NASA has launched on another mission of exploration, except this time it wasn’t on a rocket ship from Cape Canaveral but rather on a research ship from Cape Cod. NASA’s North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study—aka NAAMES—is a five-year-long investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds…
Tag: Atlantis
STS-135: A Final Tribute
Can’t see the video below? Click here. Kennedy Space Center recently released this wonderful video, an emotional farewell to the space shuttle program with a recap of the launch and landing of the STS-135 Atlantis mission. From the preparation of the four-person crew to the systems go for launch, the hundreds of thousands who gathered…
One Week: Remembering the Last Landing of Atlantis
At 5:57 am EDT on July 21, 2011 the orbiter Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center, completing the STS-135 mission and bringing an end to the shuttle program. With memories of the launch still very fresh in my mind it’s hard to believe it’s already been a week since Atlantis’ final wheelstop. Very hard to…
The End.
The final landing of Atlantis, and the end of the space shuttle program.
Atlantis: The Last Launch
Can’t see the video below? Click here. Check out this powerful and dramatic video showcasing highlights of the STS-135 shuttle mission, up to and including launch and booster separation. If this doesn’t stir some emotions in you, you’re made of tougher stuff than me. Credit: NASA TV
Thank You, Atlantis
“Thank you for your 12 missions helping build the ISS.” – ISS Expedition 27 Engineer Ron Garan NASA astronaut and Expedition 27 Flight Engineer Ron Garan captured this amazingly beautiful image of Atlantis from the window of the Space Station after the shuttle undocked on July 17, 2011. It was the final visit of a shuttle…
Reflections on a Tweetup
It’s been over a week since the NASA Tweetup (note: these are now called “NASA Socials”) and I’m still thinking about it. For good reason, of course… it was awesome. Over the course of two days I saw a capsule that had been to space and back, talked with five astronauts (one currently in orbit!),…
The Final Countdown: A #NASATweetup Journal
Part 6: The Launch! By now, we all know that Atlantis launched successfully today, June 8, 2011 from Canaveral. There was some time there where it looked like it wouldn’t launch due to weather, but with the clock continuing to count down and the skies gradually clearing, it was decided to push forward and light…
The Final Countdown: A #NASATweetup Journal
Part 5: On site! Well I’m here! I have spent the past 24 hours in and around Kennedy Space Center, getting the VIP tour and seeing things that I have only dreamt of… the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Crawler-Transporter, the Causeway…and, of course, the launch pad with the final shuttle, Atlantis, ready and waiting for…
‘An Incredible Vehicle’
More photos of Atlantis – the final shuttle – can be seen on Universe Today here. Photographer Michael Deep is on location at Kennedy Space Center covering the launch, slated for Friday, July 8. (Oh, and I’ll be there too.) 🙂 “For those of you who have ever had the opportunity to just stand underneath…
One small step…
Great article in the New York Post by (the Bad) astronomer Phil Plait about the shuttle program, its completion and the future of NASA’s space exploration endeavors. One small step – NYPOST.com “It’s fashionable to say the Shuttle program was a failure — too expensive, too limited. But progress is not a steady curve. Not…
The Final Countdown: A #NASATweetup Journal
Part 4: Fueling the Anticipation The launch of the space shuttle Atlantis is less than a week away, and with it the NASA Tweetup event of a lifetime. (Well, my lifetime anyway!) But it’s not just me who’s been having visions of shuttle plumes dancing in his head… there’s 149 other space tweeps (yes, that’s…
Lights in the Dark 