Atlantis Last Shuttle at the Launch Pad

Space shuttle Atlantis completed its 3.4-mile trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A on June 1, becoming the last shuttle to make that journey. The STS-135 payload was delivered to the launch pad on June 16.

The STS-135 crew is commanded by Chris Ferguson and includes Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus. Atlantis will carry the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module containing deliver supplies and spare parts for the International Space Station. The mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems.

The launch date is set by July 8th and the landing date is July 20th

Mission STS-129: Delivering the Goods

Space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission was an ambitious and demanding undertaking that began Nov. 16, 2009, with a spectacular and on-time liftoff at 2:28 p.m. EST from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Aboard were Commander Charles O. Hobaugh, Pilot Barry E. Wilmore, Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Mike Foreman, Robert L. Satcher Jr. and Randy Bresnik. In addition to the crew, there were nearly 30,000 pounds of replacement parts packed in the Express Logistics Carriers, or ELCs, secured inside Atlantis' payload bay.

With a picture-perfect launch behind them, the first task at hand on Nov. 17 was checking the shuttle's wing leading edges and nose cap using the orbiter boom sensor system. The end of the boom consists of cameras and lasers, giving experts on the ground 3-D views of the shuttle's heat shield to ensure there wasn't any damage from launch.

Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from the exhaust cloud building on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Kevin O'Connell

Later in the day while the shuttle was catching up with the International Space Station, Bresnik, Foreman and Satcher checked out the two spacesuits they would use for the three planned spacewalks.

Once in range of the station on Nov. 18, the shuttle was delicately maneuvered into the rendezvous pitch maneuver, or "backflip," where Expedition 21 Flight Engineers Jeffrey Williams and Nicole Stott took photos from their vantage point.

Images from the first and second inspection were sent back to Earth for experts to review, making sure the shuttle would have a safe flight back through Earth's atmosphere.

Hobaugh then carefully guided Atlantis closer to the station until it was locked into the station's docking port on the Harmony node. It took a couple hours for a series of hatch leak checks to be performed and once accomplished, the hatches were opened and the Atlantis crew was enthusiastically greeted and welcomed aboard the station by the Expedition 21 team.

Image above: Backdropped by Earth's horizon, a partial view of Atlantis' payload bay, vertical stabilizer, orbital maneuvering system pods and docking mechanism are featured in this image. Photo credit: NASA/JSC

As the hatch opened, Nicole Stott's responsibilities as station flight engineer officially ended and she became an STS-129 mission specialist for the remainder of her time in space. Stott is the last NASA astronaut to experience the rotation of launching from and being returned to Earth by a space shuttle. In the future, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft will be used for station crew rotations.

With a demanding to-do list ahead of them, the two crews began with the first task at hand. ELC 1 was grappled from Atlantis' payload bay by Melvin and Bresnik with the shuttle's robotic arm and handed off to the station's robotic arm controlled by Wilmore and Williams. The platform was permanently installed to the outside of the station to store large cargo.

That evening Foreman and Satcher spent the night camping out in the Quest airlock preparing for their first spacewalk. After stepping out into space the next day, Foreman and Satcher completed all major tasks almost two hours ahead of schedule. In addition, Foreman was able to successfully connect a cable on the Unity node -- one that was uncooperative for the STS-128 crew in September.

Image above: STS-129 and Expedition 21 crew members greet each other shortly after space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station docked in space and the hatches were opened. Photo credit: NASA/JSC

Inside the station, work was ongoing to prepare for the arrival of the Tranquility node, which will be flown on shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission targeted for early 2010.

Overnight, a false depressurization alarm sounded and woke the crew, but flight control teams on the ground determined there was no danger to the station or crew. In the STS-129 post-landing crew press conference, said, "The training the crew members received helped them deal with the false alarms that went off a few times during their stay on the orbiting outpost."

The relocation of supplies and equipment between Atlantis and the station continued Nov. 20, in addition to tackling a variety of maintenance, troubleshooting and science activities -- keeping both station and shuttle crews busy.

Early the next morning, the second carrier with almost 10,000 pounds of large spare parts, including an attitude-control gyroscope, was moved from the shuttle's cargo bay to its permanent location on the S3 side of the station's truss, or backbone.

Image above: Mission Specialist Randy Bresnik, near the Columbus laboratory, participates in the STS-129 mission's second spacewalk. Photo credit: NASA/JSC

The two platforms that were attached to the station allow additional storage space for the mountain of supplies and equipment needed for the smooth and efficient running of the orbiting laboratory, now and well into the future after the shuttles are retired.

