Last Chance to Spot Shuttle Discovery in the Night Sky ... Ever

[Jolie Rouge]

Mon Mar 7, 5:00 pm ET

With NASA's space shuttle Discovery now headed home from the International Space Station, skywatchers across much of the United States and southern Canada are in for a real two-day treat: the last chance to see Discovery in space with their own eyes.

Discovery left the space station today (March 7) and is due to land in Florida on Wednesday. This means that — weather permitting — there are opportunities to see both Discovery and the space station flying across the sky from many locations.

The sight should easily be visible to anyone, even from brightly lit cities. Discovery and the space station should appear as bright, fast-moving lights across the sky. If you have a chance, these skywatching opportunities aren't to be missed. After this mission, which is the final flight of shuttle Discovery, there will only be two more (one each by the shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis) before NASA retires its space shuttle fleet later this year.

What to expect

Both vehicles will be traveling across North America on northwest-to-southeast trajectories.

Appearing as a pair of very bright "stars," the space station should appear as the somewhat brighter object and will be trailing Discovery as they move across the sky. The pair should appear about 10 degrees apart on Monday evening (your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees) so expect Discovery and the station to be separated by about "one fist."

But that relatively small gap between the two will likely widen considerably so that by Tuesday evening Discovery will appear about 1-minute ahead of the space station.

A large telescope would be needed to make out details of the sprawling station. Traveling in their respective orbits at approximately 17,500 mph (28,163 kph), both should be visible anywhere from about one to five minutes (depending on the particular viewing pass) as they glide with a steady speed across the sky.

Because of its size and configuration of highly reflective solar panels, the space station is now, by far, the brightest man-made object currently in orbit around the Earth.

On favorable passes, it approaches a magnitude -5 in brightness on the reverse scale used by astronomers to measure the brightness of night sky objects. A magnitude of -5 would rival the planet Venus and is more than 25 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

Some have even caught a glimpse of the space station just prior to sunset or shortly after sunrise. And as a bonus, sunlight glinting directly off the solar panels can sometimes make the station appear to briefly flare with brilliance.

Other satellites visible too

The appearance of either the space shuttle or the space station moving across the sky is not in itself unusual. On any clear evening within a couple of hours of local sunset and with no optical aid, you can usually spot several Earth-orbiting satellites creeping across the sky like moving stars. Satellites become visible only when they are in sunlight and the observer is in deep twilight or darkness. This usually means shortly after dusk or before dawn.

What makes the prospective upcoming passages so interesting is that you'll be able to see the two largest orbiting space vehicles in the sky at the same time, or within several minutes of each other.

Discovery undocked from the space station at 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT) today. The shuttle flew around the space station before finally pulling away from the orbiting laboratory, although Discovery should still remain at a relatively close distance to the station until the scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, March 9 at 11:57 a.m. EST (1457 GMT).

Region of visibility

Generally speaking, the tandem will be visible across southern Canada and most of the northern and central United States.

Across southern Canada and the northern half of the United States there will be two or three evening viewing opportunities. For some favored locations, like Denver and Detroit, there will be two opportunities on Monday (March 7).

In contrast, over the Deep South, below latitude 30 degrees north, the viewing opportunities will be reduced to just one or none at all. Places like Miami, New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., will unfortunately be denied a view of the "dynamic duo," because they'll appear too low in the sky and too near to sunset to be easily visible.

Meanwhile, other southern locales such as Houston, Natchez, Miss., and Jacksonville, Fla., will get their one and only chance on Tuesday evening. In most cases, southern observers will have to look quick: Discovery and the space station won't get much higher in the sky than 20 degrees above the horizon, and each will be in the sky for only about a minute (or less).

Some northern localities will be favored with exceptionally good views.

From Boston, for instance, on Monday evening the ISS and the shuttle will appear to soar to an altitude of 87 degrees … virtually overhead … during a two-minute overfly beginning at 6:59 p.m. EST (2359 GMT).

Europe can see Discovery too! Europeans will also be favored with views in their evening skies.

Paris, for instance, will get two opportunities to see Discovery and the space station on Monday and Tuesday evening. The best of these will come on Tuesday night beginning at around 7:15 p.m. Central European Time (1815 GMT).

Discovery will appear in the west-southwest part of the sky, quickly reaching a maximum altitude of 46-degrees up in the south, then taking another minute to glide over toward the southeast horizon before finally disappearing from view in the Earth's shadow. The station will follow along the same path one minute later.

When and where to look

So what is the viewing schedule for your particular hometown? You can easily find out by visiting one of these three websites:


Chris Peat's Heavens Above http://heavens-above.com/
NASA's SkyWatch http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata...ngs/index.html
Spaceweather.com http://www.spaceweather.com/
http:/spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html

Each will ask for your zip code or city, and respond with a list of suggested spotting times. Predictions computed a few days ahead of time are usually accurate within a few minutes.

