Tag Archives: Space Shuttle Discovery

NASA Memory Lane (11)



December 2008.

STS-122 Heads to the Pad: A Tribute to Alan Poindexter

NASA – In this image from December 2008, the STS-122 mission crew members stride out of the Operations and Checkout Building, eager to ride to the launch pad and take their seats in space shuttle Atlantis. On the left, front to back, are Alan Poindexter, followed by Leland Melvin, Stanley Love and Leopold Eyharts. On the right, front to back, are Commander Steve Frick, followed by Rex Walheim and Hans Schlegel. Schlegel and Eyharts represent the European Space Agency.

Poindexter died on Sunday, July 1, 2012, while vacationing with his family.

A Navy Captain, he was accepted to the Astronaut Corps in 1998. During his career with NASA, Poindexter commanded the STS-131 space shuttle Discovery mission to the International Space Station in 2010, delivering more than 13,000 pounds of hardware and equipment. He also served as the pilot of the STS-122 mission, which delivered and installed the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory on the station in 2008. He also served as a spacecraft communicator, or CAPCOM, for multiple missions.

Poindexter retired from NASA in 2010 and returned to serve in the United States Navy as Dean of Students at the Naval Postgraduate School. Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Space Construction (10)


                                                                                                                                             
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Views from Space Shuttle Discovery
NASA – STS105-707-055 (20 August 2001) — This view of the International Space Station (ISS) was captured with a 70mm handheld camera through the Space Shuttle Discovery’s crew optical alignment system (COAS) during separation operations. The undocking took place at 9:52 a.m. (CDT), August 20, 2001.

Views from Space Shuttle Discovery-2
STS105-707-019 (20 August 2001) — Backdropped by Earth dotted with clouds, this close up view of the International Space Station (ISS) was taken by one of the crew members on the Space Shuttle Discovery after undocking at 9:52 a.m. (CDT), August 20, 2001 after more than a week of joint operations.

Views from Space Shuttle Discovery-3
STS105-707-022 (20 August 2001) — Backdropped by the darkness of space and the blue Earth at its horizon, the International Space Station (ISS) was photographed by one of the astronauts aboard the Discovery after undocking from the station which took place at 9:52 a.m. (CDT), August 20, 2001.

View from Space Shuttle Endeavour
STS108-E-5628 (15 December 2001) — As seen in an overall view from a digital still camera aimed through a window on Endeavour’s aft flight deck, the International Space Station (ISS), now staffed with its fourth three-person crew, is backdropped against dark space. The scene was photographed during a farewell look from the shuttle following undocking. The Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) or Canadarm2 protrudes from the orbital outpost at the bottom of the scene.

Space Construction (9)


                                                                                                                                               
SPACE WATCH (history) · Shuttle and Station · 360° Virtual Tour

View from Shuttle Endeavour, STS-100
NASA – STS100-E-5969 (29 April 2001) — Backdropped against the blackness of space, the International Space Station (ISS) was photographed following separation from the Space Shuttle Endeavour. With six astronauts and a Rosaviakosmos cosmonaut aboard the shuttle, the spacecraft performed a fly-around survey of the station, which was inhabited by two astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut. The image was recorded with a digital still camera.

View from Shuttle Endeavour, STS-100-2
STS100-E-5970 (29 April 2001) — Backdropped against the blackness of space, the International Space Station (ISS) was photographed following separation from the Space Shuttle Endeavour. With six astronauts and a Rosaviakosmos cosmonaut aboard the shuttle, the spacecraft performed a fly-around survey of the station, which was inhabited by two astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut. The image was recorded with a digital still camera.

View from Shuttle Atlantis, STS104
STS104-332-026 (21 July 2001) — The International Space Station (ISS), just days after receiving the installment of the Quest airlock, was photographed by one of the STS-104 astronauts during a fly-around of the orbital outpost. The survey occurred shortly after Atlantis’ undocking. The Canadarm2 or Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) appears to be pointed toward the new airlock on the station’s starboard side. The STS-104 and Expedition Two crew’s joint efforts in the past several days, in which the airlock was installed and other work was accomplished, marked the completion of the second phase of the station. Within the last year (beginning in July of 2000), 77 tons of hardware have been added to the complex, including the Zvezda module, the Z1 Truss Assembly, Pressurized Mating Adapter 3, the P6 Truss and its 240-foot long solar arrays, the U.S. laboratory Destiny, the Canadarm2 and finally the Quest airlock.

View from Shuttle Atlantis, STS104-2
STS104-332-027 (21 July 2001) — The International Space Station (ISS), just days after receiving the installment of the Quest airlock, was photographed by one of the STS-104 astronauts during a fly-around of the orbital outpost. The survey occurred shortly after Atlantis’ undocking. The Canadarm2 or Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) appears to be pointed toward the new airlock on the station’s starboard side. The STS-104 and Expedition Two crew’s joint efforts in the past several days, in which the airlock was installed and other work was accomplished, marked the completion of the second phase of the station. Within the last year (beginning in July of 2000), 77 tons of hardware have been added to the complex, including the Zvezda module, the Z1 Truss Assembly, Pressurized Mating Adapter 3, the P6 Truss and its 240-foot long solar arrays, the U.S. laboratory Destiny, the Canadarm2 and finally the Quest airlock.

Space Shuttle Update (51)



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Space Shuttle Discovery Arrives at Udvar-Hazy
NASA – Space shuttles Enterprise, left, and Discovery meet nose-to-nose at the beginning of a transfer ceremony at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Thursday, April 19, 2012, in Chantilly, Va. Space shuttle Discovery–the first orbiter retired from NASA’s shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles–will take the place of Enterprise at the center to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers at the center. image Credit: NASA/Smithsonian Institution/Carolyn Russo

Space Shuttle Update (50)


                                                                                                                                        
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Space Shuttle Discovery Readied for Demate
NASA – NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with the space shuttle Discovery mated on top rolls into position for demating at Washington Dulles International Airport, Wednesday, April 18, 2012, in Sterling, VA. Discovery, the first orbiter retired from NASA’s shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles. NASA will transfer Discovery to the National Air and Space Museum to begin its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls