Station Crew Prepares Items for Transfer to Progress, Shuttle

The Expedition 22 crew members are preparing the International Space Station for two new vehicles. The ISS Progress 36 cargo vehicle is due to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Feb. 3 to resupply the station. Space shuttle Endeavour will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 7 to begin the STS-130 mission.

After the Progress docks, the five station crew members will unload new supplies and gear then reload it with trash and other discarded items. Endeavour will deliver the Tranquility Node, the Cupola and spare items for the station’s Water Recovery System which has been down since fall of last year. Endeavour will also return various station gear and science experiments back to Earth.

The Russian Vozdukh, a carbon dioxide removal system, failed Thursday and was repaired Friday. The system was deactivated and a part replaced. The Vozdukh is now operating normally scrubbing carbon dioxide from the Russian segment of the orbiting laboratory.

Spacewalk Preparations and Science for Crew

The Expedition 22 crew aboard the International Space Station focused on spacewalk preparations and science experimentation Wednesday.

Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi configured spacewalking tools and equipment to be used during the STS-130 space shuttle mission, which is scheduled to launch Feb 7. With the assistance of the Expedition 22 crew, the STS-130 crew will conduct three spacewalks to install and outfit the Italian-built Tranquility node and the seven-windowed Cupola that will be delivered by space shuttle Endeavour.

Noguchi, along with Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer, also participated in an in-flight interview, answering questions from students from the Vintage Magnet School in North Hills, Calif.

Meanwhile, Flight Engineers Maxim Suraev and Oleg Kotov worked with the Plasma Crystal-3 Plus experiment, which studies the behavior of electrically-charged dust particles in a space environment.

All five crew members also participated in a periodic emergency fire drill with specialists on Earth.

Crew Prepares for Arrivals and Expansions

Science and preparations for the arrivals of space shuttle Endeavour and a Russian cargo craft in February were the focus of the Expedition 22 crew’s activities Tuesday aboard the International Space Station.

After the crew’s daily planning conference with teams in the U.S., Russia, Germany and Japan, Commander Jeff Williams began his workday performing his fourth session with an experiment that studies changes in the astronauts’ aerobic capacity during long-duration spaceflight. NASA is interested in tracking these changes because a reduction in maximum oxygen uptake directly impacts a crew member’s ability to perform strenuous activities such as spacewalks or emergency operations.

Endeavour, Pad and Crew Preps Continue

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:42:19 PM GMT+0530

STS-130 Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick, tethered to the pad's payload changeout room, gets some first-hand experience with one of the handrails on the Tranquility node, installed in shuttle Endeavour's payload bay.

At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, workers closed space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay doors for flight during the weekend.

Pad maintenance and checks will be conducted until launch day, which is targeted for Feb. 7 at 4:39 a.m. EST.

The six STS-130 mission astronauts will review flight data and practice in-flight maintenance procedures today at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

At the conclusion of the executive-level Flight Readiness Review that will be held at Kennedy on Jan. 27, the official launch date will be announced during a press briefing.

Galaxy Cluster Has Two 'Tails' to Tell

Two spectacular tails of X-ray emission have been seen trailing behind a galaxy using the Chandra X-ray Observatory. A composite image of the galaxy cluster Abell 3627 shows X-rays from Chandra in blue, optical emission in yellow and emission from hydrogen light -- known to astronomers as 'H-alpha' -- in red. The optical and H-alpha data were obtained with the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope in Chile.

At the front of the tail is the galaxy ESO 137-001. The brighter of the two tails has been seen before and extends for about 260,000 light years. The detection of the second, fainter tail, however, was a surprise to the scientists.

The X-ray tails were created when cool gas from ESO 137-001 (with a temperature of about ten degrees above absolute zero) was stripped by hot gas (about 100 million degrees) as it travels towards the center of the galaxy cluster Abell 3627. What astronomers observe with Chandra is essentially the evaporation of the cold gas, which glows at a temperature of about 10 million degrees. Evidence of gas with temperatures between 100 and 1,000 degrees Kelvin in the tail was also found with the Spitzer Space Telescope.

Galaxy clusters are collections of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies held together by gravity that are enveloped in hot gas. The two-pronged tail in this system may have formed because gas has been stripped from the two major spiral arms in ESO 137-001. The stripping of gas is thought to have a significant effect on galaxy evolution, removing cold gas from the galaxy, shutting down the formation of new stars in the galaxy, and changing the appearance of inner spiral arms and bulges because of the effects of star formation.

