Space and Space Travel News

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L.A.Times

Space shuttle Atlantis lands in California at Edwards Air Force Base
By B. Bloomekatz, L.A.Times, May 24, 2009


Daylife News: NASA

- This photo provided by NASA shows NASA space shuttle Atlantis flow manager Angie Brewer, assistant launch director Doug Lyons and shuttle launch
director Michael Leinbach, from right, watching in the firing room at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. , on NASA TV as the space shuttle
Atlantis lands safely at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. , Friday, June 22, 2007.


The space shuttle Atlantis touched down safely at Edwards Air Force base in the Mojave Desert this morning after producing a sonic boom as it passed over
the California coastline. Atlantis circled Earth 197 times and traveled 5.3 million miles before ending a 13-day mission to refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope.


Photos: Atlantis lands / 2 / 3 / 4


Atlantis landed at 8:39 a.m. Its return had been diverted to Southern California after nasty weather prevented a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
in Florida. Alan Brown, a NASA spokesman at the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, said the crew accomplished major repairs of the telescope and
extended its lifetime through at least 2014. The crew replaced one wide-field camera, swapped several batteries, installed a cosmic origins spectrograph
and placed stainless-steel "blankets" over the telescope, among other upgrades and repairs, Brown said.



Florida Today: Atlantis News Coverage


The total mission cost about $1 billion, according to NASA officials. It will cost an additional $1.8 million to ferry the shuttle to Florida on the back of a modified
Boeing 747. In a move to coincide with the landing of Atlantis, President Obama is expected to name former astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr. as NASA administrator.
Bolden, who flew on the 1990 mission that deployed the Hubble telescope, would be the first African American to head the agency if confirmed by the Senate.




The N.Y.Times: › Space Shuttle Lands in California
As Odysseus learned, getting home can be the hardest part of any journey. Seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Atlantis finally made it home on Sunday
after a voyage of more than five million miles and a two-day wait to return to Earth.

› STS-125 Landing Photos › Video / 2 - › Space Shuttle Mission: STS-125 - Space Companies News: www.unitedspacealliance.com

On the Net:
Edwards Air Force Base: http://www.edwards.af.mil / 2
STS-125 Mission Coverage: http://sts-125.space.gs
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden.

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NASA: STS-125 Crew - Mission Overview - Crew Info - HD Videos

- The crew of space shuttle mission STS-125 gather on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base after the shuttle Atlantis landed to conclude the 13-day mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. From left are Mike Massimino, Greg Johnson, Scott Altman, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. - May 24, 2009, NASA Photo / Tony Landis. Before leaving Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, Commander Scott Altman spoke for his crew to thank everyone for getting them safely back home. "At last! I didn't realize it was going to be so hard to get back to the Earth, landing here just felt great to everybody," said Altman. "We're all thrilled to have the mission complete and it was a testament to the teamwork and cooperation of folks all across the country." (more)

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• Space News: Space Shuttle Atlantis is prepared for flight back to KSC. in Florida. (May 28th, 2009)


- Web Photos

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- Ground crews begin towing Space Shuttle Atlantis from the main runway at Edwards Air Force Base following its landing May 24, 2009, which concluded the STS-125
mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. - www.nasa.gov/multimedia

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Preparing for the Journey Home - Space shuttle Atlantis is shown suspended from a sling in the Mate-DeMate Device at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center during
preparations for its ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base. Image: www.nasa.gov/multimedia

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Space News

The Intern. Space Station's expedition 20 prepares for launch in Baikonur; Soyuz rolls to launch site.
By Space News, 05/25/09


More Photos / 2


At the Baikonur launch site, the preparations continue for the launch of the Soyuz TMA-15 transport manned vehicle under the International Space Station program. A rollout of the Soyuz spacecraft from the assembly-test facility to the launch site was provided. The Soyuz-FG launch vehicle with the Soyuz TMA-15 transport spacecraft was erected on the launch pad. Operations under the launch minus two days program began. The launch of the Soyuz-FG integrated launch vehicle with the Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft to the ISS Orbital Complex is planned for May 27, 2009 at 14:34:49 Moscow time.






In the LV Integration and Checkout Facility, the basic integration of the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle with the upper composite was completed. A meeting of the Technical management under the chairmanship of RSC Energia President and General Designer V.A. Lopota and State commission was held. A decision on rollout of the launch vehicle with the Soyuz TMA-15 transport manned spacecraft to the launch facility and its preparation for launch planned for May 27, 2009 was adopted.





