Shuttle launch delayed; Soyuz "Gagarin" start set for today

The international space station is the left shuttle of the discovery of the station in March 2011. Credit: NASA

Only a bit of a traffic jam on the international space station, a 10-day has prompted delay establishing targeted for space shuttle endeavour 25th and last mission STS-134. Originally planned for April 19, is the shuttle launch now for 3:47 PM EDT on Friday, April 29 planned. The delay removed a conflict in the schedule with a Russian progress supply vehicle to start April 27 and arrive at the station April 29 is planned. Current restrictions allowed a progress to the station dock, while it is not a shuttle service.

Meanwhile, A Russian Soyuz spacecraft with Yuri Gagarin's face and name emblazoned to liftoff today (Monday, 4 April 2011) at 6: 6:20 P.m. EDT (22: 19 GMT) from the cosmodrome Baikonur in Kazakhstan, which brings two cosmonauts and an astronaut on board ISS crew to round off the current Expedition 27, 6 the crew size again. On Board of be astronaut Ron Garan Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev, flight engineer Andrey Borisenko NASA.

Soyuz launches from the same launch pad used by Yuri Gagarin, when he became the first man in space 12 April 1961 50 years ago. The Russian space agency is devote this launch of spacecraft Soyuz TMA-21 to the anniversary. You can see the start on NASA TV.

NASA Manager be a flight readiness review on Tuesday, 19 April to ensure that everything is keep going for 29 April launch date for STS-134. The primary goals of endeavour's mission to deliver critical and equipment for the international space station, along with a $2 billion Alpha magnetic spectrometer, a particle physics experiment. Four spacewalks are planned required maintenance on complex orbit to perform labor.

The shuttle launch generated already interest - not only because it endeavour's last flight, but also because Commander Mark Kelly is woman, Congressman of Gabriel Giffords, in the hope at the Kennedy Space Center for the liftoff exist. It was shot in January of this year in the head, but has recovered, to visit her husband's final shuttle launch check.

Another item of note: NASASpaceflight.com reported that a Soyuz Flyaround will be considered again, during the space shuttle to the ISS is docked. Such Flyaround had asked for NASA during the previous shuttle mission STS-133, to take pictures - engineering and documentary - the ISS with space ship from each of the partnerships of space agencies available. Japan's HTV-2 has now departed, so will the Flyaround be done during the STS-134 mission spacecraft naturally the family photo would lack, approved.

Tagged as: ISS, progress, Soyuz, space shuttle, space shuttle endeavour

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