However, they can change due to the slow decay of the space station's orbit and periodic reboosts to higher altitudes. Check frequently for updates.

Another great site is this one, which provides real-time satellite tracking and shows you at any given moment during the day or night over what part of the Earth the space station or shuttle happens to be. http://www.n2yo.com/?s=25544

NASA's space shuttle Discovery is returning to Earth to end a 13-day mission that delivered a new storage room and humanoid robot — called Robonaut 2 — to the International Space Station. Two spacewalks were performed during the mission.

Discovery's current STS-133 mission is the 39th and final flight of the shuttle. Discovery is NASA's most-traveled shuttle and has flown the most missions of all three shuttles still flying today.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.

Click here for shuttle mission updates and a link to NASA TV. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/spa...discovery.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/201103...henightskyever

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[Jolie Rouge]

Marcia Dunn, Ap Aerospace Writer – Mon Mar 7, 2:53 pm ET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Its decades-long mission accomplished, space shuttle Discovery headed home to retirement after undocking from the International Space Station on Monday for the last time.

The world's most-flown spaceship got a dramatic send-off by "Star Trek's" original Capt. Kirk. "Space, the final frontier," actor William Shatner proclaimed in a prerecorded tribute. "These have been the voyages of the space shuttle Discovery. Her 30-year mission: to seek out new science, to build new outposts, to bring nations together on the final frontier, to boldly go and do what no spacecraft has done before."

On the final leg of its final journey — due to culminate with a Wednesday touchdown — Discovery performed a victory lap around the space station immediately after undocking. The shuttle and station crews beamed down pictures of each other's vessel, with the blue cloud-specked planet 220 miles below as the stunning backdrop.

NASA TV showed live footage of Discovery as it soared over the Atlantic Ocean and the Sahara desert, and in a matter of a few minutes, over the Mediterranean Sea and northern Italy. The breathtaking shots were captured by the space station crew. "It looks beautiful," observed Scott Kelly, the space station's skipper. He wished the six shuttle passengers a safe ride home.

To ensure safe passage, the shuttle astronauts pulled out their 100-foot, laser-tipped inspection boom and checked their ship for any signs of micrometeorite damage. The safety procedure was put in place following the 2003 Columbia disaster.

Discovery is being sent to the Smithsonian Institution for display after it undergoes several months of decommissioning. NASA's two other shuttles will join Discovery in retirement, following their upcoming missions.

The oldest of NASA's surviving shuttles, Discovery will have racked up nearly 150 million miles by trip's end, accumulated more than 39 missions in nearly 27 years and spent 365 days total in space. It flew to the International Space Station 13 times and made the first shuttle rendezvous with Russia's Mir station in 1995.

Discovery first flew in 1984 and carried the Hubble Space Telescope to orbit six years later. It's flown 184 astronauts, including John Glenn at age 77 in 1998.

Shatner's message was played for the shuttle crew Monday morning, just a few hours before the undocking. His words were followed by the wake-up music, "Theme from Star Trek." It was the runner-up in a contest sponsored by NASA to mark the end of the shuttle program. The No. 1 vote-getter — "Blue Sky" by Big Head Todd and the Monsters — will be beamed up as Tuesday's wake-up tune.

Mission Control and Discovery's astronauts also paid homage to lead shuttle flight director Bryan Lunney, who is quitting NASA as the program draws to a close. His voice cracked as he bid farewell, and he received a standing ovation in the control room. "It's been a hoot," Lunney told the astronauts. "Couldn't have had a better choice for my last flight."

Shuttle commander Steven Lindsey said he'd rather be celebrating with Lunney than inspecting his ship.

Lunney was joined earlier in Mission Control by his father, legendary Apollo flight director Glynn Lunney. The younger Lunney is leaving NASA later this month after 22 years and nearly 50 shuttle flights to join a pair of aerospace research companies.

During their 13-day flight, Lindsey and his crew delivered a new storage compartment, as well as an equipment platform and the first humanoid robot in space called R2, which is short for Robonaut 2. Both large items were successfully installed, but R2 will be unpacked by the station crew in the coming weeks. "If I were unpacked, I would wave goodbye!" R2 said in a Twitter message that was posted by a human on the ground.

The addition of the 21-foot-long, 15-foot wide storage compartment left the space station 97 percent complete. The complex now has a mass of nearly 1 million pounds.

Kenneth Todd, a space station manager, described the completed mission as "above and beyond." He said it was bittersweet to see Discovery for the last time in orbit. "We bid her adieu and certainly godspeed to Steve and the rest of the crew on the way home."

On the next shuttle flight, by Endeavour next month, a $2 billion physics experiment will be installed on the outside of the space station. Atlantis will blast off with supplies on the final shuttle mission at the end of June.

NASA is under presidential direction to focus more on outer space, beginning with expeditions to asteroids and then Mars.

