ISS Orbit Adjusted To Host Shuttle Endeavor
Moscow (SPX) Jul 25, 2007 Russian Mission Control said Tuesday it successfully adjusted the International Space Station's orbit in preparation for the docking of the U.S. space shuttle Endeavor, due to be launched August 8. Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically before launches of Russian cargo ships and U.S. shuttles to compensate for Earth's gravity and to ensure successful dockings. The correction started at 2:06 a.m. Moscow time (10:06 p.m. GMT Monday) with the help of the Progress M-60 cargo ship, which is already docked with the ISS. The cargo ship's boosters were activated for 1,265 seconds (about 21 minutes), while the orbit was raised 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles), bringing the space station to an altitude of 337.5 kilometers (about 210 miles) over the Earth's surface. "The correction was made without the crew's participation," a Mission Control's spokesman said. The launch of the NASA STS-118 mission is targeted for August 8. It will be the 22nd flight to the International Space Station (ISS) and the first flight for Endeavour since 2002. Endeavour, which has been modernized and equipped with a new system designed to let the shuttle use electrical power from the space station, will deliver a new truss segment, a Spacehab module, and an external stowage platform to the ISS, which is planned to be completed by 2010. NASA said that during the 11-day mission, the seven-member Endeavour crew would conduct three space walks. An electrical boost from the space station could allow the mission to be extended for three extra days, and an additional spacewalk could be added. The Endeavor is already being prepared for its rollout to the launch pad. Related Links STS-118 at NASA Station at NASA Station and More at Roscosmos S.P. Korolev RSC Energia Watch NASA TV via Space.TV Space Station News at Space-Travel.Com
Station Crew Completes Successful Spacewalk Houston TX (SPX) Jul 24, 2007 Two International Space Station crew members Monday successfully wrapped up a 7-hour, 41-minute spacewalk that saw the removal and jettison of a refrigerator-size ammonia reservoir. The spacewalk from the Quest Airlock ended at 2:06 p.m. EDT. Astronaut Clay Anderson was the lead spacewalker, EV1, wearing the spacesuit with red stripes. |
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