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Nelson (Bill) Fights For NASA Stimulus
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is urging members of his own party to preserve "at least a significant portion" of the $1.5 billion in federal stimulus funding proposed for NASA, his office said in a press release today.

The release includes a Feb. 3 letter to Sen. Daniel Inouye, the Hawaii Democrat who heads the Senate Appropriations Committee, supporting NASA.

Nelson highlights technological innovations and scientific discoveries resulting from NASA programs, and laments the minimum five-year gap in the nation's manned spaceflight capability after the space shuttle's planned 2010 retirement.

"This is a shameful situation, and I greatly appreciate your efforts to provide NASA with the additional funding it needs to help address this problem," Nelson wrote.

You can read the letter here.

As part of Nelson's "eleventh-hour effort," his office said he had also spoken to Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska (left), a fellow Democrat who has questioned the stimulative effect of the NASA spending.

A final Senate vote on the roughly $900 billion stimulus package could be held as soon as tonight or Friday, Nelson's office said.

A House stimulus package that passed along party lines included $600 million for NASA. An amendment by U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna, to add another $2 billion to accelerate the Constellation program was rejected.

kl90

Delta II Sends Weather Satellite into Orbit
Blogger update, 6:28 a.m.: the spacecraft has separated from the Delta II's second stage, prompting applause from managers in Vandenberg's mission director's center.

A Delta II rocket this morning delivered a national weather satellite into orbit, lighting up the dark central California sky as it rumbled through a low layer of clouds at 5:22 a.m. EST.

The polar-orbiting NOAA-N Prime satellite is designed to improve weather forecasting around the world, including the tracking of severe events like hurricanes.

Owned and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Lockheed Martin-built satellite overcame serious damage sustained during a 2003 manufacturing mishap.

This week, technical problems at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex-2 scrubbed launch attempts Wednesday and Thursday.

The 14-foot, 3,100-pound spacecraft was scheduled to separate from the rocket's second stage about 65 minutes into flight.

Three strap-on solid rocket motors separated on time less than two minutes into flight, followed by the rocket's first stage 4.5 minutes after liftoff. The 10-foot diamter payload shroud fell away just under five minutes into flight.

Forecasters had predicted only a 40 percent chance of favorable weather conditions, but weather was "go" at the start of the 10-minute launch window.

NASA oversaw development and launch of the $564-million mission. The launch was the second of the year for United Launch Alliance, and the first from the West Coast.

The 12-story rocket blasted off almost on the 20th anniversary of the first Delta II launch, on Valentine's Day 1989.

The rocket has now had 138 successful launches in 140 tries.

Upon reaching its intended orbit, the satellite will be renamed NOAA-19.

kl90

Discovery Launch Now Back To Feb. 22
NASA is bumping the launch of shuttle Discovery back to at least Feb. 22 to give engineers more time to perform tests aimed at determining whether lingering problems with critical main propulsion system valves might endanger a seven-member astronaut crew.

Senior shuttle program managers now plan to meet Feb. 13 to review test data and determine whether to press ahead with a flight readiness review on Feb. 18. A Feb. 22 launch date would be 10 days later than originally planned and three days later than the agency's most recent estimate.

Discovery and seven astronauts had been slated to launch Feb. 12 on a mission to deliver a fourth and final set of massive American solar wings to the International Space Station.

That plan was scrapped earlier this week when senior agency executives decided NASA needed more time to analyze potential problems with gaseous hydrogen flow control valves in the orbiter's main propulsion system.

One of three valves aboard Endeavour failed to operate as intended during launch last November on a station supply run.

Similar to small pop-up lawn sprinklers, the valves are key to keeping pressure within the shuttle's 15-story external tank at proper levels during an 8 1/2-minute climb into orbit.

Proper pressure is required to make certain the giant tank doesn't rupture. It's also key to ensuring a steady flow of propellant into an orbiter's three main engines.

Sensors detected higher-than-normal pressures in the liquid hydrogen reservoir inside Endeavour's tank last November. Two other gaseous hydrogen valves compensated and Endeavour zoomed into orbit without consequence.

Post-flight inspections showed the failed valve had cracked. Engineers are concerned that sharp debris could cut into gaseous hydrogen tubing, causing a pressure drop -- and a potential engine shutdown -- in flight.

