08.08.07 - 6:36 p.m. EDT
Cheers and shouts can be heard throughout the Space Center as Endeavour, carrying the STS-118 crew, roars off the launch pad into the late afternoon sky to begin the 22nd mission to the International Space Station.
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The 22nd flight to the International Space Station, STS-118 will be the first flight for Endeavour since 2002. Launch remains on target for Aug. 8 at 6:36 p.m. EDT (= 7:36 p.m. Buenos Aires time or 0:36 a.m. CET)
If you want to see the launch LIVE on your PC go here.
Launch
Date: Aug. 3
Time: 5:35 a.m. EDT
A new space explorer is waiting in the wings and ready to take center stage: the Mars lander called Phoenix. Set for launch aboard a Delta II rocket, Phoenix's assignment is to dig through the Martian soil and ice in the arctic region and use its onboard scientific instruments to analyze the samples it retrieves.
Both rocket and spacecraft are undergoing final preparation at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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This animation shows an artist's concept of the Phoenix spacecraft landing on Mars.
I had no idea something went wrong? How to explain this to the relatives of the 200?
"The search for the UP Aerospace payload of experiments and the cremated remains of some 200 people - including "Scotty" of Star Trek fame, as well as pioneeering NASA Mercury astronaut, Gordon Cooper - continues within rugged New Mexico mountain landscape.
After a successful blastoff from New Mexico's Spaceport America on April 28th, the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket and its payload nosed into space on a suborbital trajectory. As part of launch operations, the rocket was tracked by specialists at the neighboring White Sands Missile Range.
While all went well with the flight, the rocket components parachuted into rough and tumble terrain. Repeated searches within the landing zone have come up empty.
Jerry Larson, President of UP Aerospace, has told me that the general location of the rocket hardware is known within some 1,300 feet (400 meters) or so. But given the dense vegetation on the side of the mountain being searched, along with equipment available to the search team, pinpointing the exact locale has proven a tough assignment.
Yet another trip up on the mountain is slated next week, Larson said.
Joining the search this time is the manufacturer of the transmitters onboard the rocket gear. He'll be bringing high-end tracking gear and years of expertise in locating objects in mountain terrain environments."
Source
Difficult choices and decisions. Wouldn't want to make them! A bit like playing God.
NASA will have to address thorny issues like sex, death and health in carrying out a deep space mission to Mars.
"How do you get rid of the body of a dead astronaut on a three-year mission to Mars and back?
When should the plug be pulled on a critically ill astronaut who is using up precious oxygen and endangering the rest of the crew? Should NASA employ DNA testing to weed out astronauts who might get a disease on a long flight?
With NASA planning to land on Mars 30 years from now, and with the recent discovery of the most "Earth-like" planet ever seen outside the solar system, the space agency has begun to ponder some of the thorny practical and ethical questions posed by deep space exploration.
Some of these who-gets-thrown-from-the-lifeboat questions are outlined in a NASA document on crew health obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act request.
NASA doctors and scientists, with help from outside bioethicists and medical experts, hope to answer many of these questions over the next several years.
"As you can imagine, it's a thing that people aren't really comfortable talking about," said Dr. Richard Williams, NASA's chief health and medical officer. "We're trying to develop the ethical framework to equip commanders and mission managers to make some of those difficult decisions should they arrive in the future."
One topic that is evidently too hot to handle: How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?
Sex is not mentioned in the document and has long been almost a taboo topic at NASA. Williams said the question of sex in space is not a matter of crew health but a behavioral issue that will have to be taken up by others at NASA.
The agency will have to address the matter sooner or later, said Paul Root Wolpe, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania who has advised NASA since 2001.
"There is a decision that is going to have to be made about mixed-sex crews, and there is going to be a lot of debate about it," he said.
The document does spell out some health policies in detail, such as how much radiation astronauts can be exposed to from space travel (No more radiation than the amount that would increase the risk of cancer by 3 percent over the astronaut's career) and the number of hours crew members should work each week (No more than 48 hours).
But on other topics -- such as steps for disposing of the dead and cutting off an astronaut's medical care if he or she cannot survive -- the document merely says these are issues for which NASA needs a policy.
"There may come a time in which a significant risk of death has to be weighed against mission success," Wolpe said. "The idea that we will always choose a person's well-being over mission success, it sounds good, but it doesn't really turn out to be necessarily the way decisions always will be made."
For now, astronauts and cosmonauts who become critically sick or injured at the international space station -- something that has never happened -- can leave the orbiting outpost 220 miles above Earth and return home within hours aboard a Russian Soyuz space vehicle.
That wouldn't be possible if a life-and-death situation were to arise on a voyage to Mars, where the nearest hospital is millions of miles away.
