GPS News  
SHUTTLE NEWS
Discovery Mission Specialist Injured But OK

illustration only
by Staff Writers
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Jan 17, 2011
STS-133 Mission Specialist Tim Kopra was injured Saturday in a bicycle accident, but he will be OK. However, there could be an impact to his duties for shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission to the International Space Station. That possibility still is being evaluated.

Further details of his injury are not being released at this time due to concerns for his medical privacy.

Meantime, technicians in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are working through the weekend on making strengthening modifications on Discovery's external fuel tank stringers. Discovery and its six astronauts are targeted to launch Feb. 24.

STS-134 Update
NASA announced Thursday that astronaut Rick Sturckow will serve as a backup commander for the STS-134 space shuttle mission to facilitate continued training for the crew and support teams during STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly's absence. Kelly's wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was critically wounded in a shooting on Jan. 8 in Tucson, Ariz.

Kelly remains commander of the mission, which is targeted for launch on April 19 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"I recommended to my management that we take steps now to prepare to complete the mission in my absence, if necessary," Kelly said. "I am very hopeful that I will be in a position to rejoin my STS-134 crew members to finish our training."

"Mark is still the commander of STS-134," said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office.

"He is facing many uncertainties now as he supports Gabrielle, and our goal is to allow him to keep his undistracted attention on his family while allowing preparations for the mission to progress. Designating a backup allows the crew and support team to continue training, and enables Mark to focus on his wife's care."

Sturckow will begin training next week at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston with the rest of the STS-134 crew, which includes Pilot Greg H. Johnson, Michael Fincke, Roberto Vittori, Andrew Feustel and Greg Chamitoff.

The 14-day mission to the International Space Station will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and spare parts that include two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for the Dextre robot and micrometeoroid debris shields.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Space Shuttle
Shuttle at NASA
Watch NASA TV via Space.TV
Space Shuttle News at Space-Travel.Com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


SHUTTLE NEWS
Radius Block Installation To Begin On Discovery Tank
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Jan 14, 2011
Technicians will begin installing additional support structures, called radius blocks, to space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank's support beams known as "stringers" as the shuttle stands inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The radius blocks are being added to 94 stringers, meaning the entire circumference of the external tank will be stren ... read more







SHUTTLE NEWS
World is 'one poor harvest' from chaos, new book warns

Walker's World: The U.S., China and food

Food Prices Insulate Agriculture Sector From Wider Economy Woes

Choosing Organic Milk Could Offset Effects Of Climate Change

SHUTTLE NEWS
Intel earnings soar with rise of "cloud" computing

Intel to pay NVIDIA billons in patent dispute

Greenpeace ranks 'greenest' electronics

Better Control Of Building Blocks For Quantum Computer

SHUTTLE NEWS
NASA Invites Students To Send Experiments To The Edge Of Space

Runways change as magnetic north moves

F-35 looking more like white elephant

Beijing to build second major airport

SHUTTLE NEWS
Toyota suspends operations at Japan plants due to snow

Beijing plans tunnels to ease traffic gridlock

China rare earth exports up 14.5% January-November

Toyota working on motors that cut rare earth use

SHUTTLE NEWS
World tourism up sharply last year: UN

China, US sign $600 mln deals in Texas: state media

China property prices higher in December

Foreign investment in China hits record in 2010

SHUTTLE NEWS
US accuses Canada of breaking lumber trade deal

S.Leone minister orders illegal homes in wetlands destroyed

Indonesia president talks tough on forest destroyers

Canada invests Can$278 million in 'greener' paper

SHUTTLE NEWS
NASA Research Finds 2010 Tied For Warmest Year On Record

3D Model Of Ionosphere F-Region

ISRO Ready To Provide Satellite Images Of Sabarimala

Flooding In Brisbane Suburbs

SHUTTLE NEWS
New Research Shows How Light Can Control Electrical Properties Of Graphene

EPA to defer greenhouse gas permitting

Obama to regulate carbon from power plants

Romania in talks with Japan on trading carbon credits


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement