Now breathing

All of us "Space Nuts" are a bit more relaxed this morning, though a bit sleep deprived. The news seems good all around. I keep up with what is happening via TV and my computer. This post will contain what I consider to be the most interesting links to online information about this current set of space flights: Reuter's news service, NASA, Space.com, and Anousheh Ansari's blog from space. The NASA TV channel is, of course, indispensible for the real-time happenings on the bigger screen.

STS-115 plans to come home tomorrow - On board the shuttle Atlantis, the boom inspections continue to reveal nothing untoward. Easier breathing for all so far. According to this Reuters story (9/20/06 @7:19 AM-ET),

There were no signs that a mystery object near shuttle Atlantis had fallen from or damaged the spacecraft, but cautious NASA managers on Wednesday ordered more inspections after an initial search just to be sure.
Atlantis astronauts used a camera on a 50-foot (15-meter) robot arm to scan the shuttle surface for possible damage, but were to take a closer look with a longer, sensor-laden boom.
NASA managers "did not see anything in that (first) survey that they were concerned about," but it was a matter of them "wanting to make sure they are following their new culture of being careful," NASA commentator Kelly Humphries said.

Soyuz docks at the ISS - NASA TV carried a fascinating middle of the night (CST) press conference from Kazakhstan. Russian, American and EU officials briefed the press and took questions about the feat. Quoting further from the Reuters article,

With the station's newly-installed 240-foot-long (73-metres) solar-power array in the background, Soyuz could be seen in television shots creeping toward the space outpost 220 miles above Earth before docking with a gentle bump.
Later the Soyuz crew opened the hatch and were met with big hugs and smiles from current station inhabitants Pavel Vinogradov, Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter.
"It was a smooth ride," said a smiling Ansari, a wealthy businesswoman who is believed to have paid $20 million to fly.
Tyurin and Lopez-Alegria will replace Williams and Vinogradov, who have been on the station for six months and are scheduled to return to Earth with Ansari on September 28.
Reiter will stay aboard with the new crew until his replacement arrives during the next shuttle mission, currently scheduled for December.

Communication essential to easier breathing up there - though it can also bring the unsettling new little tidbits about which we all can further worry. Space.com carried an interesting story about a 3-way conference call yesterday morning between the Atlantis shuttle, the ISS, and the Soyuz.

A U.S. entrepreneur making history as the world’s first female space tourist said hello to astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) early Tuesday while she and two professional spaceflyers continued their trek towards the orbital laboratory.
“Hello everyone, I look forward to seeing you on the station,” said Anousheh Ansari, who is riding aboard a Russian-built Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft with the station’s next crew.
“We look forward to welcoming you all onboard,” ISS Expedition 13 flight engineer Jeffrey Williams replied.
The call came during a rare conference call between three manned spacecraft circling the Earth. In addition to the Soyuz ferrying Ansari and two Expedition 14 astronauts to the ISS, three astronauts currently live aboard the space station itself while six others are on their way back to Earth aboard NASA’s Atlantis shuttle.

Just a normal day in the life of . . . On NASA TV, I am currently watching the newly arrived travelers from Russia aboard the International Space Station, and reading about it from a Russian news site, MOSNEWS.com., which shows a fabulous photo of the docked Soyuz. On TV we see the so-called "space tourist" composing on a laptop. Perhaps this is the site where she posted: Anousheh Ansari Space Blog: headlined, "Safe onboard the Station," with 3 comments (in different languages) at this time.
I will quote a bit of Anousheh's earlier writing on September 17, titled "The Day Has Come." To quote,

Filed under: Space Explorer — Anousheh @ 3:09 pm
I’m hours away from my flight…

It is hard to believe that I’m here. It is still all a daze…

It is hard to explain my feelings… a strange mix of excitement and anxiety. Strangely enough my anxiety is for those who await me here on Earth. My family… I know how hard this must be on them. I must say I’m not enjoying this stage of it all. I just want to get the launch behind me and start floating in the wonderful weightlessness of space.

In a way I think that when I start floating I will be free from all fears, all anxieties, all expectations… It willl only be me… free from it all…

As I await this wonderful moment of weightlessness, everything here is starting to weigh more… I can feel the pressure of the air I’m breathing on my chest and it is getting heavier… It feels like waiting in a doctor’s office for the test results.

Time has flown by - As I have composed this post the news is that robotic arm surveys are complete. It looks good so far. And the badweather in Florida would have precluded a landing today, anyway. As the "Capcom" Terry Burt said to the STS-115 crew, "You guys made something very difficult look easy." The survey took place with an absolutely new plan prepared by the people on the ground in Houston at the last minute. And it was executed by the Atlantis crew with no practice. Amazing!

My breathing rate is back to normal, for the moment, at least. Whew . . .

Tags: NASA Atlantis Soyuz ISS