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

[Cosimo]

12 miles away from landing.

 

[Cosimo]

​

Landing coming up.

 

[Pate]

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:

One of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen!

 

[Cosimo]

Another fly-by:

​

 

[Firestar_3x]

Amazing seeing these 747's in flight.

 

[Spook187]

Touch down

 

[Cosimo]

Landed:

 

[Cosimo]

One last pic:

Discovery will be transferred to the Smithsonian on Thursday:

http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/discovery/activity-detail.cfm?id=3784

 

[Firestar_3x]

I take it the 747's are being decommissioned after all the shuttle movements have taken place?

 

[Cosimo]

I take it the 747's are being decommissioned after all the shuttle movements have taken place?

There were two 747-100 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), N905NA and N911NA. N911NA was retired in February and this one will go when the remaining shuttles have been delivered to their resting places.

 

[Firestar_3x]

Sad times

 

[Cosimo]

For those that missed the landing:

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[Glaucus]

That would have been great to see.
See it's near Dulles airport.
Is that museum worth a visit? Almost certainly going to space centre in Florida anyway.

 

[Cosimo]

For those that missed the departure from Kennedy:

​

 

[Cosimo]

Is that museum worth a visit? Almost certainly going to space centre in Florida anyway.

It is the National Air and Space Museum which has the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. Given a chance I would most certainly visit the place:

http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/

 

[Merlin5]

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:

If ever a still photograph of real life in the present looked like science fiction in a computer game emulating real life of the future, this one accomplishes that. Amazing picture.

 

[ChroniC]

If they decommissioned the shuttles, are they just using re-entry modules to bring back astronauts from the space station. How are they doing repair work too? I just assumed they were making new shuttles.

 

[slothmeister]

There was a good pass of the ISS tonight, it was my first ever viewing, it's not until I've moved out into the countryside that ive appreciated the night skies a bit more.

Fantastic sight, humbling. Still amazes me that we have men and women living up in space constantly, moving so fast but yet visible to the naked eye. I was amazed at how bright it was, going to have to get some binoc's me thinks.

 

[Cosimo]

Moscow at Night:

Moscow appears at the center of this nighttime image photographed by the Expedition 30 crew aboard the International Space Station, flying at an altitude of approximately 240 miles on March 28, 2012. A solar array panel for the space station is on the left side of the frame. The view is to the north-northwest from a nadir of approximately 49.4 degrees north latitude and 42.1 degrees east longitude, about 100 miles west-northwest of Volgograd. The Aurora Borealis, airglow and daybreak frame the horizon.

 

[Metalface Mark]

If they decommissioned the shuttles, are they just using re-entry modules to bring back astronauts from the space station. How are they doing repair work too? I just assumed they were making new shuttles.

They are using the Russian crafts to supply/return. No new space shuttles.