The
European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory will launch toward the
International Space Station (ISS) aboard NASA's shuttle Atlantis no earlier
than Dec. 6 as part of the U.S. agency's STS-122 mission.
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Countdown to STS-122 Launch
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Commanded
by veteran spaceflyer Stephen Frick, the seven-astronaut STS-122 crew is slated
to launch aboard Atlantis 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy
Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
During the
planned 11-day mission, the STS-122 astronauts will perform spacewalks to
install the new Columbus laboratory to the starboard port of the space
station's hub-like Harmony connecting node and deliver a new member of the
outpost's Expedition 16 crew.
Below is SPACE.com's
special report of NASA's STS-122 mission. Stories appear in reverse
chronological order, with the most recent updates first. This page was last
updated on November 7, 2007.
ISS Columbus
Lab Prepares to Set Sail
Space
Station Crew Faces Construction Crunch
It's crunch time for
three astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as they prime
their orbital laboratory for the planned December arrival of a new
European-built module.
NASA Prepares
for December Shuttle Launch
While the seven
astronauts aboard NASA's shuttle Discovery head back toward Earth, the agency
is already looking ahead to the planned December launch of its next flight to
the International Space Station (ISS).
Gateway
to Space Station's Future Reaches Orbit
Some gateways to
international progress, it turns out, look like giant tin cans that float in
space.
NASA Sets New
Shuttle Launch Targets for 2007
NASA aims to launch
four space shuttle missions by the end of the year, some aboard different
orbiters than originally planned, in order to continue assembly of the
International Space Station (ISS), mission managers reported late Monday.
Two European
Launches to Space Station Delayed
PARIS -- The launch
of Europe's
unmanned cargo vehicle to the International Space
Station aboard an Ariane 5
rocket has slipped to November, with Europe's shuttle-launched Columbus crew
laboratory shifting to December, under the tentative station schedule being
revised following the U.S. space shuttle's hail
damage-related delay.
NASA
Official: Five Shuttle Launches This Year a Challenge
CAPE
CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - NASA's goal of five space shuttle missions this year
may be too ambitious, the new director of Kennedy Space Center said Wednesday.
NASA
Sets Target Launch Dates for Three 2007 Shuttle Flights
NASA space shuttle managers formally
decided Thursday to push back the launches of three orbiter missions in 2007 to
allow extra time for spacecraft processing.
Image of the
Day: Science Lab In Space
Shown
here is the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory, which will become one
of the principle manned modules of the International Space Station.
European ISS
Laboratory Arrives at NASA Spaceport
CAPE CANAVERAL - A
European science laboratory will be delivered to a Kennedy Space Center
processing facility today after a transoceanic trip aboard one of the largest
cargo aircraft in the world.
European
Space Agency Hails Completion of Columbus ISS Module
The lab, which took
10 years to complete, will be shipped to Cape Canaveral in the U.S. state of
Florida at the end of the month, and is scheduled to be flown aboard a space
shuttle to the station in the second half of next year.
Shuttle
Flight Delays Complicate European ISS Plans
The European Space
Agency (ESA) is hoping to minimize the impact NASA's decision to delay its next
shuttle flight will have on the organization's plans for the International
Space Station (ISS).
Europeans
Weigh Space Station Options
PARIS -- Europe has
begun evaluating its options in the event the U.S. space shuttle is retired too
early to launch the Columbus science laboratory, Europe's billion-dollar
showcase contribution to the international space station, European Space Agency
(ESA) Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain said July 28.
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