A little later, Foreman and Bresnik made their way into the emptiness of space for the second successful spacewalk of the mission. They not only completed their tasks ahead of schedule but also accomplished some get-ahead jobs -- all in six hours, eight minutes.

Meanwhile, another success story was in the making. On the morning of Nov. 22, Bresnik was told by the Mission Control Center in Houston that his wife, Rebecca, had given birth to their daughter, Abigail Mae Bresnik. He was assured that both baby and mother were doing just fine. Atlantis' crew members were given a well-earned, half day off to celebrate. The rest of day was dedicated to preparing for the third spacewalk on Nov. 23, featuring Satcher and Bresnik.

Image above: STS-129 and Expedition 21 crew members gather for a formal portrait. Photo credit: NASA/JSC

The space excursion began more than an hour later than planned because a drinking-water valve in Satcher's spacesuit became dislodged and the helmet had to be opened to reattach the valve. With the fix behind them, Bresnik and Satcher completed all the tasks in just five hours, 42 minutes -- almost on time, regardless of the late start.

Later, the last of the mission's spare hardware was moved thanks to the combined effort of all 12 shuttle and station crew members.

On Nov. 22, the shuttle and station crew members said their final farewells before the hatches between shuttle Atlantis and the station were securely closed -- after which the shuttle crew prepared for undocking.

Wilmore eased the shuttle away from the station circling around the outpost. Crew members videoed and snapped photos of the orbiting laboratory in order to assess its exterior condition.

One more survey was in store for the shuttle's heat shield with Wilmore and Melvin using the orbiter boom sensor system -- a five-hour process.

Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis touches down on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Terry

Atlantis crew members spent part of Thanksgiving preparing for their Nov. 27 landing date. They tested the thruster jets that control the shuttle's orientation in space and during early re-entry, as well as the flaps and rudders that guide it through the atmosphere.

The day didn't pass without a surprise, though. A traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings found its way aboard Atlantis before undocking -- compliments of the Expedition 21 crew members.

It was a perfect end to a nearly perfect mission. After the twin sonic booms echoed and Atlantis came out of a clear-blue sky, the vehicle and crew touched down on Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility on Nov. 27 at 9:44 a.m. EST.

After winding up a successful 11-day flight to deliver spare parts, other equipment and supplies to the International Space Station, the crew took their last walk around the vehicle that served them well from start to finish.

After a short ride to crew quarters, the astronauts were given a thorough medical exam and met with their families. On Nov. 28, the crew flew home to Houston, and on Nov. 30, they were honored at a homecoming ceremony held at nearby Ellington Field.

Atlantis' STS-129 mission was the 31st flight dedicated to space station assembly, resupply and maintenance -- one that should help keep the station supplied well into the future.

Elaine M. Marconi
NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/launch/129_overview.html

Space Shuttle Atlantis Crew Set to Land in Florida Friday

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member crew are expected to return to Earth on Friday, Nov. 27, after an 11-day mission. The two landing opportunities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are at 9:44 a.m. and 11:19 a.m. EST.

NASA will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Atlantis and its crew to land. If bad weather prevents a return to Florida on Friday or Saturday, both Kennedy and the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California will be activated for consideration on Sunday. For recorded updates about the shuttle landing, call 321-867-2525.

Approximately two hours after landing, NASA officials will hold a briefing to discuss the mission. The participants will be:

- Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space Operations
- Mike Moses, space shuttle launch integration manager
- Mike Leinbach, NASA shuttle launch director

After touchdown in Florida, the astronauts will undergo physical examinations and meet with their families. They are expected to make brief remarks at the runway and hold a news conference approximately six hours after landing. The news events will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's Web site.

The Kennedy news center will open for landing activities at 5 a.m. Friday and close at 5 p.m., or one hour after the last media event.

The STS-129 media badges are in effect through landing. The media accreditation building on State Road 3 will be open Friday from 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. The last bus will depart from the news center for the Shuttle Landing Facility one hour before landing.

If the landing is diverted to Edwards, reporters should call NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center public affairs office at 661-276-3449. Dryden has limited facilities available for previously accredited journalists.