STS-130 Crew Complete TCDT at Kennedy, Mission Training Continues

Space shuttle Endeavour's crew of six returns to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston after completing the rigorous prelaunch training for their STS-130 mission to the International Space Station.

The astronauts will continue training for the flight by conducting contingency abort scenarios in the motion base simulator today at Johnson.

During the weekend, ground teams on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will close Endeavour's payload bay doors for flight.

On Jan. 27, an executive-level Flight Readiness Review meeting will be held at Kennedy to assess the readiness of the shuttle, flight crew and payloads to proceed with the countdown.

The official launch date will be set at the review and announced during a press briefing following the meeting.

Final Training Day for STS-130 Crew

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the six STS-130 crew members climbed aboard space shuttle Endeavour on Launch Pad 39A. They will go through a complete launch countdown simulation right up to the point of liftoff.

The astronauts will complete their prelaunch training at Kennedy this afternoon with a bench review of flight crew equipment and are scheduled to fly back to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston tomorrow.

Launch teams at the pad conducted a walkdown of the shuttle to ensure there was no damage from the unusually icy weather conditions experienced last week. They also will continue testing and maintenance until liftoff.

Endeavour is targeted to launch at 4:39 a.m. EST Feb. 7 to deliver the Italian-built Tranquility with its attached cupola to the International Space Station.

On Jan. 27, an executive-level Flight Readiness Review meeting will be held at Kennedy to assess the readiness of the shuttle, flight crew and payloads to proceed with the countdown.

The official launch date will be set at the review and announced during a press briefing following the meeting.

Mission to Jupiter

With its suite of science instruments, Juno will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras.

Juno’s principal goal is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. Underneath its dense cloud cover, Jupiter safeguards secrets to the fundamental processes and conditions that governed our solar system during its formation. As our primary example of a giant planet, Jupiter can also provide critical knowledge for understanding the planetary systems being discovered around other stars.

This artist's concept shows the Juno spacecraft in orbit around the planet Jupiter.

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Crew Ready to Move Soyuz Spacecraft

The International Space Station's Expedition 22 crew members had an abbreviated workday Wednesday, then adjusted their sleep schedule for an early wakeup to begin the work of moving a docked Soyuz spacecraft.

Soyuz Commander and Expedition 22 Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev will undock the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft at 5:03 a.m. EST Thursday from the aft port of the Zvezda service module then fly it to the Poisk module for an inaugural docking at 5:25 a.m. Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams will accompany Suraev for the short ride. Live coverage of the move will begin at 4:45 a.m. on NASA TV.

Amongst the Soyuz relocation preparations, the crew had some time scheduled for Earth observation and photography. Wednesday’s selected site for observation was the Haiti disaster area.

On Saturday, Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer and Williams will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to relocate Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 from the port side of the Unity node to the space-facing side of the Harmony node. This will clear the way for the installation of the Italian-built Tranquility node to be delivered by space shuttle Endeavour and the STS-130 crew in February.

STS-130 Crew Train at Launch Pad 39A

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the six STS-130 astronauts continue their prelaunch dress rehearsal at Launch Pad 39A.

At the pad media question-and-answer period, the crew was asked their thoughts about space shuttle Endeavour kicking off a historic last year of launches.

Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson answered by saying, "We're thinking about STS-130 every day. But it occurs to me that when we come back, the reality of what this means to the Space Shuttle Program is going to set in. And it's bittersweet -- we all love the shuttle -- and look what human beings can do!

"But the history of space travel has shown," Robinson continued, "that when one program ends the next program is even more exciting, more motivating, more compelling to go into the future than the one before it."

Other training activities today include slidewire basket evacuation procedures and review of pertinent flight data.

Also, the Tranquility payload will be loaded into space shuttle Endeavour's cargo bay today.

Station Crew Prepares for Soyuz Relocation and Robotics

Tuesday aboard the orbiting International Space Station, the Expedition 22 crew geared up to move a Soyuz spacecraft to a newly-outfitted docking port and prepared for a weekend of intense robotics.

Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Maxim Suraev, who conducted a five-hour, 44-minute spacewalk Thursday to configure the Poisk module to serve as a docking port for Russian vehicles, began their workday stowing tools and equipment used in that excursion.

