February 2, 2015 - Bringing Tranquility to Space
Bringing Tranquility to Space Five years ago this week, two major components of the International Space Station were launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. The Tranquility module, seen in Endeavour’s cargo bay, is a docking hub with six different berthing locations for spacecraft and other modules. Tranquility also contains life support equipment that recycles waste water for crew use and regenerates oxygen for the crew to breath. Endeavour also delivered the Cupola, a seven-windowed, dome-shaped observatory that gives space station crew an unprecedented view of Earth and the exterior of the ISS. From within the Cupola, crew members can observe approaching spacecraft and control the station’s robotic arm. Its main window, 80 cm (31 in) in diameter, is the largest ever used in space.
Image credit: NASA
Weekly Calendar
February 2-8, 2015
Holidays - Sky Events - Space History
Monday 2
Tuesday 3
Full Moon 6:47 PM ET
1966: Luna 9 lands on Moon
1984: STS-41B Challenger launched
1994: STS-60 Discovery launched
1995: STS-63 Discovery launched
2006: Astronauts aboard the ISS launch SuitSat satellite
Wednesday 4
Jupiter 5° north of Moon
1906: Clyde Tombaugh born
Thursday 5
1965: First test of Apollo Service Propulsion System engine
1967: Lunar Orbiter III launched
1971: Apollo 14 lands on Moon
1974: Mariner 10 uses gravity of Venus to adjust trajectory toward Mercury
Friday 6
Moon at apogee
Jupiter at opposition
1971: Alan Shepard hits first golf balls on Moon
Saturday 7
1984: Bruce McCandless makes first untethered spacewalk during STS-41B
1999: Stardust comet probe launched
2001: STS-98 Atlantis launched
2008: STS-122 Atlantis launched
Sunday 8
1828: Jules Verne born
1974: 84-day Skylab 4 mission ends, last crew to occupy Skylab
2010: STS-130 Endeavour launched