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Video archive
Harmony's big move
The station's new Harmony module is detached from the Unity hub and moved to its permanent location on the Destiny lab.
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Delta 4-Heavy launch
The first operational Delta 4-Heavy rocket launches the final Defense Support Program missile warning satellite for the Air Force.
Full coverage
Columbus readied
The European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory module moves to pad 39A and placed aboard shuttle Atlantis for launch.
To pad
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Installed
Station port moved
The station crew uses the robot arm to detach the main shuttle docking port and mount it to the new Harmony module Nov. 12.
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Atlantis rolls out
Space shuttle Atlantis rolls from the Vehicle Assembly Building to pad 39A for its December launch with the Columbus module.
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Atlantis goes vertical
Atlantis is hoisted upright and maneuvered into position for attachment to the external tank and boosters.
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Space station EVA
This Expedition 16 status briefing recaps the Nov. 9 spacewalk that prepared the station's shuttle docking port for relocation to the new Harmony module.
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STS-120 landing
Discovery returns home to the Florida spaceport after its two-week mission.
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Fuel sensor problem scrubs shuttle launch
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR
CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE"
& USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: December 6, 2007
Today's planned launch of the shuttle Atlantis on a long-awaited mission to carry a
European research lab to the international space station has been postponed at least
24 hours because of apparent problems with two of four low-level fuel sensors at the
base of the ship's external tank.
The launch team is recycling the countdown for a possible launch attempt Friday at
4:09:13 p.m., but that assumes the problem can be resolved by then. The shuttle's
eight-day launch window closes Dec. 13. If Atlantis isn't off the ground by then,
the flight will slip into early January.
Today's launch scrub was declared at 9:56 a.m., about three hours after engineers
began pumping a half million gallons of supercold liquid oxygen and hydrogen rocket
fuel into Atlantis' external tank for a launch attempt at 4:31:45 p.m.
But about two hours into the three-hour fueling process, when the hydrogen section
of the tank was about 80 percent full, two of four engine cutoff sensors at the base
of the hydrogen tank "failed wet." The sensors are part of a backup system used to
ensure the shuttle's three main engines don't run the tank dry if some other problem
prevents an on-time shut down.
Hydrogen ECO sensors 3 and 4 dropped off line at the same time, which might indicate
some sort of circuitry issue rather than an actual sensor failure. But that remains
to be seen. If troubleshooting confirms both sensors have, in fact, failed, launch
likely would be delayed beyond the end of the current launch window.
But if a problem can be identified in the circuitry or software associated with the
ECO sensor system, it may be possible to press ahead Friday or later in the window
if any repairs are required and if the wiring or hardware in question is accessible
at the launch pad.
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Expedition 18 patch & pin
The official embroidered patch and lapel pin for the International Space Station Expedition 18 crew is now available to from our stores.
U.S. STORE:
PATCH
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PIN
WORLD STORE:
PATCH
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PIN
Ares patch
The Ares Project will develop two new rockets to launch astronauts back to the Moon under NASA's Vision for Exploration. The Ares 1 will employ a single space shuttle solid rocket booster to loft the Orion crew capsule. The gigantic Ares 5 will haul the equipment and cargo needed for such lunar voyages. This is the Ares emblem.
U.S. STORE
Apollo patches
The Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price.
U.S. STORE
Columbus mission patch
The official astronaut embroidered patch of Atlantis' STS-122 mission that launched the Columbus science lab in February is available to U.S. customers from our store.
U.S. STORE
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