NASA is conducting tests to see if debris liberated from a cracked valve could rupture gaseous hydrogen tubing. The data gathering and review process will take longer than initially anticipated, so NASA is pushing back its next meeting on the matter until Feb. 13. It had been scheduled for next Tuesday.

kl90

Comparison chart of rocket options
Todd Halvorson offered a detailed comparison chart of the Obama Administration's options for a rocket to carry the Orion spacecraft and astronauts to low-Earth orbit in Sunday's newspaper.

In case you missed it, here are two ways to download it:

--http://floridatoday.com/assets/pdf/A912809629.PDF
--

The chart compares NASA's Ares 1 rocket, which is in development, with adaptations of the existing Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles, the Atlas 5 and Delta 4, which are currently operated by United Launch Alliance for the U.S. military as well as other customers.

[ 本帖最后由 kl90 于 11-2-2009 09:39 PM 编辑 ]

kl90

Cargo shipment en route to space station
An unmanned Russian supply ship is on its way to the International Space Station after blasting off early this morning from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Associated Press reports.

The Progress M-66 cargo spacecraft launched atop a Soyuz-U rocket at 12:49 a.m. EST and is scheduled to dock with the station at 2:19 a.m. EST Friday.

The spaceship is carrying nearly 2.5 tons of equipment and life support supplies, including:
- more than 2,860 pounds of dry cargo
- more than 1,910 pounds of propellant
- more than 100 pounds of oxygen and air

Another Progress vehicle, called Progress 31, left the station Feb. 5 carrying trash and waste. It burned up on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

The new arrival, Progress 32, will also be filled with trash after the Expedition 18 crew - American astronauts Mike Fincke and Sandy Magnus and Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov - unpack the fresh supplies.

The crew hopes the docking Friday goes more smoothly than the docking of Progress 31 on Nov. 30, 2008.

Lonchakov had to manually guide the spacecraft into docking position after its Ukranian-built Kurs automated docking system failed about 20 meters from the station

kl90

NASA Shuffles Shuttle Stack For Hubble Flight
The external tank-solid rocket booster stack for the launch of Atlantis on the STS-125 mission is being moved from one high bay to another in the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building, clearing the way for the build-up of another stack for a subsequent Endeavour mission.

The roll-around leaves open an option to begin the build-up of the Ares I-X rocket for a test-flight now scheduled for launch July 11.

The STS-125 stack is moving from High Bay 1 on the southeast side of the Vehicle Assembly Building to High Bay 3 on the northeast side of the building. Now in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay No. 1, Atlantis will be added to the STS-125 stack and then rolled out to launch pad 39A for NASA's fifth and final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, which now is scheduled to fly on May 12.

The bay-to-bay move in the VAB will enable NASA to start the build up in High Bay 1 of a stack for the June 13 launch of STS-127. Endeavour will be added to that stack for a mission to deliver the final segment of the Japanese Kibo science research facility to the International Space Station.

Moving the STS-125 stack to High Bay 3 enables NASA to retain the option of launching the Ares I-X test flight in July.

High Bay 3 has been modified for the stacking of the Ares I-X rocket and launch pad 39B is being modified for the first in a series of test flights aimed at qualifying the Ares I rocket as NASA's Crew Launch Vehicle for Project Constellation, the agency's effort to return American astronauts to the moon by 2020.

To maintain a July launch date for Ares I-X, NASA would have to use launch pad 39A for both the launch of Atlantis on the Hubble mission and then Endeavour, if required, on a subsequent rescue mission. The plan had been to roll Endeavour out to pad 39B for the rescue mission.

A single-pad operation for both the Hubble mission and the STS-400 Launch-On-Need rescue mission would require a roll-out to pad 39A of Endeavour in advance of Atlantis so it could be loaded with hypergolic fuels and then returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Doing so would enable NASA to roll Endeavour to pad 39A and then launch a rescue mission in time to save the Hubble crew.

NASA will decide by early April whether to carry out a single-pad operation for STS-125 and STS-400. The decision will be based on whether the agency will be ready to launch the Ares I-X test flight as scheduled in July.

NASA's eight remaining station assembly missions all would slip about a month if the agency decides to press ahead with the Ares I-X flight in July. The Ares I-X flight likely would slip to October if it's not ready to fly in July.

kl90

NASA Presses Ahead With Key Valve Tests

NASA is performing tests around the country this week to determine whether suspect main propulsion system valves might endanger shuttle Discovery and seven astronauts during launch of an upcoming International Space Station assembly mission.

Due back by Friday, the results will factor into a decision on whether to press ahead toward a tentative launch date of Feb. 22, stand down to conduct still more testing, or redesign the valve.