American astronauts will continue hitching rides to the space station on Russian Soyuz spacecraft, at great expense. The intent is for private U.S. companies to take over those ferry operations within a few years.

___

Online: NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sh...ain/index.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110307/..._space_shuttle

[Jolie Rouge]

Shuttle Discovery ends flying career, museum nex
Marcia Dunn, Ap Aerospace Writer – 10 mins ago

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Discovery ended its career as the world's most flown spaceship Wednesday, returning from orbit for the last time and taking off in a new direction as a museum piece. After a flawless trip to the International Space Station, NASA's oldest shuttle swooped through a few wispy clouds on its way to its final touchdown. "To the ship that has led the way time and time again, we say, 'Farewell Discovery,'" declared Mission Control commentator Josh Byerly.

When it landed three minutes before noon EST, Discovery ceased being a reusable rocketship. "For the final time: wheels stop," commander Steven Lindsey called out when the shuttle rolled to a stop. He was the last of the six crew members to climb out of the shuttle.

Dozens of NASA officials — flight directors, launch managers, former astronauts — joined the crew on the runway to admire the shuttle and pose for pictures. "It came back as perfect on its final flight as it did on its first flight," said Lindsey, noting that "it's a pretty bittersweet moment for all of us."

Even after shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis make their final voyages in the coming months, Discovery will still hold the all-time record with 39 missions, 148 million miles, 5,830 orbits of Earth, and 365 days spent in space. All that was achieved in under 27 years. Discovery now leads the way to retirement as NASA winds down the 30-year shuttle program in favor of interplanetary travel. NASA estimates it will take several months of work — removing the three main engines and plumbing with hazardous fuels — before Discovery is ready for the Smithsonian Institution. Engineers also will remove some parts to study them for future spacecraft.

Officials expect to hand Discovery over sometime this fall. It will make the 750-mile journey strapped to the top of a jumbo jet.

Throughout the flight, Lindsey and his crew marveled at how well Discovery was performing. They noted that the spacecraft was going into retirement still "at the top of her game."

Discovery's last mission unfolded smoothly despite a four-month grounding for fuel tank repairs and a liftoff Feb. 24 in the last two seconds of the countdown. Perhaps more than any other shuttle, Discovery consistently delivered. It made its debut in 1984 following shuttles Columbia and Challenger, dispatched the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990, flew the first shuttle rendezvous to Russia's Mir space station and carried the first female shuttle pilot in 1995, and gave another ride into space to John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, in 1998.

It got NASA flying again, in 1988 and 2005, following the Challenger and Columbia disasters. And it flew 13 times to the space station, more than any other craft. On its last trip, it delivered a new storage compartment packed with supplies and a humanoid robot. "You're sad to see her be retired, but at the same time, it's really a pride thing. We got her back OK. It was a beautiful mission," said Ken Smith, a Boeing propulsion manager who monitored the shuttle's systems from the landing strip.

But he added: "We've got two more to fly."

Launch director Mike Leinbach acknowledged "there were no big emotional outbursts and tears" on the runway. While there was a mood of "can't believe the program is coming to an end," the team carried out its job as usual, he noted. "The time for reflection, I think, comes later," Leinbach told reporters.

NASA is ending the shuttle program because it's under presidential direction to spread its wings beyond low-Earth orbit. The goal is to send astronauts to an asteroid and then Mars in the decades ahead. There is not enough money for NASA to achieve that and maintain the shuttle program at the same time. As a result, the shuttles will stop flying this summer after 30 years.

Endeavour is due to blast off April 19, Atlantis on June 28.

American astronauts will keep hitching rides to the space station on Russian capsules, until private companies are able to provide taxi service to and from orbit. NASA expects to get another nine years out of the space station. The Discovery astronauts took several minutes to go through the long receiving line on the runway. NASA's boss, Charles Bolden, a former shuttle commander who twice flew Discovery, led the welcoming party and called it "an absolutely incredible flight." Earlier in the morning, he joined about 50 local eighth-graders eager to see history in the making.

Bolden will announce the final homes for Endeavour and Atlantis on April 12 — 30 years to the day that Columbia soared on the first shuttle flight. NASA wanted to move Endeavour out to the launch pad Wednesday night. But that trip was delayed until at least Thursday because bad weather was expected. The mission will be commanded by the husband of wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly. His identical twin brother Scott is currently the skipper of the space station; he returns to Earth next week on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Scott Kelly and his station crewmates watched Discovery's landing via a laptop computer. "Nice to have our friends home safe!" astronaut Catherine Coleman wrote in a Twitter update.

___

Online: NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110309/..._space_shuttle

The shuttle program was to retire (which was set during Bush era) this is true, what the dems are leaving out is there was to be another program taking its place The shuttle's planned successor was to be Project Constellation with its Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles and the Orion Spacecraft; however, in early 2010 the Obama administration asked Congress to instead endorse a scaled-back plan with heavy reliance on the private sector.

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