Shuttle Endeavor's last night flight
Amidst shock & awe, it was a bitter-sweet moment for many contractors and space-agency employees.
At about 4:14 a.m., with a picture-perfect textbook launch, Endeavour punched a hole in the dark sky over cape Canaveral. Roaring cheers were heard from residents that lined the streets from Cocoa beach to Titusville.
Low cloud cover almost scrubbed the first of five launches scheduled this year. Six crew members will be part of a mission to add a new addition called tranquillity to the space station.
Mean while, back at the white house, a blue ribbon panel determined that the projected Ares rockets Constellation program was too expensive. Instead, Barak Obama release a budget of $19 billion that would extend the space station's life until 2020
The Constellation program boosted by the Ares rockets was suppose to return man back to the moon. But what was the cost? According to a blog written by Jeff Hanley, the program manager for the Constellation, “The development cost for achieving the first crewed flight today is roughly $30 billion, far short of estimates which have been recently bandied about”.
While cuts were made to the Constellation program that may cost Floridians some 7,000 jobs, some say that the real figures for the national stimulus package was more like $850 billion which was suppose to hold unemployment at 8% but the national statistics indicate that the level is more like 10%.
But for now, Launch director mike Leinback first concerned was not the budget, but that this morning's launch would be stellar. Crew members aboard the space station have been anticipating the repair of the station's water recycling system.
The space agency is hoping that this new module called the Cupola, will change the quality of life for astronauts providing breathtaking views of their new world. The new tranquility wing will also provide astronauts with additional facilities including a toilet, exercise gear, and life support equipment.
At about 4:14 a.m., with a picture-perfect textbook launch, Endeavour punched a hole in the dark sky over cape Canaveral. Roaring cheers were heard from residents that lined the streets from Cocoa beach to Titusville.
Low cloud cover almost scrubbed the first of five launches scheduled this year. Six crew members will be part of a mission to add a new addition called tranquillity to the space station.
Mean while, back at the white house, a blue ribbon panel determined that the projected Ares rockets Constellation program was too expensive. Instead, Barak Obama release a budget of $19 billion that would extend the space station's life until 2020
The Constellation program boosted by the Ares rockets was suppose to return man back to the moon. But what was the cost? According to a blog written by Jeff Hanley, the program manager for the Constellation, “The development cost for achieving the first crewed flight today is roughly $30 billion, far short of estimates which have been recently bandied about”.
While cuts were made to the Constellation program that may cost Floridians some 7,000 jobs, some say that the real figures for the national stimulus package was more like $850 billion which was suppose to hold unemployment at 8% but the national statistics indicate that the level is more like 10%.
But for now, Launch director mike Leinback first concerned was not the budget, but that this morning's launch would be stellar. Crew members aboard the space station have been anticipating the repair of the station's water recycling system.
The space agency is hoping that this new module called the Cupola, will change the quality of life for astronauts providing breathtaking views of their new world. The new tranquility wing will also provide astronauts with additional facilities including a toilet, exercise gear, and life support equipment.
posted by michael at
7:44 AM