A valve redesign would delay the Discovery flight for months, triggering a serious ripple effect in the schedule to launch nine final missions before shuttle fleet retirement in 2010.

Senior shuttle program managers will tag-up with engineers today for a status report. Testing is being carried out at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Miss., Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunstville, Ala., Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico.

NASA engineers want to determine whether a crack in a gaseous hydrogen flow control valve could liberate debris that would puncture two-inch lines that run between the shuttle's three main engines and the liquid hydrogen tank within its 15-story external tank.

The tests are geared toward establishing how large a piece of debris might be created and how much, if any, damage the debris might do to the tubing.

NASA engineers have been working on the issue since one of three gaseous hydrogen flow control valves in Endeavour's main propulsion system failed to operate as intended during its launch last November.

NASA had planned to launch Discovery on Thursday but delayed the flight because engineers were uncertain whether a crack in one of the valves might create deadly debris.

Similar to small pop-up lawn sprinklers, the gaseous hydrogen flow control valves are key to keeping pressure within the shuttle's external tank at proper levels during an 8 1/2-minute climb into orbit.

More than 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are fed into the shuttle's three main engines in flight. The engines consume propellant at a rate that would drain a backyard swimming pool within 25 seconds.

Proper pressure is required to make certain the giant tank doesn't rupture. It's also key to ensuring a steady flow of propellant into the main engines as the tank is emptied.

Sensors detected higher-than-normal pressures in the liquid hydrogen reservoir inside Endeavour's tank last November. The faulty valve opened without computer commands to do so. Two other gaseous hydrogen valves compensated and Endeavour zoomed into orbit without consequence.

Post-flight inspections showed the failed valve had cracked. Engineers are concerned that sharp debris could cut into gaseous hydrogen tubing, causing a pressure drop -- and a potential engine shutdown -- in flight.

Shuttle program managers aim to meet Friday to review test data. The status report today will show whether engineers will be able to present solid flight rationale to senior managers on Friday. If not, a tentatively scheduled flight readiness review on Feb. 18 and launch on Feb. 22 might be pushed back.

Discovery will haul up a 31,000-pound girder that will cap the starboard end of the station's central truss. The segment is equipped with a fourth and final set of massive American solar wings.

The added electrical power is a key factor in plans to expand the size of resident station crews from three to six in May.

kl90

Lunar Probe Truckin' to Space Coast
An unusual and delicate "oversized load" is headed down the highway for the Space Coast.

A truck carrying a lunar probe scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral in April began its delivery from Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland early this morning.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, is expected to arrive Friday at Astrotech in Titusville for processing.

It is targeted for an April 24 liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The mission is a precursor to the planned 2020 return of astronauts to the moon. Over at least a year, the orbiter's seven science instruments will map the moon's surface and composition, and identify potential landing sites.

The orbiter will launch with the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, which is designed to search for water on the moon.

The LCROSS spacecraft and Centaur upper stage rocket will create two high-speed impacts on the moon's surface, causing a debris plume that will be visible by amateur telescopes on Earth.

Before crashing, the spacecraft will analyze the plume created by the rocket for evidence of water ice or vapor.

kl90

Obama describes self as "space guy."
Eun Kyung Kim reports from Washington:

Suzanne Kosmas took advantage of a rare opportunity - face time with President Barack Obama aboard Air Force One - on Tuesday to invite the nation's highest-ranking space enthusiast to a Kennedy Space Center launch.

Kosmas, the freshman Democratic congresswoman from New Smyrna Beach, caught up with the president flying back to Washington from Obama's economic recovery speech in Fort Myers.

Kosmas said she invited the president, who described himself as a "space guy," to join her for a space shuttle launch.

She said she also asked him whether he had decided who to appoint as the next NASA chief.

"He said, 'We have several names under consideration, did you have a suggestion?'" recounted Kosmas, whose district includes Kennedy Space Center. "I said, 'No, actually I don't. I just wanted to ensure that whoever you appoint is an advocate of manned space exploration.'" She said Obama assured her the person would.

The economic recovery package passed Tuesday by the Senate includes about $1.3 billion for NASA - more than double the amount included in the stimulus bill approved by the House on Jan. 28.

kl90

NASA to review Discovery progress Friday
Senior shuttle program managers will meet Friday to assess progress testing valves that delayed Discovery's planned Feb. 12 launch, even though the tests won't be completed this week.