- The photo shows the city of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, is seen from the aircraft carrying Expedition 10 crew members on October 4, 2004. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

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Space News

ISS Expedition 20 Crew Launches Successfully from Baikonur.
By Space News, May 27th, 2009


(High-Res.)• Video: Soyuz heads towards ISS • ISS crew set to double


Flight Engineers Roman Romanenko, Frank De Winne and Robert Thirsk of the 20th International Space Station crew launched in their Soyuz TMA-15 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:34 a.m. EDT Wednesday to begin a six-month stay in space. Expedition 20 will mark the start of six-person crew operations aboard the International Space Station. All five of the international partner agencies - NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) - will be represented on orbit for the first time. (more)


• Bob Thirsk begins Canada’s first long duration mission.

- May 18: At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Bob Thirsk of the Canadian Space Agency, Russian Cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Flight Engineer Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency pose for photographers May 18, 2009 as they conducted a check of the Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft they will launch in May 27 on a trip to the International Space Station. The trio will join three other residents on the station to form a six-person crew for the first time. Credit: NASA; image: NASA/Victor Zelentsov




Florida Today Blog: New Crew En Route To Space Station

A new crew is on its way to the International Space Station today after a successful launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne and Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk blasted off at 6:34 a.m. and reached orbit 10 minutes later. The three men will become the second half of the first full, six-person crew aboard the station when they arrive there at 8:36 a.m. Friday. Hatch-opening between the Soyuz and the station will come about an hour later.





- Baikonur Cosmodrome, also called Tjuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppes of Kazakhstan,
about 200 kilometers (124 mi) east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tjuratam railway station. The facility derives its name from a wider area known
as Baikonur and is also traditionally linked with the town of Zhezqazghan. It is leased by the Kazakh government to Russia (currently until 2050) and is managed by the Russian Federal Space Agency. (more)

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High-Res - www.esa.int

- The Soyuz spacecraft seen high overhead as it blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying the three astronauts to the ISS. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

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- High-Res. Photo

- (9 Sept. 2006) -- This picture, photographed from the International Space Station by an Expedition 13 crewmember, includes the Baikonur launch complex and
thus has special significance for all crews who have launched aboard Soyuz craft to join the orbital outpost. Baikonur, formerly known as Leninsk, is a city within
Kazakhstan, but it is rented and administered by Russia. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Boris Yeltsin
on December 20, 1995. The name Baikonur is Kazakh for "wealthy brown," i.e. "fertile land with many herbs." Photo Credit: NASA


• Planetaryvisions.com

- The Baikonur Launch Facility made space history with successful launches that included Sputnik in 1957, Vostok-1 with Yuri Gagarin
aboard in 1961, and Soyuz. The launch pad at Site 1 included an assembly building connected by a railway. (more)




- Space launching site “Baikonur” another view, actually the launch complex itself. From: Russia from Space


• http://rusadventures.com • Web Links • Photos
• Baikonur cosmodrome history and photos (more)
• Baikonur Cosmodrome: a fascinating tour • BBC News: Inside the Baikonur cosmodrome • ESA: Launch Site – Baikonur Cosmodrome

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Boston Globe

The Baikonur Cosmodrome

When NASA's last scheduled Space Shuttle mission lands in June of 2010, the United States will not have the capability to get astronauts into space again until the scheduled launch of the new Orion spacecraft in 2015. Over those five years, the U.S. manned space program will be relying heavily on Russia and its Baikonur Cosmodrome facility in Kazakhstan. Baikonur is an entire Kazakh city, rented and administered by Russia. The Cosmodrome was founded in 1955, making it one of the oldest space launch facilites still in operation. Here are collected some photographs of manned and unmanned launches from Baikonur over the past several years.




- The Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft and its booster rocket, transported by rail to the launch pad to be raised to a vertical launch position at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on October 16, 2003, in preparation for liftoff October 18 to carry C. Michael Foale, Expedition 8 commander and NASA science officer; Alexander Kaleri, Soyuz Commander and flight engineer; and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain to the International Space Station. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)




- A view of the bottom of the booster rocket for the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft, shortly after the two were mated at an integration facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 12, 2005. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)




- The Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft is rolled to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan April 6, 2008 in preparation for launch April 8 to carry new residents and a spaceflight participant to the International Space Station. The Soyuz began the move from its assembly and integration building to the launch pad on a railcar at sunrise, arriving at the pad several hours later for final technical preparations. (NASA /Victor Zelentsov)




- Soyuz TMA-11 prime and backup crewmembers are protected behind glass during the State Commission meeting and press conference Oct. 9, 2007 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The crew was in preparation for their launch to the International Space Station Oct. 10 in their Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)




NASA astronaut Peggy A. Whitson, Expedition 16 commander, has a pressure suit leak check performed on her Russian Sokol launch and entry suit at RSC Energia Assembly and Testing Facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, in preparation for her launch on a Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft to the International Space Station scheduled for Oct. 10. (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)




Russian cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov (C), US astronaut Michael Fincke (L) and his compatriot, space tourist Richard Garriott (R) practice inside a Soyuz-TMA space flight simulator in Star City (a training facility north of Moscow, Russia) on September 19, 2008. (DMITRY KOSTYUKOV/AFP/Getty Images)