The NASA News Twitter feed is updated throughout the shuttle mission and landing. To access the feed, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/nasa

For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For the latest information about the STS-129 mission and accomplishments, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

Space Shuttle Crew Returns Home after 11-Day Mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts ended an 11-day journey of nearly 4.5 million miles with a 9:44 a.m. EST landing Friday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission, designated STS-129, included three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the International Space Station's truss, or backbone. The platforms hold large spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired. The shuttle crew delivered about 30,000 pounds of replacement parts for systems that provide power to the station, keep it from overheating, and maintain a proper orientation in space.

STS-129 Commander Charlie Hobaugh was joined on Atlantis' STS-129 mission by Pilot Barry Wilmore and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Bobby Satcher. Atlantis returned with station resident Nicole Stott, who spent 91 days in space. This marks the final time the shuttle is expected to rotate station crew members.

A welcome ceremony for the astronauts will be held Monday, Nov. 30, in Houston. The public is invited to attend the 4 p.m. CST event at Ellington Field's NASA Hangar 990. Highlights from the ceremony will be broadcast on NASA Television's Video File. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

With Atlantis and its crew safely home, the stage is set for launch of shuttle Endeavour on its STS-130 mission, targeted to begin in February. Endeavour will deliver a pressurized module, known as Tranquility, which will provide room for many of the space station's life support systems. Attached to the node is a cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center that provides a 360-degree view around the station.

For more about the STS-129 mission and the upcoming STS-130 flight, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

STS-129 crew members Melvin, Satcher and Stott are providing mission updates on Twitter. For their Twitter feeds and other NASA social media Web sites, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/connect

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

The Way Home

Seen over the Mediterranean Sea, near the Algerian coast, the space shuttle Atlantis is featured in this image photographed by the Expedition 21 crew on the International Space Station soon after the shuttle and station began their post-undocking separation. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 4:53 a.m. EST on Nov. 25, 2009.

Image Credit: NASA

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1530.html

Preflight Interview: Randy and Rebecca Bresnik

Space shuttle Atlantis Mission Specialist Randy Bresnik is a new father.

At 5:14 a.m. CST, Bresnik called Mission Control and announced the birth of his daughter. Abigail Mae Bresnik, weighing six pounds, 13 ounces and measuring 20 inches long, arrived at 11:04 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21 in Houston. He reported his wife Rebecca and baby are doing well. He also thanked the flight control team and flight surgeon for their support and assistance.

Bresnik was informed of his daughter's birth through a phone patch to Atlantis from the Mission Control Center and the hospital after he woke up. He was also tied in through the station’s IP Phone to Dr. Smith Johnston, the STS-129 Flight Surgeon following his spacewalk Saturday evening during his wife’s labor until he needed to go to bed.

Bresnik will see his daughter for the first time during a videoconference planned Sunday, Nov. 22, and photos and some video of the baby will be uplinked to Atlantis. No other information will be available until after Bresnik and the STS-129 crew return to Earth. He and Rebecca offered this final word of thanks: "We are sending a big thank you to all of the people who have supported NASA and us for this mission and our special occasion."

Rebecca and Randy Bresnik, STS-129 mission specialist, talk about having a baby anticipated to be delivered while the father is off the planet. Photo Credit: NASA

This is the second time a baby has been born to an American astronaut during his spaceflight. Mike Fincke’s daughter was born in June 2004 while he was aboard the International Space Station.

Shortly before the launch of STS-129, Randy and Rebecca Bresnik participated in the following preflight interview.

Why don’t we start by you each telling us how you feel about this unique situation of having a baby anticipated to be delivered during Randy’s mission.

Randy: I think like most parents, I would prefer to be there at the birth for sure, but we don’t pick this timing and so it’s to be a little bit disappointing not to see her in person right when she enters the world but fortunately through the wonders of modern technical advancements and our amazing communication systems on the ISS and space shuttle, hopefully I’ll be able to hear and see the pictures and be able to talk to her maybe on the IP phone and see some video shortly thereafter and be home only a few days afterwards.

Rebecca: Thanks so much Randy. I’m a little disappointed that he won’t be able to be there but understanding that we don’t choose the timing and excited for him that he’s doing what he’s doing. He’s trained one year for this mission but really he’s been here five, almost six years, and I’m just real excited for him and excited for us and just to be gone basically a week beyond her being born. So, I’m excited for him to come home safely.

Randy, you talked a little bit about how you might be able to hear about the birth or even see your new baby once she’s born on-orbit, but Rebecca can you tell us what special preparations you’re making for this unique situation?

Randy: She’s going to deliver the baby.