Later, Suraev tested the thrusters of the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft he will command Thursday morning when he and Commander Jeff Williams fly from the aft port of the Zvezda service module to Poisk for an inaugural docking. The Soyuz has been given a go for the relocation, slated to begin with an undocking at 5 a.m. EST Thursday. Live coverage on NASA TV begins at 4:45 a.m.

Meanwhile, Williams and Flight Engineers Soichi Noguchi and T.J. Creamer spent much of their day reviewing procedures and configuring tools for the three spacewalks planned when space shuttle Endeavour and the STS-130 crew arrive in February to install the Italian-built Tranquility node and the seven-windowed Cupola.

To clear the way for the installation of Tranquility, Creamer and Williams will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm on Saturday to relocate Pressurized Mating Adapter-3, currently attached to the port side of the Unity node, to the space-facing side of the Harmony node. Over the weekend, the Dextre robotic manipulator was moved from the Destiny lab to the Mobile Base System, providing the clearance required for Saturday’s robotics work.

Also on Tuesday, Noguchi took a break from his work to answer questions from students at the Kushiro Children’s Museum and the Rikubetsu Astronomical Observatory in Hokkaido, Japan.

NASA Moves Forward Toward Feb. 7 Target Launch

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, launch officials at the Space Shuttle Program's Flight Readiness Review decided today to move forward with the targeted launch date of Feb. 7.

At the executive-level Flight Readiness Review meeting being held at Kennedy on Jan. 27, NASA managers will evaluate all activities and elements necessary for the safe and successful performance of shuttle mission operations -- from the prelaunch phase through post-landing. They also will examine the readiness of the space shuttle, flight crew and payloads to determine if everything is set to proceed with launch.

Crew Cleans Up After Spacewalk, Prepares for Soyuz Relocation, Continues Science

Kotov and Suraev conducted the spacewalk which lasted five hours and 44 minutes. They outfitted the Poisk Mini-Research Module to prepare its docking port to receive vehicles in the future, the first of which will be the Soyuz TMA-16 currently docked to the aft end of the Zvezda service module, which is to be relocated on Jan. 21.

Commander Jeff Williams and Suraev will undock the Soyuz TMA-16 then dock to Poisk about 25 minutes later. Poisk will also serve as an airlock from which to conduct Russian spacewalks.

Science activities continue onboard the International Space Station. Williams inspected the Fluids Integrated Rack inside the Destiny lab module and took digital photographs. Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi performed a routine check of the contents inside the Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The MELFI provides a frozen storage compartment for biological samples.

The crew members also enjoyed a half day off and continued their daily exercise regimen. To provide countermeasures for the effects of long-duration missions in microgravity, all station residents exercise. Equipment such as treadmills, resistive exercise devices and cycle ergometers are used every day. The exercise data is stored on a medical computer then downloaded to specialists on the ground for study.

Station Crew Completes First Expedition 22 Spacewalk

ISS022-E-025742 (14 Jan. 2010) --- Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Maxim Suraev (out of frame), both Expedition 22 flight engineers, participate in a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as maintenance and construction continue on the International Space Station. During the spacewalk, Kotov and Suraev prepared the Mini-Research Module 2 (MRM2), known as Poisk, for future Russian vehicle dockings. Suraev and NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams, commander, will be the first to use the new docking port when they relocate their Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Jan. 21. Earth’s horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene.


ISS022-E-025749 (14 Jan. 2010) --- Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Maxim Suraev (out of frame), both Expedition 22 flight engineers, participate in a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as maintenance and construction continue on the International Space Station. During the spacewalk, Kotov and Suraev prepared the Mini-Research Module 2 (MRM2), known as Poisk, for future Russian vehicle dockings. Suraev and NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams, commander, will be the first to use the new docking port when they relocate their Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Jan. 21. Earth’s horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene.



ISS022-E-025738 (14 Jan. 2010) --- Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Maxim Suraev (out of frame), both Expedition 22 flight engineers, participate in a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as maintenance and construction continue on the International Space Station. During the spacewalk, Kotov and Suraev prepared the Mini-Research Module 2 (MRM2), known as Poisk, for future Russian vehicle dockings. Suraev and NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams, commander, will be the first to use the new docking port when they relocate their Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Jan. 21. Earth’s horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene.



