Kennedy Space Center STS-131 Crew

Image above: Seated are Commander Alan Poindexter (right) and Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. From the left (standing) are Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio, Stephanie Wilson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Naoko Yamazaki and Clayton Anderson. Image credit: NASA

Commander Alan Poindexter will lead the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Discovery. Jim Dutton will serve as the pilot. Mission Specialists are Rick Mastracchio, Clay Anderson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Naoko Yamazaki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Discovery will deliver a multi-purpose logistics module filled with science racks to be transferred to laboratories on the International Space Station. The mission will feature three spacewalks.

Mastracchio and Anderson will conduct three six-and-a-half-hour-long spacewalks on flight days 5, 7 and 9 to replace an ammonia tank assembly, retrieve a Japanese experiment from the station’s exterior and switch out a rate gyro assembly on the S0 element of the station’s truss.

STS-131 is the 33rd shuttle mission to the station.

Launch Date: Targeted for Monday, April 5, 2010
Launch Time: 6:21 a.m. ET
Launch time and date are subject to change.

A limited number of STS-131 launch viewing tickets to view the launch from the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® are now available by calling (877) 406-4836. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and NASA Causeway launch viewing tickets are sold out. Due to the expected retirement of the space shuttle in 2010, an increased interest in space shuttle launches has created a higher demand for space shuttle launch viewing tickets.

Ticket orders cannot be placed via email or by leaving a voicemail. Closely monitor the launch date status before finalizing your travel plans to Florida.

This is a very cool interactive map to assist you in planning your visit that was provided via Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/interactive-map.aspx

Please contact our office to purchase your discount Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex tickets.

KSC twitpic: Guests gather at the Space Mirror Memorial, KSC Visitor Complex, for NASA's Day of Remembrance

Today, January 29th, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida pays tribute  to the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other NASA colleagues, during the agency’s Day of Remembrance observance.
Media and the general public were invited to a wreath-laying at 11 AM at the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. NASA’s Day of Remembrance honors members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery.

President Barack Obama released the following statement:

The arrival of a new year reminds us that life is a journey, one that takes us on many unexpected paths. NASA’s role is to pioneer journeys into the unknown for the benefit of humanity. Along the way, we sometimes experience tragedy instead of triumph.

Today, we pause to reflect on those moments in exploration when things did not go as expected and we lost brave pioneers. But what sets us apart as Americans is our willingness to get up again and push the frontiers even further with an even stronger commitment and sense of purpose.

On this Day of Remembrance, we remember the sacrifices of those who dared to dream and gave everything for the cause of exploration. We honor them with our ongoing commitment to excellence and an unwavering determination to continue the journey on the path to the future.

For more information or to purchase Discount Kennedy Space Center Tickets, please visit our website or Kissimmee location, The Official Ticket Center, or call us toll-free at 1-877-406-4836.

STS-130 Ramping Up for Februrary 7th Launch

Pace Ramps Up for Endeavour and Teams Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:00:00 AM EST

Workers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center will begin final ordnance connections at Launch Pad 39A in preparation for space shuttle Endeavour’s liftoff to the International Space Station targeted for 4:39 a.m. EST Feb. 7.

Engineers met yesterday to review data after lightning struck about a half mile from the pad during a thunderstorm Jan. 22. They concluded there was no damage to the shuttle or launch pad.

Also, technicians are checking out the astronauts’ spacesuits before they’re carefully packed into special containers and loaded onto the shuttle.

At NASA ’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, STS-130 Commander George Zamka and Pilot Terry will practice shuttle landings in their T-38 jets, while the other crew members review elements of their flight plan.

Tomorrow the agency’s Flight Readiness Review, or FRR, for the STS-130 mission will be held at Kennedy Space Center. Afterward, NASA will announce an official launch date during a post-meeting briefing aired on NASA TV. The briefing also can be found on www.nasa.gov/ntv.

Commander George Zamka will lead the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Endeavour. Terry Virts Jr. will serve as the pilot. Mission specialists are Nicholas Patrick, Robert Behnken, Stephen Robinson and Kathryn Hire. Virts will be making his first trip to space.

Endeavour will deliver a third connecting module – the Tranquility node – to the station and a seven-windowed cupola to be used as a control room for robotics. The mission will feature three spacewalks.

STS-130 is the 32nd shuttle mission to the station.
To purchase your discount Kennedy Space Center tickets , please call our office toll free at 1-877-406-4836.

NASA Shuttle at Launch Pad for Final Scheduled Night Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – After reaching its launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Wednesday, space shuttle Endeavour now awaits its next major milestone for the upcoming STS-130 mission. Reporters are invited to cover the launch dress rehearsal, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT, scheduled to take place at Kennedy from Jan. 19 to 21.