Rebecca: Well for the actual birth, really just trying to work his schedule along with the delivery of the baby. Due to medical reasons I’m being induced two weeks early so we’re able to play with the date a little bit. So, I’m just working with my doctors and working with Randy’s schedule to make sure that if possible that we can do it on the day where he’s not out doing an EVA and maybe have a little more communication during that day. And then also I’m sending up a support group here and I’ve got family coming into town. My sister’s coming in for the delivery, and then my mom’s actually watching her child. So, just like I said, just setting up, making sure we have, even the dog being walked.

Astronaut Randy Bresnik, STS-129 mission specialist, is pictured near a beverage container floating freely on the aft flight deck of space shuttle Atlantis during flight day two activities. Photo Credit: NASA

Randy: Family, mother and sister making sacrifices of not being able to go to the launch so they can be in position to help out Rebecca after the launch which we greatly appreciate.

Rebecca: We very much appreciate what everyone has offered to do with helping us through this.

Randy you touched on it a little bit, but from orbit once the baby’s born, what assets and resources will you have?

Randy: It depends on the timing of the launch. We know the baby’s due date plus or minus a little bit but it just depends on if we’re docked or not. Obviously if we’re just shuttle, there’s a few less assets. We don’t have the live video conference and that type of thing, but anything we have is far more than most military families get when somebody’s deployed and they’re not there for the birth. So if I can get a simple radio call that she’s entered the world safely and Rebecca’s doing great - everything above me on that is gravy. If we’re on, docked to the space station, obviously the communication assets we have there are a lot better and hopefully things will align and satellites will be up and I won’t be too busy and I’ll be able to have a chance to take a break maybe during lunch and come say hi.

Rebecca: And we’re being able to get some pictures and maybe a little video sent up after the fact.

Astronaut Randy Bresnik, STS-129 mission specialist. Photo Credit: NASA

You mentioned you already have a son. Does he have a special role in all of this?

Rebecca: Well he thinks he’s naming the baby Neemo, but [Randy: Or Stormy, our dog] he’s just ready to be a big brother. He’s excited about the baby. He’s always asking, “When’s the baby going to come out and play?”

Randy: He goes up to her belly and says, “Baby, come out!”

Rebecca: I say that too sometimes!

Randy: And the amazing thing about him is that a year ago today we hadn’t even met him yet. And actually tomorrow’s the anniversary of the first day we met him. Within 48 hours of being assigned to STS-129 we got the call saying we had a date to go to Ukraine for our adoption. And so we were over there 40 days last fall adopting him and we came back mid-December. So we’ve got this wonderfully happy and healthy little three and a half year old little boy whose life has changed completely. He’s gone from being in an orphanage on the other side of the planet to being in the space shuttle simulator here flying with his dad a couple weeks ago.

Rebecca: It’s pretty amazing. And remember after we, it must have been about a month or two after we got him and we were home with him and we had friends come over with a little baby and he goes, “Ah baby. I want baby. I want baby.” And I’m like, “I’m sorry. I can’t help you out there.” And then three months after getting home with him we’re giving him what he wants. Little miracle.

Randy: We’re fortunate enough to witness the miracle of adoption as well as the miracle of child birth all in one year. We’re just amazingly blessed.

I assume you, Rebecca, and the baby will not travel to the landing. When do you anticipate Randy will be able to see the baby for the first time?

Rebecca: No I probably won’t go to the landing. He keeps on telling me no don’t try to come to the landing.

Randy: We have such good luck at landing at KSC, I’d hate for them to make that trip and have us land somewhere else.

Rebecca: Probably be the day after you land.

Randy: As soon as possible. I will look forward to that landing and Scorch to make it nice and safe. Probably more than anybody has in the history of the space shuttle program.

Well that’s the last question I had. Anything else you want to add? Or that we didn’t cover that you would like…

Rebecca: No. Just I think we’re very appreciative of NASA and all the people here that have been so supportive and that have just really offered up help and everything from helping us out with our son to coordinating things while Randy’s up there and getting me to the launch and helping out with me at the launch and we’re just very appreciative of all that NASA has done for us too and all the people here.

Randy: With her being the hardworking NASA employee that she is, still working this week, her last day is going to be Friday and I go into quarantine on Monday so everybody that’s been here at JSC that ‘s been helping her out a lot during the pregnancy and helping her while she’s been pregnant and sick a bunch so we appreciate that too.