ISS022-E-025495 (14 Jan. 2010) --- Russian cosmonauts Maxim Suraev and Oleg Kotov (out of frame), both Expedition 22 flight engineers, participate in a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as maintenance and construction continue on the International Space Station. During the spacewalk, Suraev and Kotov prepared the Mini-Research Module 2 (MRM2), known as Poisk, for future Russian vehicle dockings. Suraev and NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams, commander, will be the first to use the new docking port when they relocate their Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Jan. 21.



ISS022-E-023790 (12 Jan. 2010) --- Attired in their Russian Orlan spacesuits, Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov (left) and Maxim Suraev, both Expedition 22 flight engineers, check out their Orlan suits in preparation for a spacewalk scheduled for Jan. 14 to outfit the new Poisk module for future Russian vehicle dockings.



ISS022-E-023778 (12 Jan. 2010) --- Attired in blue thermal undergarments that complement the Russian Orlan spacesuit, Russian cosmonauts Maxim Suraev (left) and Oleg Kotov, both Expedition 22 flight engineers, prepare to don and check out their Orlan spacesuits in preparation for a spacewalk scheduled for Jan. 14 to outfit the new Poisk module for future Russian vehicle dockings.

Star Maker

Galaxies throughout the universe are ablaze with star birth. But for a nearby, small spiral galaxy, the star-making party is almost over.

Astronomers were surprised to find that star-formation activities in the outer regions of NGC 2976 have been virtually asleep because they shut down millions of years ago. The celebration is confined to a few die-hard partygoers huddled in the galaxy’s inner region.

The explanation, astronomers say, is that a raucous interaction with M81, a neighboring group of hefty galaxies, ignited star birth in NGC 2976. Now the star-making fun is beginning to end. Images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope show that star formation in the galaxy began fizzling out in its outskirts about 500 million years ago as some of the gas was stripped away and the rest collapsed toward the center. With no gas left to fuel the party, more and more regions of the galaxy are taking a much-needed nap. The star-making region is now confined to about 5,000 light-years around the core.

Robotics, Spacewalk Preparations Keep Crew Busy

Soaring high above the Earth in their orbiting home, the International Space Station’s Expedition 22 crew members began a two-day operation Monday to use Canadarm2 to move the External Stowage Platform-3 (ESP-3) spare parts depot from the P3 truss to the S3 truss. The spacefarers also prepared for an upcoming spacewalk.

Flight Engineers Soichi Noguchi and T.J. Creamer worked together at the robotic work station in the U.S. Destiny laboratory to operate the station’s robotic arm. They detached ESP-3 from the P3 truss and moved it to an overnight park position on a truss cargo attachment bracket. The operation, which is set to conclude Tuesday, will free up the ESP-3 location on the P3 truss for the installation of the Express Logistics Carrier-3 spare parts platform later this year on the STS-134 mission of space shuttle Endeavour.

Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Maxim Suraev completed Orlan spacesuit preparations as they geared up for a Tuesday dress rehearsal of Thursday’s spacewalk. During the spacewalk Suraev and Kotov will set up the Poisk Russian Mini-Research Module 2 for the relocation of the Soyuz TMA-16. On Jan. 21 Suraev and Commander Jeff Williams will undock the Soyuz TMA-16 from the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module then dock to Poisk shortly after.

Crystalline

Looking for all the world like a snowflake, this is actually a close up view of sodium chloride crystals. The crystals are in a water bubble within a 50-millimeter metal loop that was part of an experiment in the Destiny laboratory aboard the International Space Station and was photographed by the Expedition 6 crew.

Spacewalk Preps, Science Activities and Conferences for Station Crew

Expedition 22 crew members checked for leaks between three docked spacecraft -- the Progress and two Soyuz vehicles -- and the Russian segment of the International Space Station in advance of the Jan. 14 spacewalk.

During the spacewalk Flight Engineers Maxim Suraev and Oleg Kotov will set up the Poisk Russian Mini-Research Module 2 for the relocation of the Soyuz TMA-16. On Jan. 21 Suraev and Commander Jeff Williams will undock the Soyuz TMA-16 from the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module then dock to Poisk shortly after.

The Expedition 22 crew also was busy setting up science equipment and science experiments throughout the orbiting laboratory. They also spoke to international team members on the ground, conducting routine periodic conferences with ground support teams in the U.S., Russia and Japan.

