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Kennedy Space Center Reopens, getting Shuttle ready

Posted Tuesday, August 26, 2008, at 2:22 PM
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Goddard engineers Richard Strafella, left, and Larry Dell hold a New Outer Blanket Layer, or NOBL, which features an external radiator panel. Astronauts will install this on Hubble during the final mission to the telescope this fall. Credit: NASA

The Kennedy Space Center reopened Friday, and the shuttle Atlantis is now in the 52 story tall Vehicle Assembly Building (the largest building on earth) being mated with the solid rocket boosters and external fuel tank. Saturday morning, it will be moved 4 miles to the launch pad on the crawler (one of 2 rocket moving devices built during the Apollo moon program, that, at a 1 mile-per-hour speed, gets 18 inches to the gallon!) for an Oct. 8 launch to the Hubble Space Telescope. During this flight, 5 EVAs (space walks) will be made to extend the Hubble's life 5 years to 2013. After this time, the Hubble, the world's most powerful and sophisticated telescope will be de-orbited into the ocean.

Oct. 4-10 is World Space Week at the UN, with 50 nations participating. 2009 will be the International Year of Astronomy, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first look at the heavens with a primitive telescope.

Phoenix, the robotic Mars lander celebrates its 3rd month on the red planet this week, beginning an extended mission before it probably gives up the ghost in late September with the onset of Winter there. It is now digging at a record depth of 7 inches to find out about Mar's icy or wet past.

NASA and space exploration

By Kenneth Renshaw

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Kenneth Renshaw NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador/Saturn Observation Campaign Kenneth is one of 494 volunteer educators and astronomers who donate their time to educate America's youth, and the general public, about astronomy and the U.S. space program. Organized in 1999 by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab,it focuses on spacecraft built by the JPL such as Voyager, Mars Rover, Galileo, Cassini as well as the Hubble Space Telescope. Renshaw is one of four ambassadors in Arkansas, and makes presentations to all age and experience groups from pre-school to university science level. His official NASA website it www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/profiles/Kenneth_Renshaw.htm His email address is renshaw@newwavecomm.net

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