It’s an amazing story. Congratulations. Thanks again.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/baby_bresnik.html

NASA Provides Venerable Hubble Hardware to Smithsonian

Two key instruments from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have a new home in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington after being returned to Earth aboard space shuttle Atlantis last May.

Astronauts brought back the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, or WFPC-2, and the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement, or COSTAR, after more than 15 years in space. The camera returned the iconic images that now adorn posters, album covers, the Internet, classrooms and science text books worldwide.

"This was the camera that saved Hubble," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "I have looked forward for a long time to stand in front of this very instrument while on display to the public."

Galaxy NGC 4710 is tilted nearly edge-on to our view from Earth. This perspective allows astronomers to easily distinguish the central bulge of stars from its pancake-flat disk of stars, dust, and gas. Credit: NASA, ESA and P. Goudfrooij (STScI)

After Hubble's launch and deployment aboard the shuttle in 1990, scientists realized the telescope's primary mirror had a flaw, known as a spherical aberration. The outer edge of the mirror was ground too flat by a depth of 2.2 microns, roughly equal to one-fiftieth the thickness of a human hair. This tiny flaw resulted in fuzzy images because some of the light from the objects being studied was scattered.

Hubble's first servicing mission provided the telescope with hardware that basically acted as eye glasses. Launched in December 1993 aboard space shuttle Endeavour, the mission added the WFPC-2, about the size of a baby grand piano, and COSTAR, about the size of a telephone booth. The WFPC-2 had the optical fix built in, while the COSTAR provided the optical correction for other Hubble instruments.

The WFPC-2 made more than 135,000 observations of celestial objects from 1993 to 2009. The camera was the longest serving and most prolific instrument aboard Hubble.

"For years the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 has been taking pictures of the universe," said John Trauger of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Today, we are taking pictures of the WFPC-2 and I guess if there was ever a camera that deserves to have its picture taken, this is it."

The Hubble instruments will be on display in the National Air and Space Museum's Space Hall through mid-December. They then will travel to Southern California to go on temporary display at several venues. In March 2010, the instruments will return to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, where they will take up permanent residency.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory designed and built the WFPC-2. The COSTAR instrument was built by Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colo. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. The project is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. The institute is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc., in Washington.

For more information about the Hubble Space Telescope, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/Hubble_Smithsonian.html

Flight Day 2

Backdropped by Earth's horizon and the blackness of space, a partial view of space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay, vertical stabilizer, orbital maneuvering system pods and docking mechanism are featured in this image photographed by an STS-129 crew member from an aft flight deck window.

Image credit: NASA
Nov. 17, 2009

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/multimedia/gallery/09-11-17.html

Astronaut Stott's Journey Home Marks a First and a Last

When the wheels of space shuttle Atlantis touch down to end the STS-129 mission, astronaut Nicole Stott will complete both a first and a last.

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will welcome her home as its first former employee to live and work aboard the International Space Station. Stott's return also will mark another significant event -- the last time a station crew member will travel to or from the orbiting laboratory aboard a space shuttle. Upcoming crews will launch from and return to Earth aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Image above: Stott suits up before her launch aboard space shuttle Discovery on Aug. 28, 2009. Image credit: NASA

Stott joined the space station's six-person crew when she launched aboard shuttle Discovery in August during the STS-128 mission. Trading places with astronaut Timothy Kopra, she became the Expedition 20 flight engineer as she began her three-month stint aboard the station.

Her launch came more than two decades after she began her NASA career at Kennedy -- a career that brought her high-level experience with both the shuttle and the station.

Before heading to space this summer, the Clearwater, Fla., native talked about her time at Kennedy.

Image above: Stott performs a spacewalk outside the International Space Station, her home for three months. Image credit: NASA

"After growing up in Florida and seeing shuttles launch while I was at university, I got a job at Kennedy Space Center in shuttle operations," Stott said. "I mean, what cooler place could you be working? And every step of the way there, I was just thrilled with the jobs I had."

She began her 10-year career at Kennedy in 1988, working in the shuttle program as an operations engineer in an orbiter processing facility -- the hangars in which shuttles are prepared for flight. She subsequently worked as convoy commander, leading the group of specialized vehicles that meet and "safe" each shuttle upon landing. She also served as shuttle Endeavour's flow director, NASA's manager in charge of seeing that the shuttle was processed and ready for launch.

Image above: Stott began her career with NASA in shuttle processing at Kennedy. Image credit: NASA

Stott described her career at Kennedy with enthusiasm.