Friday's meeting will determine whether to proceed with an executive-level flight readiness review next Wednesday at Kennedy Space Center, or whether Discovery's current target launch date of Feb. 22 is likely to slip further.

Engineers at five NASA centers across the country are testing flow control valves that maintain proper pressure in the rust-colored external tank's liquid hydrogen fuel tank.

They want to determine whether an impact from a broken piece of valve could rupture the two-inch lines that route gaseous hydrogen between the shuttle's three main engines and its external tank.

One of the spark plug-sized valves failed during Endeavour's launch last November, but caused no damage.

The broken valve allowed a higher-than-normal flow of gaseous hydrogen, but the two other valves, closed down to compensate. The valves work like pop-up lawn sprinklers.

Proper pressure is critical to ensuring the tank doesn't rupture or prematurely cause the main engines to shut down.

Tests will continue at least through the weekend, with data being fed into computer models to further study potential problems.

After a roughly two-hour status report today, managers felt they had enough data to proceed Friday with a Program Requirements Control Board meeting that will update a broader group.

If they are confident in a flight rationale for Discovery despite the ongoing work, they could proceed with the flight readiness review next week.

So far, detailed inspections of the valves installed in Discovery showed no evidence of damage.

Discovery's seven astronauts are set to embark on a two-week mission to install a pair of American solar array wings that will complete the International Space Station's power supply.

kl90

Satellites Collide in Space
The Associated Press offers this report today:

CAPE CANAVERAL - Two communications satellites have collided in the first-ever crash of two intact spacecraft in orbit, NASA said Wednesday.

The collision occurred Tuesday nearly 500 miles over Siberia. The crash produced a pair of massive debris clouds, and the magnitude of the situation won't be known for weeks at least, said NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries.

However, any risk to the International Space Station, which orbits below the collision course, is thought to be low.

There also should be no danger to the upcoming space shuttle flight, targeted for liftoff no earlier than Feb. 22, "but they're continuing to analyze any possible risk," Humphries said.

The collision involved an Iridium commercial satellite, which was launched in 1997, and a Russian satellite launched in 1993 and believed to be nonfunctioning. Each satellite weighed well over 1,000 pounds.

There have been four other cases in which space objects have collided accidentally in orbit, NASA said.

But those were considered minor events and involved parts of spent rockets or small satellites.

kl90

NASA Stimulus Details Emerging
Gannett News Service's Eun Kyung Kim reports from Washington:

WASHINGTON - Details of the compromise version of the economic stimulus bill are starting to trickle out. Based on preliminary reports, NASA will get $1 billion out of the bill, including $400 million "to put more scientists to work doing climate change research."

More to come...

In other Washington news just in:

Florida Democrat Bill Nelson maintains his chairmanship the Senate's Space and Aeronautics subcommittee, which oversees NASA, under leadership assignments announced today by the Commerce Committee.

David Vitter of Louisiana is the subcommittee's ranking Republican.

Florida Republican Mel Martinez is the ranking member on the Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion subcommittee.

kl90

Take Control Of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
NASA is enlisting the public to select a new target for the agency's flagship Hubble Space Telescope.

People now through March 1 can vote for one of six candidate astronomical objects that range from a star-forming region to a spiral galaxy to planetary nebulae and two galaxies coming together in deep space.

Currently in first place: The interacting galaxies known as Arp 274. Drawn together by their gravity, the galactic pair might be spawning offspring. The spiral shapes of the galaxies largely are intact, but as they merge together, the gas clouds inside them might be forming new stars.

A spiral galaxy hosting more than 100 billion stars (NGC 5172) is in second place.

Now in third place: an interstellar nursery (NGC 6334) where hot young stars emit high-energy radiation.

The others include an edge-on galaxy (NGC 4289) and two planetary nebula (NGC 6072 and NGC 40).

The workhorse camera that has captured Hubble's most iconic images -- Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2 -- will take a high-resolution image of the winning candidate. The image will be released in early April as part of the agency's International Year of Astronomy celebration.

Launched from Kennedy Space Center in April 1990 aboard shuttle Discovery, the Hubble telescope is designed to be repaired by astronauts. NASA aims to launch a fifth and final Hubble servicing mission on May 12.

An astronaut crew led by veteran mission commander Scott Altman will outfit the observatory with two new science instruments, attempt to repair two others, and equip the telescope with gear that will extend its useful life another five years.

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Progress Docks With Space Station
Three days after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, an unmanned Russian resupply ship docked safely with the International Space Station at 2:18 a.m. today.