In the Japanese Kibo module, Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi closed out the assembly of Kibo’s Small Fine Arm and stowed its tools. The Small Fine Arm is attached to the end effector of the Japanese Robotic Arm and is used for the set up of experiments outside the laboratory module.

Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer removed then reinstalled an experiment container inside the BioLab, swapping it from one compartment to another. A facility inside Europe’s Columbus lab, the BioLab provides two sections for the study of life sciences in microgravity. One section works both autonomously and in conjunction with commands from the ground. The other is designed for manual interaction by a station crew member.

As space station and space shuttle teams prepared for February’s launch of Endeavour, a high-pressure ammonia jumper hose assembly failed during a prelaunch test Thursday. Four such hoses, which will be used to connect the new Tranquility module to the station’s cooling system, are to be installed and activated by spacewalkers during the STS-130 mission. The teams are continuing to work toward a target launch of Endeavour on Feb. 7, however engineers are reviewing data from the test and evaluating whether there will be any impact to the shuttle mission. The analysis is expected to continue for several days.

Endeavour Stands Tall at the Pad

Space shuttle Endeavour is secured on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

On Jan. 19-21 the STS-130 astronauts will fly to Kennedy to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT, to familiarize themselves with the hardware and payload they'll be working with while on the mission.

Shuttle Endeavour and its crew will deliver a third connecting module, the Tranquility node, to the station and a seven-windowed cupola to be used as a control room for robotics. The mission will feature three spacewalks.
STS-130 is the 32nd shuttle mission to the station.

Station Crew Busy with Spacewalk Preps

The Expedition 22 crew members aboard the International Space Station were busy Thursday with preparations for an upcoming spacewalk. They also continued their regular science, maintenance and exercise activities.

Flight Engineers Maxim Suraev and Oleg Kotov installed replaceable environmental and power components in their Russian Orlan spacesuits to prepare them for the six-hour spacewalk scheduled for Jan. 14. They also made height adjustments to the spacesuits and completed checkouts of the cooling loops in the Pirs docking compartment.

During the spacewalk, the two cosmonauts will exit Pirs to ready the Mini-Research Module 2, known as Poisk (a Russian term that translates to search, seek and explore) for its first docking, which will occur when Suraev and Commander Jeff Williams relocate the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the aft port of the Zvezda service module on Jan. 21.

Suraev and Kotov are scheduled to don their spacesuits for a full “dry run” check Tuesday.

Williams performed an inventory of the station’s water supply and collected samples for chemical testing, relaying the data to ground controllers for analysis.

Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer set up the Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device (SLAMMD) experiment and performed body mass measurements for himself and Williams. SLAMMD follows Newton's Second Law of Motion by having two springs generate a known force against a crew member mounted on an extension arm, the resulting acceleration being used to calculate the subject's mass, in effect weighing the individuals.

Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi took a break from his daily activities to receive a special call in the Kibo module from Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Tokyo.

Creamer and Noguchi also discussed with experts on the ground Monday’s planned move of External Stowage Platform-3 (ESP-3) from the port to starboard side of the station’s truss structure. The move will open an attachment slot for the third EXPRESS Logistic Carrier and its complement of spare parts, to be delivered on the STS-134 shuttle mission in July.

Throughout the day, crew members performed exercise sessions to counteract the effects of microgravity during their long-term stays in space. There are numerous exercise facilities aboard the station such as an exercise bicycle, a treadmill and an advanced resistive exercise device.

Into the Heart of Darkness

Astronomers have long known that the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, known as Sagittarius A* (or Sgr A* for short), is a particularly poor eater. The fuel for this black hole comes from powerful winds blown off dozens of massive young stars that are concentrated nearby. These stars are located a relatively large distance away from Sgr A*, where the gravity of the black hole is weak, and so their high-velocity winds are difficult for the black hole to capture and swallow. Scientists have previously calculated that Sgr A* should consume only about 1 percent of the fuel carried in the winds.

However, it now appears that Sgr A* consumes even less than expected -- ingesting only about one percent of that one percent. Why does it consume so little? The answer may be found in a new theoretical model developed using data from a very deep exposure made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This model considers the flow of energy between two regions around the black hole: an inner region that is close to the so-called event horizon (the boundary beyond which even light cannot escape), and an outer region that includes the black hole's fuel source -- the young stars -- extending up to a million times farther out. Collisions between particles in the hot inner region transfer energy to particles in the cooler outer region via a process called conduction. This, in turn, provides additional outward pressure that makes nearly all of the gas in the outer region flow away from the black hole. The model appears to explain well the extended shape of hot gas detected around Sgr A* in X-rays as well as features seen in other wavelengths.

