Atlantis Space Shuttle

NASA advanced toward a launching tonight of the Atlantis space shuttle as the Pentagon expressed renewed confidence in the rocket steering system of the military spy satellite aboard the craft. The Defense Department's qualms about sending up the satellite diminished Saturday after data analyses ruled out the likelihood of widespread equipment problems.

The space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven returned to Earth on Sunday at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, announcing its approach with twin sonic booms. Atlantis circled Earth 197 times and traveled 5.3 million miles before ending its daring 13-day mission to refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope. The shuttle, which landed at 8:39 a.m., had been diverted to California after nasty weather prevented a landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Flying solo once more, space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts cleaned up from their repair work at the international space station and packed for the ride home to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. They're scheduled to return early Monday, although the forecast isn't too promising. The threat of rain and low clouds on landing morning did not damper NASA's excitement over a job well done. Atlantis' U.S.

The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a challenging 11-day mission to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. The shuttle and its seven-person crew lifted off on schedule at 2 p.m. EDT, reaching orbit after an eight-minute jump from a standing start to 17,000 mph. At a post-launch media briefing, NASA officials said it appeared the spacecraft had performed nearly flawlessly.

Workers began the time-consuming task of switching a key computer aboard the space shuttle Atlantis Wednesday, a process that is expected to delay the launch until at least next Tuesday. The computer, called a controller, monitors one of the shuttle's three main engines during liftoff and it had given faulty readings during a checkout Monday night.

In what sounded like a fraternity house after a big football victory, two NASA astronauts traded places in orbit Wednesday with the shuttle Atlantis linked to the Russian space station Mir. John Blaha moved into the shuttle for the ride home after more than four months on Mir, while Jerry Linenger settled in aboard the orbiting Russian outpost for a similarly long adventure. The arrival of the six Atlantis astronauts was punctuated by ear-splitting cheers and laughter.

Astronauts put the final touches on a new solar power unit for the International Space Station in their last spacewalk before the scheduled departure of the shuttle Atlantis, Johnson Space Center officials said. During a 6 1/2 -hour spacewalk, Atlantis crew members Patrick Forrester and Steven Swanson set up a rotary joint for a new array of solar panels that will enable them to track the sun and generate additional electricity for the station. The work was to be tested today.

For the second time in a few months, defective engine seals have turned up on a space shuttle instead of in the trash where they belong, NASA said Wednesday. Two seals that should have been thrown away are apparently in one of Atlantis' main engines. As a result, NASA will replace that engine before the shuttle blasts off with supplies for the international space station next month.

The space shuttle Atlantis soared into a cool, clear sky Sunday and began chasing the orbiting Russian outpost Mir to pick up an American astronaut. "Starting off the new year right," NASA launch director Jim Harrington boasted. Aboard Mir, astronaut John Blaha and his two Russian crew mates watched a videotaped replay of Atlantis' punctual predawn liftoff. Mir was crossing the Galapagos Islands when Atlantis blasted off 2,400 miles away with six astronauts, including Dr.

In an unprecedented step, a space shuttle was moved to the launch pad Friday for a trip NASA hopes it will never make -- a rescue mission. The shuttle Endeavour is on standby in case the seven astronauts on Atlantis next month need a safer ride home. Atlantis is headed for one last repair job on the 18-year-old Hubble Space Telescope. The venture was canceled when first proposed a few years ago because it was considered too dangerous.

In an unprecedented step, a space shuttle was moved to the launch pad Friday for a trip NASA hopes it will never make -- a rescue mission. The shuttle Endeavour is on standby in case the seven astronauts on Atlantis next month need a safer ride home. Atlantis is headed for one last repair job on the 18-year-old Hubble Space Telescope. The venture was canceled when first proposed a few years ago because it was considered too dangerous.

NASA moved the space shuttle Atlantis to the launch pad for a flight next month to the Hubble Space Telescope after being waylaid by two tropical storms. Atlantis is supposed to blast off Oct. 8 on NASA's final visit to Hubble, but it is expected to be delayed a couple of days because of work lost to Tropical Storms Fay and Hanna. A technical problem with the hookup between the shuttle and its external fuel tank also stalled operations. Fay dumped an extraordinary amount of rain on the area two weeks ago and shut down Kennedy Space Center for three days.

NASA's final visit to the Hubble Space Telescope is now set for Oct. 8. The space shuttle Atlantis and a crew of seven were supposed to fly to Hubble at the end of August to repair and upgrade the 18-year-old telescope. But the mission was delayed because of extra time needed to build the shuttle fuel tanks required for the flight and to prepare a potential rescue mission.

Astronauts worked to outfit Europe's new permanent space laboratory as a busy visit by NASA's shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station neared its end. NASA readied sites at both the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Edwards Air Force Base north of Los Angeles for a Wednesday landing. The U.S. military is waiting for the shuttle to land before it tries to shoot down a disabled spy satellite with a missile.

Atlantis' astronauts spent their first full day in orbit scrupulously checking their ship for any damage from the launch, as they steered closer to the International Space Station. Atlantis is due at the space station today.

NASA has set Feb. 7 as the new date for launching Europe's Columbus laboratory aboard the space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station, officials said Thursday. The rescheduled date depends on whether the flight of a Russian cargo ship, scheduled for the same day, can be changed. The station can support only one docked vehicle at a time. The delay in the launch means Atlantis will likely not be ready for a service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope now scheduled for August.

Space shuttle Atlantis blasted off with the most expensive and pivotal piece of the international space station: a $1.4-billion laboratory. The future of space station Alpha is riding on the 11-day mission. NASA's Destiny laboratory is the first of at least three research modules planned for the station. If the lab is damaged or destroyed in flight, the space station will be set back by years.

The space shuttle Atlantis ended its 13-day, 5.3 million-mile journey Tuesday with a perfect landing in the high desert north of Lancaster. The shuttle, which had successfully completed its mission of installing a $1.4-billion module on the International Space Station, had been due to land Sunday at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But three days of bad weather there prompted NASA officials to divert the landing to Edwards Air Force Base. Twin sonic booms preceded the touchdown at 12:34 p.m.

Repairing an electrical connection in a U.S. space shuttle's fuel tank will push the already delayed launch of Europe's first permanent space laboratory beyond the current target date of Jan. 10. Two attempts this month to launch the shuttle Atlantis carrying the European lab to the International Space Station were canceled because of malfunctioning fuel sensors that are part of an emergency engine cutoff. NASA had rescheduled the flight for no earlier than Jan.

NASA officials delayed the launch of space shuttle Atlantis to Jan. 10 to give workers time off at Christmas. "Moving the next launch attempt of Atlantis to Jan. 10 will allow as many people as possible to have time with family and friends at the time of year when it means the most," shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said at Cape Canaveral.