Welcome Home Atlantis STS-132 - May 26, 2010

Welcome Home Atlantis STS-132
Another picture-perfect landing!!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph
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Space Shuttle Atlantis and six astronauts ended a journey of more than 4.8 million miles with an 8:48am EDT landing Wednesday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The flawless landing wrapped up a highly successful mission to deliver the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1, known as "Rassvet" ("dawn" in Russian), to the International Space Station.
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"It was smooth as silk," STS-132 Commander Ken Ham said of Atlantis' entry and landing. "We were clearly riding in the middle of a fireball, and it was spectacular. The windows, all of them, were bright, brilliant orange. One of the neatest things was when we flew right into orbital sunrise."
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This was the final scheduled flight for Atlantis, which has logged more than 120 million miles during its 25 years of service. The orbiter will go through standard prelaunch preparations as the "launch-on-need" vehicle for Endeavour's STS-134 mission. That flight currently is targeted for November.
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"Atlantis treated us very well. She was just an incredible ship," Mission Specialist Michael Good said, citing the precision of the deorbit burn as an example of Atlantis' performance. "The engines had it trimmed out to within .01 of what the burn was supposed to be."
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The all-veteran astronaut crew will head home to Houston on Thursday. The public is invited to attend the welcome ceremony for the crew Thursday at 4 p.m. CDT at Ellington Field's NASA Hangar 276.
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"We're thrilled, because we accomplished the mission that was put in front of us," Ham said. He explained that in addition to the technical objectives of the 12-day mission, the astronauts also wanted to enjoy themselves and share their enthusiasm of spaceflight with the world.
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"We've been hearing stories about how folks have been having fun and enjoyed watching us have fun, and that's really important to us."
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STS-132 is the 132nd shuttle mission and the 34th mission to visit the space station. The next mission, STS-133, is slated to launch in September.
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Note: This WAS the last scheduled mission EVER for Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Yep... To the history books she now goes!
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Safe Landing Ends Atlantis' Final Flight

About this video: STS-132 Commander Ken Ham and his five crewmates: Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman, Steve Bowen, Mike Good and Piers Sellers are safely back on Earth after Space Shuttle Atlantis glided to a picture-perfect landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. on Wednesday morning, May 26. It was Atlantis' 32nd and final flight, traveling a total of more than 120 million miles. The 12-day, STS-132 mission delivered the Russian Mini Research Module-1, Rassvet ("dawn") to the International Space Station.
This video posted on YouTube by NASAtelevision
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We have seen the landing -
Now let’s check out the launch again too.
Pretty COOL stuff, with music!
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STS-132 Ascent Highlights

About this Video: Space Shuttle Atlantis and the STS-132 crew begin the journey to the International Space Station on May 14, 2010.
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In this last video -
We enjoy a short recap of the overall
STS-132 Mission
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STS-132 Mission Video Highlights

About this video: Highlights of Atlantis' STS-132 mission to the International Space Station are presented in images and video.
. Many, MANY more STS-132 videos can be seen HERE
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* Mission Wind Down *
Read Latest News and Updates
at NASA.gov.

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Again... WELCOME HOME!!!
And job well done...
AubreyJ.........

Photo for the Day - May 17, 2009

* Photo for the Day *

. About above image: Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman (left) and Stephen Bowen starting off their first STS-132 mission spacewalk
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- First Spacewalk of STS-132 Completed -
Monday, May 17, 2010
3:30pm EDT
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Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman and Stephen Bowen completed the first spacewalk of the STS-132 mission at 3:19pm EDT. They installed a second station space-to-ground Ku-band antenna and a spare parts platform on Dextre, the two-armed robotic Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator. The spacewalk lasted 7 hours, 25 minutes.
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Reisman and Bowen began the spacewalk at 7:54am. Mission Specialist Michael Good and Pilot Tony Antonelli, the intravehicular officer, assisted the spacewalkers from inside the orbiting complex. Support for robotic arm operations was provided by Mission Specialist Piers Sellers and Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson.
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Meanwhile, Commander Ken Ham was overseeing the activities and work on transfer of supplies to the station.

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Image Credit NASA TV

Above info/image take from the NASA.gov website

2- Watch Launch and Mission Live Of Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-132

Watch Launch and Mission Live
Of Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-132
POST DATE: Friday, May 14, 2010
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Friday’s Launch looks like a GO!
* Launch Time: 1:28pm CST *

About Photo: Flags wave briskly at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after the rotating service structure opened to reveal space shuttle Atlantis on Launch Pad 39A
Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller - Taken May 13, 2010
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We have LIFTOFF!
And what A Picture Perfect Launch it was too...

Space Shuttle Atlantis enjoyed a near flawless countdown and launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 14, 2010, to begin the STS-132 mission.
Launch went off on time at 1:20pm CDT.
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STS-132: Liftoff Atlantis!