This Chandra image of Sgr A* and the surrounding region is based on data from a series of observations lasting a total of about one million seconds, or almost two weeks. Such a deep observation has given scientists an unprecedented view of the supernova remnant near Sgr A* (known as Sgr A East) and the lobes of hot gas extending for a dozen light years on either side of the black hole. These lobes provide evidence for powerful eruptions occurring several times over the last ten thousand years.

The image also contains several mysterious X-ray filaments, some of which may be huge magnetic structures interacting with streams of energetic electrons produced by rapidly spinning neutron stars. Such features are known as pulsar wind nebulas.

This new model of Sgr A* was presented at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January 2009 by Roman Shcherbakov and Robert Penna of Harvard University and Frederick K. Baganoff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Endeavour's Rollout to Pad Completed

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour perched atop the massive crawler transported has reached Launch Pad 39A.

First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building began at 4:13 a.m. EST and the 3.4-mile journey was completed and the shuttle secured, or "hard down" on the pad by 10:37 a.m.

This is the next major milestone met for the upcoming STS-130 mission to deliver the Tranquility node and cupola to the International Space Station.

Endeavour's launch is targeted for 4:39 a.m. Feb. 7.

Station Crew Prepares for Russian and U.S. Spacewalks

The Expedition 22 crew members aboard the International Space Station tackled a variety of tasks Tuesday as they prepared for spacewalks and assembled robotics hardware.

As they wrap up their second week aboard the orbiting complex, the station’s newest flight engineers, T.J. Creamer, Soichi Noguchi and Oleg Kotov, each had a final session of crew orientation and adaptation -- an hour of free time set aside to study the layout of the station and learn to move about in its large habitable space. The new crew members were welcomed aboard Dec. 22 by Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev when their Soyuz docked with the station.

Working in the Russian segment of the station, cosmonauts Suraev and Kotov set up emergency medical equipment and serviced their Orlan spacesuits as they continued preparations for a six-hour spacewalk out of the Pirs docking compartment scheduled for Jan. 14. The spacewalkers will ready the Mini-Research Module 2, known as Poisk, for its first docking, which will occur when Suraev and Williams relocate the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the aft port of the Zvezda service module on Jan. 21.

Cluster of rocks labeled 'Rock Garden'

This image of a cluster of rocks labeled 'Rock Garden' is where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit became embedded in April 2009. The Spirit and Opportunity rovers landed on the Red Planet in January 2004 for what was to be a 90-day mission, but which has lasted 6 Earth years, or 3.2 Mars years. During this time, Spirit has found evidence of a steamy and violent environment on ancient Mars that is quite different from the wet and acidic past documented by Opportunity, which has been operating successfully as it explores halfway around the planet.

Spirit used its navigation camera to capture this view of the terrain toward the southeast from the location it reached on the 1,870th Martian day, or sol, on April 7, 2009.

Wheels on the western side of the rover broke through the dark, crusty surface into bright, loose, sandy material that was not visible as the rover approached the site. Spirit became stuck in an area near the left of the image's center later in April.

NASA’s Kepler Space

NASA's Kepler space telescope, designed to find Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of sun-like stars, has discovered its first five new exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system.

Kepler's high sensitivity to both small and large planets enabled the discovery of the exoplanets, named Kepler 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b and 8b. The discoveries were announced Monday, Jan. 4, by the members of the Kepler science team during a news briefing at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington.

"These observations contribute to our understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve from the gas and dust disks that give rise to both the stars and their planets," said William Borucki of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Borucki is the mission's science principal investigator. "The discoveries also show that our science instrument is working well. Indications are that Kepler will meet all its science goals."

Expedition 22 Crew Wraps Up Busy Year Aboard Station

The Expedition 22 crew members are wrapping up a busy week and welcoming in a new year aboard the International Space Station.

Commander Jeff Williams, Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev and the three newest multinational crew members, Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer, Oleg Kotov and Soichi Noguchi, conducted an emergency response training drill and talked with ground controllers on Earth. These periodic drills prepare the crew for an escape in the docked Soyuz vehicles in the unlikely event of an emergency serious enough to require evacuation.