"I’m working on a space shuttle. I’m on the runway for landing... I’m in the control center where we’re launching the shuttle. I mean, it didn’t seem like it could get any cooler than that," Stott said. "And fortunately, I had people that I considered to be mentors that I worked with there."

It was during her last two years at Kennedy that she joined the Space Station Hardware Integration Office. That position took her to Huntington Beach, Calif., where she worked as the NASA project lead for space station truss elements under construction at a Boeing facility.

Image above: With space shuttle Endeavour aboard the shuttle carrier aircraft in the background, Stott, Endeavour's flow manager, stands on the shuttle runway. Image credit: NASA

Having experience with both shuttle and station hardware preparation, NASA selected Stott as an astronaut in July 2000. Nine years later, she reflected on her own launch aboard a shuttle and residency on the space station.

"Up until the point of starting work at Kennedy Space Center with NASA, it never crossed my mind that being an astronaut was a possibility. And once I started working there and meeting the people that worked there, and seeing astronauts come through and seeing what they did when they were there -- working with the hardware or getting their colleagues ready to fly -- it became more real to me," Stott said. "And then having people encourage me was, I think, the big step to actually getting here."

While other employees from Kennedy have gone on to become astronauts too, Stott's time living and working aboard the station, coupled with her shuttle and station processing work, makes her experience unique.

Image above: During part of her career at Kennedy, Stott (left) served as convoy commander for shuttle landings. Image credit: NASA

As the STS-129 mission ends and the landing convoy she once commanded surrounds Atlantis on the runway, Stott's journey will have come full circle, from Kennedy to space, and back home again.

Cheryl L. Mansfield
NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/stott_return.html

Earhart's Scarf to Fly Again

A scarf belonging to famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart will circle the Earth repeatedly as part of the personal cargo being carried into space by the astronauts of space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-129 mission.

Albert Bresnick was a personal photographer to Earhart, and now, astronaut Randy Bresnick is rekindling the family connection. The Marine aviator and first-time space flier received the white, green and red scarf from the 99s Museum of Women Pilots in Oklahoma City, an organization of female pilots that formed with the help of Earhart. Randy Bresnick is also bringing along a photo from the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison, Kan.

In 1932, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, becoming in the process a prominent and celebrated adventurer. She, along with her navigator, disappeared over the Pacific Ocean five years later while trying to become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in an airplane.

The remaining crew members of STS-129 have chosen a wide assortment of medals, shirts, patches and even a thumb drive to commemorate their 11-day venture to the International Space Station.

The mission patch for the STS-129 mission reflects elements of shuttle Atlantis' payload and its place in larger goals of space exploration. This patch, attached to the launch-and-entry suit of Commander Charles O. Hobaugh, is one of the hundreds of mission patches being carried into space on the flight. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

A cycling jersey from Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong Foundation will travel on the flight, completing the distance in seven minutes that Armstrong and the cyclists in the peloton rode in three weeks during the Tour de France.

Veteran astronaut Charles O. Hobaugh, also a Marine pilot, commands the mission that will deliver a pair of racks loaded with equipment to the station.

First-time shuttle Pilot Barry E. Wilmore has seen to it that Tennessee Technical University is well-represented in the commemorative assortment known as the Official Flight Kit. The school, which Wilmore graduated from with a master's in electrical engineering, will see a thumb drive, purple and gold placard, gold medallion, and a stuffed-toy eagle make the trip into space aboard space shuttle Atlantis.

The toy eagle will be joined by a stuffed-toy blue spider from the University of Richmond, the alma mater of veteran Mission Specialist Leland Melvin. A football jersey from Melvin's Heritage High School days also will make the trip. Melvin was drafted in 1986 by the NFL's Detroit Lions and took part in training camps with the Dallas Cowboys and Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts.

MikeForeman, an experienced spacewalker from the STS-123 mission, is marking his hometown of Wadsworth, Ohio, with patches from the city's police and fire departments.

Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are symbolically carried into space in the form of a flag from Harvard and a copy of MIT's charter. First-time flier and physician Robert L. Satcher Jr. graduated from both schools during his educational career.

When the shuttle returns to Earth to end the STS-129 mission, the personal commemoratives will be removed and returned to the astronauts. Typically, the items are then returned to their sponsoring institutions or presented as gifts by the astronauts as a way to inspire future explorers.

