shuttle news stories on Newser

Atlantis Docks a Final Time

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:04:54 CDT

Atlantis has docked with the International Space Station, yet another final milestone as NASA winds down its storied shuttle program with what the AP is perhaps excessively referring to as "a flight full of passion." "Atlantis arriving," called space station astronaut Ronald Garan Jr. as the station's naval bell chimed....

Schumer Lands in Hot Water Over 'Bitch' Comment

Harry Kimball — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:29:00 CST

Chuck Schumer set off an unfortunate cascade of events Sunday when he bridled at a flight attendant’s request that he turn off his cell phone so a plane could take off and then muttered that she was a “bitch.” As the story circulated around the Beltway, it drew in his...

Shuttle Endeavour Blasts Off

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:11:42 CDT

Space shuttle Endeavour and seven astronauts are on their way to the international space station after more than a month's delay. The shuttle blasted off about 6pm, hauling up a veranda for Japan's space station lab. It was NASA's sixth attempt to launch Endeavour after a series of gas leaks...

Astronauts Wrap Up Hubble 'Scope Repairs

Mon, 18 May 2009 16:30:00 CDT

After 5 amazing days, spacewalking astronauts finished repair work on the Hubble Space Telescope today and shut the doors to the treasured observatory, which will never be touched by human hands again. NASA said the revived telescope will be better than ever thanks to the astronauts' efforts and should provide...

Spacewalkers Wrap Up Tricky Hubble Job

Fri, 15 May 2009 23:01:29 CDT

Spacewalking astronauts had to put a refurbished pair of gyroscopes into the Hubble Space Telescope after a brand new set refused to go in yesterday, but scientists were satisfied nonetheless and confident the observatory would point precisely to more distant objects in the cosmos. Replacing the gyroscopes was the top...

Discovery Returns to Earth

Wesley Oliver — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:30:04 CDT

The space shuttle Discovery swooped back to Earth today after successfully expanding the International Space Station, the AP reports. The shuttle’s seven crew members delivered Kibo, the new billion-dollar Japanese science lab, and a pump to repair a broken toilet. Discovery also brought home flight engineer Garret Reisman, who’d talked...

NASA Delays Launch of Atlantis Again

John Johnson — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:36:49 CST

NASA has again pushed back the launch of the shuttle Atlantis as it wrestles with faulty fuel sensors, Space.com reports. The shuttle will go up Jan. 24 at the earliest, with a more likely launch either Feb. 2 or 7. Atlantis is due to begin an 11-day mission to...