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Astroprof's Page
Astroprof's Page (astroprofspage.com) has great Space Shuttle news, photos, videos and more
Sunday, Oct 25
Ares I-X
The Ares I-X is the first test flight of the Ares configuration. The first stage of the Ares uses the same type of solid rocket motors that the Space Shuttle uses for its Solid Rocket Boosters. The Space Shuttle uses a stack of 4 solid rocket segments. The Ares uses a stack of 5 solid rocket se...
Wednesday, May 27
Full Crew
The Soyuz TMA-15 lifted off some hours ago to carry three crew members to the International Space Station. At first glance, this might not seem so unusual. After all, Soyuz spacecraft have been visiting the ISS for some time. When the Space Shuttle was not flying, the Soyuz was the only way...
Friday, May 15
Orbit, by Thomas Block
Part of the plot involves NASA being able to send up a shuttle on a moment’s notice. In the novel, NASA is flying a shuttle about once per week, with only a couple week turn-around between landing and launch. They rush preparations to get a shuttle launched in a matter of hours instead of the n...
Monday, May 11
The most dangerous launch, ever???
The danger posed by foam/ice strikes had gradually been downplayed. After all, foam strikes were not uncommon, and they had never caused the loss or serious damage to a shuttle (some notable damage had occurred, but nothing that seriously threatened the vehicle). All that changed, tho...
Sunday, May 10
Two Shuttles
In less than a day, a rare sight will come to an end at the Kennedy Space Center: two Space Shuttles sitting on launch pads at the same time. When Launch Complex 39 was built at the Kennedy Space Center, plans allowed for a full blown spaceport. There were plans for four launch pads supported b...
Thursday, Apr 9
The Mercury Seven
The final astronaut of the initial seven was Deke Slayton. After being grounded midway through the Mercury program due to a heart arrhythmia, he went on to serve as NASA’s Director of Flight Crew Operations, essentially head of the astronaut corps. Slayton never left the astronaut corps,...
Sunday, Nov 30
Endeavour to land in California
Image courtesy NASA The weather forecast in Florida is not looking good for the STS-126 mission to land at KSC today, and tomorrow’s forecast isn’t looking favorable, either. So, mission controllers have decided to have the Endeavour land at Edwards Air Force Base, in California, inste...
Tuesday, Oct 28
Lunar Space Debris
Image courtesy of NASA From the time that the first satellite was placed into orbit around the Earth, we have had space debris. The rocket that launched Sputnik also orbited Earth. Every launch creates more debris. Old satellites still orbit Earth. In the early days, when satellites needed t...
