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Breaking News in the Project Management World
Sunday, November 16, 2008
NASA'S Shuttle Endeavor Launches on Home Improvement Mission to International Space Station
Space shuttle Endeavour with its seven-member crew successfully lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA at 7:55 p.m. EST Friday(0:55 a.m. GMT Saturday morning) on a mission to repair and remodel the International Space Station.
Endeavour's STS-126 mission is carrying to space about 32,000 pounds, including supplies and equipment to double the crew size from three to six members in spring 2009. The new station cargo includes additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet, a water reclamation system and a resistance exercise device.
The mission's four planned spacewalks will focus on servicing the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow the outpost's solar arrays to track the sun. The starboard SARJ has had limited use since September 2007.
Shortly before launch, Commander Chris Ferguson (pictured) thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible. "It's our turn to take home improvement to a new level after 10 years of International Space Station construction," he said. "Endeavour is good to go."
Joining Ferguson on Endeavour's 15-day flight are Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus. Magnus will replace current station crew member Greg Chamitoff, who has lived on the outpost since June. She will return to Earth on Discovery's STS-119 mission, targeted for February 2009.
Created in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is America’s focal point for research, development and exploration of outer space. In 2005, the US President and Congress committed the United States to exploring the solar system and beyond: completing assembly of the International Space Station, flying the new Crew Exploration Vehicle by 2014, returning astronauts to the moon by the end of the next decade, and sending human missions to Mars and beyond. For over 50 years, NASA has been leading the world in the development and usage of advanced program and project management. Additional information about NASA programs and projects can be found at www.nasa.gov.
The mission's four planned spacewalks will focus on servicing the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow the outpost's solar arrays to track the sun. The starboard SARJ has had limited use since September 2007.
Joining Ferguson on Endeavour's 15-day flight are Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus. Magnus will replace current station crew member Greg Chamitoff, who has lived on the outpost since June. She will return to Earth on Discovery's STS-119 mission, targeted for February 2009.
Created in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is America’s focal point for research, development and exploration of outer space. In 2005, the US President and Congress committed the United States to exploring the solar system and beyond: completing assembly of the International Space Station, flying the new Crew Exploration Vehicle by 2014, returning astronauts to the moon by the end of the next decade, and sending human missions to Mars and beyond. For over 50 years, NASA has been leading the world in the development and usage of advanced program and project management. Additional information about NASA programs and projects can be found at www.nasa.gov.