Moreover, Mars-bound astronauts will not always be able to rely on instructions from Mission Control, since it would take nearly a half-hour for a question to be asked and an answer to come back via radio.
Astronauts going to the moon and Mars for long periods of time must contend with the basic health risks from space travel, multiplied many times over: radiation, the loss of muscle and bone, and the psychological challenges of isolation.
NASA will consider whether astronauts must undergo preventive surgery, such as an appendectomy, to head off medical emergencies during a mission, and whether astronauts should be required to sign living wills with end-of-life instructions.
The space agency also must decide whether to set age restrictions on the crew, and whether astronauts of reproductive age should be required to bank sperm or eggs because of the risk of genetic mutations from radiation exposure during long trips.
Already, NASA is considering genetic screening in choosing crews on the long-duration missions. That is now prohibited.
"Genetic screening must be approached with caution ... because of limiting employment and career opportunities based on use of genetic information," Williams said.
NASA's three major tragedies resulting in 17 deaths -- Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia -- were caused by technical rather than medical problems. NASA never has had to abort a mission because of health problems, though the Soviet Union had three such episodes.
Some believe the U.S. space agency has not adequately prepared for the possibility of death during a mission.
"I don't think they've been great at dealing with this type of thing in the past," said former astronaut Story Musgrave, a six-time space shuttle flier who has a medical degree. "But it's very nice that they're considering it now."
Source
A 58-year-old software engineer is set to become the fifth ever space tourist when he blasts off on board a Russian Soyuz spacecraft this Saturday. 
Dr Simonyi is in the last phase of preparation for the voyage
Billionaire Charles Simonyi, who led development of Microsoft's Word, will lift off from Kazakhstan at 1731 GMT.
The $20m ride will make him the 450th person to enter orbit and by his own admission "the first nerd in space".
With two professional cosmonauts, he is now making final preparations in a quarantine unit at Baikonur Cosmodrome.
"There are really two reasons for the isolation," Dr Simonyi told the BBC News website.
"The practical reason is so that you don't get sick. The other reason is perhaps psychological - it helps you focus on the task ahead."
Vital control
Dr Simonyi's task started six months ago when he began training for the flight at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia and at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Since then he has been through a gruelling physical training programme, including strict medical tests, to prepare him for the exhilarating eight minute ride to escape the Earth's atmosphere and his time on board the International Space Station (ISS).
Dr Simonyi and the two Russian crew members - Fyodor Yurchikin and Oleg Kotov - will spend two days reaching the ISS.
Once there, he will spend ten days onboard, completing 200 orbits of the Earth and covering 5 million miles (8 million km) in the process.
The return journey, accompanied by the fourteenth ISS crew already onboard, will take just two hours and will return to Earth on 20 April.
Although Dr Simonyi is classed as a spaceflight participant, rather than a cosmonaut, he will still have a role to play in the flights.
"There are a few valves on my side of the space craft which are not flight critical but if they are not handled they will be come flight critical," he said.
The valves, situated on the right hand side of the Soyuz module, control the air conditioning and oxygen supply.
By the time I get to the spacecraft, I think it will be a wonderful relief 
Charles Simonyi
"You may think that is very important but there is a large amount of oxygen in the cabin," he explained.
However, his primary job is to make sure that he is not a burden to the professional crew.
"My main role is to take care of myself and my space suit. I have to put on the gloves, close and open the visor, manipulate the valve to check the pressure integrity," he said.
Space traditions
Once on the space station, Dr Simonyi will carry out a series of experiments including measuring the amount of radiation that he is exposed to while onboard the ISS.
The aim is to help to generate an accurate map of the radiation environment onboard the space station.
He will also be updating his website, charlesinspace.com, and taking time to gaze down on the planet.
Dr Simonyi will fly with two professional cosmonauts
The Hungarian-born engineer is now in the last phase of preparations and training for the mission, including regular sessions on a tilting table and in a spinning Vestibular Chair to get used to the effects of weightlessness.
In addition, his feet are gradually elevated, higher each night, while he sleeps in bed.
"It gives you a feeling of fullness in the head, which is typical of weightlessness," said Dr Simonyi.
He will also take part in a series of ceremonies and rituals, including a viewing of Russian film White Sun of the Desert, a tradition for cosmonauts spanning many years.
Friends and family will also attend a party, although they will be separated by glass from Dr Simonyi to prevent the spread of infections.
"By the time I get to the spacecraft, I think it will be a wonderful relief from all of the excitement and I can just concentrate on the flight which we have simulated many times," he said.
"That is probably the easiest part."
Lunar dream
Dr Simonyi's once in a lifetime trip has been arranged by US-based Space Adventures.
The company has previously sent four private explorers to space.
Anousheh Ansari flew to the ISS in September 2006
In 2001, American Dennis Tito became the first space tourist. He was followed by South African Mark Shuttleworth the year after, and American Greg Olsen in 2005.