Cosmonaut Salizhan S. Sharipov, Russia's Federal Space Agency Expedition 10 flight engineer and Soyuz commander, donned his launch and entry suit and climbed aboard the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft October 5, 2004, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a dress rehearsal of launch day activities leading to their liftoff October 14 to the International Space Station. (NASA/Bill Ingall)




Astronaut Leroy Chiao (r), Expedition 10 commander cosmonaut Salizhan S. Sharipov (c), and Russian Space Forces cosmonaut Yuri Shargin (l) donned their launch and entry suits and climbed aboard the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft October 5, 2004, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a dress rehearsal of launch day activities leading to their liftoff October 14 to the ISS. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)




At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 17 Commander Sergei Volkov (center), Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko (right) and South Korean spaceflight participant So-yeon Yi bid farewell to well wishers April 8, 2008 prior to heading to the launch pad for their liftoff on the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft to the International Space Station. (NASA /Victor Zelentsov)

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Railroad tracks lead to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad. Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft and its booster were rolled out on March 28, 2006, for final pre-launch preparations. The Soyuz was set to blast off on March 30, 2006, (NASA/Bill Ingalls)




With a mockup of the defunct Russian "Buran" Space Shuttle sitting passively nearby (lower right), the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft and its booster rocket crawl on a rail car to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan October 16, 2003, in preparation for its liftoff October 18 to carry three astronauts to the International Space Station. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)




Baikonur hosts both manned and unmanned launches. Here is shown a Russian Proton-M rocket carrying a Canadian communication Nimiq 4 satellite being transported to a launching pad of the Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 15, 2008. The Proton-M will carry the satelite into geostationary orbit on September 18, 2008. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)




Spectators try to grab the highest viewing point to watch the launch of the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft, carrying Expedition 13 crew members to the International Space Station on March 30, 2006. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)




Preparations are underway for liftoff of the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft as the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle with the Soyuz spacecraft is installed on the launch system and the transporter-emplacer arm moves away, October 8, 2007 (NASA/Bill Ingalls)




- The Soyuz TMA-4 vehicle blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 19, 2004, carrying a crew of three to the ISS. Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls




Backdropped by a cloud-covered Earth, the Soyuz 14 (TMA-10) spacecraft approaches the International Space Station. Onboard the spacecraft are cosmonauts Fyodor N. Yurchikhin, Expedition 15 commander; and Oleg V. Kotov, Soyuz commander and flight engineer, both representing Russia's Federal Space Agency; along with spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi. With Kotov at the controls, the Soyuz linked up to the ISS on April 9, 2007. (NASA)




Seen in front of the Earth's horizon and the blackness of space, the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft approaches the International Space Station. Onboard the spacecraft are astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria, Expedition 14 commander and NASA space station science officer; cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, Soyuz commander and flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency; and spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari. The Soyuz linked up to the Zvezda Service Module aft port at on Sept. 20, 2006.(NASA)




Backdropped against the blackness of space and airglow of Earth's horizon, an unpiloted Progress supply vehicle approaches the International Space Station (ISS). The Progress 15 resupply craft launched August 11, 2004 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to deliver almost three tons of food, fuel, oxygen, water and supplies to the Expedition 9 crewmembers onboard the Station. (NASA)

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A series of three photographs shows the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft floating to a landing southwest of Karaganda, Kazakhstan at approximately 6:30 p.m. local time on April 21, 2007. Onboard were astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria, Expedition 14 commander and NASA space station science officer; cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, Soyuz commander and flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency; and U.S. spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi. (NASA)




Technicians begin the process of removing cargo from the Soyuz TMA-7 capsule (blackened from the heat of re-entry) at sunrise on the steppes of Kazakhstan on April 9, 2006, following the pre-dawn landing of three ISS Expedition 12 crew members. (NASA)




Expedition 13 crewmembers - cosmonaut Pavel V. Vinogradov (center), commander, and astronaut Jeffrey N. Williams (right), flight engineer and NASA ISS science officer - along with spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari are attended to by Russian and American search and recovery teams on the steppe of central Kazakhstan on Sept. 29, 2006 following their landing in the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft after undocking earlier in the day from the International Space Station. (NASA)

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A Kazakh farmer herds cattle across the tarmac on April 19, 2008, at the Arkalyk airport in Kazakhstan. Arkalyk is used as one of the helicopter staging areas for the landing of the Soyuz spacecraft, as they parachute back to Earth. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)


Russian stamp with Jury Gagarin - Hubble servissing mission

- Soyuz Spacecraft Approaching the Space Station - www.astronet.ru - Photos: Baikonur Cosmodrome - Photos - Firstspace.blogspot.com - Astronautix.com