Steven Siceloff
NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/whatsgoingup129.html

This Month in Exploration - November

Visit "This Month in Exploration" every month to find out how aviation and space exploration have changed throughout the years, improving life for humans on Earth and in space. While reflecting on the events that led to NASA's formation and its rich history of accomplishments, "This Month in Exploration" will reveal where the agency is leading us -- to the moon, Mars and beyond.

100 Years Ago

November 3, 1909: Lt. George C. Sweet became the first naval officer to fly in the Wright airplane during the military trials of the Wright Flyer at College Park, Md. On the same day, Dr. William H. Greene set a passenger-carrying record at Morris Park, N.Y. A. Leo Stevens, an aviation pioneer in his own right, and two others rode as passengers for short flights in the Greene biplane.

90 Years Ago

November 12, 1919: Ross MacPherson Smith commenced his historic, 11,500-mile intercontinental flight in a British Vickers-Vimy heavy bomber aircraft in Heston, London. He completed the trip at Port Darwin, Australia on December 10, 1919 and was knighted for his efforts.

80 Years Ago

November 28-29, 1929: Commander Richard E. Byrd made the first flight over the South Pole in a Ford trimotor piloted by Bernt Balchen and two American pilots. During this first expedition to Antarctica, Byrd established a base he named Little America that was located on the Bay of Whales.

75 Years Ago

The Wright military flyer. Credit: NASA

November 18, 1934: The United States Navy issued a contract to the Northrop Corporation for the XBT-1: a two-seat scout and 1,000-pound dive bomber. The aircraft was the first prototype in a sequence that led to the SBD Dauntless series of dive bombers used throughout World War II.

60 Years Ago

November 22, 1949: The Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket, a research plane, exceeded the speed of sound at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. It was powered by both a Westinghouse J-34 turbojet engine and a Reaction Motors rocket motor.

50 Years Ago

November 4, 1959: NASA launched a second LJ-1A rocket (nicknamed Little Joe) from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Va. to test the Mercury escape system under severe dynamic pressure. The launch vehicle functioned perfectly, but the escape rocket ignited ten seconds too late.

November 11-22, 1959: The United States contributed 10 rocket firings to an internationally coordinated program of rocket sounds of the upper atmosphere sponsored by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).

45 Years Ago

November 28, 1964: NASA launched the Mars explorer Mariner 4 spacecraft at 9:22 a.m. EST from the Eastern Space and Missile Center. The first successful mission to Mars, it encountered the planet on July 14, 1965.

40 Years Ago

November 14, 1969: NASA launched Apollo 12, the second lunar landing mission, at 11:22 a.m. EST from NASA's Kennedy Space Station, Fla. Astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean were aboard. The event was witnessed by Richard Nixon, the first U.S. President to attend the launch of a manned space flight.

30 Years Ago

November 21, 1979: The Eastern Space and Missile Center hosted the launch of the U.S. Air Force's Defense Satellites DSCS II-13 and 14.

25 Years Ago

The Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket research aircraft (front). Credit: NASA

November 8, 1984: NASA launched the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51A) from Kennedy Space Center at 7:15 a.m. EST. The satellites TELESAT-H (ANIK) and SYNCOM IV-I (also known as LEASAT-1) were deployed, while disabled satellites PALAPA-B2 and WESTAR-VI were retrieved. The mission marked the first retrieval and return of two disabled communications satellites. The mission duration was 7 days, 23 hours, 44 minutes

20 Years Ago

November 18, 1989: NASA launched the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) at 6:34 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base. This satellite was designed to measure diffuse infrared and microwave radiation from the early universe. COBE determined the temperature of the cosmic microwave background -- essentially the afterglow of the big bang.

15 Years Ago

November 3, 1994: NASA launched Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-66) at 11:59 a.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center. The primary payload was the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Sciences - 3 (ATLAS-03), which measured and studied the hole in Earth's ozone layer. The mission duration was 10 days, 22 hours, 34 minutes.

10 Years Ago

November 26, 1999: NASA's Galileo spacecraft completed a historic flyby of Jupiter's moon, Io. Through Galileo's instruments, scientists determined that some of the volcanoes located on Io are hotter than any on Earth.

Image from the moon during the Apollo 12 mission. Credit: NASA


Five Years Ago

November 12, 2004: NASA's X-43A research vehicle set a new world speed record by a jet-powered aircraft when it traveled at Mach 10 - nearly 7,000 miles per hour. The X-43A's air-breathing scramjet engine has no moving parts. The aircraft is part of NASA's Hyper-X Program

Present Day

November 16, 2009: Space shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) will launch from Kennedy Space Center to deliver components including two gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the International Space Station's robotic arm.