This freighter hauled to the outpost more than 100 pounds of oxygen and air, more than 1,910 pounds of propellant and more than 2,860 pounds of dry cargo ranging from fresh fruit to a new Russian spacesuit.

Guidance systems performed properly, so there was no need for Russian cosmonaut and station flight engineer Yury Lonchakov to manually steer the spacecraft to a docked position, as he did last November.

Progress 32 replaces Progress 31, which departed the station Feb. 5 filled with trash and burned up upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

Earlier, on Thursday, station commander Mike Fincke thanked people for their concern about the three-person crew's safety after two satellites crashed together Tuesday over Siberia, creating clouds of space debris.

NASA says the threat of debris to the station is "elevated but still very small and within defined acceptable limits."

"We understand that a lot of people around the planet were worried for our health and safety, and we are very touched by that, and we'd like to say thank you," said Fincke. "And we've also been informed that we're quite OK, and we believe that because we're in very good hands."

kl90

Could in-space satellite crash threaten Hubble?
Space.com this morning is reporting that scientists at NASA are very carefully tracking the debris clouds from an orbital crash of two satellites to make sure there is no threat to other spacecraft, including the vaunted Hubble Space Telescope.

The Tuesday collision created added debris in orbit that won't threaten the International Space Station but could endanger other spacecraft. NASA and other government entities are keeping a close watch. Space.com details their efforts in a story online this morning.

kl90

NASA Stimulus: $400M for Exploration
The final $789 billion federal stimulus package includes $1 billion for NASA, with the following breakdown:

- $400 million for science
- $150 million for aeronautics
- $400 million for exploration
- $50 million for cross agency support
- $2 million for the Inspector General's office

There's no detail yet on how the exploration funds would be spent, once approved, but a spending plan would be due within 60 days.

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

SCIENCE
For an additional amount for "Science", $400,000,000.

AERONAUTICS
For an additional amount for "Aeronautics", $150,000,000.

EXPLORATION
For an additional amount for "Exploration", $400,000,000.

CROSS AGENCY SUPPORT
For an additional amount for "Cross Agency Support", $50,000,000.

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
For an additional amount for "Office of Inspector General", $2,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2013.

Statement

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NASA is directed to submit to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations a spending plan, signed by the Administrator, detailing its intended allocation of funds provided in this Act within 60 days of enactment of this Act.

SCIENCE
The conference agreement includes $400,000,000 for Science, to remain available until September 30,2010. Funding is included herein to accelerate the development of the tier 1 set of Earth science climate research missions recommended by the National Academies Decadal Survey and to increase the agency's supercomputing capabilities.

AERONAUTICS
The conference agreement includes $150,000,000 for aeronautics, to remain available until September 30,2010. These funds are available for system-level research, development and demonstration activities related to aviation safety, environmental impact mitigation and the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

EXPLORATION
The conference agreement includes $400,000,000 for exploration, to remain available until September 30, 2010.

CROSS AGENCY SUPPORT
The conference agreement includes $50,000,000 for cross agency support, to remain available until September 30, 2010. In allocating these funds, NASA shall give its highest priority to restore NASA-owned facilities damaged from hurricanes and other natural disasters occurring during calendar year 2008.

kl90

NASA Slips Discovery Launch To Feb. 27
NASA decided this evening to push the planned launch of Discovery back to Feb. 27 to give engineers more time to carry out tests aimed at making sure critical valve trouble doesn't endanger its seven-member astronaut crew.

Another consideration: Making certain engineering teams do not work too many consecutive weekends prior to a long International Space Station assembly mission. Saturday is Valentine's Day and Monday is a federal holiday -- President's Day.

Liftoff time of Feb. 27 would be 1:32 a.m. EST. Landing would be on March 13.

Senior managers will meet next Friday to decide if ongoing tests show the type of valve failure that cropped up on Endeavour's launch last November will not jeopardize Discovery and its crew.

One of three valves that route gaseous hydrogen from the shuttle's main engines to the liquid hydrogen reservoir within its external tank failed to operate as intended on the Endeavour flight. Post-flight inspections showed the lip of the valve -- which is the size and shape of a lawn sprinkler -- chipped off.

The valves are critical to keeping pressures within the tank at proper levels as propellant is drained from it during the shuttle's nine-minute climb into orbit.

Too much pressure could cause a relief valve on the tank to vent gaseous hydrogen into a potentially flammable environment. Too little pressure could results in an engine shutdown or break-up in flight.

