William Atkins
Friday, 24 April 2009 21:12
Science -
Space
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The U.S. space agency NASA announced on Thursday, April 23, 2009, that it is aiming to launch the STS-125 crew of the space shuttle Atlantis on May 11, 2009, one day earlier than expected, in order to avoid a conflict with another U.S. government space launch.
The STS-125 mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is a service-and-repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, which is orbiting in space about 559 kilometers (347 miles) above the Earth in low-earth orbit (LEO).
The other launch that is schedule on that same earlier-scheduled day (May 12) is a GOES-O (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-O) Earth-watching satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The GOES-O payload will use a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta 4 rocket to attain its geosynchronous orbit. The launch is expected to occur on May 12, 2009, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
According to the
NASA/GOES website,
“Launch remains targeted for no earlier than May 12. The date will be adjusted accordingly based on the readiness of the Delta IV, the status of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission launch and the availability of the Eastern Range.”
NASA makes launches from the Eastern Test Range (
ER), which includes two major rocket and missile ranges, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (
KSC, on Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida) and the U.S. military’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (at the
Patrick Air Force Base).
Multiple launches at the same time are not allowed, which means that schedules must be revised to accommodate the ever-increasing number of launches from this location.
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