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

The space station will be busy with departure and arrival this week:

SpaceX Dragon is now scheduled to depart the station tomorrow at 10:56 GMT (06:56 EDT) and splashdown at 16:43 GMT around 246 miles off the coast of Baja California.

Expedition 35/36, Soyuz TMA-08M, is set for launch on Thursday at 20:43 GMT (16:43 EDT). Docking is expected at 02:32 GMT on Friday. This will be the first time a six hour flight with a crew will be attempted.
 
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SpaceX Dragon will depart the station at 10:56 GMT:

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Now live on NASA TV.
 
No for something different....

Space Station photographers armed with their Nikons on the ISS today just before the release of SpaceX Dragon:

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Excuse the quality but these were snapshots from the livestream. :)

Nikon products kept aboard the ISS

•1 Nikon D3S digital-SLR camera: Delivered to the ISS via the Discovery with Space Shuttle mission STS-131, which returned on April 20, 2010. Images are primarily those of the surface of the earth and nighttime scenes. Standard consumer product (no modifications).
•8 Nikon D2XS digital-SLR cameras: Modified according to NASA specifications for recording extravehicular activities (EVA)
•36 NIKKOR lenses (including three teleconverters)
•7 SB-800 Speedlights
•4 D2XS eyepieces: Eyepieces made exclusively for NASA Special eyepiece viewfinders that enable image framing and verification through a space helmet with extravehicular activities.
•Miscellaneous (filters, cables, etc.)
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Expedition 35/36, Soyuz TMA-08M, on the pad:

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Launch is set for 20:43 GMT (16:43 EDT) and docking is expected at 02:32 GMT.
 
Kazz said:
Sim man / other space enthusiasts, I need your help :).

I visited the observatory in Kielder a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. Sadly it was cloudy and snowing so not much star-gazing, so instead we had an introduction to astronomy and astrophysics which I found really interesting.

Does anyone have any personal recommendations for a book to get me started in astrophysics and astronomy? I know the info will be freely available online, but it's not the same as a good book :).

Cheers!
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These should get you going:

The Practical Astronomer (Dk Astronomy) £10.49
Philip's Stargazing 2013 (Philip's Astronomy) £4.54
Philip's Night Sky Atlas (Philip's Astronomy) £9.59

Prices are from the rainforest. You might also want to ask in the astronomy thread.

EDIT:

A very good single volume to consider is Universe [Hardcover] Martin Rees. Again from DK and comes in at £19.20.

Science: The Definitive Visual Guide £12.79 is worth a look. You can see all of them on the rainforest.
 
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