Space Gazette

Baikonur (Kazakhstan) - At 22:16 GMT yesterday (04:16 today local time), a Russian Soyuz-FG/Fregat carrier rocket was launched from Site 31/6 the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying the European GIOVE-B experimental Navigation satellite. The launch was conducted by Starsem, a Russo-European organisation which commercially markets Soyuz-FG and Soyuz-2 launches. GIOVE-B was successfully deployed into a medium Earth orbit at 02:01 GMT this morning, after an ascent lasting nearly four hours.

GIOVE-B will serve as a prototype for the Galileo positioning system. It is the second such prototype, GIOVE-A is already in orbit, having been launched in December 2005. GIOVE-B was originally scheduled to launch in April 2006, but was delayed for a number of reasons. The next Galileo launch is scheduled to be the first cluster of operational satellites, which will be launched by an Ariane 5 in 2010. The next Soyuz launch will be a Soyuz-U in mid-may, with a Progress spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station.

This was the 20th orbital launch of 2008, the 24th Soyuz-FG launch, and the 1,732nd flight of a Soyuz rocket of any variant.

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Seoul (South Korea) Yi So-yeon, a 29-year-old bioengineering student, is the first korean in the space with a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station next month.

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Kennedy Space Center - After 16 days in space and 250 orbits of the Earth, space shuttle Endeavour touched down at 8:39 p.m. EST Wednesday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, bringing the STS-123 mission to a flawless end.

But for the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), whose Kibo laboratory module is finally taking shape aboard the International Space Station, this flight was merely the beginning.

“We are quite honored that Mr. Doi contributed to the construction of the space station,” said JAXA vice president Kaoru Mamiya, referring to STS-123 Mission Specialist Takao Doi. “It’s the first step for our Kibo construction, and we hope that next time, the main module will be added to the station.”

Endeavour and crew are in excellent shape after a safe and successful landing, according to NASA managers.

“I got to talk to the crew, and the crew was just having a fantastic time reflecting on their mission and looking up at their vehicle that just landed,” said Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach. “They were glad to be home, very proud of the work they did, and we’re very proud of the work they did, too.”

The STS-123 crew began its mission March 11 and arrived at the International Space Station March 12. The astronauts delivered the Japanese Logistics Module - Pressurized Section (JLP), the first pressurized component of the Kibo laboratory to the station. The crew of Endeavour also delivered the final element of the station’s Mobile Servicing System, the Canadian-built Dextre, also known as the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator.

Astronaut Garrett Reisman officially joined the Expedition 16 crew, trading places with European Space Agency astronaut Léopold Eyharts, who returned to Earth aboard Endeavour after almost 50 days in space.

STS-123 is the 122nd shuttle mission and the 25th station assembly mission. The next mission, STS-124, is slated to launch in May.

Media Resources
› STS-123 Landing Groundtracks
› STS-123 Execute Packages
› STS-123 TV Schedule
› STS-123 Press Kit (4.4 Mb PDF)
› STS-123 Fact Sheet (433 Kb PDF)

 (C) NASA

WASHINGTON, March 14 - NASA has added to its Web site an interactive program that allows users to discover some of the many NASA technologies that positively impact everyday life.

The interactive site takes users on an illustrated tour of the commercial technologies and products in their homes and cities that trace their origins to NASA’s investment in space and aeronautics research and development. NASA has documented more than 1,500 examples of how NASA technologies have been used for bettering life on Earth.

Visitors can scroll over technologies grouped by themes such as the home, airport, grocery store, sports arena, hospital, public safety, and manufacturing. After entering an area, users can read a short description of the technology to learn more about products such as temperature-regulated clothing from materials used in astronauts’ suits and
gloves, wireless headset telephone technology pioneered to transmit the first words from the moon, fire-resistant paint and steel coatings from NASA’s heat shield technology, and remote-controlled ovens based on technology used aboard the International Space Station.

Users also can connect to NASA’s complete database of associated spinoff technologies from NASA at Home and NASA City.

To view NASA at Home and NASA City, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/mmgallery/index.html

For more information about NASA’s plans to travel to the moon and beyond, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

The crews of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station have completed their first day as an orbital team, beginning 12 days of joint operations.

About an hour before docking, which occurred at 11:49 p.m. EDT Wednesday, STS-123 Commander Dominic Gorie guided the shuttle through a back-flip maneuver, giving the Expedition 16 crew the opportunity to take pictures of the orbiter’s protective heat-resistant tiles. These photos were sent to engineers on Earth for analysis.

The STS-123 and Expedition 16 crews opened the hatches between Endeavour and the station at 1:36 a.m. The crews then spent time preparing for the first of five scheduled STS-123 spacewalks, which Mission Specialist Rick Linnehan and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman will begin at 9:23 p.m. Thursday.

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(C) NASA

Cape Canaveral (United States), Space shuttle Endeavour thundered into orbit early Tuesday morning carrying seven astronauts and Japan’s dreams for a space-based laboratory at the International Space Station.

“This is a great launch and a real tribute to the team to get it ready to go fly,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for Space Operations.

The STS-123 mission started with a rare night launch for Endeavour’s crew, commanded by veteran astronaut Dominic Gorie. Gregory H. Johnson served as Pilot. The mission specialists for the flight are an international mix of experienced and first-time crew members. Robert L. Behnken, Mike Foreman, Rick Linnehan, Garrett Reisman and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi all have critical roles during the 16-day mission by Endeavour.

Thrust in the form of translucent blue and bright yellow fire ignited a light show over NASA’s Kennedy Space Center when Endeavour roared off the launch pad at 2:28 a.m. EDT on March 11.

The first module of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory complex was packed inside Endeavour’s cargo bay, along with a Canadian-built robotics system that will enhance the capabilities of the International Space Station’s robotic arm.

The pressurized logistics module for the Kibo complex represents the first manned spacecraft for Japan.

“With this flight, I believe we fully became a real partner in the International Space Station project,” said Keiji Tachikawa, president of JAXA, the Japanese space agency.

Dextre is the robotics system that Endeavour lofted into orbit. With it, Canada is making a literal extension to what the nation already built. Canada built both the space shuttle robot arm and the robotic arm used on the International Space Station.

“Today we are marking another point in our space history,” said Guy Bujold, director of the Canadian Space Agency.

It will take the STS-123 crew more than two weeks in space and five spacewalks to accomplish the goals of the mission.

Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Leopold Eyharts, who arrived at the station aboard Atlantis in February, will return to Earth with the Endeavour crew as Reisman takes his place on the station.

Media Resources
› STS-123 TV Schedule
› STS-123 Press Kit

(C) NASA