NASA had planned to launch Discovery on Thursday but decided to delay the flight until Feb. 19, and then Feb. 22, to perform tests and analyse resulting data.

Some of the ongoing tests are aimed at determining the size of the largest piece of debris that might be liberated from a cracked valve. Others are designed to determine whether liberated debris might puncture main propulsion system lines that run from the engines into the external tank.

Discovery mission commander Lee Archambault leads a crew that includes pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Discovery will haul up the last segment of the International Space Station's central truss. The 31,000-pound girder is equipped with the outpost's fourth and final set of American solar wings.

Wakata will become the first Japanese astronaut to serve a long-duration tour on the station. He'll replace current station flight engineer Sandra Magnus, who will return to Earth on Discovery.

kl90

Fireball not caused by satellite collision
Have you seen video of that mystery fireball reported flying over Texas on Sunday?

Check out a CNN video posted on You Tube here.


If you missed it, here's an Associated Press report about the incident:

DALLAS (AP) - What looked like a fireball streaked across the Texas sky on Sunday morning, leading many people to call authorities to report seeing falling debris.

"We don't know what it was," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Roland Herwig.

The Williamson County Sheriff's Office used a helicopter to search after callers said they thought they saw a plane crashing, a spokesman said.

"We don't doubt what people saw" but authorities found nothing, said spokesman John Foster.

The U.S. Strategic Command said there was no connection to the sightings over Texas and Tuesday's collision of satellites from the U.S. and Russia.

"There is no correlation between the debris from that collision and those reports of re-entry," said Maj. Regina Winchester, with STRATCOM.

The FAA notified pilots on Saturday to be aware of possible space debris after a collision Tuesday between U.S. and Russian communication satellites.

The chief of Russia's Mission Control says clouds of debris from the collision will circle Earth for thousands of years and threaten numerous satellites.

kl90

NASA, ULA rocket launches shifting
The dates of several upcoming rocket launches from Cape Canaveral and California are in flux.

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite is now scheduled to blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California next Tuesday, a day later than previously planned.

Preparations for the spacecraft's connection to an Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL rocket took slightly longer than expected. Liftoff is targeted at 4:51 a.m. EST.

The Air Force still hopes to launch a military communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41 in the second week of March, after repairs and retests of a faulty heater circuit on the spacecraft.

The launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket had been set for the evening of March 9, but any delays could push the liftoff close to the planned March 13 landing of shuttle Discovery at Kennedy Space Center.

NASA is reviewing Discovery's readiness to launch Feb. 27 from KSC, and has scheduled a news conference no earlier than 5 p.m. Friday to update plans for the STS-119 mission to the International Space Station.

A significant slip by the Air Force satellite, known as the Wideband Global SATCOM, could impact NASA's planned April 24 launch from the Cape of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, also on an Atlas V.

NASA says "informal discussions" about the LRO launch date are taking place, but ULA has not formally requested a change.

Preparation of NASA's Kepler telescope, which will search for Earth-like planets, is proceeding on schedule for a March 5 launch atop a ULA Delta II from the Cape's Launch Complex 17B.

The spacecraft on Thursday is scheduled to be delivered to the launch pad for mating to the rocket.

Another Delta II mission targeted for March 24 also appears to be on schedule. The rocket will carry an Air Force Global Positioning System satellite from Launch Complex 17A.

kl90

External Tank Crossing Gulf to KSC
The external tank that would fuel a rescue shuttle flight during NASA's Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, planned in May, is about half-way through its 900-mile journey to Kennedy Space Center.

The 15-story tank shipped from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans on Sunday, and is being towed on the covered barge Pegasus through the Gulf of Mexico and around the Florida peninsula.

The tank is expected to arrive Saturday morning at KSC's turn basin, where it will be transferred to a transporter and wheeled into the Vehicle Assembly Building.

There, it will be lifted to a vertical position and moved to a checkout cell.

ET-131, as it the rust-colored tank is dubbed, will eventually be connected to a pair of solid rocket boosters and the shuttle Endeavour, which is the rescue vehicle for Atlantis' planned May 12 Hubble flight.

If no rescue is needed, Endeavour and its external tank are slated to blast off June 13 on a mission to complete the International Space Station's Japanese laboratory.

Built by Lockheed Martin Corp., The tank is nearly 28 feet in diameter and weighs about 1.7 million pounds when loaded with propellant.