Lee A. Jackson (Analex Corporation)

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/thismonth/this_month_nov09.html

STS-129: Stocking the Station

The spare parts delivered to the International Space Station by Atlantis during the STS-129 mission will mean spare years on the station’s life once the space shuttle fleet is retired.

“You’ll see this theme in some of the flights that are going to come after ours as well,” said Brian Smith, the lead space station flight director for the mission. “This flight is all about spares – basically, we’re getting them up there while we still can.”

With only one U.S. module left to deliver, the Space Shuttle Program is turning its attention to helping the space station build up a store of replacement parts. There are only half a dozen flights left in the shuttle’s manifest before they stop flying, and as the only vehicle large enough to carry many of the big pieces of equipment into space, several of the flights are devoted to the task. This is the first, however, and as the first this mission is dedicated to taking up the spares of the highest priority.

For the mission patch of STS-129, the sun shines brightly on the International Space Station above and the United States below representing the bright future of U.S. human spaceflight. Image: NASA

“We’re taking the big ones,” Smith said. “And not only are they the big ones – they’re the ones deemed most critical. That’s why they’re going up first.”

The spares are going up on two platforms – called external logistics carriers, or ELCs – to be attached on either side of the station’s truss, in hopes that wherever a failure happens, the necessary spare won’t be too far away. The ELCs carried up on STS-129 will be chocked full with two pump modules, two control moment gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, an ammonia tank assembly, a high-pressure gas tank, a latching end effector for the station’s robotic arm and a trailing umbilical system reel assembly for the railroad cart that allows the arm to move along the station’s truss system. There’s also a power control unit, a plasma container unit, a cargo transportation container and a battery charge/discharge unit. In all, that’s 27,250 pounds worth of spares to keep the station going long after the shuttles retire.

Some of those spares would be used to replace failed components of the systems that provide the station power or keep it from overheating or tumbling through space. Others, in the case of the latching end effector and reel assembly, are essential parts of the robotics system that allow the astronauts to replace the other parts when they wear out.

“It was a long-term goal to have the full power production capability and all the international partners present and six person crew capability,” said Mike Sarafin, the lead shuttle flight director for the mission. “These are the spares that will allow us to utilize the investment that we’ve put in.”

NASA isn’t nearly done investing in the station, however, and the agenda of Atlantis’ crew makes that clear. In addition to the complex robotics work required to get the spares into place, there are three spacewalks scheduled to go on outside and a complicated rewiring project planned for the crew inside.

Attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits, these six astronauts take a break from training to pose for the STS-129 crew portrait. Image: NASA

The focus for the work inside, and object of several tasks inside, will be preparing for the STS-130 mission, during which the last U.S. space station module will be delivered: the Tranquility node with its attached cupola. During the spacewalks, that will mean routing connections and preparing the berthing port on the Harmony node that it will attach to. On the inside, the work is a little more extensive. Originally, Tranquility was to be installed on the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node, but it’s since been decided that it would fit better on the port side of Harmony. And changing the plans requires significant changes to the hardware. Data, power, cooling lines, air flow – all of those connections need to be rerouted to the new location, and with double the manpower normally available at the station, a shuttle mission is a good time to get that done.

However, even with the shuttle crew at the station, resources aren’t unlimited. Any mission would consider its plate pretty full, with the robotics work required to get the spares transferred to the station, the spacewalks and the Tranquility prep work inside. But unlike the other space shuttles, Atlantis wasn’t outfitted with the system that allows shuttles to draw power from the space station. That means that where recent station assembly missions have lasted up to 17 days, Atlantis has only 11 to get to the station and back.

“All that in 11 days,” Sarafin said. “It’s a lot to package into a finite period of time; it’s a challenging mission.”

Still, the STS-129 team intends to make the most of every second it has on orbit, just as the larger shuttle and station teams will make the most of each of the remaining missions. That’s not unusual, though – Atlantis’ Commander Charles O. Hobaugh would say that it’s characteristic of the entire effort that has gone into building the station.

“There’s been a lot of work put forth to make it all successful, and it’s just incredible to see how much has been accomplished and how successful it has become,” he said. “The space station has been a long hard road, but it’s been an extremely productive road. We’ve really been able to bring together a diverse national and international background of cultures for one common cause. It’s all science and exploration and cooperation.”

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/overview.html