Jun 3 2010
From The Space Library
RELEASE: 10-231
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION EXPEDITION 24 CREW LANDS SAFELY
WASHINGTON -- Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko landed their Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft in Kazakhstan on Saturday, Sept. 25, wrapping up a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station. Skvortsov, the Soyuz commander, was at the controls of the spacecraft as it undocked at 10:02 p.m. EDT Friday from the Poisk module's docking port on the station's Zvezda module. The undocking and landing occurred a day later than planned because of a hatch sensor problem Thursday night. That problem prevented hooks on the Poisk side of the docking mechanism from opening. Station crew members installed a series of jumper cables, bypassing the sensor, and the Poisk module hooks retracted. Following undocking and a normal descent, the crew landed at 1:23 a.m. near Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. Russian recovery teams were on hand to help the crew exit the Soyuz vehicle and adjust to gravity after 176 days in space. Skvortsov and Kornienko will return Saturday to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, outside of Moscow. The trio launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in April. As members of the Expedition 23 and 24 crews, they spent 174 days on the station. Caldwell Dyson and Expedition 25 Commander Doug Wheelock conducted three spacewalks to replace a faulty cooling pump module on the station's backbone, known as the truss. Kornienko conducted one spacewalk to prepare the recently delivered Russian Rassvet Module for future automated dockings by Russian spacecraft. The station is occupied by Wheelock, who assumed command of the station Wednesday, NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker, and Russian Flight Engineer Fyodor Yurchikhin, who arrived in mid-June. A new trio of Expedition 25 crew members - NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka - will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct. 7 (Oct. 8 in Kazakhstan) and arrive on the station about 48 hours later.
-end-
MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-080
NASA'S HIGH-FLYING SPACE SHUTTLE CREW TO ANSWER STUDENT QUESTIONS
WASHINGTON -- NASA's space shuttle astronauts will answer elementary and middle school students' questions Saturday while orbiting approximately 220 miles above Earth on the International Space Station. The event is scheduled from 7:40 to 8 a.m. EDT, Saturday, May 22. Students from 12 NASA Explorer Schools submitted their questions earlier by video. Space shuttle Commander Ken Ham, Pilot Tony Antonelli, Mission Specialists Garret Reisman, Michael Good, Steve Bowen, Piers Sellers, and Expedition 23 Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson will give answers live on NASA Television. Viewers should consult the NASA TV schedule to confirm the timing, as the session could shift by several minutes. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv The NASA Explorer Schools that submitted video questions are: -John B. Cary Elementary in Richmond, Va -Cumberland Middle School in Cumberland, Wisc. -Rodriguez Elementary in Harlingen, Texas -Hobgood Elementary in Murfreesboro, Tenn. -Lebanon Middle School in Lebanon, Ky. -Ellen Ochoa Learning Center in Cudahy, Calif. -Orleans Elementary in Orleans, Vt. -Wendover High School in Wendover, Utah -Harding Middle School in Des Moines, Iowa -Conyers Middle School in Conyers, Ga. -Forest Lake Elementary School in Columbia, S.C. -Arapahoe School in Arapahoe, Wyo. The NASA Explorer Schools project establishes a three-year partnership between the agency and schools in diverse communities to address local challenges in science, technology and mathematics education. The goal is to bring educators, administrators, students and families together in sustained involvement with NASA's education programs. For information about the programs, visit: http://explorerschools.nasa.gov
-end-
CONTRACT RELEASE: C10-053
NASA AWARDS LAUNCH SERVICES CONTRACTS
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has announced the awards for the NASA Launch Services (NLS) II Contract. The award will provide a broad range of launch services for NASA's planetary, Earth-observing, exploration and scientific satellites. NASA has the ability to order a maximum of 70 launch services missions with a maximum cumulative potential contract value of $15 billion. The NLS II contracts are multiple award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, spanning a 10-year period. NASA selected four companies for awards: Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company of Denver; Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va.; Space Exploration Technologies of Hawthorne, Calif.; and United Launch Services, LLC of Littleton, Colo. The NLS contracts provide for a minimum capability of delivering agency payloads weighing approximately 550 pounds or more to a minimum 124-mile-high circular orbit with a launch inclination of 28.5 degrees. The launch service provider also may offer a range of vehicles to NASA to meet higher payload weight and orbit requirements. In addition, there is an annual opportunity for additional providers and incumbents to submit proposals introducing launch services not available at the time of award, if they meet the minimum contract requirements. The NLS II contracts support the goals and objectives of the agency's Science Mission Directorate, Space Operations Mission Directorate and Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Under the contract, NASA also will provide launch services to other government agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NASA's Launch Services Program Office at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for program management.
-end-
'
'
'
'
'
'
