** The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond **

Cosimo

Cosimo

Cosimo

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This time Ireland and the UK:

635945mainiss030e177670.jpg


Horizon

Flying at an altitude of about 240 miles over the eastern North Atlantic, the Expedition 30 crew aboard the International Space Station photographed this nighttime scene. This view looks northeastward. Center point coordinates are 46.8 degrees north latitude and 14.3 degrees west longitude. The night lights of the cities of Ireland, in the foreground, and the United Kingdom, in the back and to the right, are contrasted by the bright sunrise in the background. The greens and purples of the Aurora Borealis are seen along the rest of the horizon.

This image was taken on March 28, 2012.
Click to expand...

To help, my view from Google Earth:

horizon1.jpg
 

Cosimo

Cosimo

Cosimo

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Last night saw the first launch of the Delta IV in the Delta IV Medium+ (5,2) configuration:

deltafamily.jpg

It’s 217’ tall with a hydrogen fuelled first stage, two solid fuel boosters on the sides, a cryogenic upper stage and nose shroud five meters wide.

The payload was from the the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), a secret spy satellite, NROL-25:

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Cosimo

Cosimo

Cosimo

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The European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle-3 (ATV-3) docking with the SM Aft port on the Zvezda service module of the space station on the 28th of March.

Approach:

atv3docking1.jpg


Docked:

atv3docked1.jpg
 

Rameses

Rameses

Rameses

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Saw on The Verge, noted that it'll be streamed also. :)

NASA may have ended the Space Shuttle program last year, but the shuttle Discovery will get one more flight — on April 17th, Discovery will be mounted atop NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) for a flight over Washington, DC. This FAA-approved flight will take place between 10 and 11AM, depending on weather conditions; the shuttle / 747 combo will buzz the city at about 1500 feet and head over a number of landmarks, including the National Mall and the Reagan National Airport. If you're not down in Washington, DC, fear not — NASA will be streaming the event live on its site. Following the flight, Discovery will land at the Dulles International Airport and will eventually be towed over to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. As for the Endeavour, it'll be taking the final SCA flight this fall to the California Science Center in Los Angeles; the Atlantis will be transported to the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex this November.
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Metalface Mark

Metalface Mark

Metalface Mark

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I went to the California Science centre last year, I was completely gutted, they had pulled all the space exhibits in advance of the shuttle arriving, so instead of seeing Gemini and Apollo capsules I saw nothing whatever.
 

Cold Fusion

Cold Fusion

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The Space Shuttles always looks like they need a good clean!

Not sure if people are interested but NASA have given a tentative launch date of the 30th April for the F9/Dragon Demonstration mission to the ISS. This is part of the COTS project which is designed to procure resupply services for the ISS from the Commerical Space Industry. The mission will include docking with the ISS to transfer its cargo of 500KG of supplies and to return 600KG of waste

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17732480
http://www.spacex.com/
 
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