, much obliged ! I'll be looking up from 9.40pm or so, hopefully will see something !

Ciaran500

Dave! wrote: »

Cheers lads, much obliged ! I'll be looking up from 9.40pm or so, hopefully will see something !

Its normally about a minute after the predicted times that it gets hight enough in the sky to become visible and the times are very accurate, so no need to stand out looking at nothing that long.

Stargate

Ya see it Dave?

Stargate

She was visible till almost overhead and then yam !! she went into earth`s shadow , very cool tho

Dave!

I surely did Nice and bright, not a cloud in the sky ! My da got to see it too

Cheers lads, always nice to see the ISS

See ye again tomorrow night I guess

Stargate

Dave! wrote: »

I surely did Nice and bright, not a cloud in the sky ! My da got to see it too

Cheers lads, always nice to see the ISS

See ye again tomorrow night I guess

Nice one Dave glad you and your dad saw it , and yers defo be around tomorrow night , keep your eyes on the skies

Stargate

Nite Ciaran500

see ya tomorrow night i hope

Stargate

deRanged

another lovely clear night in Cork.

Kevster

Did anyone read the story on space.com that one of the flashes of light seen in the sky was that of the shuttle toilet being emptied... ...?

Beeker

Kevster wrote: »

Did anyone read the story on space.com that one of the flashes of light seen in the sky was that of the shuttle toilet being emptied... ...?

The astronauts call it the "Constellation Urinal":D

lostexpectation

the shutlle has a toilet?

how long do they spend on the shuttle?