Endeavour arrived at Launch Pad 39A at 8:45 a.m. EST Wednesday on top of a giant crawler-transporter. The crawler-transporter left Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building at 4:13 a.m, traveling less than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The shuttle was secured on the pad at 10:37 a.m.

With Endeavour on the pad, the STS-130 astronauts and ground crews can participate in the practice countdown and related training starting Jan. 19. The rehearsal provides each shuttle crew with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training.

Journalists must apply for credentials by noon Friday, Jan. 8, to cover the TCDT.

Times for TCDT activities still are being finalized. Activities available for media coverage will include:

- Jan. 19: STS-130 crew arrival. The astronauts will arrive in the Shuttle Training Aircraft and T-38 jets at Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility. Crew arrival will be broadcast live on NASA Television.

- Jan. 20: Crew media availability. The crew will take questions from reporters at Launch Pad 39A. The session will be carried live on NASA TV.

- Jan. 21: Crew walkout photo opportunity. The astronauts will depart from the Operations and Checkout Building in their flight entry suits in preparation for the countdown demonstration test at the launch pad. The walkout will not be broadcast live, but will air on NASA TV’s Video File.

Updates with times for all events will be available by calling 1-407-396-9020

The six astronauts for Endeavour’s STS-130 mission will deliver a third connecting module, the Tranquility node, to the International Space Station. Endeavour’s Feb. 7 target liftoff is at 4:39 a.m., making it the final scheduled space shuttle night launch.

To purchase your Kennedy Space Center tickets, please call our office toll free at 1-877-406-4836

Space Shuttle Endevor Ready For Assembly

 A few days ago  at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the orbiter Endeavour rolled into the Vehicle Assembly Building to set the stage for the first mission of 2010.

Workers will soon attach a sling to Endeavour and hoist the 88-ton spaceship into a high bay where an external tank and twin solid rocket boosters await atop a mobile launcher platform.

NASA plans to deliver the assembled space shuttle to launch pad 39A on Jan. 6.

Carried by a 76-wheeled transporter, Endeavour began backing out of its hangar on schedule around 1 p.m. and completed the quarter-mile move less than an hour later.

NASA is expected to target Feb. 7 as the launch date for Endeavour’s 13-day mission to the International Space Station.

Endeavour and six astronauts plan to deliver the Tranquility module and a seven-windowed cupola to the station, the last major addition planned to the U.S. segment. For Kennedy Space Center tickets, please contact us at 1-877-406-4836 and to read about past Kennedy Space Center news, please read our blog.

STS-130 Crew

After a flawless mission to resupply the International Space Station, the STS-129 crew members now are back at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. They will be honored with a homecoming ceremony at nearby Ellington Field today.

Meanwhile, preparations for space shuttle Endeavour and its crew are ramping up for the STS-130 mission targeted to launch Feb. 4, 2010.

Endeavour is scheduled to roll over from the orbiter processing facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in late December. There, it will be lifted and attached to the waiting external tank and twin solid rocket boosters.

The STS-130 crew members, Commander George Zamka, Pilot Terry Virts Jr., Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Robert Behnken, Stephen Robinson and Kathryn Hire, are rehearsing deorbit procedures today at Johnson.

Endeavour will deliver a third connecting module, the Tranquility node, to the station in addition to the seven-windowed Cupola module, which will be used as a control room for robotics.

Read about Kennedy Space Center information and events on our blog. Please contact us toll free by calling 1-877-406-4836 if you are planning on visiting  the world famous Kennedy Space Center Complex and need discount tickets to this attraction.

Here’s the news release:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA managers completed a review Thursday of space shuttle Atlantis’ readiness for flight and selected an official launch date for the STS-125 mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. Commander Scott Altman and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 2:01 p.m. EDT, May 11, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Atlantis’ launch date was announced following Thursday’s Flight Readiness Review. During the meeting, top NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle’s equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for flight.

Atlantis’ 11-day mission will include five spacewalks to refurbish Hubble with state-of-the-art science instruments. After the astronauts’ visit, the telescope’s capabilities will be expanded and its lifetime extended through at least 2014.

Commander Altman will be joined on the mission by Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and Mission Specialists Andrew Feustel, Michael Good, John Grunsfeld, Megan McArthur and Mike Massimino. The spacewalkers are Feustel, Good, Grunsfeld and Massimino. McArthur is the flight engineer and lead for robotic arm operations. To purchase your Kennedy Space Center tickets, please call our office toll free at 1-877-406-4836 or just order them here on our web site!

 This month’s Astronaut Encounter will be:

March 17-21 Jon McBride

March 22-28 Sam Gemar

March 29-30 Story Mustgrave ( I love this guy!!!) 

March 31-April 2 Al Worden

So dont forget to spend a day at Kennedy Space Center and arrive early as this is a full day event! Purchase your Kennedy Space Center Tickets right here with The Official Ticket Center. Florida’s #1 Discount Ticketing Agency. Lowest Price Guarentee!!!