The six-member crew of STS-132 began their 12-day mission to the International Space Station with the May 14th liftoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis at 2:20pm Eastern from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Commander Ken Ham, Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman, Steve Bowen, Mike Good and Piers Sellers are delivering to the ISS a cargo carrier filled with spare parts and Rassvet, the Russian Mini Research Module-1.
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Read Latest News and Updates
at NASA.gov
And at
NASA’s Launch Blog
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Watch Launch and Mission LIVE
Spacewalks TOO!
At NASA TV
Click HERE to view
ENJOY!!!
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STS-132: Interactive Mission Timeline

Click HERE to view
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- Atlantis' Final Mission -
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After almost 25 years and more than 115 million miles, Space Shuttle Atlantis is down to just one final mission - but it will be going out on a high note.
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STS-132 will deliver to the International Space Station the Russian Rassvet Mini-Research Module-1, only the second Russian module to ever be carried into space by a space shuttle. It’s a fitting final payload for the orbiter that not only launched the first into space, but also was the first shuttle to dock to the Russian Space Station Mir – in fact, Atlantis was the shuttle behind seven of the 11 shuttle missions to Mir.
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"Atlantis has a history of being the shuttle that did the most international things," said Emily Nelson, lead space station flight director for the mission. "It’s the orbiter that the Russians have known best, because it’s one that came to their space station most often, and it’s one that we used to deliver a module for them in the past."
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Whether or not they recognize it by name, many people are likely familiar with Atlantis’ work. Besides the visits to Mir, Atlantis carried the Magellan Spacecraft into orbit, sending it on its way to Venus, where it mapped 98 percent of the plant from orbit. The same year – 1989 – it also deployed the Galileo Spacecraft to Jupiter, where it collected data on the planet and its moons for eight years.
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Closer to home, Atlantis has visited the International Space Station 10 times – STS-132 will be its 11th trip – delivering among other pieces of hardware, the United States’ Destiny Laboratory and Europe’s Columbus. And just last year it made the final flight to the Hubble Space Telescope, bringing upgrades that should allow the telescope to see further into the universe than ever for years to come.
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"Atlantis has clearly been a work horse of the space shuttle fleet over the years," said Mike Sarafin, lead STS-132 shuttle flight director. "The shuttle program history is pretty complicated, but I think it will show that Atlantis is a remarkable vehicle."
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But Atlantis is not finished making history just yet – there are still a few firsts in store.
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For instance, the installation of Rassvet. Normally when a new piece of the space station is installed, all the work is done (the hooks are engaged and the latches latched to attach the new module to the rest of the station) from the space station side of the equation. That’s true for all of the international partners involved in the station except for Russia. Until now, the Russian modules have all been launched into space on their own, not carried up by a space shuttle, and the Russian system makes use of that by relying on the momentum of the new module as it approaches to force the latches.
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That won’t be possible this time around. Instead, the STS-132 crew will use the space station’s robotic arm to attach it. The arm will be extended to just about its full 58 feet to reach Rassvet’s home on the Zarya module, which will make it difficult to push with much force. In addition, the commands to the module to work those latches and hooks will have to take a long circuitous route from the robotic arm controls inside the Cupola, through the United States segment of the station to the Russian segment, then back to the United States segment and out through the robotic arm to the Rassvet.
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"Installing that module is going to be an interesting day," STS-132 Commander Ken Ham said. "If anything goes wrong in this delicate plan, we have to get it to work right. We think, based on the analyses, that we’re going to be just fine. However, we’re prepared for all sorts of problems that could arise getting that thing in there."
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If the team is lucky, some of Atlantis’ good luck will rub off on the module while it’s in the shuttle’s cargo bay, and the installation will go off without a hitch – Atlantis tends to be the member of the shuttle fleet with the fewest problems in flight, so it wouldn’t be out of character.
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"Like any home or any car that you’ve had over the years, the shuttles have their nuances," Sarafin said. "Atlantis tends to behave very well when it’s flying. That’s a nice luxury to have."
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NOTE: I’ll be updating this post on the mission and spacewalks over the next few days so check back!!!
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GOD SPEED to the Crew of STS-132 Atlantis...
AubreyJ.........

Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-132 set for May 14th Launch

Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-132
Set for May 14th Launch
Post Date: Thursday, May 06, 2010
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- STS-132 Crew Formal Portrait -
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Attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits, these six astronauts take a break from training to pose for the STS-132 crew portrait.
Pictured clockwise are Commander Ken Ham (bottom), Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman and Michael Good; Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Steve Bowen. Photo taken: November 20, 2009
Photo credit - NASA/JSC
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Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on its STS-132 mission to the International Space Station officially is set for May 14 at 2:20pm EDT.
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At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians working at Launch Pad 39A will replenish the liquid hydrogen storage tank and perform recharge operations for the gaseous oxygen.
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Commander Ken Ham will lead the six-member astronaut crew during the 12-day flight. With their launch date finally official, the astronauts are enjoying a day off from their training.
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Top NASA managers made the launch date official at the end of Wednesday's Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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"We had a very thorough review today. We went through all the things that happened on the vehicle, both the shuttle and also the station," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations. "The vehicle is ready to go fly. It's a true testament to the work the teams have done down here at [Kennedy]."
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Atlantis and crew will deliver an Integrated Cargo Carrier and a Russian-built Mini Research Module. The countdown will begin May 11 at 4 p.m. when countdown clocks at the Oceanside Launch Complex begin ticking backward from the T-43 hour mark.
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Above info/image taken from the NASA.gov website