Iranian-born US businesswoman Anousheh Ansari became the first ever female space tourist in September 2006.
She was a last minute replacement for Japanese businessman Daisuke Enomoto who failed his medical tests.
"Every time someone flies it keeps proving that there is a market for this," said Eric Anderson, co-founder of Space Adventures.
As well as trips to the ISS, Mr Anderson's company plans to develop suborbital vehicles for pleasure flights and be the first to complete a tourist trip to the dark side of the moon.
"That's the $100 million dollar grand daddy of them all, where we use the Soyuz capsule to do a circumlunar pass," said Mr Anderson.
It has not been announced whether anyone has signed up for the ambitious trip.
Source
NASA has a new spaceflight champion in astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who is setting a new record aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for the longest mission by a U.S. spaceflyer.
As of Tuesday, Lopez-Alegria has lived and worked aboard the space station for more than 197 days and counting, breaking NASA’s previous record of 196 days set in 2002 by Expedition 4 astronauts Carl Walz and Dan Bursch. By the time Lopez-Alegria returns to Earth on April 20 with crewmate Mikhail Tyurin, a cosmonaut with Russia’s Federal Space Agency, they will have spent 214 days in space since their September 2006 launch.
ISS flight controllers congratulated Lopez-Alegria, who commands the space station’s Expedition 14 crew, as he hit the 197-day mark, though the veteran spaceflyer said he doesn’t expect the title to stick.
“You know it’s kind of being like Barry Bonds and…Albert Pujos playing on the same team,” Lopez-Alegria, an avid baseball fan, said referring to professional ballplayers. “I have a feeling my record isn’t going to last very long, and I know exactly who is going to break it.”
Lopez-Alegria was referring to fellow NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, an Expedition 14 flight engineer, who will stay aboard the ISS after to join the station’s Expedition 15 crew after he and Tyurin return to Earth. Williams is due to return to Earth aboard NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour in July, though the delayed launch of next shuttle flight – STS-117 aboard Atlantis – will delay the astronaut’s homecoming until later this summer. By mid-July, she will surpass Lopez-Alegria’s 214-day record for NASA’s longest continuous spaceflight.
“Your glory days in the hot sun may not last long,” flight controllers told Lopez-Alegria.
But with 10 spacewalks and more than 67 hours of spacewalking time – half of it performed during Expedition 14 – under his belt, Lopez-Alegria still tops NASA’s list as the most experienced U.S. spacewalker. Williams too, with four spacewalks and more 27 hours during Expedition 14, holds the title for the most spacewalks performed by a female astronaut.
The world record for the longest single spaceflight is held by Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who spent 438 days in space aboard Russia’s Mir Space Station between 1994 and 1995.
Source
China is planning on committing themselves in going to the moon within a year of 15 from now. This would make them the second country to reach the moon after the US abandoned the Apollo flights. That is if no one beats them to it. New space race?
Article from BBC News:
China will launch its first lunar probe this year, and expects to be able to land a man on the Moon within 15 years, a senior space official has confirmed. 
Reaching the moon has long been a goal of China's space programme
The Chang'e-1 lunar probe will be launched later this year aboard a Long March 3A rocket.
The probe will provide 3D images of the Moon, survey the lunar landscape, study lunar microwaves and estimate the thickness of the Moon's soil.
China became the third nation to place a human in space in October 2003.
The Moon exploration programme includes a planned lunar fly-by in 2007, a "soft landing" in 2012, return of lunar samples by 2017, and landing an astronaut on the Moon within 15 years.
'Full confidence'
"The goal to land an astronaut on the Moon can surely be achieved in 15 years," said Huang Chunping, a senior space official, while attending the annual full session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body.
Mr Huang gave no date for the launch of the lunar probe, but confirmed it would be later this year.
For the full Moon exploration programme, he admitted that unexpected difficulties could affect the timetable, but said he had "full confidence" in the development of the country's rocket industry.
Mr Huang said that China's next generation carrier rocket, likely to be named Long March 5, would be ready for launch in "seven or eight years," and the vehicles' engines had already been successfully tested.
The long-awaited new rocket would "use non-toxic fuels" and increase the payload capacity of the Long March series from nine tonnes to 25 tonnes, he said.
Space walk
Mr Huang also said China would launch its third manned spaceflight, Shenzhou VII, next year, with three astronauts on board. They will attempt the Chinese programme's first space walk.
The Shenzhou VII launch was planned for this year, but work is still being done on the suits that astronauts will wear during the space walk.
Two of the three astronauts are expected to venture outside the capsule, but no decision has been made on how long the walks would be.
Mr Huang said the timing of the flight will depend on progress on finishing the space suits, and would not be timed for the Summer Olympics, which start in August 2008 in Beijing.
