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March 09, 2010

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	STS-124 Mission Photos
Hubble Pinpoints Record Breaking-Explosion Peering across 7.5 billion light-years and halfway back to the Big Bang, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed the fading optical counterpart of a powerful gamma ray burst that holds the record for being the intrinsically brightest naked-eye object ever seen from Earth. For nearly a minute this single star was as bright as 10 million galaxies. Hubble Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) images of GRB 080319B, taken on Monday, April 7, show the fading optical counterpart of the titanic blast. The object erupted in a brilliant flash of gamma rays and other electromagnetic radiation at 2:12 a.m. EDT on March 19, and was detected by Swift, NASA's gamma ray burst watchdog satellite. Immediately after the explosion, the gamma ray burst glowed as a dim 5th magnitude "star" in the spring constellation Bootes. Designated GRB 080319B, the intergalactic firework has been fading away ever since then. Hubble astronomers had hoped to see the host galaxy where the burst presumably originated, but were taken aback that the light from the GRB is still drowning out the galaxy's light even three weeks after the explosion. This is particularly surprising because it was such a bright GRB initially. Previously, bright bursts have tended to fade more rapidly, which fits in to the theory that brighter GRBs emit their energy in a more tightly confined beam. The slow fading leaves astronomers puzzling about just where the energy came from to power this GRB, and makes Hubble's next observations of this object in May all the more crucial. Called a long-duration gamma ray burst, such events are theorized to be caused by the death of a very massive star, perhaps weighing as much as 50 times our Sun. Such explosions, sometimes dubbed "hypernovae," are more powerful than ordinary supernova explosions and are far more luminous, in part because their energy seems to be concentrated into a blowtorch-like beam that, in this case, was aimed directly at Earth. The Hubble exposure also shows field galaxies around the fading optical component of the gamma ray burst, which are probably unrelated to the burst itself. Photo Credit: NASA/ESA STS-124 Crew Walkout STS-124 OBSS Inspection The crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery used the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) that it picked up during its visit to the International Space Station to conduct a detailed inspection of it's wings and nose. Mission Managers will study the photos to look for any damage that may have occured to the space plane during its mission before they clear it to land. Landing is currently set for Saturday. This photo shows the spacecraft's Reaction Controll System. Photo Credit: NASA TV STS-124 OBSS Berthing This photo shows Discovery's Orbiter Boom Sensor System being berthed in preparation for Saturday's planned landing. Landing remains set for 11:15 am EDT at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Weather remains favorable at this time. More Photos Can Be Found In The Firing Room As Well As The Manned Spaceflight And ISS Sections Of This Site. Photo Credit: NASA TV Endeavour Rolls To Launch Complex 39-B An aerial view south along the seashore shows shuttles on both launch pads. The Atlantic Ocean is a thin line on the horizon. At left is space shuttle Atlantis, preparing for its launch on the STS-125 mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted for Oct. 10. At right is space shuttle Endeavour, which rolled out Sept. 19, completing the 4.2-mile journey at 6:59 a.m. EDT. This is the first time since July 2001 that two shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time at the center. Photo Credit: NASA Shenzhou 7 Astronauts Depart For The Launch Pad Chinese taikonauts (R-L) Liu Boming, Zhai Zhigang and Jing Haipeng attend the setting-out ceremony at the taikonauts' apartment compound of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province Photo Credit: Xinhua China Launches Shenzhou-7 Spacecraft The spaceship Shenzhou-7 blasted off on a Long March II-F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gansu Province at 9:10 p.m. Photo Credit: Xinhua China Launches Shenzhou-7 Spacecraft The spaceship Shenzhou-7 blasted off on a Long March II-F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gansu Province at 9:10 p.m. GET THE FULL STORY AND A LOT MORE PHOTOS IN THE SHENZHOU SECTION (CLICK MANNED SPACEFLIGHT) Photo Credit: Xinhua Read more China Launches Shenzhou-7 Spacecraft The video grab taken on Sept. 25, 2008 at the Beijing Space Command and Control Center in Beijing, China, shows Chinese taikonauts in the return module of the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft. The center is prepared for the launching of Shenzhou-7 as all three Chinese taikonauts have entered the spacecraft at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China 18:28 p.m. Thursday, about three hours ahead of its scheduled launch. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) China Condusts First Spacewalk The video grab taken on Sept. 27, 2008 in Beijing, China, shows Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang slipping out of the orbital module of Shenzhou-7, starting China's first spacewalk in the outer space. (Xinhua Photo) China Conducts First Spacewalk The video grab taken on Sept. 27, 2008 at the Beijing Space Command and Control Center in Beijing, China, shows the Shenzhou-7 mission leader Zhai Zhigang waving a China's ntional flag outside of the orbital module. (Xinhua/Zha Chunming) China Conducts First Spacewalk The video grab taken on Sept. 27, 2008 at the Beijing Space Command and Control Center in Beijing, China, shows the Shenzhou-7 mission leader Zhai Zhigang moving out of the orbital module, starting China's first spacewalk in the outer space. MANY MORE PHOTOS AND THE FULL STORY CAN BE FOUND IN THE SHENZHOU SECTION (CLICK Manned spaceflight)(Xinhua/Zha Chunming) Read more China Conducts First Spacewalk The video grab taken on Sept. 27, 2008 in Beijing, China, shows Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang is outside the orbital module. (Xinhua Photo) China Conducts First Spacewalk The video grab taken on Sept. 27, 2008 in Beijing, China, shows Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang collectting the test sample of solid lubricant placed outside the orbital module. (Xinhua Photo China Conducts First Spacewalk The video grab taken on Sept. 27, 2008 in Beijing, China, shows Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang getting the test sample of solid lubricant placed outside the orbital module.(Xinhua Photo) China Conducts First Spacewalk The video grab taken on Sept. 27, 2008 in Beijing, China, shows Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang outside module after opening the door of the orbital module. (Xinhua Photo Shenzhou-7 re-entry module lands safely China's Shenzhou-7 spacecraft's re-entry module lands safely in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. MORE PHOTOS CAN BE FOUND IN THE SHENZHOU SECTION (CLICK MANNED SPACEFLIGHT)(Xinhua/Wang Jianmin) Shenzhou-7 re-entry module lands safely China's Shenzhou-7 spacecraft's re-entry module lands safely in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Wang Jianmin) Shenzhou-7 re-entry module lands safely China's Shenzhou-7 spacecraft's re-entry module lands safely in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Wang Jianmin) Shenzhou-7 re-entry module lands safely One of the three Chinese taikonauts (R) is ready to get out of Shenzhou-7 re-entry module after their safe landing in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sept. 28, 2008. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

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Expedition 18 Landing Coverage Upcoming NASA TV Soyuz landing programming events (all times CDT): April 7, Tuesday 7:30 p.m. -- Coverage of the crew's farewell and hatch closure 10:30 p.m. -- Coverage of the undocking of Soyuz TMA-13 from the International Space Station April 8, Wednesday 1 a.m. -- Coverage of the deorbit burn and landing of Soyuz TMA-13 (deorbit burn at 1:24 a.m.; landing at 2:15 a.m.) 12:30 p.m. – Video File feed of landing site activities and the crew's welcoming ceremony in Kazakhstan 2 p.m. -- Video File feed of the crew's return to Star City, Russia and a post-landing interview with Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke.