NASA Invites 150 Lucky Twitter Followers To Final Space Shuttle Launch

Stephanie L. Schierholz

Headquarters, Washington     

 

Alicia Durand

Sesame Street

WASHINGTON -- The final launch of the space shuttle program is scheduled for 11:26 a.m. EDT on July 8, and NASA has invited 150 followers of the agency's Twitter account to be there. People selected will have a behind-the-scenes perspective from the press site at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA randomly selected the participants from more than 5,500 online registrants during a 24-hour opportunity on June 1-2. Attendees represent 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K.

Tweetup participants are coming from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

They will share their experiences with their more than 1.5 million combined followers through the social networking site Twitter. Beginning at 10:30 a.m. on July 7, NASA will broadcast a portion of the Tweetup when participants get to talk with Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations, astronaut Mike Massimino and Angie Brewer, space shuttle Atlantis' flow director at Kennedy.

Joining them will be a special celebrity guest, Sesame Street's Elmo. Sesame Street will be at Kennedy to film Elmo, as he learns about space exploration at NASA.

To watch the broadcast, visit http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasatelevision.

Participants also will tour Kennedy; make an up close visit to the launch pad, and wave at Atlantis' crew members on their drive to the launch pad. The Tweetup culminates with the shuttle's lift off.

Reporters credentialed to cover the launch also may cover the NASA Tweetup at Kennedy's press site. Reporters interested in interviewing Tweetup attendees in advance should contact Stephanie Schierholz at 202-358-1100 or stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov.

This is the fifth time NASA has invited Twitter followers to experience a space shuttle launch. Previously, groups attended lift offs of Atlantis' STS-129 and STS-132 missions, Discovery's STS-133 mission, and Endeavour's STS-134 mission.

To follow the Tweetup participants on Twitter, as they experience the prelaunch events and shuttle liftoff, follow the #NASATweetup hashtag and the list of attendees at http://twitter.com/nasatweetup/sts-135-launch.

All four of Atlantis' crew members are posting updates to Twitter. You can follow Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim at http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Ferg , http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Doug , http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Sandy , and http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Rex.

To connect with NASA on Twitter and other social networking sites, visit http://www.nasa.gov/connect.

For more information about space shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle.

- end -

Read More >>

Atlantis and Crew Prepared for July 8 Liftoff

Launch pad technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are in the process of closing out space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay in preparation for liftoff from Launch Pad 39A on July 8 at 11:26 a.m. EDT. The bay's doors are expected to be closed for flight today.

This follows yesterday's day-long Flight Readiness Review at which senior NASA and contractor managers confirmed that Atlantis is ready for this last shuttle flight to supply the International Space Station.

"This flight is incredibly important. The cargo that is coming up on this flight is really mandatory for space station," said Bill Gerstenmaier, assistant administrator for space operations, following yesterday's review.

In preparation for this final mission of the Space Shuttle Program, the STS-135 astronauts will undergo their L-10 physicals today at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Read More >>

Managers Say Atlantis is "Go" for Launch

After the day-long Flight Readiness Review at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, senior NASA and contractor managers voted unanimously to set space shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 launch date as July 8 at 11:26 a.m. EDT.

NASA Television will air a news conference at 3:30 p.m. to discuss the meeting and preparations for Atlantis' mission to the International Space Station. Participants will include Bill Gerstenmaier, assistant administrator for space operations, Mike Moses, Space Shuttle Program launch integration manager and Mike Leinbach, shuttle launch director.

Watch the news conference at www.nasa.gov/ntv.

Read More >>

Endeavour Lands For Final Time at 2:34 a.m. EDT

Space shuttle Endeavour landed for the final time at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after 248 orbits around Earth and a journey of 6,510,221 miles on STS-134.

Endeavour’s main gear touched down at 2:34:51 a.m. followed by the nose gear at 2:35:04 and wheels stop at 2:35:36 a.m.

A post-landing news conference with managers at Kennedy is expected no earlier than 4:30 a.m. on NASA Television and http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. The participants will be Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations, Mike Moses, space shuttle launch integration manager, and Mike Leinbach, space shuttle launch director.

STS-134 was the 25th and final flight for Endeavour, which spent 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122,883,151 miles.

Space shuttle Atlantis now is about half way complete with its move from NASA Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A.

Currently, the crawler-transporter (CT) with Atlantis and its mobile launcher platform on top is temporarily stopped to allow technicians to preemptively grease some bearings in the CT that were starting to heat up. The rollout will resume shortly.

Atlantis is expected to be secured on the launch pad about 3:30 a.m. EDT.

Read More >>

Space Shuttle Endeavour Returns to Earth for Final Time Wednesday

Joshua Buck

Headquarters, Washington                                   

 

Candrea Thomas

Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to return to Earth for the final time on Wednesday, June 1, completing a 16-day mission to outfit the International Space Station. If Endeavour lands Wednesday, it will have spent 299 days in space and traveled more than 122.8 million miles during its 25 flights. It launched on its first mission on May 7, 1992.

Wednesday's landing opportunities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are at 2:35 a.m. and 4:11 a.m. EDT. Endeavour's entry flight control team led by Tony Ceccacci will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Endeavour to land. If the shuttle is unable to return Wednesday, additional opportunities are available on Thursday at Kennedy and at backup landing site Edwards Air Force Base in California. For recorded updates about landing, call 321-867-2525.

Approximately two hours after Endeavour lands, NASA officials will hold a briefing to discuss the mission. The participants will be:

-     Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations

-     Mike Moses, space shuttle launch integration manager

-     Mike Leinbach, space shuttle launch director

After touchdown, the astronauts will undergo routine physical examinations and meet with their families. The crew is expected to participate in a post-landing news conference about six hours after landing. Availability is subject to change due to real time circumstances. The news events will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

The Kennedy Press Site will be open for shuttle Atlantis’ rollout to Launch Pad 39A scheduled for 8 p.m. Tuesday and will remain open until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

News media representatives who have been approved for STS-134 mission badges but have not picked them up yet may do so at NASA's Pass and Identification Building on State Road 3 on May 31 from 4 - 6 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on June 1. The last bus will depart from the news center for the Shuttle Landing Facility one hour before landing.

If the shuttle landing is diverted to Edwards after Wednesday, reporters should call the public affairs office at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at 661-276-3449. Dryden has limited facilities available for previously accredited journalists.

The NASA News Twitter feed is updated throughout the shuttle mission and landing. To follow, visit http://www.twitter.com/nasa.

For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For the latest information about the STS-134 mission and accomplishments, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle.

For more information about the space station and its crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/station.

- end -

Read More >>

A Great Launch, A Challenging Mission Ahead

Space shuttle Endeavour is officially on its way to the International Space Station on its STS-134 mission and final flight. Endeavour lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on time at 8:56 a.m. EDT, soaring through a few clouds, after a relatively smooth countdown.

"I can't thank the teams that got this vehicle ready to fly and for all the work they've done," said Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier referring to the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) heater issues and said, "The teams worked really hard to get through that, get it behind and to understand what the problem was -- and it was no problem to us at all during the count."

"The teams stayed focused, and made this launch a success," Gerstenmaier added. "The mission in front of us is no easy mission, the EVAs (extra vehicular activities) are very demanding -- but it'll be exciting to see the AMS (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer) get installed on the station and get some real research data for the ISS."

"We showed our determination to succeed on a very complex mission," said Michel Tognini, head of the European Astronaut Center and former ESA astronaut, "and this is the model of human exploration for the future."

Mike Moses apologized (in jest) about the view not being the best and the longest because of the cloud cover." But the data that we were looking at in the launch center was absolutely perfect," said Moses. "We had the clouds where we needed them, so we went."

There were a few minor problems, but they were managed and worked immediately, including the minor tile repair, reported Moses.

After every launch an award is given to one of the teams, according to Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach, and today's honor was given to the combined APU repair/test team. "It was an outstanding countdown, lots of pats on the back in the lobby of the LCC (launch control center) afterwards when we were eating our beans and corn bread (a traditional post-launch snack)," said Leinbach. "Endeavour's on orbit safely and it's going to perform a great mission and we'll see her back here on June 1."

"It's a great day here at Kennedy Space Center and for the Shuttle Program," added Leinbach.

Read More >>

It's a "Go" for Endeavour's Launch on April 29

NASA managers announced that space shuttle Endeavour is ready to launch next week on its final flight to the International Space Station following a daylong Flight Readiness Review on Tuesday. Endeavour is scheduled to launch Friday, April 29, at 3:47 p.m. EDT.

"We had a very extensive and thorough review today," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for Space Operations. "I think the things that impressed me the most is that the team is still continuing to really work issues and look at the vehicle performance on each and every flight just like they would during any normal mission."

"We're ready to go fly," Gerstenmaier said.

All analysis and inspections of External Fuel Tank-122 confirmed its integrity after repairs were made because of damage sustained during Hurricane Katrina, according to Gerstenmaier.

"It was a really good review today from both the station and shuttle prospective," said Mike Moses, chairman of the Mission Management Team. "Endeavour and the team are in great shape."

Endeavour is poised on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The countdown is to begin Tuesday at 2 p.m.

"The final processing flow for Endeavour is going extremely well out at the pad," said Mike Leinbach, shuttle launch director. "I'm very proud of the team and we'll going to have a good launch and a good mission."

The STS-134 crew is scheduled to arrive at Kennedy on Tuesday, April 26, for final launch preparations.

Read More >>